HURRICANE ISABEL

After slipping a bit, Hurricane Isabel regained strength Saturday, lashing the warm Atlantic waters with 160-mph winds.

Forecasters are tracking the powerful Isabel along a course that could put the storm at Cape Hatteras, N.C., by late Thursday.

However, they also warned residents from Florida to Virginia to pay close attention to the Category 5 storm through the weekend and early this week.

South Carolina's best hope of avoiding the brunt of the dangerous storm is that Isabel takes a predicted turn north Tuesday morning. That turn still is anything but certain.

"The general curve hasn't turned yet," said Steve Rich, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Charleston. "If it doesn't make that abrupt turn, it could make a tremendous difference in where it goes."

Isabel, the fourth hurricane of the year and ninth named storm of 2003, fell briefly to a Category 4 hurricane early Saturday. Its wind speed diminished to 150 mph as it encountered cooler waters in the wake of Hurricane Fabian several days ago.

But by 2 p.m., it had regained strength over warmer Atlantic waters, rising again to a monstrous Category 5, the highest level possible.

The storm continued to move west toward the U.S. mainland, fluctuating between 9 and 10 mph. Forecasters said a slight strengthening is possible through today, though they think Isabel eventually will lose some power prior to landfall, down possibly to a Category 3 storm.

"It's not definite, but things are looking more ominous than yesterday for the East Coast," National Hurricane Center meteorologist Eric Blake said Saturday.

Rich said Isabel could come ashore packing winds of 120 mph by Thursday.

Meanwhile, S.C. emergency preparedness officials on Saturday conducted conference calls in anticipation of the storm, conferring with various county emergency preparedness agencies, Gov. Mark Sanford, the state climatologist and other agencies critical to hurricane relief.

South Carolina officials also conferred about Isabel with their counterparts in other states across the Southeast, and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Joe Farmer, S.C. Emergency Management Division spokesman.

"We are prepared to do anything that needs to be done to protect citizens," Farmer said. He said that no activation orders for emergency personnel were expected to be issued over the weekend, unless Isabel does something unexpected.

Farmer reminded residents that his agency issued "Hurricane Guides" in the spring, at the start of hurricane season. Those guides offer instructions on what to do before a hurricane lands, during the hurricane and afterward. They list maps for evacuation, shelters, emergency phone numbers and agencies to contact. Copies of the guides can be downloaded from the state emergency-preparedness Web site at http://www.scemd.org/.

"A hurricane is a statewide event in South Carolina," Farmer said. "We want the people of South Carolina to know we are on top of the storm, and we want them to stay on top of the storm."

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach Burris at (803) 771-8398 or rburris@thestate.com.