Isaias becomes a major hurricane before Gulf landfall Tonight.

Hurricane Isaias has intensified into a major hurricane before a Gulf Coast landfall tonight with life-threatening storm surge, rainfall flooding, and high winds. It will then spread its heavy rain and wind inland over the Southeast this weekend.

Isaias is centered in the Gulf about 240 miles south of Pensacola, Florida. The storm is moving north-northeast at 15 mph. It will make landfall late tonight along the northern Gulf Coast from Alabama to the western Florida Panhandle.

Isaias has intensified from Gulf water temperatures well into the 80s and a moist air mass. As it nears the Gulf Coast, it is expected to experience increasing wind shear, typically hostile for hurricanes. However, while Isaias could lose a little wind intensity, it is still expected to be a strong hurricane at landfall. Heavy rain from Isaias will arrive along the Gulf Coast Friday, then will push far inland through the rest of the weekend.

As much as 15 inches of rain could fall locally near the Gulf Coast, especially east of the track of the center where training heavy rainbands may persist the longest. Most other areas near the Gulf Coast are forecast to pick up 4 to 8 inches of rain.

Most of the rest of the Southeast is forecast to pick up 1 to 5 inches of rain. Locally, flash flooding is possible over most of the Southeast, Appalachians and parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic this weekend.

We recognize the severe impact that current conditions are having on our customers, and we are committed to restoring service levels as quickly as possible. As a result of these weather issues, the ALG Client Service Team will send daily updates as we monitor the progress and track job level.