Isaias is now a Category 1 hurricane and expected to near the Bahamas today and Florida this weekend. It's then predicted to track up the East Coast and as far north as New England early next week.
The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. advisory has the storm approximately 400 miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas.
At 500 AM EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Isaias was located
near latitude 20.9 North, longitude 73.3 West. Isaias is moving
toward the northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and a generally
northwestward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected
for the next couple of days followed by turn toward the
north-northwest. On the forecast track, the center of Isaias will
move near or over the Southeastern Bahamas today. Isaias is
forecast to be near the Central Bahamas tonight and move near
or over the Northwestern Bahamas and near or east of the Florida
peninsula on Saturday and Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph (130 km/h) with higher
gusts. Some strengthening is possible today, and Isaias is
expected to remain a hurricane for the next few days.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the
center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles
(335 km).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 990 mb (29.24 inches).
Lake Okeechobee and the southeastern coast of Florida, from Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet are under a tropical storm watch. This includes Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Tropical storm conditions, such as heavy rains and isolated flooding, are possible over the weekend.
Photo credit: NOAA