Hurricane Isaias knocks out Gulf Coast power, NASA images show

Isaias became the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season on October 8 and made landfall near Destin, Florida, on the evening of October 9 as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles (170 kilometers) per hour, NASA’s Earth Observatory reported.

Isaias brought heavy rain, flash flooding and damaging winds to parts of the southeastern United States, including Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Fallen trees and power lines left many residents without electricity.

Using data from the NOAA-20 satellite’s VIIRS instrument, NASA’s Black Marble HD product captured changes in nighttime lighting before and after the storm. Images from October 11 showed sharp declines in nighttime lighting around parts of Pensacola and along the U.S. Route 98 corridor toward Destin, suggesting widespread power disruptions.

A comparison of images from October 11 and 12 showed nighttime lights beginning to return in some areas. By October 14, lighting patterns appeared similar to pre-storm conditions.

Ranjay Shrestha of NASA’s Black Marble science team said the high-resolution imagery helps identify where outages persist and recovery is progressing, supporting emergency responders in prioritizing resources. However, satellite observations complement ground-based outage reports rather than replace them.

NASA’s Disasters Program is also supporting the Alabama Red Cross and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency in their response to Hurricane Isaias, in coordination with FEMA and the USGS Coastal Storms Team.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that NASA scientists had developed a more precise method to track Earth’s shifting center of mass, revealing how seasonal changes in water, ice and air subtly alter the planet’s balance.