hurricanes

The rules for tomorrow’s high stakes Southeastern Conference game between The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs are changing. Partly due to the possible attendance of President Trump, and due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Isaias. College football games in Tuscaloosa typically see white tents blossoming on a green space at the University of Alabama known as the “quad.” That’s where tailgaters gather to party before kickoff.

Residents boarded up windows and stacked sandbags Thursday while thousands of National Guard soldiers were deploying in anticipation of Hurricane Isaias, which packed swift winds and threatened to bring a storm surge with devastating floods to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Isaias strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as it barreled toward a possible landfall on Alabama’s border with Florida. The approach of the storm is prompting orders for tourists to abandon beaches for safer spots inland, sending locals scurrying for gas and groceries and leading fishing crews to secure their boats before the potentially destructive storm’s arrival.

Residents of Alabama, coastal Mississippi, and the western Florida panhandle are getting ready for rough ride from Hurricane Isaias. Forecasters are predicting landfall late Friday or early Saturday. That hit could occur anywhere from Ocean Springs in Mississippi, to Mobile and the Eastern Shore in Alabama, to the western Florida panhandle. The lower third of our state is facing the possibility of tropical storm force winds and rain. Mike Evans is manager of Mobile County Emergency Management. He says residents need to get storm updates from a trusted source like the National Weather Service.

Some coastal residents of Alabama are being advised to voluntarily evacuate as Isaias surged toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday. It’s the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, prompting mandatory evacuations and school closures in parts of Florida. Isaias was forecast to intensify rapidly and bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain with the risk of flooding was possible into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.

Hurricane forecasters are keeping an eye on the progress of Isaias. The system grew to tropical storm strength on Wednesday, and is expected to be a hurricane when it reaches anywhere form Gulfport in Mississippi, to Mobile, to Panama City Beach in Florida. The latest forecast has landfall expected sometime Friday Night. Before Isaias formed, APR student reporter John Underwood talked with three experts for tips on how to get ready for this year’s hurricane season. One special note—John’s story talks about preparing for evacuation.EDITOR'S Note— Local leaders in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama are advising residents of low lying areas to voluntarily evacuate. In Florida, the Associated Press is reporting that some residents of RV parks in Gulf County and Okaloosa County (Zones A and B) are under a mandatory evacuation order.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported the development of a tropical depression. The system appeared just west of Florida’s Tampa Bay. The current forecast has the depression becoming a Tropical Storm by Monday and moving west across the Gulf of Mexico. The system may brush by Mobile Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday before making landfall on Texas by the end of the week. Even as a rainmaker, the system could complicate things for Uvalde, Texas where heavy rains have already prompted flooding near Camp Mystic where an Alabama girl drowned in 2025.

With warmer than normal ocean waters, forecasters are expecting yet another unusually busy hurricane season for the Atlantic. But they don't think it will be as chaotic as 2024, the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton.

Rafael may be gone, but forecasters are now watching a new disturbance in the Caribbean. That new system could become a tropical storm by mid November. Rafael was no threat to Alabama’s Gulf coast. But, the National Weather Service says that past storm is a reminder that a tropical system doesn’t have to hit Alabama directly to have an impact.

Hurricane Milton strikes Florida on the heels of Hurricane Helene - and again, pets need protection!