GULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) — Isaias has strengthened into a powerful Category 3 hurricane as it surges toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center says Isaias’ maximum sustained winds have increased to 120 mph. That classifies it as a major hurricane. The first hurricane of the Atlantic season is expected to make landfall near the Alabama-Florida state line Friday night. It threatens to bring strong winds, heavy rains and potentially life-threatening storm surges to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi. Heavy rain and flooding are possible into the weekend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.