Hundreds of thousands of customers in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were without power early Saturday after Hurricane Isaias came ashore as a Category 2 storm near Destin on Friday. More than 726,000 customers in both states were out, according to poweroutage.com.
The storm then moved quickly north through Alabama as its winds weakened. Roads were flooded in Destin, and police in Pensacola told residents to stay off the streets because of debris. Some Panhandle counties temporarily suspended emergency response Friday night because of dangerous conditions. Flooding and downed trees and power lines were also reported in Mobile, and Houston County in southeast Alabama closed roads.
Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to stay off the roads during a news conference Friday. Most flights at several Panhandle airports were grounded, including all flights at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. President Donald Trump scrapped plans to attend Saturday’s Georgia-Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa so he would not disrupt emergency response efforts.
Forecasters said the Panhandle still faced possible life-threatening storm surge, along with 4 to 8 inches of rain or more through the weekend in southern Alabama, the Panhandle, the Big Bend and southwest Georgia. Tornadoes were also possible in parts of the Panhandle, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Isaias is the first hurricane to hit the eastern U.S. since Milton struck Florida’s Gulf Coast in 2024. Although South Florida was not in the storm’s path, residents across the state should watch for updates as the system moves inland.
