The 5 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center showed that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph after making landfall along Florida s Big Bend region and heading north to Georgia.
The county opened one shelter, at West Port High School, for west Marion residents who have special medical needs.
All in all, people seemed to agree that the storm could have been much worse. Thank you, Jesus, we ve been blessed, Dunnellon Vice Mayor Valerie Hanchar said Wednesday morning when talking about the relative lack of damage. The only reported trouble in her city was a broken oak tree limb that fell across and blocked Palatka Drive at Vogt Springs Road.