Fox was interving someone at the Nat Hurricane Cntr and he said the storm surge is strongest (said about 15ft in this case)when the eye makes landfall. It is the worst just to the NE of the eye. Guess because of the counterclockwise rotation. He said it was like a bulldozer and this is when you get the major damage along the coast.
Exactly right. The fear is the push of water into Mobile Bay... the hope is that is goes a little further east to keep from completely swamping the city.