The tropical storm formerly known as Hurricane Jeanne may spin itself away from Florida, sparing the state another hit by a big storm.

Friday night, the National Hurricane Center upgraded Jeanne from a tropical depression to a tropical storm and said computer models now suggest it will move north and then possibly east, remaining far out at sea.

The forecast was a significant shift from earlier predictions that indicated the storm would move north for several days before making a hard left turn.

The National Hurricane Center's Friday morning forecast would have put Jeanne on a collision course with Florida's East Coast, an area battered two weeks ago by Hurricane Frances.

That westward shift -- labeled "the left hook," by one meteorologist -- worried local officials who feared a sequel to Hurricane Frances.

The 5 p.m. EDT forecast, however, eliminated the turn to the west. It turned Jeanne almost due north and suggested it might continue in that direction for at least the next five days.

Forecasts a day earlier put the Savannah region in the storm's track by Tuesday, and officials in the Lowcountry still were keeping an eye on the storm Friday.

Beaufort County Emergency Management director William Winn said the county's continued vigilance is focused on awareness.

"It makes sure all agencies are alert that something's out there and that they can find something if they need it," Winn said. "We're finding critical people and all agencies we deal with and telling them to review their plans."

The National Weather Service in Charleston predicts partly cloudy skies and winds from 15 to 20 mph today with temperatures reaching about 80 degrees, said meteorologist Joe Calderone.

Calderone wasn't sure what impact Jeanne would have on the area. Though the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression, it strengthened to a tropical storm again.

"It's really hard to tell at this point if there's going to be any impacts," he said.

National Hurricane Center meteorologist Jim Eberwine said the storm's new track came about with a little help from Ivan.

That storm was expected to move slowly over the Southeast, preventing Jeanne from heading to the north. Then, a high-pressure ridge building over the Midwest was expected to drop down forcing Jeanne to turn left or right.