Hurricane Warning issued for the Alabama coast as Isaias nears hurricane strength

The National Hurricane Center upgraded its watches to warnings Wednesday night. As of the 10 p.m. CDT advisory, a Hurricane Warning covers the coast from Ocean Springs, Miss., to the Bay/Gulf County line in Florida, and a Storm Surge Warning runs from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Steinhatchee River in Florida. The Alabama coast, including Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, is inside both.

At that hour Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, just under hurricane strength, and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph about 460 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi. A Hurricane Warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere in the warning area; the center says preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency's Wednesday morning outlook expected Isaias to strengthen over the central Gulf and make landfall Friday night or early Saturday, somewhere from just west of Biloxi to Panama City, with impacts in Alabama from Friday into early Sunday. Orange Beach said tropical-storm-force winds could arrive Friday morning and that its bridges will close once sustained winds reach 45 mph.

Forecasts change with every advisory. Check the hurricane center and the National Weather Service in Mobile for the latest, and follow instructions from city and county officials.