More than 500,000 customers in Florida and Alabama lost power. Forecaster Ryan Hall reported flash flooding Friday evening in Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Niceville and Eglin Air Force Base, with 4 to 7 inches of rain already recorded.
The storm spared US refineries a direct hit, with the main plants in Mobile, Alabama, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, more than 150 kilometers from landfall. Operators had halted about 1.46 million BPD of oil production, or 71.5% of US Gulf output, and 58.8% of regional natural gas production ahead of Isaias. Refined fuel and offshore crude production should recover quickly, Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas said.