About 15 years ago, Garden City Beach restaurant manager Tom Phipps and his staff at Sam's Corner used to joke about their business being destroyed when bad weather was forecast.

He says the last time he laughed at a severe weather warning was in 1989, the day before Hurricane Hugo hit.

"We locked the doors up and said this will be the last time we see this place and had a toast. The next, morning Sam's Corner was gone.

"So now we take [weather warnings] seriously," Phipps said.

Today's weather is expected to be beautiful compared with the overnight rain and wind that moved across Brunswick, N.C., Horry and Georgetown counties overnight.

Tropical Storm Alex's maximum sustained winds increased to 70 mph by 11 p.m. Monday, and the National Hurricane Center predicted it could become a minimal hurricane today heading away from land.

Officials predicted the storm would be due east of Myrtle Beach at 2 a.m. and be due east of Wilmington, N.C., at 8 a.m. for the morning commute.

"The storm will be accelerating and moving away throughout the morning," said Michael Caropolo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington Monday night. "It's not going to be a widespread rain event because of the bands going through during the overnight period."

The Hurricane Hugo waterline is still marked by plaques on some homes in Garden City Beach, one of the hardest-hit places by the 1989 hurricane.

Even so, Phipps and many others in Garden City Beach on Monday were not overly worried about Alex.

Tourists weren't too concerned, either.

The storm had not led to any rental cancellations, Dunes Realty manager Marilyn Cooper said.

No guests at the Kingfisher Inn in Garden City Beach had canceled reservations because of the possible bad weather, employee Maria Labonte said.

But the hotel still told guests to be careful.

"I've told my last couple of check-ins they should keep an eye on it and watch the TV and not go in the water," Labonte said.

On the Pier at Garden City Beach, vacationer Rebecca McNelis of Baltimore wasn't going to let the storm ruin her trip. "This is nothing. It's a bunch of hoopla over nothing," she said.

About the only thing that was affected Monday by the weather in Garden City Beach was the fishing. Pier tackle shop employee Moe Deets said fishers weren't catching much.

"It's a little rough out there. The bottoms churned up," Deets said.

Officials expected residents in Brunswick, Georgetown and Horry counties to feel the storm's effects between 10 p.m. Monday and 5 a.m. today.

Randy Thompson, director of emergency services, said he expected heavy rains and sustained winds of 20-25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.

A storm surge of 1 foot to 2 feet was expected in Brunswick County but little beach erosion. Beach areas in Georgetown and Horry counties were predicted to remain untouched.

As a precaution, officials planned to have public safety officers on alert and other crews ready to respond to problems caused by Alex.

"We're on alert, ready to act if need be," said Mark Kruea, Myrtle Beach spokesman. "We'll keep an eye on it constantly."

Myrtle Beach crews emptied and moved beach trash cans inland Monday and tidied up city areas to keep storm debris and damage to a minimum, Kruea said.

Horry County officials monitored the storm by keeping close contact with the National Weather Service officials, said Lisa Bourcier, spokeswoman.

"We're ready to go if we're needed," she said. "With it coming through the night, hopefully it will be better for the area instead during [the morning] drive time."

Thompson said he had met with representatives of the Brunswick County schools, the sheriff's department and the state Department of Transportation and talked with emergency officials in all Brunswick municipalities to make sure everyone was ready for the storm.

He said the DOT will assist the county in case of flooding and that fire department personnel will be on standby for emergencies. Thompson said he expected some downed trees, with some of those falling across power lines.

Today, Caropolo predicted the weather will clear up to partly cloudy skies with a chance of scattered showers and a high in the lower 90s.

Alex started as a tropical depression Saturday and spun in place off the S.C. coast most of Sunday. By midday Monday, it began moving parallel to the coast of the Carolinas.

Only two hurricane seasons on record have a first tropical depression forming later than July 31. But forecasters said a late start has no bearing on hurricane activity.

Staff writer Steve Jones and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact TONYA ROOT at troot@thesunnews.com or 626-0306.

Contact PHIL WATSON at pwatson@thesunnews.com or 444-1761.

Source: National Hurricane Center