Hurricane Isaias lashes the US Gulf Coast with wind and rain hours before it comes ashore

The Category 3 storm has grown into a major hurricane — the first of an unusually quiet Atlantic season — and is expected to make landfall Friday night.

Forecasters warned of a significant storm surge, damaging winds, flooding and possibly even tornadoes before the storm loses steam as it moves inland and delivers strong winds and rain well north into Atlanta.

Isaias is expected to come ashore between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and the city of Destin in the Florida Panhandle — a low-lying coastal stretch known for powdery white sand beaches dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars and seafood shacks.