Hurricane Jeanne, currently barreling through waters east of the Bahamas, could blow through the Lowcountry on Monday afternoon at tropical storm strength, packing high winds and heavy rain.

When the storm arrives, winds would be around 60 mph, said Hal Austin, a Charleston-based meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But he warned that with the storm so far away, it's difficult to make predictions with any degree of certainty.

"Keep in mind, that's about four days away, so the track can vary a little bit," Austin said Thursday. "Everybody needs to worry a little bit and keep up with the advisories and forecasts."

William Winn, director of Beaufort County Emergency Management, agreed that the best thing to do was watch the storm and be prepared.

"At this point, you need to be vigilant, watch it, review your family hurricane plans," Winn said. "Some point in the next couple of days, I think the picture will get a little clearer for us."

The Red Cross is calling in volunteers and ensuring its shelter facilities and equipment are ready, said Larry Rockwell, executive director of the Palmetto Chapter.

"Any time there's a storm threatening our area we're going to take it seriously, but Jeanne has been an especially difficult storm to track, so we're not pushing the panic button just yet," Rockwell said.

The storm doesn't appear to be affecting business at local hotels, said Charlie Clark, spokeswoman for the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.

For the seven-day period beginning today, reservations at most of the major hotels on Hilton Head Island are showing 57 percent occupancy, Clark said. That would compare with 50 percent occupancy in the same week last year.

"We're keeping a cautious eye on the storm, but it really is still early," Clark said. "A lot can change with an unpredictable hurricane."

Five storms already have affected South Carolina during this seemingly endless 2004 hurricane season.

If Jeanne were to hit, it would be the first time in at least 150 years that three named tropical systems have made landfall on the South Carolina coast in the same hurricane season.

Two already have made landfall in Charleston County -- Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Gaston, while the remnants of Bonnie also tracked into the state after that storm made landfall on the Gulf of Mexico.

The edges of hurricanes Frances and Ivan also brought heavy rains, tornadoes and damage to South Carolina, even though the center of those storms did not track through the state.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory that tropical storm conditions were possible along the coast Sunday. Forecasters also warned that dangerous surf and rip currents could develop during the coming days.

Heavy rains from Jeanne already have caused massive problems in parts of the Caribbean. More than 1,100 were killed and 1,250 were missing in Haiti as of Thursday afternoon.