According to CNBC, Hurricane Isaias was forecast to intensify rapidly as it moved toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, with landfall expected late Friday or early Saturday along the northern Gulf Coast. The storm was expected to bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, while heavy rain and flooding risk could extend into the Tennessee Valley. The National Hurricane Center said early Thursday that Isaias had maximum sustained winds of about 80 mph and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph, about 420 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Mandatory evacuations and school closures were ordered in parts of Florida, some Gulf oil wells paused production, and Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties. The storm also temporarily halted about 25% of Gulf oil production, or roughly 511,000 barrels a day, according to the Marine Minerals Administration.