Tropical Storm Isaias forms, forecast to become a hurricane and hit the U.S. Gulf Coast this week

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Depression Nine forming over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into a hurricane and hit the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week.

Isaias was located about 285 miles (460 kilometres) west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 580 miles (935 kilometres) southwest of the Mississippi River’s mouth with maximum sustained winds of 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and moving east-northeast at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h), according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

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It was not immediately known where the storm may make landfall on the Gulf Coast. The hurricane centre’s initial projections said the centre of Isaias could come onshore somewhere between eastern Louisiana and the western Florida Panhandle.