The following post is NOT an official forecast and should not be used as such. It is just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. It is NOT endorsed by any professional institution including storm2k.org For Official Information please refer to the NHC and NWS products.
I know that a lot of you will jump on my more northerly track and tear it to pieces... but oh well. I think that once the cold front moves through the eastern US, (by Friday) the ridge will begin to weaken a bit. This coupled with the fact that Chris will likely strengthen into a hurricane, I think will allow Chris to recurve a bit further northward than currently forecasted... by everyone. I went actually a bit more conservative with the northerly track. I think that Chris could actually make landfall as far north as SC. As Sean posted earlier the historical tracks of storms passing near Chris, NC might actually want to pay attention to him, however with the strong ridge in place right now, I doubt that Chris could make it THAT far north.
Strength-wise, Chris has a lot of potential. He will be moving over waters that support category five intensity with favorable upper air conditions at least in the short term. Dry air out ahead of Chris may effect the western extent of his convection, but will likely not significantly affect the storm. Northerly shear that is currently affecting Chris will abate somewhat through Friday. This will allow Chris to strengthen steadily to a category 1 hurricane sometime tomorrow and possibly a category two by Friday night. Shear will begin to increase Saturday as the storm system to the north begins to affect Chris a bit. Chris will still be able to strengthen, however any run-away intensification due to high SSTs will be kept in check. I expect Chris to become a strong category 2 hurricane around 105mph to 110mph and to make landfall on the Florida peninsula at that intensity. Chris will weaken after landfall. He may have a window for reintensification if he makes it into the GOM. If that occurs, there would be a second landfall on the Florida panhandle at category 1 intensity.
12.....Tonight 8pm EDT........70mph
24.....Thursday 8am............75
36.....8pm..........................80
48.....Friday 8am................90
60.....8pm..........................100
72.....Saturday 8am............105
84.....8pm..........................110
96.....Sunday 8am..............110
108...8pm..........................105
120...Monday 8am..............80[/img]
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. I don't see why anyone would tear you apart for this forecast, it's pretty reasonable and you explained why you believe what you do 
