Tropical Storm Isaias forms and could become Atlantic's 1st hurricane of 2026

Tropical Storm Isaias has formed in the Gulf and is expected to approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday after becoming a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Isaias would be the Atlantic Basin's first hurricane of the season and is its ninth named storm. El Niño continues to bring a more active season in the Pacific. The storm formed with less than two months remaining in the 2026 hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.

Maps show possible path

Tropical Storm Isaias, which grew from Tropical Depression Nine on Wednesday and is pronounced "ees-ah-EE-ahs," is expected to pass to the north of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday before approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast the following day, according to forecasters. It is expected to rapidly strengthen. 

"Hurricane watches will likely be required for a portion of the U.S. northern Gulf coast later today," the hurricane center said Wednesday. Tropical storm-force winds were extending outward up to 45 miles from the storm's center.

Isaias is forecast to bring moderate to heavy rainfall to the Gulf Coast and into the rest of the Southeast this weekend into early next week. The hurricane center forecasts 3 to 6 inches of rain and as much as 10 inches in some places on the central Gulf Coast from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. 

Some longer-range forecast models also see this moisture eventually reaching the Ohio Valley and Northeast by midweek next week.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 25 Florida counties ahead of the storm's arrival. DeSantis said in a statement that the order "ensures communities have the time and resources necessary to prepare for potential severe weather impacts to the Panhandle and Big Bend region of Florida."

Beware the "I"-named storm

While tropical storm and hurricane formation and frequency vary throughout the season, the "I"-named systems tend to be the most retired names within the Atlantic basin.

The most commonly known retired "I"-named storms are Ian (2022), Ida (2021), Irma (2017), and Irene (2011).

When Ike was retired in 2008, Isaias replaced the "I" name on the Atlantic tropical cyclones list, which rotates every six years.