Isaias strengthens into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on track toward the US Gulf Coast

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Isaias has strengthened into a powerful Category 3 hurricane as it surges toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center says Isaias’ maximum sustained winds have increased to 120 mph, which classifies it as a major hurricane. The first hurricane of the Atlantic season is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday. It threatens to bring strong winds, heavy rains and potentially life-threatening storm surges to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi. Heavy rain and flooding are possible into the weekend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.