People who needed to evacuate should have done so already. A storm 70 miles offshore is no time to make evacuations. Tropical storm and hurricane warnings were issued well in advance of the storm -- during the watch is when you make preparations, and when the warning is issued is when you get going, not when the storm is on your doorstep. They predicted a hurricane to make landfall, and it's quite possible we see a minimal hurricane at landfall. It's coming in near the predicted path that has been shown for two days now at about the intensity shown -- this should not be a surprise. Saying the NHC is dropping the ball at this point and putting lives in jeopardy is quite frankly not the case...and quite the contrary is true. If this were a rapidly developing situation, which it is not as of yet, you'd see appropriate actions taken.

As for the storm, I expect this WSW jog to be just that -- a jog -- and a more westerly course to resume later today. It will be moving very slow and somewhat erratically, so a small loop or a stair-step motion is quite possible during the day.