A second set of evacuees could be heading to the Midlands: coastal South Carolinians fleeing Hurricane Ophelia.

Forecasters expect Ophelia to make a loop in the Atlantic on Sunday then head back to the U.S. East Coast as a strong Category 1 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center, with more caveats in the forecast than normal, has the storm making landfall late Monday in southern South Carolina.

The various computer models used to put together the official forecast vary widely, showing the storm hitting the coast anywhere from southern Georgia to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The landfall forecasts will be more accurate once Ophelia makes its loop.

“We’ll have a much better handle on it on Sunday,” said Steve Naglic, severe weather coordinator at the National Weather Service’s Columbia office.

Gov. Mark Sanford might not be able to wait until then. The state hurricane plan recommends a voluntary evacuation order based on when tropical storm-force winds reach the state. In general, experts call for voluntary evacuations more than 48 hours before a storm hits and mandatory evacuations at least 24 hours before a storm makes landfall.

Ophelia evacuees could end up in the same hotels with the hundreds of Katrina evacuees flown to the state this week by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ophelia evacuees might have to search harder or travel farther to find rooms because of the increased occupancy.

The Midlands has about 10,000 hotel rooms, according to Tom Sponseller, president of the S.C. Hospitality Association. About 800 were set aside for Katrina evacuees, and less than half of those have been filled.

Sponseller suspects the hotel situation in Columbia won’t be a problem unless the Ophelia evacuees have to stay through next weekend, when USC and Alabama football fans show up with reservations for rooms.

Sanford asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to stop sending Katrina evacuees to Charleston or Columbia until the Ophelia situation is clearer, said Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond.

National Guard troops and S.C. law enforcement officers were sent to help in the Katrina recovery effort. But state leaders said those deployments haven’t strained the capabilities of agencies that deal with hurricane evacuations.

“We have the resources we’re supposed to have in the state according to the (hurricane) plan,” Drummond said.

About 350 National Guard troops and about 200 state and local emergency workers were sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, said John Legare, spokesman for the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

While some could be back before Ophelia threatens, they aren’t being counted on to help with any evacuation effort.

Social service agencies in the state have been working overtime for days making Katrina evacuees feel welcome.

“Are we stretched thin? Absolutely,” said Scott Salemme, chief executive officer for the Midlands chapter of the American Red Cross.

After watching hundreds of volunteers flood his office early this week, Salemme has faith his agency can handle the emergency shelter needs if Ophelia comes this way.

One positive in the evacuee overlap: Red Cross officials went through their hurricane evacuation motions this week, placing equipment, cots and blankets in shelters thinking they would be needed for the Katrina evacuees. Instead, those people were put in hotels.

“Now we don’t have to go through everything we typically do for the shelters because it’s already done,” Salemme said.

Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366 or jholleman@thestate.com.