Torrential Rain, Intense Winds Pummel Gulf Coast as Hurricane Isaias Closes In

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

This is CNN Breaking News.

Anderson Cooper (0:06)

Good evening from the newsroom. We are tracking Hurricane Isaias, the larger than expected, fast moving storm, which has already begun coming ashore along the coastal Florida Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coast. This is what it looks like right now in Gulf Shores, Alabama, near the mouth of Mobile Bay.

Part of the hurricane's intercourse started hitting about an hour ago, and conditions will only worsen from here. So will the damage and destruction, in other words, the National Hurricane Center forecaster just before airtime. The National Weather Service tonight issued a rare extreme wind warning for more than 500,000 people in the western Florida Panhandle. That's the highest level alert of its type. The agency calling this a, quote, extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. In addition, areas in the region could see as much as nine feet of storm surge.

Because of how quickly it is moving, places as far north as Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York even could be hit by heavy rain from the storm as soon as Sunday. You can see right now localities from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Panama City, Florida all in the path of this. In a short time ago, Alabama and Florida officials began telling people to stay at home or stay wherever they are, saying it is simply too late to safely leave. We'll be talking to local residents, officials and first responders on the scene all throughout the region. CNN's Rafael Romo is in Pensacola Beach, Florida for us tonight. In Gulf Shores, Alabama, CNN's Isabel Rosales and in the CNN Weather Center, meteorologist Melissa Nord with a new bulletin from the National Hurricane Center. So we're going to start with CNN's Isabel Rosales. What's the latest where you are?

Isabel Rosales (1:39)

Hey Anderson. Yeah, here in the last couple of hours, the rain has improved.

So it was actually slapping us in the face coming in sideways. That has gotten better, but the wind has not. Right now we're seeing gusts approximately 56 miles per hour. And after speaking to our meteorologists, it's only going to get worse here in the incoming hours before the eye passes over us here in Gulf Shores. So we're looking at 60, 70, up to 80 mile per hour winds here in this part of Alabama. Even worse to the east where Rafael is at in Pensacola Beach, triple digit wind speeds. As I move here to the corner and we zoom in, you can see what the power of these gusts, you can see that canopy moving in the wind. And you can't see it because the sun is down, but over in the gulf that I'm looking at right now, those waves extremely choppy. And the wind direction right now, Anderson, actually pushing that water back. But once the eye goes over us, that wind direction will turn. And we were going to start seeing that storm surge, six feet expected for our area here. And as we come on the air, Anderson, there is a curfew now in place here in Gulf shores and in nearby Orange Beach.

The messaging here from leadership is stay home, get off the roads, it is not safe.

Anderson Cooper (2:59)

Yeah, you spoke to the mayor earlier. What are local officials most concerned about right now?

Isabel Rosales (3:05)

Yeah, and it's, as you're mentioning, that the time of preparation has passed. It is simply too late. They're saying this is the time to hunker down, to weather the storm and also not cause confusion in these roads. They want to keep these roads clear for first responders. And indeed, the mayor was telling me there's going to be a point here where it's not even safe for them with these wind gusts as that continues to get worse. And they're going to have to make that call to pull back the first responders and not answer these emergency calls. But they're going to wait until the very last minute until these roads are impassable or the winds are simply too strong. But for now, they're saying, hey, just please respect the storm, respect your lives, everything else is replaceable.

Anderson Cooper (3:45)

Isabella Rosales, thanks for checking with you throughout the evening. We're trying to establish contact with CNN's Rafael Romo in Pensacola Beach, Florida, which is getting hit especially hard right now. In the meantime, the National Hurricane Center, they are out with a new bulletin. For that, I want to go to the CNN Weather Center, get the latest from meteorologist Melissa Nord. So how close are we to landfall? And can you pinpoint exactly, or have we learned anything new in the bulletin? I guess I should start with.