I've been through ~15 -20 of these things ranging from Cat 1 to Cat 4 - none of them had me in the center of the eye. Irene is tracking to have the eye pass directly over Beaufort/Morehead City, NC - with me in the middle of it if I elect to stay. That could mean 125+ sustained for >1' duration with gusts exceeding 150mph and that's just on one side of the eye wall. If the center does hit Beaufort, that means twice the impact - this is the most interesting direct assault I have had to prepare for. I generally don't board up the house for a Cat 3 - the upper story vents get boarded but that's it, and it's primarly because the hurricane is tracking "off-shore". With a Cat 3 eye impending over my house, that's an entirely different story. I'm boarding up the entire house for this one; and, seriously determining whether to remain even on a Cat 3 with a direct hit of the eye. The storm surge here is expected to be 7'-11'. While both Albermale and Palmlico Sounds are quite large and will buffet enormous amounts of surge, we're also expected to receive 15" of rain - this is phenomenal. I noted while tracking this from a tropical depression, it has all the earmarks of Hurricane Floyd - which was enormously devastating. We'll be following the track, speed, and pressure very, very closely tomorrow before determining whether to head inland. Yikes.
