Alabama weather: What can Alabama expect?

Key Points:

• Hurricane Isaias, a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds, is expected to make landfall late tonight on the western Florida Panhandle and bring significant impacts to Alabama, including 4-6 feet of storm surge, heavy rain, damaging winds, and tornadoes.
• Tropical-storm-force winds could reach the Alabama coast by mid-afternoon, with hurricane-force winds possibly extending up to 100 miles inland, especially concerning Mobile and Baldwin counties due to an unusual wind setup on the storm's western side.
• Multiple warnings are in effect across Alabama, including hurricane warnings for several coastal and interior counties, storm surge warnings for Mobile and Baldwin counties, tornado watches until 8 p.m. for parts of southeast Alabama, and high wind warnings for northern counties.
• Flooding poses a major risk with 4-8 inches of rain forecasted in southwest Alabama and 1.5-5 inches in central and north Alabama, prompting flood watches statewide; isolated tornadoes are also possible, particularly in southern and eastern regions.
• The storm's rapid movement increases the potential for winds to penetrate farther inland, with damaging gusts expected through Saturday, causing widespread power outages, downed trees, and flash flooding across Alabama.