Florence isn't the biggest or meanest storm ever to hit the Atlantic, but it seems to be the first to head toward the U.S. eastern coast this year. I'm hoping its tracking will change slightly (selfishly) because it is headed right toward me. The last major hurricane to make an inland run was Fran in 1996, which made Raleigh N.C. look like it had been under an artillery siege and power was out for weeks. We had another direct experience with Felix in 1998, where our problem was flooding. Usually the N.C. coast takes the strafing and the brunt. People never think of the central state getting hit. Just hope the tracking changes and the storm dissipates before we see any of it here. Now we're right in the center of the track at the end of the week.