Oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico was disrupted and large parts of the US south-east battened down on Friday ahead of the threat of dangerous storm surge, high winds and heavy rainfall from Hurricane Isaias.
Energy majors including Chevron evacuated offshore platforms and shut operations, as the hurricane strengthened into a category three storm with winds of 120mph on Friday.
Workers have been evacuated from more than 100 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and more than half of all offshore production was paused ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Isaias.
The US Marine Minerals Administration said evacuations had taken effect from 121 of the 371 manned platforms, halting an estimated 15 per cent of all US crude production. Experts expected little immediate impact on already high oil prices, unless the hurricane caused power outages that affected oil refineries.
Isaias made landfall at about 9.30pm Eastern US time near Destin, Florida, with sustained winds of up to 105mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The path of the storm included Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, where governors declared a state of emergency in parts.
Video description
Animation of Hurricane Isaias developing in the Gulf of Mexico
Isaias became the first tropical storm to develop into an Atlantic hurricane this year, marking the latest arrival of the season since 1905.
It is also the first hurricane to hit the eastern US since Milton in 2024, which was the previous hottest year on record as the global temperature rise caused by climate change combined with the naturally occurring effects of the El Niño warming cycle of the Pacific Ocean.
Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.
Typically, hurricane activity reaches a peak in September in the Atlantic region. But the warming phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean alters the atmospheric conditions there to lessen the ability of tropical storms to form into a hurricane.
An increase in vertical wind shear in the Atlantic, blowing at varying speeds and high altitudes, makes it harder for the storms to organise into hurricanes.
Conversely, El Niño increases the hurricane conditions in the Pacific as the warmer waters provide more energy to storms.
The World Meteorological Organization said in its latest update that sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific were forecast to increase to record levels as the El Niño phenomenon builds to year end.
The rise in sea surface temperatures could reach some 3.7C above average, peaking around December. This would be the highest since modern satellite observations.
The US National Weather Service warned on Friday afternoon that flash flooding was likely after Isaias made landfall, estimated to be late Friday or early Saturday morning US time.
It forecast a “life-threatening storm surge” with “devastating winds likely along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coasts”.
After an earlier flight into the eye of the storm by the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft, the NWS had advised that it expected the storm weakening to occur after landfall.
Sustained hurricane-force winds were expected near and along Isaias’s track up to 100 miles inland from the coast into southern Alabama, it advised, adding that “gusts to hurricane force could extend even further north into central Alabama”.
The storm would also will bring areas of heavy rainfall to the central Gulf coast and much of the south-east US through the weekend, the NWS said.
Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore the FT’s coverage here.
Are you curious about the FT’s environmental sustainability commitments? Find out more about our science-based targets here