The Latest: Hurricane Isaias strengthens to a Category 3 ahead of expected landfall

Isaias strengthened into a major hurricane Friday as it headed toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where final preparations were underway for potentially life-threatening storm surges and high winds.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Simon was headed toward Mexico’s Pacific coast and forecast to strengthen significantly. U.S. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for parts of the central and southwest coast, where hurricane-force winds were expected within 36 hours.

Tropical storm activity has been above average this season in the Pacific because of a strong El Niño, a natural, temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that warps weather worldwide. In the Atlantic, El Niño’s decapitating winds and the Gulf of Mexico’s toasty, storm-fueling waters are battling over Isaias’s future strength.

Here’s the latest:

Shelters are opening for residents along the US Gulf Coast ahead of Isaias

Some areas, including several counties in the Florida Panhandle, are under mandatory evacuation orders. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has told tourists and visitors in the state’s coastal areas to leave immediately.

There are three shelters opening Friday morning at schools in Mobile County, Alabama. At least four churches in Dothan, Alabama, are being offered as shelters Friday, and they’re even providing snacks and drinks. The Red Cross has opened overnight shelters in the Florida panhandle, including one at Northwest Florida State College’s arena.

Isaias is forecast to make landfall late Friday.

Isaias strengthens into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on track toward the US Gulf Coast

Isaias strengthened Friday into a major hurricane as it headed toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where final preparations were being made for potentially life-threatening storm surges and high winds.

The hurricane is forecast to make landfall late Friday somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line and create dangerous conditions in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said. Rain began falling along the coast Friday morning, and tropical storm conditions were expected to begin early in the afternoon.

The Category 3 storm was packing 120 mph (193 kph) winds and was expected to continue strengthening. Category 3 storms, considered major hurricanes, are capable of causing devastating damage, the center said.

Isaias was expected to weaken quickly as it hits shore and be downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon as it moves north and inland along the Alabama-Mississippi line, the center said.

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