Alabama officials urge residents to prepare as Hurricane Isaias nears

Montgomery officials and members of Alabama’s congressional delegation urged residents Thursday to be prepared for Hurricane Isaias, expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and the threat of tornadoes.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for the west end of Dauphin Island in Mobile County. Gov. Kay Ivey Thursday ordered all visitors south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway – on Dauphin Island in Mobile County and Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Baldwin County – to evacuate immediately.

“We often hear in emergency management: Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst,” Ivey said in a message. “That is the approach we need with this particular storm system.”

Voluntary evacuations were set for Baldwin County residents who live in flood prone or low-lying areas.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, pleaded with residents during a news conference to not only gather supplies and fully charge their cell phones before the arrival of the storm but to also closely monitor city and county notices.

“There are lots of ways to receive emergency warnings,” Reed said. “Every household needs more than one way to receive weather warnings. That is very, very important.”

He directed people to enable weather alerts on their cell phones and to continuously watch the television and radio for any updates on the severe weather.

Both Reed and Figures also recommended people limit their driving, to check on older adults who need assistance receiving emergency notifications, and to have an emergency plan that is understood by members of the household.

Emergency management officials said at the news conference that they have been monitoring the developing severe weather since Monday. As of Thursday morning, Isaias was classified as a Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham. It is situated just off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and was characterized as a fast-moving system headed northeast.

“The latest forecast calls for it to continue to be a hurricane as it approaches the Alabama and west Florida portions of the central Gulf Coast Friday, probably making landfall Friday night and into the day Saturday,” said Jason Holmes, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

Isaias is expected to be downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm when it reaches central Alabama. The storm is expected to travel west of Selma with tropical storm-force winds that will be more than 39 mph. Later Saturday, the weather system will be in northwest Alabama, the Florence and Muscle Shoals area, before it moves on to Tennessee Saturday evening and into Sunday.

“It is typical with tropical systems making landfall, there is a tornado risk generally on the east side of the tropical system,” Holmes said. “With this track into the western portion of the state, it is going to put much of the central and eastern portion of the state at risk for tornado activity in those bands.”

Montgomery Emergency Management Agency Director Wade Lyles said the city is opening a tornado shelter at 360 Williams Drive, but it is unclear when it will open.

Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties in south and central Alabama. She announced Thursday that state offices in Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Mobile counties will close at noon on Friday.

Figures said at the news conference that his office has prewritten a declaration disaster request in case it is needed once a survey of the storm damage is complete.

“First and foremost, we want everyone to remain safe,” Figures said. “This is not meant to serve as any sort of overexaggeration of what is about to come. What is coming is a Category 2 hurricane. With it will come wind, will come rain, the potential for flooding and for tornadoes as well.”

The University of Alabama said in a statement Thursday afternoon that Saturday evening’s football game against Georgia was still scheduled, but will only allow uncovered tailgating after noon on Saturday and moved ESPN’s “College Game Day” by ESPN into Coleman Coliseum. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the game.