Hurricane Isaias kills two as it weakens over Florida panhandle

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida late Friday as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, killing two people and knocking out power to more than 868,000 customers across three states before weakening to a post-tropical cyclone.

Why it matters: The Category 2 landfall makes it a busy storm week for both U.S. coasts, and nearly a million customers without power keeps regional restoration and fuel logistics under pressure through the weekend.

Data as of October 10, 2026: the Guardian article (opened via browser, full details: Destin landfall, 105 mph, death locations, 868,000+ outages per PowerOutage.us, NHC rainfall forecast, governors' statements, latest-forming record); Politico and ANSA (in Italian) corroborate the Category 2 landfall and outages.

Hurricane Isaias struck near Destin, Florida late Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, leaving two people dead after trees fell on homes in Escambia County, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama. More than 868,000 customers were without power across Florida, Alabama and Georgia on Saturday morning, per PowerOutage.us, before the storm weakened to a post-tropical cyclone. The National Hurricane Center warns of flash, urban and river flooding, with 4 to 8 inches of rain expected across southern Alabama, Florida’s panhandle and Big Bend, southwest Georgia, and up to 15 inches in localized areas. Alabama’s governor warned of possible spinoff tornadoes; Florida’s governor said power crews were assessing damage.

Isaias made landfall the same week Hurricane Simon strengthened to Category 4 off Mexico’s Pacific coast, keeping both U.S. coasts under storm watch and regional power and fuel logistics under pressure. It is one of the latest-forming Atlantic hurricanes on record, tying the mark of October 8, 1905; all eight earlier 2026 named storms stayed at tropical-storm strength or below.

Hurricane Isaias kills two as it weakens over Florida panhandle

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