OK Ed we have been duly reprimanded. We heard a need and tried to meet it. Back on task...
Right now the impact potential is VERY hard to quantify. IF this thing goes up the FL west coast as a cat 1, I think the impact will be pretty minimal, at least in the areas hit by Charley. They have rebuilt/repaired their infrastructure since Charley and should be able to brush off a cat 1 pretty easily except for those still living in Mobile homes (when will they EVER learn?). I don't much care for the idea of even a Cat 1 over Pinellas county or Tampa Bay as then you would shift to flooding concerns when something like 80% of Pinellas county is less than 25 feet above mean sea level. That said, those folks have dealt with this often enough in the past for it not to be HUGE (see Elena, and every strong winter Low that spins up out of the GOM). IF this goes to Cat 2, all bets are off as it makes a large difference in the coastal waters. I wouldn't fear a Cat 1 in my neighborhood either as we are not in an evac zone, have all power lines under ground, have a new roof on a CBS house, have excellent drainage, and lost our most threatening tree in Jeanne. I may put up my boards on the two south facing (kids) rooms just for security, but nothing else. If it makes Cat 2, I would go into full Hurricane defense mode....we shall see.