have the strongest winds to the north of the eye. So, a hurricane that goes into Wilmington, NC (a favorite path) will show almost no wind at Myrtle Beach but to the north, will show much damage (on up to the Outer Banks). The counter clockwise winds will also deplete quickly upon reaching land (like a brake pad and a brake rotor on a car). So, a Cat4 or 5 will be dying before it even hits land due to the scrubbing of the land against the winds.

All of this theatre about these storms in the media is so childish and is not helpful.

My advice:

-wash all of your clothes as power could be out for as long as 10 days if it is a whopper storm

-buy canned food and dry foods that you will normally use anyway

-fill up your cars with gas. you will be using it anyway.

-buy propane to cook on your gas grill for up to 10 days.

- if you don't have a generator, get an inverter for your car cigarette plug to charge your cell phone...most cell phone towers have generators with 3-4 days of fuel. but, calling during peak times may be hard to connect due to volume of calls.

- fill your bathtub with water for your pets.

- there will be ample water in your yard for your toilets.

- winds in excess of 90-95 mph are dangerous. remember the old saying "yeah, it wasn't the 125 mph wind that killed him, it was the coconut that fell off the tree that did that,"