NASA Satellite Images Reveal Hurricane Isaias’ Impact on Gulf Coast Power Outages

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season started quietly, but Hurricane Isaias quickly became the season’s first major storm. On October 8, Isaias became the first hurricane of the season and moved toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. The storm brought heavy rain and flash flooding to parts of the Southeast, including Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, while strong winds toppled trees, damaged power lines and left many residents without electricity.

Hurricane Isaias Makes Landfall in Florida

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on the night of October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (170 km/h). According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts reached 160 mph in the western part of the storm’s path. A preliminary report recorded gusts of 117 mph in Oriole Beach and 162 mph at Pensacola City Hall.

NASA Nighttime Images Show Areas Affected by Power Loss

The strongest winds overlapped with a broader area west of the storm’s eye where satellite images showed major reductions in nighttime brightness. The image pair compares typical conditions in August 2026 with nighttime lighting observed on October 11, after most of the storm clouds had cleared.

The data was provided by Ranjay Shrestha of NASA’s Black Marble science team. It comes from the Black Marble HD product, which uses data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the NOAA-20 satellite.

VIIRS includes day and night bands that detect light emitted and reflected at night. Researchers process the data to account for changes in the lunar landscape, atmospheric conditions and moon phase, while removing stray light unrelated to electric lighting. Dark gray, hash-marked areas indicate locations where clouds interfered with VIIRS data collection. Nighttime lighting is displayed on a base map from the Landsat 9 satellite.

Black Marble HD Provides a Detailed View of Storm Damage

“Standard Black Marble night light images are available below,” Shrestha said through NASA Worldview. “It provides a complete picture of the direct impact of a storm. Black Marble HD takes this a step further by allowing us to visualize these changes at a finer spatial scale.”

At this finer scale, the images show a sharp decline in nighttime light near parts of Pensacola, Florida, and along the U.S. Highway 98 corridor toward Destin, suggesting widespread power outages.

The images also show areas where lighting persisted, including Pensacola International Airport, Pensacola Christian College and parts of downtown Pensacola. “These patterns may reflect backup power systems, differences in power infrastructure, or areas that maintained electricity during the storm, but images alone do not confirm the underlying reason,” Shrestha said.

Satellite Data Tracks the Recovery After Hurricane Isaias

Black Marble HD images also reveal the pace and geographic pattern of recovery. A second image pair compares the same area on October 11 and October 12, when nighttime light began returning to some locations. By October 14, the lighting pattern appeared similar to pre-storm conditions.

“Understanding where recovery is progressing and where disruptions persist will help emergency responders and decision makers identify areas that require additional attention, prioritize resources, and assess the effectiveness of recovery efforts,” Shrestha said.

Black Marble data complements, rather than replaces, ground-based outage reporting. Together, these sources provide a more comprehensive view of disaster impacts and recovery.

“Ultimately, this is where Black Marble’s value lies: in turning nighttime Earth observations into actionable insights that support informed decisions and help bridge the gap between Earth science and action,” Shrestha said.

NASA Disaster Program Supports Gulf Coast Response

The NASA Disaster Program, working with FEMA and the USGS Coastal Storm Team, is supporting the Alabama Red Cross and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency in their response to Hurricane Isaias.

The team plans to publish maps and data products through an open-access mapping portal as new information becomes available.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Black Marble HD data from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Kathryn Hansen.