adogg76 -- the safety of the people comes first. If there were reason to close any airports or make any evacuations at this point in time, rest assured that they would be done. Precautions were taken before every storm last year in the areas where the storms hit...and where they didn't hit. If people wish to not heed them, that is another question entirely.

The center either appears to be dissipating or reforming near the Isle of Youth. It's tough to tell, however, with the cloud mass obscuring the latter feature on visible imagery. At the very least, however, the mid-level center is likely found near the Isle of Youth, per the fairly impressive IR imagery signature, and the currently tracked low-level center is looking rather unimpressive at this time. Recon is currently on its way out there, so we should know more over the next few hours.

Any reformation of the center this far to the east will likely result in some changes to the projected track (not to mention the intensity). Such a possibility was discussed last night, but even this big of a jump would be beyond what I expected, making a track change likely inevitable. New Orleans appears to be on the extreme west end of where the center may go; anywhere east to the Suwanee River in FL is still under the gun as well. Don't see any large reason to disagree with the NHC's track & intensity, but a supposed shift east would require a shift to the east in the track and perhaps a slight nudge upward in intensity.