PANAMA CITY BEACH - A radio disc jockey summed up the collective feeling of this island beach town: "When The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore left, we all breathed a sigh of relief."
Cantore and his trademark baseball camp had camped out at the beach during the last few days when forecasters predicted Ivan had Panama City Beach dead in its sights. But when the storm shifted west so did Cantore, a storm stalker known for planting himself in the wildest winds and in front of the wickedest waves.
"We'll probably try and grill out on the patio tonight," said Rick Camper, 33, as he watched the 12 and 15-foot waves off the city's municipal pier where Cantore had been.
Camper, his wife, his sister and his nephew plan to spend tonight here at the home of his mother, still within the county's evacuation zone. The storm is expected to come ashore late tonight or early Thursday morning.
Sister Chris Pettys said she evacuated when the last big storm hit the area - 1995's Hurricane Opal - and remembers how authorities would not let her back to her home immediately after it passed.
"That's why a lot of people are staying. I wouldn't stay if it were 150 mph, but I feel safe," said Pettys, 37.
Rick and Janet Buchanan and their son, Kyle, felt safe staying put, too. They came in for a late breakfast Wednesday at the Waffle House - one of the handful of businesses still open - after a five-mile bike ride around the beach.
"I wouldn't leave for a Category 3," said Janet, 47. The family house is just three blocks from the gulf beach and just one block from a lagoon, well within Bay County's evacuation zones. "We're going to fill our bathtubs up with water and we've taped up the windows."
Added husband Rick: "We have some cards and a portable DVD player and lots of food."
JoAnn Revell rode out Opal in her home and plans to do the same for Ivan.
"We've gotten all the supplies we need and we boarded up the French doors," said Revell, 41. But as president of the Bay County Association of Realtors, Revell said she worries about what the storm could do to gulf-front homes and property, as well as buildings under construction.
"I'm worried about all the construction sites with all the debris," Revell said.
Despite the relief at the storm's apparent track, Bay County officials are urging those who have already evacuated not to come back until it's gone for good.
"We're still watching and hoping it doesn't do a Charley," said county spokeswoman Catherine McNaught, making a reference to that storm's sudden and last-minute jog to the east.
"We're asking people who have already evacuated to stay evacuated," McNaught said.
