Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie lumbered toward the Lowcountry on Wednesday, threatening area residents with a weekend of heavy rain, winds and tornado warnings.

Bonnie should hit the Florida Panhandle this morning, swirl into southwest Georgia and move through South Carolina today before continuing into north-central North Carolina, said Hal Austin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Austin said Beaufort residents can expect thunderstorms from the passing storm and because of the increased humidity the storm brings there is a threat of scattered tornadoes, although widespread flooding is not expected.

"It's going to be moving rather quickly," he said.

Bonnie will most likely die out over central Virginia on Friday, Austin said.

The long-range forecast for Hurricane Charley, which reached hurricane-level strength in the Caribbean early Wednesday afternoon, has it hitting the southwest coast of Florida at about noon Friday, and then sitting 60 to 70 miles off the Beaufort County coast by early Saturday.

Unfortunately for those making plans based on the storm projections, advisories from the National Hurricane Center warned that tracking errors average almost 300 miles for the fourth day of the forecast.

Austin said Charley will bring a second gush of showers and thunderstorms to the Beaufort County area Friday afternoon that will continue into Friday night. Conditions will be very windy as well, and Charley's winds were about 70 mph Wednesday afternoon.

By the time Charley is expected to hit land again in Georgetown County early Saturday, it should be down to tropical storm strength, Austin said.

"Crossing the Florida peninsula will bring it down some," he said.

Charley will probably dissipate somewhere in eastern North Carolina on Saturday afternoon, Austin said.

Beaufort County safety officials quietly made preparations on Wednesday for the torrential rains, heavy winds, and potential tornadoes that could accompany Charley's and Bonnie's visits to the Lowcountry.

Beaufort County Emergency Management moved to an Operational Level 4 on Wednesday afternoon. But William Winn, the director of the county's Emergency Management Services, said the move was merely to make sure the agencies involved in responding to the weather were in contact and on the same page.

"It's a step to make sure we can find everybody," Winn said. "This has nothing to do with the public. It's an internal thing."

However, Winn encouraged the public to keep an eye on Charley and Bonnie.

"They can take protective actions, like bringing in the garbage cans and lawn chairs so they don't blow down the street," he said.

With the advent of at least a soaking, Beaufort Water Search and Rescue Skipper Doyle Clifton urged people to stay off the water, and to secure their vessels at docks.

He said boaters should make sure their bilge pumps are working properly. If they own large vessels, Clifton suggested taking them up river and anchoring them.

However, he said, boaters should secure their vessels as soon as possible.

"Often, when they see the stuff coming in, that's when they move them, and then it's too late," Clifton said. "It's better to do a little extra work than to have a problem."