WICKED PUNCH FOR A SMALL HURRICANE

Hurricane Katrina struck South Florida with a vengence Thursday. While only a Catagory 1 storm, she make a name for herself, with four people dead --- three from falling trees --- and over a million people without power in Dade and Broward counties.

The good news is that after landfall, Katrina made a slight curve south, and the effects of a high pressure system just off the Atlantic coast will keep the hurricane far enough away to only provide minimal effects to our neck o' the woods, and thankfully not nearly the amount of rain as initially feared. The only significant changes made here on account of Katrina is that four Polk County high school football games were rescheduled; one from Thursday to tonight, and three will now be played Monday night.

It looks as though the Panhandle will feel the brunt of Katrina's wrath Sunday/Monday, by which time she should become a Catagory 2 storm. Here's hoping that the folks up there learn from the situation yesterday in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, and prepare accordingly. Just another reminder that you simply don't take any tropical storm or hurricane for granted.