Hurricane Isaias Kills at Least Four, Leaves Hundreds of Thousands in the Dark After Florida Landfall
Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane with 105-mph winds, killing at least four people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power across Florida, Alabama and Georgia — the first U.S. hurricane landfall in two years.
DESTIN, Fla. — Post-Tropical Cyclone Isaias roared ashore near Destin, Florida, late Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of about 105 mph, killing at least four people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the Southeast, officials said Saturday.
The storm made landfall at about 8:30 p.m. local time Friday after wind shear knocked it down from Category 3, though a sweep of storm surge was already locked in as the widening cyclone reached the coast. It was the first U.S. hurricane landfall since Hurricane Milton struck Florida in October 2024 — exactly two years earlier, according to WeatherNation.
At least four deaths were reported, two each in Alabama and Florida, authorities said Saturday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed two deaths in the state, including one in Birmingham where a tree fell on a home, according to the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency. In Florida’s Escambia County, a person died late Friday when a large tree fell on a home, and a man died Saturday of carbon-monoxide poisoning after a generator was operated inside a closed garage, the sheriff’s office said; four of his family members, ages 4 to 72, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hundreds of thousands in the dark
Power outages stretched across Florida’s Panhandle, Alabama and western Georgia. More than 426,000 homes and businesses were without power Saturday afternoon, and tracking site PowerOutage.us showed about 407,000 customers still dark across four states on Sunday morning. Florida Power & Light said it expected 95% of affected customers able to safely accept power to be restored by the end of Monday.
The storm’s winds rivaled those of Hurricane Ivan in parts of the Panhandle: the National Weather Service recorded a 117-mph gust on Santa Rosa Island and a 114-mph gust at NAS Whiting Field, the result of what meteorologists called a rare “sting jet” — a burst of rapidly sinking cool air that produced tornado-like gusts. A water gauge in Panama City Beach measured surge 5.59 feet above mean higher high water, a possible near-record for the area behind 1995’s Hurricane Opal.
President Donald Trump approved Florida’s request for FEMA disaster assistance covering about two dozen Panhandle counties. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said crews were clearing debris and restoring power “as soon as it’s safe,” while more than 5,000 National Guard members were on standby. Santa Rosa County imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, and schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will be closed Monday.
The Energy Department on Saturday authorized an emergency exchange of up to 4 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address supply disruptions, Reuters reported, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying the department was acting to “help maintain refinery operations” and keep fuel supplies flowing.
Isaias was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone overnight but continued to bring flooding rains inland, tracking through Alabama toward the Tennessee Valley. Its remnants also disrupted weekend sports: heavy rain postponed Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Sunday.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and the Pensacola News Journal.
