The front was supposed to extend into the gulf and be down around Tampa, depressing basically out from the Panhandle well southward into the gulf and extending over Tampa. With a ENE axis and the front over Tampa, it would basically insure that the storm would not come up that far north.

Instead it is lifting out and the TAIL of it is over Tampa. By tomorrow morning at this rate it will be nowhere near there.

The frontal boundary would have effectively protected anything near and to the north of it from a direct impact, although along and south of the boundary you'd get NASTY conditions from the interaction.

With the front gone - and I expect it will not be present over the peninsula by the morning - that protection is likewise gone.

The south end of Tampa's inlet appears to be the northern end of the Hurricane Watch area, and the cone extends north of Tampa to roughly New Port Richie.

www.weather.com if you scroll down the first box to select it; the former I get from the Unisys site that has all the fixed GOES image loops available.)

I understand that people don't WANT it to go that way (nobody wants it to come their way - and I have no particular bias as to where I'd "like" to see it go - other than out to sea and die somewhere....) but if you're in a watch or warning area it would be a good idea to be prepared!