One thing I do have to wonder about is if Ike will also maintain higher wind speeds for a much longer period of time inland due to his current spread out structure. Once Ike is near the frontal boundary, I think we may see an incredible swath of severe weather over a couple of days. If there is a silver lining, Ike won't be moving slowly. I shudder to think the amount of precipitation a storm like Ike could drop if he was moving at the speed of Fay or Gustav.

We may see the largest amount of destruction to a power grid in some time. Not too mention a major disruption to transportation networks. Ike's impact will be felt outside the area.