Part of me thinks it might be good that she is bombing out so much now... they usually don't hold that kind of strength for longer than 24-48 hours. Then again, she probably has more to go... cat5, at least for a time, looks quite likely now.
yes, what controls that? if it goes through an eyewall replacement cycle as it nears the shore, it will be weaker, but if it completes that cycle while out at sea, it hits at full strength. is that the calculation here?
I still don't see from the radar loops, alot of northern component to its movement - is there a chance it could come in further west, west of NO? of course, that would put NO in the northeastern quadrant of the eye wall.
I was kinda wondering that too. I'm not too familiar with hurricanes - but I wonder if it'd be possible for a hurricane to ramp itself up too quickly before landfall - and therefore be unable to sustain itself?
Anyone out there know?