The first hurricane of the season is forming in the Gulf and taking a bead on Florida

Tropical Storm Isaias is forecast to become a hurricane and plow through the Gulf and into the Florida Panhandle

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

If forecasts hold true, Tropical Storm Isaias will become a hurricane overnight and set its sights on the Florida Panhandle, making landfall near Pensacola early Saturday morning.

Of course, it is still early, so readers in the Panhandle—and even the upper west coast of the state—should stay tuned to local weather forecasters for updates.

There are a couple of handy online sites you may want to save, too. The first is the National Hurricane Center at:

The other is Hurricane Intel, run by hurricane expert Bryan Norcross, at:

Isaias will become the first hurricane of this year’s season, and will set a record for the latest hurricane to form in the weather satellite reconnaissance era, which began in the 1960s.

The current forecast is that it will rapidly grow from a tropical storm to a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall.

As has been widely reported, including here on Tropic Press, a Super El Niño weather system in the Pacific Ocean has created conditions limiting the ability of hurricanes to form in the Atlantic. However, El Niño's impact in the Gulf of Mexico is much smaller, which is why meteorologists have cautioned that if we do have a hurricane this year, it likely could form there.

One other bit of trivia:

Isaias is the Spanish form of the name Isaiah, and in Spanish is traditionally pronounced “ee-sah-EE-ahs” with emphasis on the third syllable.

You may also hear it pronounced “ee-SAY-us” or “eye-SAY-us.”

Here’s the Cone of Uncertainty with the times and dates for when it will become a hurricane and when it will approach land. And, again, this is an early forecast, so stay tuned and stay safe.

Update on the news:

In my morning newsletter today, I related President Donald Trump’s deranged suggestion that Iran should bomb Los Angeles and San Diego, which prompted—understandably—heated reaction from California officials.

That anger continues to grow.

Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom told The Hill newspaper that Trump is “mentally ill” and that it is time the 25th Amendment to the Constitution be invoked.

The 25th Amendment, among other things, outlines the process for declaring a president disabled against their will. The vice president and a majority of the Cabinet (or another body designated by Congress) can send a written declaration to congressional leaders that the president is unable to discharge his duties, making the vice president the acting president. If the president disputes this, Congress must decide the issue, requiring a two-thirds vote in both houses to sustain the vice president's role.

Sen. Alex Padilla echoed Newsom on social media: “Three words. 25th AMENDMENT NOW.”

Newsom has also directed the California State Threat Assessment Center to actively monitor the situation in case foreign actors interpret Trump’s remarks as an invitation or cue to target California, and he also criticized the Iran war:

“Send Trump to Iran and bring our soldiers home! His war, his mess!”

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J.C. Bruce