"I'm not seeing any indication we have had any major problem," coastal geologist Bill Eiser said.

There was some erosion on the north end of Folly Beach, but beyond that, the state's beaches were not hurt by the storm, said Eiser, who works for the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

Places such as Edisto Beach that are prone to erosion reported no major problems, he said.

The beaches, key to the state's $15-billion-a-year tourism industry, were helped because Alex was more than 100 miles off Charleston and a minimal tropical storm as it spun in place on Sunday.

The storm gathered strength as it began moving northeast away from South Carolina on Monday.

Early on Tuesday, it became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season as it swiped the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Early Tuesday, the tropical storm warnings that had been posted for Georgetown and Horry counties were removed by the National Hurricane Center.

South Carolina has escaped several potentially damaging storms in recent years.

It has been 15 years since Hurricane Hugo and its 135 mph winds smashed into Charleston ripping up beaches from Folly Beach to the North Carolina line.

"We have had some minor erosion from hurricanes since Hugo hit, but nothing that I would say was moderate or so extensive as Hugo in 1989," Eiser said.

Indeed, without a major storm in years, the state's beaches have been able to build with sand.

Two years ago, Tropical Storm Kyle skirted along the coast but didn't make landfall in the state, although the eye of the storm was the first tropical system since Hugo to cross Charleston Harbor.

That storm spun off tornadoes and dumped up to eight inches of rain in places across South Carolina.

Alex was the first storm of the tropical season and, although the season was late to start, forecasters said there is no correlation between the date of the first named storm and activity during that season.

"During a typical hurricane season, there are about five or so we in South Carolina keep a close look at" as they form at sea, Eiser said.

In recent years, most of those have passed by.

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