Storm chaser hurricane Isaias lost its tropical characteristics by 8:30am on Oct. 10, but its wind field kept pushing inland through Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley. The National Hurricane Center said the system had become a post-tropical cyclone while strong gusts, rainbands, and scattered outages continued.
By 4 AM CDT, the center was about 25 miles south-southwest of Montgomery and moving north at 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph, yet gusts near 70 mph had already been observed south of Ellijay.
National Hurricane Center Oct. 10
The National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on Isaias at 4 AM CDT and discontinued all tropical storm and storm surge warnings. That change ended the tropical classification, but it did not end the wind threat for people inland.
At 2:30am, the system had moved inland from the western Florida Panhandle and weakened to a tropical storm. Six hours later, it had lost its tropical characteristics and was moving north through Alabama, still organized enough to push damaging gusts across a wide area.
Tennessee Valley wind threat
Strong wind gusts remained the primary concern across the Tennessee Valley on Oct. 10. Gusts of 40 mph or more were possible across much of the region, while gusts of 60 mph or higher were possible in the Tennessee mountains and foothills and southwest North Carolina.
Lookout and Signal Mountains were also at risk for stronger gusts, and rainbands were expected to keep moving through. Locally heavy rainfall could still trigger isolated flooding across the southern plateau, southeast Tennessee and southwest North Carolina.
Power outages had already been reported across northeast Alabama, north Georgia, and northwest North Carolina by 8:30am. That left residents dealing with a storm that had been downgraded on paper but still had enough force to bring down lines, damage trees, and keep travel conditions changing through the day.
Tennessee and Ohio valleys
The system was expected to track north and then northeast through the Tennessee and Ohio valleys over the weekend. For readers in the affected corridor, the practical step was to keep a close watch on local wind and rain conditions through the remainder of Oct. 10, especially where higher terrain could squeeze out stronger gusts.
How many outages and injuries or damage reports resulted from the inland wind field was not answered in the source. What was clear by late morning was simpler: Isaias had weakened, but its broad reach still left parts of Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina dealing with wind, rain and outages.
