To stay or not to stay, THAT is the question.
Please enjoy a simple formula I whipped up on the fly to help myself make this decision.
1. Location – How close am I to the ocean. In a direct line, how close?
2. Construction of Structure – In an old concrete block house with a hip roof that the wind can pass right over when properly boarded up. Or am I considering waiting out the storm in some kind ticky tacky wood and stucco house with gable end roof and skylights?
During Andrew I lived in a condo in East Boca Raton. I evacuated. I was less than a mile from the ocean and Andrew was a Cat 5. Staying in a mobile home during a hurricane is a horrible idea. Don’t do that. I don’t care if it is “only” a Cat1. I would tie myself to a palm tree first. When I worked as an emergency dispatcher for the Fire Department I answered a 911 call from a woman that decided not to evacuate her trailer and called 911 as her trailer was lifting off and slamming back down. She was about 30 miles inland and I pretty sure the storm was a Cat3. I wished her luck and suggested she get off the phone and go save herself. As this point she had to use any life skills she had to survive. Fire Trucks and Rescue vehicles can not go out in strong wind, these are very high profile vehicles and are very susceptible to wind pushing them over. The same with trains, yes trains. I have seen trains pushed right over. 
3. Elevation of Structure – Am I in a flood zone? How well can I swim and for how long. I am a really great swimmer. Oh there is probably raw sewage in the water, don’t worry about that.
House is on stilts, thats great for flooding but is a house on stilts more susceptible to the wind?
4. Size of Storm – How far inland is the storm projected to cause damage and how close to the center of the storm could I possibly be. In my experience when the eye passes everything goes still, a sudden stop like someone slammed on the brakes. Don’t be fooled. Go back inside, stay off the roof. When the other side of the eye wall crosses over me the hurricane is back on. The wind picks up right where it left off. From 0 mph to over 100 mph in a second.
5. Intensity of Storm – Category 1 less damage than category 5.
6. Speed of Storm – I have observed that a fast moving storm that flies by in an hour will do less damage than a storm of the same intensity that sticks around stalling all day. How much are you willing to subject yourself to? I used to work in a Category 5 hurricane rated building and guess what, it had damage after a slower moving Cat3 storm.
7. How much do I value life? Evacuation can be easy or it can be a pain in the ass it is up to you. Timing is everything. Sooner is better and if you wait too long you could end up taking the last drive of your life in some powerful weather.
See Hurricane Life Concepts Part 2 – Children and Hurricanes.