>>> Anyone have any info on Joe Bastardi's take on Charley

Yeah, and it's not good. He's concerned with Charley slowing, and is in agreement with TPC's projections. CAT III or higher is possible, once Charley clears Cooba.

A small but telling snippet:

"The problem now becomes, where, when and how strong, and it looks like first the keys tomorrow morning and ten the Florida coast. The spray still has some runs with Tampa being saved as the system only comes as close as Elena did in 1985, which was nasty, but did not do what a cat 3 hitting where TPC has it would do ( even a cat 2). In the mix though is the idea that it can hit further south and not only would this be the strongest storm to hit from the gulf between Tampa and Naples since Donna in 1960, amazingly one of the analog years in our hurricane forecast, but it also ups the ante for the possible hugging of the south atlantic coast from North Florida to a second landfall near Charleston."