Weather

Hurricane Isaias Tracks to US Gulf Coast

Is rapid hurricane intensification a climate alarm we can't ignore or is blaming one Gulf storm on emissions just panic-driven storytelling?

Published 1 hour ago

Hurricane Isaias Tracks to US Gulf Coast

Story

Above: Hurricane Isaias on Oct. 9. Image credit: NOAA Satellites via X

The Facts

Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) on Friday, and forecasters said its eye was expected to come ashore along the western Florida Panhandle, between Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Destin, Florida.
The New York Times
New York Post
CBS News on Youtube
Meteorologists raised the storm surge outlook to as much as 9 feet (2.7 meters) above normally dry ground in vulnerable coastal areas of northwest Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis told Panhandle residents Friday to "assume" that they are "going to lose power" during the storm.
ABC News
New York Post
Ron DeSantis on X
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered non-residents, tourists and visitors out of Baldwin County and parts of Mobile County, including Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island. Florida Sen. Rick Scott told residents in evacuation zones, "Get out NOW!"
The Washington Times
BBC News
Rick Scott on X
The National Weather Service said Isaias would bring 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cn) of rain across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and southwest Georgia. Tornadoes were possible in outer bands reaching Tallahassee and Georgia.
Fox Weather
BBC News
PBS News
Residents across coastal Alabama and Florida spent Thursday boarding up homes, filling sandbags and stocking up on supplies. Thousands of utility workers from across the country moved into Gulf Coast states Friday to prepare for power restoration.
The New York Times
CNN
Fox Carolina
Isaias is the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season and the ninth named storm of a year in which El Niño limited activity in the Atlantic basin. In August, forecasters raised the chance of a below-normal season to 75%, predicting 8 to 14 named storms.
The Washington Times
BBC News
NBC

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Hurricanes don't just blow up out of nowhere anymore — overheated ocean water is the fuel, and that fuel keeps getting cheaper. Rapid intensification close to shore is the nightmare scenario, leaving families almost no time to get out before a monster arrives. Ignoring the warming water behind these storms is a gamble no coastline can keep making.

The New York Times

Climate-skeptic narrative

Earth's climate has swung through ice ages and warm spells for millions of years, and a mild uptick following a brutal cold stretch hardly qualifies as an emergency. Pinning one Gulf storm on emissions is storytelling, not science, especially from forecasters who, days earlier, floated a season with zero Atlantic hurricanes.

Steve Milloy on X