Tropical Storm Isaías officially became the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season on the night of Wednesday, October 7, after reaching maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center of the United States (NHC) confirmed its transformation into a Category 1 hurricane at 10:30 p.m. Central Time (11:30 p.m. in Miami and Cuba), after receiving new data from a hurricane hunter aircraft from the Air Force Reserve.
The instruments launched from the aircraft detected hurricane-force winds and a minimum central pressure of 982 millibars, confirming that Isaías had finally surpassed the threshold of 119 km/h that distinguishes hurricanes from tropical storms.
The news marks an extraordinary event in the Atlantic: never before, during the era of modern satellite observations, has a season progressed so far without recording its first hurricane.
Latest bulletin: Isaías continues to strengthen
In its Intermediate Advisory 6A, issued at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 8, the NHC reported that Isaías was maintaining maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h, while its central pressure had dropped to 981 millibars.
The center of the hurricane was located near 23.1 degrees north latitude and 91.7 degrees west longitude, approximately 285 kilometers northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 715 kilometers south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Isaías was moving east-northeast at about 15 kilometers per hour and, according to the official forecast, it will continue to intensify during this Thursday and the early hours of Friday.
The NHC forecasts that the cyclone will approach the northern U.S. Gulf Coast as a strong hurricane. Its intensity projection indicates that it could reach category 2 before making landfall, although the final strength will depend on the atmospheric conditions it encounters along its path.
Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi under hurricane threat
The strengthening of Isaías coincides with a significant escalation of weather alerts for the northern coast of the Gulf of the United States.
In the Public Advisory number 6 from the NHC, issued at 10:00 PM on Wednesday, authorities upgraded the active watch to a hurricane warning from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the boundary between Bay and Gulf counties in Florida.
A hurricane swell advisory also came into effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Steinhatchee River on Florida's western coast.
Tropical storm warnings extend to other coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida.
Unlike a watch, which indicates that dangerous conditions are possible, a hurricane warning means that winds of that intensity are expected at some point within the designated area. For this reason, the NHC recommends completing protective preparations as soon as possible.
The main threats include winds capable of causing structural damage, power supply disruptions, coastal flooding due to storm surge, and heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding.
According to the projected path, Isaías could make landfall between Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, with particular attention to the area stretching between the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and the northwest of Florida.
The rainfall associated with the hurricane could also extend to other states in the southeastern United States over the weekend.
A historic season: the first hurricane arrives in October
The formation of Isaías is particularly significant due to the extraordinary delay in hurricane activity during 2026.
The system is the ninth named storm of the season, but the previous eight did not reach hurricane status.
According to historical records quoted by the Associated Press, the first hurricane of the 1905 Atlantic season formed on October 8, a date that Isaías has come remarkably close to, 121 years later.
The 2026 season had already set the record for the longest time elapsed without a hurricane since the beginning of the modern satellite era.
Meteorologists have linked this exceptionally reduced activity to the influence of an intense El Niño phenomenon, which creates less favorable atmospheric conditions for hurricane development in the Atlantic.
However, the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and favorable local conditions have allowed Isaías to undergo a rapid intensification process.
Does Isaías pose a threat to Cuba?
The trajectory projected by the NHC does not include a direct impact of the hurricane on Cuba, as the system is moving through the Gulf of Mexico toward the U.S. coast.
This forecast aligns with what was previously explained by the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba and with the analysis of Cuban meteorologist José Rubiera, who warned about the rapid intensification of Isaías and its threat to the northern Gulf.
CiberCuba had reported on Wednesday that Isaiah could become the first hurricane of 2026, as well as the activation of hurricane and storm surge watches for Florida and other areas along the Gulf coast.
With its transformation into a hurricane and the raising of alerts to warnings, the risk scenario for the northwest of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi is now entering a crucial phase.
The NHC will continue to update its forecast over the coming hours, while residents in the threatened areas should follow the instructions of local authorities.
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