I live on the Central Gulf Coast of Fla, just north of Tampa Bay...the 2004/2005 hurricane seasons produced 9 and 4 day power outages for me... with sustained winds just around 95mph, the house has gone 125mph in gusts on multiple occasions, but not sustained... I boarded for the Cat 3 in 2004, and the house was unbearably hot without air conditioning, but other than some tree limbs down, nothing serious...sleeping comfortably was however... I relied on battery powered camping tent fans, but 90+ till midnight is still oppressive... I was still working, and had access to ice at school, so that helped... after the event I standardized my electronics and lighting to AA (Eneloops) and picked up the first of two generators, and back wired the circuit from the separate garage...after reading the Katrina journal, though, prompted me to get a light weight utility trailer, just in case I would have to evacuate with a potential for not returning... the trailer is large enough that with a ridge pole, some blue tarps, and mosquito netting I could live off the ground for a length of time...my plan is to evacuate to a relative's post Andrew building code house about 20miles away for any storm with a local projected land fall of a Cat 4 or better...65 years and a bunch of tropical storms has given me opportunities to acquire a lot of dedicated equipment and personal opinion.. anyone new to the Gulf Coast that has any questions, please feel free to ask... Les