It is looking like Ivan is not going to take off into the north just dumping it all right there. Consider New Orleans which is in bits about 6.5 feet under sea level and is facing a sea wall of raised water of 10 to 15 feet above sea level to be followed by a flood of all the collected rain down the Mississippi river to where the city sits at the mouth. On top of the battering surf…besides that it will rain there…and 135 mile an hour sustained winds. And the center of the storm is missing it. Heading for Mobile, Alabama.
The highest winds during Juan in Halifax last year was just 158 km or under 100 miles an hour.