The Latest: Isaias drops heavy rain on Alabama as Mexico's Pacific coast prepares for Simon
Isaias weakened after making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane Friday evening. Its powerful winds left hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle without power early Saturday. It was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Here's the latest:
The president on Saturday authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide resources to Georgia to deal with impacts from the storm, including possible tornadoes.
Local news outlets are reporting a handful of roads already have been blocked by fallen trees around Atlanta.
The National Hurricane Center said parts of Georgia and the Carolinas could see up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, though totals are likely to be 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters).
The center said tornadoes are possible across eastern Georgia and the Carolinas.
Simon will be “be near or just inland” of Mexico’s west-central coast on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
The hurricane could drop 20 inches (50 cm) of rain on parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches (75 centimeters).
Convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallerta, a popular tourist destination in Jalisco, boarded up their windows ahead of Simon’s arrival.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t hit us, right? That it doesn’t affect us,” Jesús Gómez said outside a store as he handed out candied peanuts to passersby. He said he plans to keep working until authorities tell him to take shelter.
The hurricane center expects a dangerous storm surge carrying
large, destructive waves “along the immediate coast near and to the east of where the center makes landfall.”
Canadian tourist Ed Currie and his wife still have five days left of their Puerto Vallarta vacation. He said they plan to stay inside the hotel. “I just don’t know what to expect,” Currie said.
Another two deaths were confirmed Saturday, raising the death toll in both states to four since Isaias came ashore overnight.
In Escambia County in Florida, Sheriff Chip Simmons said on Facebook that one woman died after a tree fell on her home.
Simmons later said a man was found dead at home, killed by carbon monoxide fumes from a generator running in his garage.
Four more family members, ranging in age from 4 to 72 years old, were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, his office said.
In Alabama, Cory Moon, fire chief of Birmingham’s Fire and Rescue Service, told The Associated Press it responded to a call around 5 a.m. with a tree down on a structure and people trapped. One person was treated at the scene and a second person was pronounced dead.
A second storm related death in Alabama was attributed to a motor vehicle accident involving a downed tree in Barbour County, according to Josh Johnson of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Johnson had no further details.
The Energy Department announced Saturday it has authorized emergency exchanges of as much as 4 million gallons of crude oil from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve.
Exxon Mobil and BP America — each authorized for up to 2 million barrels — will have to return more barrels in 2027 than they withdrew, the department said in a statement.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the goal is “to help maintain refinery operations, limit disruptions to fuel supplies and ensure American families and businesses continue to have access to affordable, reliable and secure energy.”
The race will now take place on Sunday at 8 p.m. due to the storm, officials with the Charlotte Motor Speedway announced Saturday.
It will follow the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 400 at the track in Concord, North Carolina.
Forecasters are predicting 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters) of rain in parts of Georgia and North and South Carolina due to Isaias, with 10 inches (25 centimeters) possible in some areas.
Isaias has been downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone.
Isaias is moving into northern Alabama, still dishing out heavy rains and strong wind gusts.
The National Hurricane Center says flood watches remain for parts of the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachians.
Forecasters say parts of Georgia and the Carolinas could see up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain though totals are likely to be 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters).
Two deaths, one in Alabama and another in Florida, have been reported in the aftermath of Isaiah.
One person died when a tree fell on their house in a neighborhood of Birmingham, according to Shea Hess, an emergency management officer with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency. She had no further details.
In Florida, Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a video posted on his Facebook page that one woman died after a tree fell on her home. He did not provide additional details.
That is according to Robbie Berg, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
“All tropical storm surge warnings have been discontinued as of this morning, but there are still high wind warnings for portions of the Southeast,” Berg said. “So even though it has become post-tropical, it still does remain a wind threat, as well as a heavy rainfall threat. We could see some areas of significant flash flooding over the next couple of days.”
Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico’s coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said early Saturday Simon’s maximum sustained winds increased to 150 mph (240 kph). A storm of that strength or greater is considered a major hurricane. Simon could bring as much as 10 to 20 inches (25-50 cm) of rain over parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas receiving up to 30 inches, the center said.
The bulletin also urged residents to take immediate action to prepare, saying the hurricane will make landfall early Sunday, but tropical storm-strength winds could arrive much sooner.
Simon is expected to bring heavy rainfall to parts of southwestern Mexico, possibly concentrated along Jalisco’s coast and in parts of Michoacan, Colima and Nayarit.
Isaias weakened overnight and was no longer considered a hurricane, but flash flooding threats and the potential for tornadoes persisted Saturday as the storm moved inland across Alabama.
The storm, now considered a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, then quickly moved north through Alabama as its wind speeds dropped sharply to 35 mph (55 kph). But the possibility of life-threatening storm surges still loomed for parts of the Florida Panhandle.
Parts of southern Alabama also were flooded, with officials in Mobile reporting downed trees and power lines. Roads in Houston County, which is in the southeastern corner of the state, were closed because of similar conditions.
More than 911,000 customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia were without power early Saturday, according to poweroutage.com.
Tim Mowry rode out the storm from his home in Pensacola, Florida. He says the wind was so intense it sounded like a train whistle as it whipped through a crack on his patio door.
He said overall the storm wasn’t as bad as he expected. He had standing water in his backyard and parts of a fence were ripped down. He also lost power but was able to rely on a generator. Mowry said his son, who lives nearby, was unable to drive to Mowry’s house due to downed trees and power lines blocking the roads.
“As far as Pensacola-wise we really got fortunate,” Mowry said.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said on his Facebook page that the airport “took some damage.” Some power was out downtown, he said, and there were trees and power lines down in some areas.
Meanwhile, strong winds blew the roof off a hotel in the city.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says there were no confirmed reports of fatalities from Isaias and that all state-owned bridges and major thoroughfares in the state are now open.
DeSantis warned that flooding dangers persist, especially in areas far east of the storm where it will continue raining.
“The risk of flooding is still high,” DeSantis said. “Sometimes these things happen a day or two days after the storm goes through. So the flooding story is not over.”
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