Hurricane Isaias Weakens After Florida Panhandle Landfall

Hurricane Isaias weakened after making landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rain, flooding risks and power outages across the Southeast as it moved inland toward Alabama and the Tennessee Valley.

The National Hurricane Center said Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts in its 5 a.m. ET advisory. The storm was forecast to continue weakening before dissipating on Sunday.

The system was expected to produce 4 to 8 inches of rainfall across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"Localized totals up to 15 inches are possible, particularly within banding across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend." said the National Hurricane Center, advisory.

The National Hurricane Center also warned that flooding risks remained across parts of the Southeast as the storm continued inland. Gusty winds were expected across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley.

"Considerable impacts are still likely across much of southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle into southwestern Georgia, with flash flooding risks across the wider region." said the National Hurricane Center, advisory.

Power outages increased as Isaias crossed the region, with about 872,144 electricity customers without service nationwide, according to poweroutage.us. Florida accounted for around 434,275 outages after landfall, while Alabama had about 316,811 customers without power.

Georgia had around 93,152 customers without electricity as the storm continued northward, according to poweroutage.us. Isaias made landfall near Destin at about 8:30 p.m. local time with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.