LOL.........I know you are.
I haven't heard a word about Sanibel; I did hear earlier on it was practically empty.
Fort Myers is on TWC now.
Punta Gorda 127 MPH.
Howlin - how are ya? This is so eerie. I asked earlier - do you or yours have big trees around your homes? Are any of you going to make haste to get out of the way if Charley heads over the Raleigh area as it once appeared to be doing? The winds may still hit us and we are so waterlogged. A pond near me is ready to overflow with the next batch of rain - flooding a street and homes nearby. But it's the trees!!! Those towering pines near my house that have me ready to split. What about you?
160 homes destroyed on Captiva/Sanibel. I don't think my place or boat made it.
Just a note: The Punta Gorda Anemometer failed after that gust. The pressure fell very rapidly over the following 30 minutes, that tells me that much stronger winds likely hit the location.
It is highly likely that portions of Punta Gorda took the brunt of an isolated wind maximum that was close to the 145mph stated in the afternoon advisory.
Just because no reporting stations have reported Cat 4 wind speeds does not mean they did not happen. There is something very eerie in the fact that certain towns are yet to 'check in.'
The storm was deepening so fast that there is almost certainly a swath somewhere near landfall that was completely destroyed.