US Alabama Extreme Weather Isaias
Marine flags flap in the wind as ominous clouds loom overhead on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Dauphin Island, Ala.
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A supersized El Niño’s decapitating winds and the Gulf of Mexico’s hot storm-fueling waters are battling for the core and future of land-approaching Hurricane Isaias and the storm’s tilt and eye show who’s winning. After an Atlantic hurricane season when El Niño dominated, smothering any wisp of a storm from strengthening, a window of moderation opened and Isaias became the latest first Atlantic hurricane to form since 1914. But the good news for residents of Alabama and Florida’s panhandle is that El Niño storm-decapitating tilt-inducing winds are forecast to return before landfall Friday night or Saturday morning and weaken Isaias a bit.
