Isaias Hits Florida Panhandle as Reports Differ on Strength

Hurricane Isaias struck Florida’s western Panhandle on Friday night, causing widespread but noncatastrophic damage, according to reporting published Saturday. The storm had approached the northern Gulf Coast amid warnings of dangerous storm surge, damaging winds, flooding and tornadoes. The supplied reports do not establish its final landfall strength or the full extent of its impacts. Before landfall, forecasters warned that Isaias could bring life-threatening conditions to parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Emergency declarations were issued in all three states, and residents prepared for the storm. The National Hurricane Center said Friday morning it was no longer confident that upper-level wind shear would arrive in time to weaken the hurricane before it reached land. Reports differed on Isaias’s category as it neared the coast. One account described it as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds above 111 mph, while another identified it as Category 2 close to landfall. The supplied information does not resolve the difference.