Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a major, Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph Friday morning.

The 1st Atlantic hurricane this season is expected to slam the Gulf Coast from Mississippi through the Florida Panhandle.

Isaias’ top winds reached 120 miles (193 kilometers) per hour, making it a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the US National Hurricane Center said in a special update at 8:20 a.m...