Image source, Getty Images

Hurricane Isaias made landfall at approximately 21:40 local time having already brought rain and powerful winds across the US Gulf Coast.

The storm peaked as category 3 but has dropped to a strong category 2 as the eye of the hurricane approached the Sunshine State's western panhandle.

Across the region, power cuts are spreading, with more than 530,000 customers in Florida and Alabama without electricity.

As night has fallen, and with power out to much of the area, the full impact of the storm won't be known until sunrise.

In addition to the predicted storm surge, people who have not evacuated have been told to seek immediate shelter from an "extreme wind warning" and further flash flooding has been reported due to the intense rainfall.

We are pausing our live coverage but will be back with any major news as it happens. You can read more about the day's developments here.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that Hurricane Isaias has made landfall near Destin, Florida as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105mph.

The agency warns that dangerous conditions continue and advises: "Remain sheltered and stay off the roads. The threat is NOT over just because landfall has occurred!"

The number of customers who have lost electricity continues to climb, reaching 530,000 across the region, predominantly in Florida and southern Alabama.

Power cuts have also been reported in Georgia and Louisiana according to Poweroutage.us.

The Florida Panhandle and the rest of the US Gulf Coast are experiencing strong winds and heavy rain as Hurricane Isaias barrels down. There is also the potential for accompanying tornadoes, Melissa Watson, a Florida-based meteorologist at the National Weather Service told the BBC. For those who have not evacuated, "the main thing will be having multiple ways to receive warnings" about tornadoes and storm surges, Watson said. "If you are near the coast, being able to move to higher ground," is also essential in the event of storm surges. "We want people to be safe, so don't go out there trying to look for damage ... to post on social media," she adds. "We want people to remain inside and safe while the hurricane is moving through."

It's not just people clearing out ahead of the storm's approach.

Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center in Florida that we mentioned earlier has been busy moving its residents to safety in recent days.

Alex Fox, a marine biologist and animal care team manager, says it was "all hands on deck" securing the complex and moving the animals to temporary housing inland, while the main resident, Sweet Pea the sea turtle, was taken to SeaWorld in Orlando.

"It's quite a lot of preparation," she says. "It's not just preparing the animals but preparing their diets, their travel bins, medical records, food records."

Though some residents, including the stingrays and tropical fish, are staying behind, with oxygen lines put into the exhibits to help them breathe if the power goes out.

While Fox says they have prepared as well as they can, the centre is requesting donations for any recovery efforts that may be needed.

Image source, Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

The National Weather Service warning of the winds' severe impact on power lines in the Florida panhandle and the surrounding region is beginning to be reflected in data tracking power cuts.

More than 250,000 customers are without electricity in Florida and the hardest hit counties are those closest to the border with Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us

In Alabama, nearly 100,000 customers have lost power.

The hurricane's winds are expected to be felt further inland in Georgia, albeit at a lesser intensity, where already about 6,000 customers are without power.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we reported that North America is being hit by three storm systems this weekend.

While the Gulf Coast is hit by Hurricane Isaias, the Pacific coast of Mexico has Hurricane Simon bearing down on it, and Tropical Storm Rachel, a downgraded hurricane, is heading toward landfall around the US-Mexico border.

While, according to the National Weather Service, Rachel is expected to reach the coast late on Saturday, the impact of the storm is already being felt.

Video footage and photos already show several streets under water in Newport Beach, California, through a combination of hurricane swell at sea and high tide.

Posting on its account on X, the City of Newport Beach advises people to "avoid the Balboa Peninsula due to street flooding caused by recent storm conditions and elevated tides".

It also urges people not to drive through flooded streets. Bulldozers have been shoring up the beach to try and prevent further flooding.

Image source, Getty Images

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.

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, Supplied

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 Ruth

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:

• Isaias is still classified as a Category 3 hurricane and its winds are expected to peak at 115mph (185km/h)
• Rhome says although winds are currently down compared to earlier in the day, fluctuations are consistent with storms as powerful as this and are "not going to change the impacts to the coast as this system comes ashore"
• Strong winds and rain are already being felt around Florida but the most intense impacts are yet to come. "Conditions are going downhill very, very rapidly," Rhome says
• He warns that tornadoes are also likely adding people need to take shelter. "If you are out, being curious and looking at the storm, it's really important that you get inside your safe place, your home, your shelter"
• There is a chance of up to 9 feet (2.75m) of storm surge in some places
• It is not definitive when landfall will occur.

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, Reuters

Image source, AFP

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, AFP

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 Images

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 Images

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.