Nate -- he's right on the rain bands -- they are not nearly as tornadic as seen with last years storms, meaning most areas may have dodged the bullet with that one. The orientation of the rain bands more east-west than north-south may be helping with this, but that's just a hunch. The tropical storm force winds are every bit as much as advertised, however. Remember that the hurricane force winds are still offshore -- this is not one of last year's monster-sized storms -- and believe me, their full force will be felt soon enough.

Tallahassee -- almost 200 miles from the storm and well inland -- has seen gusts over tropical storm force thus far today, with sustained winds continually over 30mph. Storm-total rainfall is nearing 5" in many spots, with 7"+ a good bet once all is said and done. US 98 between Panacea and Apalachicola -- something like 30 miles -- is closed, with water over the roadway in many areas. Observing stations in both Pensacola and Apalachicola are down, with the Tallahassee and Panama City systems struggling to keep up sometimes. And -- most of this is well-removed from the storm!

Bottom line: the worst is still yet to come.