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"Why does it go faster as it comes northward?"

The speed of movement of all weather systems is governed by the speed of windflow at high altitudes. The faster the air is moving 50,000 feet off the ground...the faster the storm will travel...In the tropics, stearing flow is generally weak...hurricanes cannot develop if there is a lot of strong winds directly over their heads...the thunderstorm tops get blown off and the circulation is thus unravelled.

Isabel is making its own stearing flow so the strong currents that are causing its increase in forward speed aren't killing it...but as they run into the outer perimeter of Isabel...those strong westerly winds are beginning to catch it and drag it along at a faster pace. All storms recurve eventually...the purpose of hurricanes is to take heat from the tropics and displace it north into the westerlies...it's a balancing mechanism. As this one turns north...it will increase in speed and get ripped apart by the westerlies.

I hope that helps explain it...

What's your best guess as to the track of this thing? I live in VA Beach and the local guyas are all still talking about a Morehead City landfall and then a NW track out over central VA and into WV and then North. From what I see she's coming in closer to Hatteras and may come right over Tidewater to the Chesapeake. What is your thinking?

Yes, that explains, fantasticCitizen!

Like the Albert E. quote;

"If you can't explain it so an 8 year old can understand it, you don't understand it."