[dandi]

"All along, the hurricane center had issued warnings for coastal residents from the Keys all the way up to Tampa Bay, said hurricane center meteorologist Robbie Berg."

What, did the unfortunate folks of Punta Gorda think the hurricane was only a mile wide and would hit Tampa with the precision of a cruise missile? I was all the way up in Lake City and was ready to put on my boogie shoes. No way you can lay this at the feet of NOAA. Any city close to a hurricane's path needs to assume the worst and prepare accordingly.

[Deport Billary]

The directional forecast was quite good...it struck within the "cone" of error. A CNN anchor was crapping on the NHC for an hour last night. She was right that it came in a category higher than expected, but you're supposed to take any major hurricane seriously.

The only thing I didn't understand was why they didn't upgrade at 11am, when the data suggested the storm was rapidly deepening.

[Strategerist]

What, did the unfortunate folks of Punta Gorda think the hurricane was only a mile wide and would hit Tampa with the precision of a cruise missile?

They also seem to be under the impression that Tampa is several thousand miles away from Punta Gorda....