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.
I agree; if it hadn't hit land when it did, no telling how big it would have been.
Similarly, the storm was moving ~20mph. Add that to the unfortunate areas getting blasted with 140+ mph winds on the SE side. Total devastation is completely understandable.