Isaias strengthened to hurricane status early Thursday morning, and it will continue to organize and become stronger throughout the afternoon.
The animation below illustrates the infrared satellite imagery for Hurricane Isaias as of Thursday morning.
The National Hurricane Center forecast indicates that Isaias will strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane sometime on Thursday afternoon with maximum wind gusts near 100 mph.
Isaias is forecast to maintain Category 2 strength through Friday afternoon before making landfall along the Gulf Coast late Friday evening.
Use the Interactive Hurricane Tracker below to track Hurricane Isaias.
Isaias’ Impacts on the Southeast
Isaias is forecast to make landfall along the Gulf Coast as a hurricane late Friday into early Saturday morning. As of this writing, landfall could be as far west as Mobile, Alabama and as far east as Destin, Florida.
The center of Isaias is then forecast to move through west Alabama, potentially impacting the timing of play for the Georgia vs Bama game, currently scheduled for 7:30 pm Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.
The image below illustrates the Futurecast Wind Gusts for west Alabama from early Saturday morning through 8pm Eastern/7pm Central time on Saturday afternoon.
Any Georgia Bulldog fans planning to travel to Tuscaloosa should monitor the forecast for central Alabama, as this is an area that will experience worse conditions compared to North Georgia. These impacts include:
- Stronger wind gusts in central Alabama (as high as 40-50 mph)
- Heavier rainfall totals
- Greater risk for quick-spin up tornadoes within hurricane’s rain bands
Isaias’ Impacts on Metro Atlanta -- Greatest Impacts on Saturday
In summary, the impacts on Metro Atlanta are as follows:
- Breezy to strong wind conditions Saturday, wind gusts 35-45 mph
- Moderate to heavy rain showers Saturday, as much as 2-4 inches through early Sunday morning
- Quick spin-up tornado threat in west Georgia
Wind Impacts
As Isaias moves inland, high pressure will develop over New England. Air will flow clockwise around the high and continue to flow down the Appalachian Mountains.
Air will “wedge” up against the mountains, creating cooler than usual temperatures on Saturday as afternoon highs remain in the upper 60s for Metro Atlanta.
This pattern, known as “The Wedge”, will push the core of Isaias further west into Alabama and Mississippi.
As a result, the bulk of the strongest winds will occur further west, however Metro Atlanta can still expect windy conditions Saturday as a pressure gradient develops between Isaias (the Low) and the mountain High.
The winds will be strongest in North Georgia -- including Metro Atlanta -- on Saturday, with wind gusts as high as 35 to 45 mph, and potentially stronger wind gusts in the higher elevations in the North Georgia Mountains.
The animation below illustrates the Futurecast Wind Gusts for Metro Atlanta Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.
Rain Impacts
While the core of Isaias will remain west of Metro Atlanta, the storm will still be wide enough to swirl rainbands into North Georgia.
The majority of the rain will fall on Saturday morning through Saturday night, tapering off early Sunday morning.
The animation below illustrates the Futurecast Radar imagery for Saturday through Sunday morning.
As much as 3-4 inches of rainfall is to be expected between Saturday morning through Sunday evening.
Tornado Threat?
When a landfalling tropical system moves through the Southeast, meteorologists always keep an eye on the upper-right quadrant for potential spin up tornadoes.
At this time, the Storm Prediction Center has outlined a Marginal Risk of severe weather for the majority of Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
A Slight Risk for severe weather is outlined for the southwest Metro area, and for much of southwest Georgia.
The main threat for tornadoes will take place Saturday as Isaias continues to move inland. The quick-spin up tornadoes will occur within the tropical rain bands of the storm.