Rain and flooding
Parts of Alabama, Georgia, the Florida Panhandle, southeast Louisiana and Mississippi are most at risk of heavy rain from this system. The downpours could start to ramp up along the coast as soon as Friday and then continue to soak the region while creeping farther inland through the weekend.
The hardest hit areas could see 3 to 7 inches of rain, with up to 10 inches in localized spots.
Some of the heaviest rain could impact areas from southern Mississippi through the Florida Panhandle. A Level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rain (the purple area in the graphic below) is in effect there Friday. The risk of flash flooding will expand farther inland over the Southeast Saturday.
Friday:
Saturday:
Tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or more, with higher gusts, could reach the Gulf Coast by Friday evening as Isaias heads for the coastline. Wind this strong can take down some trees and cause power outages.
Hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or more are likely near and just inland of where Isaias makes landfall, but it’s still too early to pinpoint exactly where that will happen. The strongest winds will likely hit coastal areas from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, depending on the hurricane’s track.
Isaias will grow larger as it nears the coast, which means windy conditions will spread across a large portion of the Southeast later Friday and Saturday.
Storm surge is possible Friday night but its severity hinges on exactly how strong Isaias gets and when it makes landfall. Surge levels will be higher if Isaias comes ashore near high tide.
Isaias could produce tornadoes within its rainbands later Friday night through Saturday. Areas to the east of the storm’s center will be most at risk for these tornadoes, which should largely be short-lived and on the lower end of the EF Scale.
Friday:
Saturday: