Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday over the warm waters off eastern Mexico, and forecasters said it could intensify into the Atlantic season’s first hurricane before reaching the US Gulf Coast later in the week.
The storm was positioned about 285 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and roughly 580 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was traveling east-northeast at 8 mph.
Forecasters had not yet determined exactly where the storm could make landfall along the Gulf Coast.
The hurricane center’s initial forecast track indicated that Isaias could come ashore somewhere between eastern Louisiana and the western Florida Panhandle.
Residents across those areas were urged to prepare for possible impacts from the storm.
“There is an increasing risk of dangerous wind and storm surge impacts along portions of the northern Gulf Coast,” the hurricane center said. “Residents from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle should closely monitor the latest forecast updates and ensure they have their hurricane plan in place.”
Forecasters said Isaias could also bring periods of heavy rain to parts of the Gulf Coast and much of the US Southeast from Friday through the weekend.
The storm developed during an Atlantic hurricane season that had been unusually quiet, in part because a strong El Niño was disrupting storm formation over the ocean.
Meanwhile, tropical storm activity in the Pacific had remained above average.
