Live updates: Hurricane Isaias strengthens as it storms closer to the Gulf Coast

What to know about Hurricane Isaias Isaias strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season overnight as it surged toward the U.S. Gulf Coast today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Isaias could become a major Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 111 mph or stronger, before it makes landfall. Forecasters are warning of "dangerous, life-threatening" conditions along portions of the northern Gulf Coast beginning tomorrow and into the weekend. The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass on the Florida Panhandle. Forecasters said dangerous storm surge could affect an even wider area, from southeast Louisiana to Florida’s Big Bend. Heavy rains of 3 to 7 inches could trigger flash flooding near the coast, with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches as far inland as Tennessee and the western Carolinas.

Isaias strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season overnight Wednesday as it surged towards the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.