Isaias strengthens into a hurricane as it continues moving toward Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast is on high alert as Isaias strengthened into a hurricane late Wednesday as it continued moving north and is expected to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle Friday night.

The National Hurricane Center confirmed late Wednesday night that Isaias had strengthened into a Category 1 storm.

That makes it the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, the latest first hurricane on record.

As of Thursday afternoon, winds are up to 85 mph, the storm is moving at about 10 mph and it is approximately 350 miles south of the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect for parts of the northern Gulf Coast.

A previously issued hurricane watch was upgraded to a hurricane warning from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay-Gulf County Line in Florida.

Florida issued a state of emergency order Tuesday evening for 25 counties and on Wednesday, Alabama issued one for 40 counties.

Evacuation orders have been issued for several Florida counties in coastal and low-lying areas. Evacuation centers have been set up, officials said.

"If you are in those evacuation zones, heed the call," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference Thursday afternoon. "There's options, there's shelters, you have family, friends, however you want to do it. Let the storm pass and then go on and get everything situated again."

DeSantis said he mobilized the Florida National Guard and other emergency teams such as the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Highway Patrol to stockpile supplies, restore power in the event of outages and facilitate evacuations.

"This will allow us to take any needed steps ahead of landfall. As we approach the weekend and any travel plans, make sure you have reliable information as conditions develop," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

The latest forecast shows the storm shifting a bit more east, with a landfall closer to Pensacola late Friday night.

The storm is expected to make landfall likely as a Category 1 hurricane.

Rain from Isaias may reach the New Orleans to Pensacola region along the Gulf Coast on Friday morning, bringing potentially tropical storm-force winds.