Hurricane Isaias makes landfall near Destin in Florida

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin in Florida early on Saturday, South African time, as US forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding.

The US National Hurricane Center confirmed landfall at about 03:30 SAST on 10 October, or 20:30 on Friday in Florida’s Central time zone. Maximum sustained winds were 165 km/h, with an estimated minimum central pressure of 971 millibars.

The confirmation was based on National Weather Service Doppler radar data.

Inland flood and wind warnings

In its 05:00 SAST advisory, the hurricane centre put Isaias’s sustained winds at 150 km/h and its minimum pressure at 982 millibars. The storm was moving north at 31 km/h.

Forecasters warned of dangerous winds and flash flooding inland. The centre was expected to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley over Saturday and Sunday.

A hurricane warning remained in effect from the Mississippi–Alabama border to the Bay–Gulf county line in Florida. A storm surge warning covered Dauphin Island, Alabama, to Florida’s Suwannee River.

At landfall, a National Ocean Service gauge at Panama City Beach had reported water 5.6 feet, or about 1.7 metres, above mean higher high water. The centre described that measurement as an approximation of inundation in the area.

A WeatherFlow station near Santa Rosa Sound recorded a gust of 187 km/h and sustained winds of 146 km/h, according to the landfall bulletin.