This is Mississippi News Group’s continuously updated Hurricane Isaias hub — current storm status, preparedness, evacuations, closures, and outages in one place. This page is refreshed every 6 hours through Saturday, October 10, as official advisories change.
Last updated: Friday, October 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. CDT
Current Storm Status
Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Friday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure of 959 mb, according to a 7:20 a.m. CT alert from the National Hurricane Center based on Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter data.
Location: About 245 miles south of Pensacola, Florida, moving north-northeast at 15 mph.
Landfall: Expected late Friday night or early Saturday, possibly near Pensacola. Regardless of exact landfall strength, the NHC says Isaias “will be a dangerous hurricane with significant storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains,” and impacts will extend well away from the center.
Hurricane Warning: Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf County Line, Florida.
Tropical Storm Warning: Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish line, Louisiana, to west of Ocean Springs; and east of the Bay/Gulf County Line to the Aucilla River, Florida.
Storm Surge Warning: Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River, Florida. Forecast surge heights: 6–9 feet from the Alabama/Florida border to Grayton Beach; 4–6 feet from Dauphin Island to the Alabama/Florida border; 3–5 feet from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Dauphin Island and in Mobile Bay.
Rainfall: 4–8 inches across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, with localized totals up to 15 inches; 2–5 inches across much of the rest of the Southeast. Flash, urban, and isolated river flooding are possible.
Wind field: Hurricane-force winds extend up to 30 miles from the center; tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 185 miles. Much of Alabama and eastern Mississippi could see gusts of 50–60 mph — enough to cause widespread power line problems.
Sources: National Hurricane Center advisories, October 9, 2026.
MEMA Preparedness Checklist
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Stephen McCraney urges residents not to wait until the last minute. Complete these steps now:
Emergency kit: non-perishable food, water, batteries, medicine, and important papers.
Emergency plan: have a family communication plan in case you lose power or cell signal.
Evacuation route: know your route now — especially if you live in a low-lying area.
Medical needs: have backup power if you or a loved one relies on medical equipment that requires electricity.
Fuel and neighbors: fill vehicles with gas, check on neighbors, and secure outdoor items — remove yard debris and trim tree branches.
Alerts: get emergency alerts from reliable sources. More information at msema.org or through the MEMA app.
Source: Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
Evacuation Guidance
Follow evacuation instructions from your local officials promptly — do not wait for conditions to worsen.
Okaloosa County, Florida: mandatory evacuations for coastal areas began at noon Thursday.
Dauphin Island, Alabama: evacuation notice for the western portion of the barrier island beginning Thursday evening.
Baldwin County, Alabama: voluntary evacuations encouraged for residents of low-lying coastal areas; emergency shelters prepared.
Bay County, Florida: voluntary evacuations for coastal areas; visitors urged to leave.
Mississippi: shelters have opened in Jackson County. Jackson County and the city of Gautier have declared local emergencies.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency covering 40 counties; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded a state of emergency to 27 North Florida counties.
Sources: county emergency management agencies, NHC, October 8–9, 2026.
Closures
Gautier, Mississippi: municipal offices closed Friday, October 9.
Schools: multiple school districts in southern Alabama and Mississippi have cancelled classes. Check your local district for the latest.
Mississippi high school football: several Friday, Oct. 9 games moved to Thursday, Oct. 8, including Gulfport at St. Martin, Harrison Central at West Harrison, Gautier at Long Beach, Pascagoula at Picayune, and others.
Events: Gulf Shores’ National Shrimp Festival cancelled; the Southern Tip-Off basketball matchup between Mississippi State and Florida State at the Pensacola Bay Center is off; the University of West Florida cancelled its Saturday home football game.
Sources: local agencies and the Clarion Ledger, October 7–9, 2026. Closure lists change — confirm with the venue or district before traveling.
Power Outages
As of Friday morning, Mississippi outages remain minimal — about 599 customers statewide, mostly scattered and unrelated to the storm — but outages are expected to grow as winds reach the coast around midday Friday and push inland.
Report an outage or check your provider’s map:
Entergy Mississippi: 1-800-968-8243, or use the outage map in the Entergy app.
Coast Electric: 1-877-769-2372, or the outage map on coastelectric.com.
Mississippi Department of Transportation road conditions: mdottraffic.com
This hub updates every 6 hours through Saturday, October 10. When the storm passes, this page will carry a final update timestamp and remain as the storm’s record.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
