A National Weather Service marine advisory warned that tropical storm conditions were possible Sunday, and its hurricane advisory cautioned that dangerous surf and currents are possible the next few days.

"It's supposed to blow pretty hard," said Ian Riggs, surfing instructor at McKevlin's Surf Shop on Folly Beach. "It's definitely not going to be a good time to be swimming."

Jeanne was expected to pass near the South Carolina coast Sunday and Monday on its way toward North Carolina as a minimal hurricane. But the projected path was close enough that a nudge either way would make a big difference in how much of it the Lowcountry feels. With the steering currents uncertain, Jeanne's path and potential strength also remain uncertain: If it stays offshore, it's more likely to be a stronger storm. If it moves inland in Georgia or South Carolina, it's expected to weaken while crossing cooler waters.

"It's trying to pick the lesser of two evils," said Joe Calderone, a meteorologist in the weather service's Charleston office.

Forecasters cautioned Lowcountry residents to pay attention to Jeanne. Its core packed 100-mph winds Wednesday, and hurricane-force winds extended about 45 miles from the eye.

Swells are expected to rise as high as 5 feet tonight, 7 feet Friday and 8 feet Saturday, with winds rising from about 10 mph to as much as 25 mph by Saturday. A moderate rip current advisory was issued Wednesday for the Grand Strand but not the Charleston area.

It's been a summer of strong currents and dangerous riptides resulting from the parade of tropical storms along or near the coast. Riptides occur when bigger waves carrying more water to the beach create narrow, rapid channels for it to flow back out. They can overwhelm even a strong swimmer.Even Ivan has reformed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and appears to be heading toward Texas and Louisiana.

Northeast winds made for a rough week at the beach, with the sidelong winds ramping up the current and the surf. Bill Eiser, an oceanographer with S.C. Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, was surprised Monday to find high tide swells eroding dunes at Folly Beach.

Riggs said Wednesday it was too rough to take a beginning surfer out for instruction.

"Anytime we have a strong wind out of the northeast we have the waves build up and the wind pushes them farther in," Eiser said. "We've had some beach erosion (this summer), no doubt about it, because we've had so many storms."

Jeanne would be the fifth storm this year to cause beach erosion. "The cumulative effect has been as much as you would expect from one good-size northeast storm during the winter," Eiser said. "What happens this weekend depends on where Jeanne goes."

There's a chance that Jeanne could be a boon to the beaches. When a storm passing offshore creates high, even swells, Eiser said, those swells can push more sand onto the upper beach.

"It has happened, and it's always a pleasure to have it happen because we always fear the worst," said Linda Woods, Edisto Beach town administrator. The Colleton County town will issue a rip current advisory on its cable channel.

"These storms cause havoc up and down the coast," Woods said. "You always have to be concerned about that."

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