Hurricane Isaac Isn't Even A Hurricane Yet

With all the hoopla and media attention, you would think the storm of the century was on it's way to the United States, hitting around New Orleans.
But the storm of the century isn't even a hurricane and never has been.  At best, the storm will be a Category 1 storm, with winds of 90 mph.  This would equate a medium F1 tornado.  With all the hurricane proof housing and buildings, this should cause minimal damage at the coast and even less inland.
From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Tropical Storm Isaac is taking aim on the northern Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center is calling Isaac a significant storm and says surge and freshwater flood threat is expected. The 10 p.m. forecast from the Hurricane Center predicted that Isaac would arrive on the coast as a Category 1 storm, with maximum winds at 90 mph. 

Isaac is a large tropical cyclone. A dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall and strong winds extend well away from the center and are expected to affect a large portion of the northern Gulf Coast. The threat of heavy rainfall and flooding is also expected to spread inland over the lower Mississippi Valley region during the next few days. The storm continues to have trouble organizing. Despite some strong bands of convection that may indicate the formation of an eyewall, dry air in the northeast quadrant of the storm appears to be limiting faster development of the storm. Winds and pressure have not increased significantly over the past several hours..http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/08/tropical_storm_isaac_continues_2.html
So, why has the storm being so much coverage?  Probably because we haven't had a Hurricane hit the area for a few years.  The National Hurricane Service has been piss poor in predicting hurricanes the past several years, despite claims that so-called climate change would increase the number of hurricanes.  Instead of an increase in hurricanes, we have had fewer.  And we may not even get a hurricane out of this storm.
Finally, with the exception of the GOP convention, there is little news going on, so why not go wall to wall with hurricane news.
But I have to wonder, if a hurricane or other big news hits when the Democrats have a convention, would the media give as much attention the major news as they have with the tropical storm and the GOP convention?
I think we know that answer.