 Cloud tops around the center warmed again early on September 15 and Isabel weakened to a Category 4 hurricane . Later that day , the inner core of deep convection began to deteriorate while the eye decayed in appearance . As a ridge to its northwest build southeastward , it resulted in Isabel decelerating as it turned to the north @-@ northwest . Increasing vertical wind shear contributed in weakening the hurricane further , and Isabel weakened to a Category 2 hurricane on September 16 while located 645 miles ( 1035 km ) southeast of Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . Convection remained minimal , though outflow retained excellent organization , and Isabel remained a Category 2 hurricane for two days until making landfall between Cape Lookout and Ocracoke Island on September 18 with winds of 105 mph ( 165 km / h ) . It weakened after it made landfall , though due to its fast forward motion Isabel remained a hurricane until reaching western Virginia early on September 19 . After passing through West Virginia as a tropical storm , Isabel became extratropical over Western Pennsylvania including Pittsburgh . The system crossed Lake Erie into Canada . Early on September 20 , the extratropial remnant of Isabel was absorbed by a larger extratropical storm over the Cochrane District of Ontario . 
