Hurricane Isaias -- the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season -- will make landfall on Oct. 9, forecasters say.
The storm is tracking toward the Gulf Coast. While North Carolina is out of the storm’s direct path, Wilmington-area residents will still feel the effects of Isaias this coming weekend, including heavy rain.
The storm shares a name with another that some Wilmington-area residents may remember.
In August 2020, Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Ocean Isle Beach, devastating the coast and producing several tornadoes. Two men in Wilmington were killed when struck by lightning associated with the storm.
The World Meteorological Organization chose not to retire the name. Typically, a name is retired if it is determined that the associated
storm caused so much distress that it would be insensitive to reuse the name.
Will Hurricane Isaias impact Wilmington?
The greatest areas of concern for this storm are along the Gulf Coast, but the Wilmington area won’t be without impacts.
The heaviest rain will come over the weekend. The National Weather Service in Wilmington is forecasting as much as 2 inches of new rainfall on Saturday evening alone and between 4-6 inches total between Saturday and Sunday.
Minor tidal flooding is expected over the weekend during high tides and could cause flooded roads, the weather service said. Reminiscent of the 2020 Hurricane Isaias, there will also be a chance of isolated tornadoes on Saturday.
Finally, there will be a high risk of “life-threatening surf conditions,” including dangerous waves and rip currents, over the weekend.
The 2020 Hurricane Isaias
Some residents may remember the destruction caused by the last Hurricane Isaias when it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane six years ago in 2020.
The storm caused tens of millions in damage across coastal Brunswick County and left over 350,000 people in southeastern North Carolina without power during peak outages.
According to the National Hurricane Center, 17 people died in connection to Isaias, including the two Wilmington men who were struck by lightning. Despite the deaths and widespread damage, the name was not retired.
Atlantic hurricane names are reused every six years unless one is retired. Some of the storm names that have recently been retired include Florence, Ian and Helene.
Charlie Kingree is the Pender County and trending topics reporter for the StarNews. He can be reached at ckingree@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hurricane Isaias expected to impact Wilmington. Here's the latest.
