Hurricane Isaias makes landfall on Florida Gulf Coast

Hurricane Isaias hit the Gulf Coast late Friday evening, making landfall near the Alabama-Florida border as a Category 3 storm. It is the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season.

Governors in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi have declared states of emergency. Coastal areas between Dauphin Island, Alabama and Indian Pass, Florida faced storm surge of five to seven feet above normal ground level. Flash flood emergencies were issued across parts of Florida because of heavy rainfall.

The storm also threatened to produce tornadoes and strong winds as far north as Tennessee and western North Carolina. Before landfall, outer bands of the hurricane were already bringing dangerous conditions to northern Florida and the Florida Panhandle.