Hurricane Isaias is likely to bring a "life-threatening storm surge" to the US Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center warns
Exactly when and where the category 3 storm will make landfall is not clear but people on the coast of the Florida panhandle have been told to seek immediate shelter under an "Extreme Wind Warning"
Thousands are without power in the country's southeast - and Alabama, Florida and Georgia have issued states of emergency as they brace for heavy rains and flooding
"Get out NOW!" warn some Florida officials, urging residents to follow evacuation orders as the state feels the storm's initial impacts
One Florida resident tells the BBC that "everyone's gone", but he's remaining in his home, securing his ducks and chickens in the bathroom
US President Donald Trump is no longer attending a major American football college game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama because of the hurricane
Darkness has fallen now as the hurricane eye nears the Gulf Coast but all day waves have pounded the beaches of the the Florida panhandle and coastal Alabama.
Watch: Powerful waves crash ashore as Hurricane Isaias approaches US
Scott Dexter has lived in Navarre Beach in Florida for five years, but this hurricane will be his first.
"We started prepping stuff a few days ago," he says. "We moved everything up high, we have a generator to power the house, plenty of gas, food, snacks.
"Now we just have to see what happens with the storm."
Dexter says he believes the majority of people in Navarre Beach have left, adding he believes his household are the only ones remaining on the subdivision where they live.
He says the reason he's staying behind is to help out with the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center. "We've been designated as part of the ride-out team," he says.
We'll bring you more about the conservation centre a little later.
Image source, SuppliedScott Dexter is part of the "ride-out team" at the conservation centre
The National Weather Service has issued an "Extreme Wind Warning" for the Florida Panhandle as the region prepares for Hurricane Isaias's landfall.
"Treat this as you would a tornado warning and get into your safe place immediately!" the agency says in its latest alert.
"This is for the potential of sustained winds to 115mph and could cause severe damage to structures, trees, [and] power [lines]."
As a reminder, landfall is expect in the coming hours.
Katie Williams
Live reporter
Image source, Brandin RuthBrandin Ruth's team has been handing out hot food to emergency services
Pensacola resident Brandin Ruth works for the restaurant chain Shrimp Basket.
His team spent yesterday handing out hot shrimp to emergency service workers as they prepared for the storm. He says they seemed "pleasantly surprised".
Restaurants in the area are closed for the day having "sealed up" their stores last night, he tells me.
He says they have been turning the gas off to the buildings, icing down product and trying to get team members home.
People in the Florida city have "seen bad storms before" but are "bunkering up", he says, adding: "You don't want to underestimate a storm like this".
I asked him what conditions are like right now. There is "some wind gust" and a "very consistent layer of rain" which seems like it's going to gradually increase, he says.
But he thinks the city is in "good shape", with an "overwhelming force" of emergency services and "huge fleets" of power trucks in the area.
The number of customers without power in the area impacted by Hurricane Isaias has jumped since we last gave you an update.
As of 18:30 ET (23:30 BST), 68,487 outages have been reported in Alabama, and a further 93,801 customers are without electricity in Florida, according to PowerOutage.com.
Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Live reporter
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has just given its last video update for the day ahead of landfall later this evening.
Here are the key points from the advisory made NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome:
Stay with us for more.
While Isaias rushes towards the Gulf Coast, two other storms are churning across the North American continent.
Tropical storm Rachel will hit the West Coast later this weekend, around the US-Mexico border, and is already causing coastal flooding when combined with high tides in southern California. Landfall is expected late on Saturday and heavy rain will move inland from there, according to the National Weather Service.
Further south, Hurricane Simon is spinning toward Mexico's Pacific coast. Simon, currently a category one hurricane, is set to pick up speed and become category four by Saturday, eventually making landfall near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Image source, ReutersHurricane Simon is expected to hit the Mexican resort city of Puerta Vallarta this weekend
Image source, AFPRob Amason has been collecting supplies such as food, water and gas
Residents of Pensacola, Florida, have been making sure they are well prepared ahead of Isaias' landfall.
"I think we're going be okay," Rob Amason tells AFP, as he describes collecting supplies like water, gas, propane and food. He says he also "boarded up the house pretty good".
Contractor Daniel Rivera has also been boarding up buildings ahead of the storm.
"A lot of times there's a lot of debris flying in from other houses or businesses and it will break the glass," he says.
"As soon as the glass gets broken, there's going to be a lot of content and damage inside the unit."
Image source, AFPDaniel Rivera has been boarding up windows ahead of the storm
Even before Hurricane Isaias makes landfall thousands of properties on the Gulf Coast are experiencing power outages.
The biggest impact so far is in Alabama where nearly 16,000 customers have lost power, according to PowerOutage.us.
In Florida 14,600 customers are affected, while 9,000 are experiencing outages in Louisiana, and 2,100 are affected in Mississippi.
As a reminder, the storm is not expected to make landfall until later this evening.
Image source, Getty ImagesOrange Beach residents pictured filling sandbags on Thursday in preparation for the storm's approach
Orange Beach, Alabama, will have a curfew in place from 19:00 CT today (01:00 BST, 00:00 GMT) until 07:00 tomorrow, according to a video update from Mayor Tony Kennon.
"Don't let your guard down," he warns people in the area, saying the storm could "still make a turn".
"Please stay indoors and stay off the roads."
Kennon says crews will be out "clearing anything that's blocked".
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has urged people in the state to "take care of your loved ones" and "check on your neighbors".
"Prepare, don’t panic," he says, while encouraging people to sign up for local emergency alerts, prepare emergency kits in case of power cuts, and to avoid driving on flooded roads.
