Because a mature hurricane can measure several hundred miles in diameter, the average forecast error for each 24-hour period is 100 miles. That's less than the distance between Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola or Panama City. Local emergency officials are constantly in touch with the Tropical Prediction Center in Miami whenever a hurricane threatens. We use that to try to make a decision on whether or not we should evacuate. A hurricane can increase in category from 1 to 3 in a six-hour period, and they might not be able to forecast that.
People go to bed and everything's fine.
It may not be. Collins suggests strengthening your home by putting up storm shutters. Stay under the staircase if you have a 2-story house. Build yourself a shelter and have a battery-operated radio handy. People think we're just covering our backs.