News ·News
Hurricane Isaias hits Florida's Gulf Coast: why this season was so quiet, and how El Niño and warm seas shaped the storm
Isaias, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026, made landfall near Destin, Florida, late on 9 October as a Category 2 storm before weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. Hundreds of thousands lost power across Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Scientists explain why a strong El Niño kept the season quiet and how record-warm Gulf waters helped Isaias intensify.