My experience (a couple years on the Gulf Coast) was that for anything serious, most things will close. Less serious tropical storm scenarios are not a big deal: it's just winds like you get in the high plains/mountain west regions and a lot of water. Honestly, normal summer storms were worse for commuting because they had more water, which led to some concerns about visibility. Any bike that can get wet works fine: I never had fenders in the South, because if it's raining like that, you're gonna get wet.

Too hot for me down there, though. I'll take my -20F and be happy about it.