Hurricane Isaias strengthens into Category 3 storm with US in its sights

Hurricane Isaias has strengthened into a major Category 3 storm as the Gulf Coast of the United States prepares for potentially “life-threatening” conditions. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday that Isaias was packing winds in excess of 193kph (120mph) and was expected to continue strengthening over the course of the day. A Category 3 storm, considered a major hurricane by the NHC, is capable of causing devastating damage. Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season , is expected to make landfall in the US later on Friday or early Saturday between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida, the center said.