Tropical Storm "Isaias" has formed off Mexico's eastern coast and is expected to strengthen into the season's first hurricane before making landfall late this week.
On 8 Oct 2026 GMT+7, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Tropical Storm Isaias formed over warm waters off Mexico's eastern coast. The storm is expected to rapidly intensify into a hurricane before moving to make landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast by late this week.
Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, said Isaias is forecast to rapidly strengthen over the next 2–3 days, with the potential to become a hurricane. He warned of dangerous, potentially life-threatening impacts along the northern Gulf Coast from Friday through the weekend.
Areas along the projected storm path are rushing preparations as forecasts indicate Isaias may make landfall as early as Friday evening. Meanwhile, some oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have slowed production, and a beach town in Alabama canceled its usual weekend festival that draws thousands of tourists.
Florida's governor declared a state of emergency in over one-third of the state's counties to prepare for the storm's impact. The National Hurricane Center estimates Isaias could reach Category 3 status with sustained winds of at least 111 mph (about 178 km/h) before landfall. If it does become a hurricane, Isaias would set a record as the latest-forming first hurricane of the Atlantic season in 121 years, breaking the previous record set in 1905 when the first hurricane formed on 8 October.