ABC Channel 28 in Tampa is having great coverage of Charley. Their meteorologist is the best I've ever seen. They've had a reporter in Punta Gorda at Charlotte Harbor all along. Imagine how surprised he was when Charley took his last-minute turn. Somehow he's managed to maintain telephone contact with the station and has continued his reporting from inside a Holiday Inn right on the Harbor. In his last report he said the eye went right over his head and as he was talking, the winds started back up from the opposite direction. He was planning to stay on the 2nd floor, but part of the roof blew off and he was forced back to the 1st floor. Now he's worried about the storm surge. He definitely sounded worried. Everyone's waiting to hear back from him.

A few minutes ago, 28 had another telephone report from a Port Charlotte resident. He lives in a manufactured home a 2 minute run from the harbor. He said his family was in a closet inside the house. He also saw the eye pass over his head and was getting a bit more concerned as the wind picked up again. As he was beginning to describe his concern about the storm surge, his voice turned into pure terror and he said "Gotta go now. Gotta go." That was so scarey. I hope he and his family are OK.

Charley is now just about due west of us, going through Arcadia now. We've had steady rain for about 45 minutes and the wind has picked up quite a bit. I'd guess 30-40mph wind. It looks like we'll miss the worst of it, but we will continue to keep our eyes and ears peeled.