The governor's office says the hurricane is not expected to make landfall in North Carolina, though warns there is "risk of localized flooding and gusty winds this weekend".
Jack Grey
Live reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesPeople on the beach in Navarre, Florida, as Isaias approaches
John Guoth, a resident of Navarre, Florida, where Hurricane Isaias is forecast to make landfall, says he and his wife will remain in their home despite the rest of his street having already left.
"It's a hurricane, we get them all the time... we kind of knew that when we moved here," he tells the BBC.
"Pretty much everything that can fly and will fly is battened down, and everything that cannot fly is really, really secured," he says, adding: "That's my home. I'm going to protect it."
Guoth says he's put his ducks and chickens in the bathroom and weighed down his boats and trailers so "nothing flips over".
However, he tells me this is not the approach most of his street is taking: "There's nobody here. Everyone's gone."
He says there are "a couple of households" remaining in the area, adding "we're long-term locals, so we're going to stay here, and we're going to protect our homes".
"We're just loving life, all you can do, we're going to cook until there's no power, and then we're going wait until there is power," he adds.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has told residents in an update that the impact of the storm may still be felt far from where the hurricane makes its landing, through flooding and spin-off tornadoes.
“This is going to be a panhandle-wide event,” he said.
Earlier he said Isaias will make landfall around 23:00 local time, and has shifted eastwards. Authorities expect it to first hit Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
"It's going to be nasty throughout the early morning hours of Saturday," he said.
He added more than 1,400 generators, and food and water would be made available, while gasoline would be strategically placed across the region.
The time for leaving is "rapidly closing", DeSantis said.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale ranks the severity of the weather event. But there's another way familiar to communities in the south: The Waffle House Index.
The restaurant chain has 1,600 restaurants spread across locations mid-Atlantic to Florida and across the Gulf Coast, which it says leaves "it particularly vulnerable to hurricanes".
Craig Fugate, former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Authority, thought up the unofficial indicator in 2004, Associated Press reports.
“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?” Fugate has said. “That’s really bad."
Image source, Getty ImagesHere's how the company, which has embraced the index, describes it: "Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions."
A Waffle House spokesperson confirmed to the BBC this afternoon the chain had already closed a number of locations in the hurricane's path and "will continue monitoring conditions".
"Associate and Customer safety is our highest priority. We plan to open to serve these communities as soon as the storm passes and safe conditions permit," the spokesperson said.
Image source, Waffle HouseA view of the index, provided by Waffle House, as of 14:45 EST (19:45 BST). Red dots indicate closed restaurants
Residents and business owners in Pensacola, Florida, are doing what they can to prepare for the oncoming storm, while others are taking advantage of the weather being whipped up.
Mandatory evacuation orders are now in place across parts of the state, including Escambia County where Pensacola is located.
Image source, Getty ImagesA worker places sandbags in front of a business in Pensacola
Image source, ReutersAnother man fills up a container with gas
Image source, ReutersSurfers ride waves at Pensacola Beach, where an evacuation order is now in place
Trump has now shared his alternative plans in a statement on social media.
He writes: "Based on the fact that a huge Hurricane/Storm is coming, it is important to have our wonderful First Responders, Law Enforcement, and others, focused on that Storm, and in no way be thinking about the safety, or presence, of the President of the United States, ME!"
Instead of the football game in Alabama, the president says he will attend a rally in Tennessee alongside the state's senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.
Regarding the match he's missing, Trump adds: "hopefully, the Game will go on despite the weather!"
Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Live reporter
US President Donald Trump will not attend the highly-anticipated American football match between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama.
The White House press office tells the BBC it "can confirm he is no longer attending".
The match on Saturday is due to be played in Tuscaloosa, Alabama - which is under a state of emergency declared by Governor Kay Ivey.
Several major sporting events in the US Gulf Coast region this weekend have already been cancelled or rescheduled.
Previously, Trump told reporters “if there’s a hurricane, I don’t want to do anything” to take the focus of first responders and law enforcement away from the storm. “We’ll have to see,” he said on Wednesday.
Image source, Getty ImagesRebecka Pieder
US reporter
Discussions have been had online about how the storm's name should be pronounced.
At one point, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the name "weird" - "I don't know how to pronounce this," he said at a recent press conference. "I'm calling it Isaiah."
Isaias is the Spanish version of the biblical name Isaiah, pronounced "ee-sah-ee-ahs".
It's on an alphabetical list of hurricane names that are recycled every six years by the World Meteorological Organisation.
For Atlantic hurricanes, representatives from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean propose and approve names, which have to be usable across languages spoken in those regions.
Image source, Getty ImagesFlorida Senator Ashley Moody says "Florida is ready to respond, no matter what [Hurricane Isaias] brings our way".
Her social media post on X also shares a video from another account, which shows a large number of trucks assembled - they appear to be preparing for possible repairs to power lines.
"This is what storm preparation looks like!" Moody says in reference to the video.
Evacuation orders are in place in parts of the state as communities brace for the storm's arrival.
In a previous post a few hours earlier, Moody warned that the window to seek shelter was "nearly over".
The outer bands of Hurricane Isaias are already impacting the Panhandle and north Florida, the state's Division of Emergency Management says.
In its latest update, it adds that conditions are "expected to deteriorate as the storm approaches landfall" and warns of potential flooding.
People are advised to not drive or walk through floodwaters; monitor weather alerts and local official guidance; and take photos of damage and flooding high-water marks.
