Tropical Storm Isaias Set to Be First Atlantic Hurricane of 2026 Season
Tropical Storm Isaias is intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season. The storm is forecast to bring significant rainfall and storm surges to the U.S. Gulf Coast before weakening.
Why it matters
This storm highlights the unusual nature of the 2026 hurricane season, which has been suppressed by a strong El Niño event.
El Niño has turned the Atlantic basin into a graveyard by changing winds high in the atmosphere so that they rip apart storms. That’s helped depress tropical cyclone activity to near-record-low levels and resulted in zero hurricanes. That could change imminently, though.
Isaias is churning in the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 65 mph, according to the latest update from the US National Hurricane Center. That’s just a shade below hurricane strength. The storm is forecast to pass over a patch of abnormally warm water, providing fuel for it to blossom into a hurricane. It could peak as a Category 2 storm with winds of 110 mph as it lumbers to the northeast. The storm is expected to weaken due to those aforementioned gnarly winds shortly before it makes landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast.
Also covering this story
4 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Tropical Storm Isaias forecast to make landfall as hurricane Friday
Tropical threat brewing in Gulf could impact U.S. as a hurricane this weekend. See maps, possible path.
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Forecasters fear a hurricane is brewing in the Gulf
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