Hurricane Isaac was a deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that came ashore the U.S. state of Louisiana during August 2012. The ninth named storm and fourth hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Isaac originated from a tropical wave that moved off the western coast of Africa on August 16. Tracking generally west, a broad area of low pressure developed along the wave axis the following day, and the disturbance developed into a tropical depression early on August 21 while situated several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Though the system intensified into a tropical storm shortly thereafter, high wind shear initially prevented much change in strength.

A 8.3-foot (2.5 m) storm surge was reported in Hancock County on August 28. Wind gusts reached 70 mph (110 km/h) in Gulfport. There are about 2,132 evacuees housed in 31 shelters across the state and about 4,000 homes were without power as of 5:30 a.m. The National Weather Service reported that 17.04 inches (43.28 cm) of rain had fallen at Kiln, Mississippi through 7:00 PM CDT on August 30; 10.85 inches (27.56 cm) was recorded at Gulfport.