As the delayed political winds finally began to swirl at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., the tropical winds that had forced the delay moved on to the Gulf Coast.

Although there had been some grumbling to the contrary, Republican officials did the right thing by calling off most of the events in the first day of their national political convention in Tampa on Monday.

Yes it was inconvenient, but it was the prudent thing to do even though now-Hurricane Isaac essentially bypassed Tampa.

Tropical weather is unpredictable and not something to trifle with. We have seen such tropical storms exhibit erratic movements. Gulf of Mexico storms have stopped, backed up and made 90-degree turns.

The storm's tracking is eerily similar to the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm, which was much stronger than Isaac when it was in open water, turned New Orleans into a virtual ghost town. The Crescent City has still not recovered from that disaster seven years ago.

Isaac will not likely hit the coast with the same force as Katrina, which was a Category 3 hurricane when it hit the mainland in 2005. Isaac officially became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday when its sustained winds reached 76 mph. Although lesser in intensity, Isaac is still a threat because such lower ranked storms can produce devastating results.

Often Category 1 hurricanes do not have enough force to push inland quickly, so they create

a significant storm surge and then linger over coastal areas and dump water for hours. The winds can do damage, but it is the water that is often the problem. If Hurricane Isaac dumps more than 12 inches of rain in any one spot on the low-lying Gulf Coast, the result can be devastating because it causes massive flooding. In fact, most of the damage in New Orleans in 2005 was from the flooding after the levees broke.

While that can be traumatic for those who live there, it can also be a major problem for the rest of the nation because of the number of oil refineries and drilling operations that will likely be disrupted.

Unless Isaac quickly blows through the region or suddenly dissipates, Isaac will affect gasoline prices throughout the country.

We are sure to hear consumers wailing of oil companies using the hurricane as an excuse to raise prices, but it isn't that simple. When faced with the prospect of an advancing hurricane, oil refineries along the Gulf Coast and drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico are forced to take the same precautions that were taken by the Republicans in Tampa. They must shut down, which means production must stop and supply is suddenly lessened.

Of course, we hope that none of that happens. We hope that Hurricane Isaac will move through the area very quickly or fall apart as it hits the mainland.

But we must admit to being grateful to the storm for one thing. It kept us from having to listen to Donald Trump, a wind of far greater strength than any hurricane.