MILTON, Fla. (WSVN) – As the central Gulf Coast braces for Tropical Storm Isaias, officials urge residents to prepare for the storm.
Floridians are not wasting any time preparing sandbags in the panhandle.
“We had sandbags down there last when Sally hit and when Michael hit, but we didn’t have that many. We just want to be prepared this time,” said Marty Cebula, resident helping prepare sandbags.
It is currently the calm before the storm.
“We are expecting a northeastward to eastward eastward motion tonight into Thursday, with the storm rapidly strengthening into a hurricane,” said National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan.
As Isaias aims at the coastline from Mississippi to Alabama and the Florida panhandle, watches, warnings and states of emergency are going into effect.
“We still have a hurricane watch in effect along the coast, essentially from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, including places like Mobile, Pensacola, Panama City,” said Brennan. “You can see the hurricane watch in pink here now extends upward inland into portions of the Florida panhandle and south-central Alabama.”
The late-season storm, expected to mark the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, could become a major Category 2 — packing life-threatening winds.
“We will reach a window where we cannot respond to calls once the winds pick up too much or those roads become flooded,” said Sheriff Anthony Lowery of Baldwin County. “We will not be able to respond to some of these calls for emergency.”
The weather may disrupt Saturday’s College Football Showdown between rivals Georgia and Alabama, with the storm already canceling other events in its path, like an Alabama weekend festival.
Some oil wells in the Gulf also paused production.
The National Hurricane Center predicted a 5- to 7-foot storm surge in some areas.
“When it starts rising, there’s no time for you to say, ‘Oh, I should have left, and I need to leave now,'” said Mobile County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Evans. “The reaction time’s over with.”
Many residents have already begun their hurricane preparation.
“Gone and gotten gas, I’ve gotten cash. What else? Went and got dog food that I needed, so yes, just taking all the precautions that I can, and I have an evacuation plan as well,” said a resident.
“Yes, I was running out of gas and realizing that the storm was coming up in a couple days, so I just really wanted to be prepared to fill up. Got my generator some gas too; took my dog, got her some food at Sam’s as I was out today as well,” said a resident.
As northern Florida prepares, help from South Florida is on the way.
Thousands of pounds of sand and sandbags are expected to arrive at the University of West Florida for distribution by Thursday morning.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said residents in the storm’s projected path must begin preparation.
“We’re preparing for Category 3 landfall. I think most people do not believe it will be that strong when it hits, but my view is you prepare, and then if you end up not having to use all the preparation, you’re fine,” said DeSantis. “We’ll get through it. We’re going to be able to handle it, but it is something that is, we’re full throttle on.”
While residents prepare, county officials said they are constantly monitoring to see if they will need to begin evacuations.
Due to the impending storm, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee rescheduled their upcoming football game to Friday at noon.
The University of West Florida is cancelling all classes starting Thursday at 7 p.m. at its Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach campuses.
Florida State University will be holding class remotely on Friday from 8 a.m. till 12 p.m., with plans to close the Tallahassee campus by noon.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.