[Guenevere]

Fox essentially said 'no worries for Florida'...but look out Charleston, SC.

Said the Cat3 will skim up the coast and go for Charleston.

I, for one, am not giddy with joy....what if it skims and turns....and we're dealing with an unexpected Cat3?

And I wouldn't wish a hurricane on SC either.

[alancarp]

Pretty irresponsible of FOX to single out Charleston for a storm five days away... and to rule out Florida. Even the hurricane center pointed out that their own average errors for 4- and 5-day forecasts are 200 and 250 miles, respectively.

It’s got to be tough to project how a barge this size is going to turn a corner over a five-day period given the influence of multiple other weather considerations - some of which haven’t even developed yet.

This is why responsible reporting usually includes a phrase such as “All interests on the SE Atlantic seaboard should monitor this situation closely over the next few days.”

[NautiNurse]

Cautious optimism is in order for the Florida Atlantic coast. It would be foolish to ignore any tropical system, much less a major hurricane, as long as your area is within the NHC Cone of Uncertainty.

Recall 2004 and Hurricane Charley. Everyone was expecting Charley to drive up Tampa Bay. Everyone. Boy howdy, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda had a rude awakening when Charley turned inland there instead of passing them by en route to Tampa Bay. Those folks screamed bloody murder when the Cat. 4 storm caught them with their pants down. NHC pointed out that area was well within the Cone of Uncertainty. Hurricanes are not a tiny dot on a map, and their forecast path is not a straight line down the middle of the cone.