The center of the hurricane is forecast to make landfall late Friday close to the Ft Walton-Destin area of the Florida Panhandle. But the storm will also impact the coastal and inland areas of Alabama and eastern Mississippi.
The Category 3 storm was packing winds of more than 115 miles per hour early Friday, capable of causing devastating damage, the center said.
Isaias was expected to weaken quickly as it hits shore and be downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon as it moves north and inland along the Alabama-Mississippi line, the center said.
The storm's expected impact in northern Alabama has forced President Trump to cancel his plans to attend the Saturday's football game between the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Tuscaloosa, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
Trump had said earlier in the week that he did not want to divert resources from the emergency response.
