Tropical Storm Isaias forms, is forecast to become a hurricane and hit US Gulf Coast this week

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week.The rapidly strengthening storm was on track to tie or break a 121-year-old record as the latest arriving initial hurricane of the Atlantic season. According to the National Weather Service, the record dates to 1905, when the year's first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8.Isaias was centered about 285 miles (460 kilometers) west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 580 miles (935 kilometers) southwest of the Mississippi River’s mouth, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph (13 kph).Forecasters predict Isaias will become a hurricane by Thursday as it turns northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Though its path could shift, the storm is expected