Charley was a 4 when it hit, but became a 1 soon after. If this maintains at a 3 or 4 once it hits land, we’re going to see quite a bit of destruction.
If it does go directly up the center of Florida staring at a point West of Florida city, then the eye would pass over sparsely populated area. Actually mostly Everglades National Park. If you have ever driven from Miami to Naples the center of Florida from about 20 miles inland on each side is just...Everglades.