Base officials expect to decide by Thursday morning whether services will close.
The base has completed Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Four and has ordered Condition Three, said Whiting Field PAO Jamie Coffey. Crews are working through checklists that include tying down loose equipment and securing vehicles inside.
Training Air Wing 5 is putting as many aircraft in hangars as it possibly can. The rest will fly out to locations outside the storm’s forecast cone, which is standard protocol when tropical systems threaten the base.
Isaias formed early Wednesday in the eastern Gulf and is expected to become the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center expects conditions to deteriorate Friday morning ahead of landfall late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
The base will continue normal operations until all storm preparations are complete. Coffey said by Thursday morning, base leadership will have a better understanding of how to move forward.
As for changes, the base’s medical clinic does not have generators, so staff plan to move refrigerated medication off base for safekeeping. The clinic is expected to begin slowing services Wednesday afternoon, offer limited services Thursday and close Friday.
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