A Southern Boy responds:

I've lived in New Orleans (Betsy), Pensacola (Opal), Atlanta (Newt Gingrich), Fort Walton (George), Hattiesburg, MS (90 mi. north of NOLA), Tallahassee and a few other Southeastern places that are vague patches of memories back in the '60's and '70's. I drove across the Mississippi Gulf Coast to the Florida panhandle on the afternoon well before Camille hit that horrible night in 1969. The television weathermen make the most of these hurricane attractions to the point of hyperbole but I wouldn't be messin' with Miss Lili. She's not one you'd compare to a long, bad southern thunderstorm.



This hurricane will dump a lot of rain well (*way*) inland. With the loads you mentioned I would take the drier route and the extra time it takes to keep the slippin' and slidin' factor to a minimum. No sense in tempting the fate of becoming a headline on the eleven o'clock news.



(Well, that was dire. ...but heartfelt.)