Hurricane Isaias downgraded after making landfall in Florida

Hurricane Isaias, the first of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall on Friday night along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida, bringing with it heavy rains and powerful winds. Isaias is still surging across south-eastern parts of the US, after being downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports. Hundreds of thousands of households in Florida, Alabama and Georgia are without power, and each state has issued a state of emergency amid warnings of life-threatening storm surges.

Isaias is one of three storm systems affecting North America this weekend, with the two others hitting Mexico and Southern California in the El Niño fuelled warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. Both Florida and Alabama instituted mandatory evacuations to thousands of people due to the storm. In Florida, those evacuations include coastal communities in direct aim of the powerful storm. Florida Senator Rick Scott encouraged residents in designated areas to evacuate as soon as possible, as he warned in a social media post: "DO NOT WAIT! Get out NOW!" Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey issued a mandatory evacuation for all non-residents, tourists and visitors in key counties likely to be heavily affected by the storm. Hurricane Isaias is the first hurricane in the Atlantic's hurricane season, which largely has been delayed due to El Niño conditions in the Pacific. Read More...