Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave a few remarks in the hours leading up to the landfall of Hurricane Isaias in either Santa Rosa or Okaloosa County in the next few hours.

Isaias remains a Category 3 storm and is predicted to make landfall by 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. Gov. DeSantis urged residents to remain safe even after the storm has passed.

“You are going to see, incidentally, down trees, you’re going to see down power lines. If the power lines are down in areas with standing water, that’s doubling something you do not want to mess with,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee.

Residents are advised to keep at least 72 hours of water, nonperishable food, and fuel to run generators, along with gasoline, food, and water across the region.

More than 16,000 linemen and restoration workers are staged to restore power. Due to outages being in a smaller area, compared to Hurricane Ian, DeSantis said it might be the largeset per-capita restoration effort in state history.

The Florida Department of Transportation has more than 1,100 workers, 260 pieces of equipment, and more than 100 water pumps ready to respond to the storm.

“For the next 24 to 36 hours, you’re going to see some nasty weather one way or another if you’re in this part of the state,” DeSantis said.

Uutilize floridadisaster.org to find a shelter if neccessary. The Florida National Guard is mobilizing 5,000 members, with vehicles ready to assist recovery efforts.

The National Hurricane Center has issued an update on Hurricane Isaias.

Isaias continues to move North/Northeast near 16 mph, with northward motion Saturday. Data from the NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that maximum sustained winds still remain near 120 mph.

Iasais is expected to be at or near major hurricane strength when it makes landfall later tonight, with expectations to become post-tropical by late Saturday.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 mph from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles.

A tornado risk will begin this afternoon and continue through the night into Saturday for coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Hurricane Isaias has the possibility of remaining a Cat 3 hurricane at landfall. There has only been a change of sub-10mph.

Storm surge is still seven to nine feet; rain is six to eight inches in the Western portion of the county and four to six inches on the east side of the county. Exact impact location could alter these numbers.

Tropical Storm Force winds are just offshore and will arrive by 2 p.m. Strong winds will arrive by 7 p.m. and hurricane-force winds by 9 p.m. The tropical wid field appears to clear the area by 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.

Reminder: Bridges close at 40MPH sustained winds- this is a DOT decision and executed by FHP.

The center of MAJOR Hurricane Isaias is expected to reach the northwest Florida coast tonight

• Impacts are expected for a large portion of south Alabama and northwest Florida.
• Significant impacts are likely:
• Hurricane-force winds – near the center, along with an expansive tropical storm force wind field
• Life-threatening storm surge – areas along and east of where the center makes landfall
• Dangerous beach conditions Life-threatening flash flooding – especially over coastal counties
• Tornadoes – areas east of the center