Hurricane Isaias is expected to strengthen as it barrels toward the northern Gulf coast

Gulf Coast on Thursday as the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, prompting mandatory evacuations, school closures and local government shutdowns in parts of Florida.Isaias was forecast to intensify rapidly and bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain with the risk of flooding was possible into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.The hurricane had maximum sustained winds around 85 mph (140 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 10 mph (17 kph) late Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was centered about 380 miles (610 kilometers) south of the mouth of the Mississippi River.Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare.

Some Gulf oil wells paused production, and at least four Florida school districts canceled classes for later in the week. Okaloosa County announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas, and communities closed government offices as of Thursday afternoon. The governors of Florida and Alabama, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties.Dauphin Island, a 15-mile-long barrier island off the Alabama coast, encouraged some people to voluntarily evacuate.“That area is traditionally very vulnerable to storm surge — salt water flooding — and that is also where most of the visitors are," Mayor Jeff Collier said Thursday of the western part of the island.He said he didn't anticipate substantial damage, “but at the same time, these things are very fickle and a little jog here or there or some last-minute increase in strength, we just have to be prepared for the worst.”Water from the storm surge and high tide could reach heights of 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) in parts of Alabama and Mississippi, the hurricane center said.

Isaias also could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain along parts of the Gulf Coast and spawn tornadoes overnight Friday into Saturday from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia. The hurricane itself is expected to quickly weaken after making landfall.The National Weather Service told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of “long-duration power outages.”The hurricane forme…