Jeanne, which was packing 70 mph winds Thursday night, was expected to cross the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas and be 150 miles off St. Augustine, Fla., by Tuesday. From there, Ivan could help draw Jeanne toward the South Carolina coast, possibly as a hurricane.

"Making a beeline," said Jennifer Pralgo, a National Hurricane Center meteorologist. "That puts you right in the crosshairs, unfortunately."

Jeanne's exact path depends on a Bermuda high-pressure ridge in the western Atlantic. "Right now we think the ridge will weaken," Pralgo said. "Ivan is what we think will be that weakening point."

Ivan weakened to a tropical depression late Thursday and is expected make a gradual turn to the northeast and then southeast. "Ivan stalling over the area leaves a little path for Jeanne to come up the Southeast coast," said Bob Bright, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Charleston.

There were more than a few "ifs" in that forecast. "The models are not liking the situation right now," Pralgo said. "This far out, these tracks could change."

The models dispersed tracks widely enough after the Bahamas that Accuweather, a private weather-forecasting company, on Thursday predicted the storm to make landfall Monday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Jeanne wasn't expected to become a major hurricane with winds 111 mph or greater.

It was expected to erode while crossing the Bahamas and run into cooler water and some wind shear before strengthening again into a hurricane.

"We're maintaining our alert level as should everybody in Charleston County," county spokeswoman Jamie Thomas said. "There's all kinds of uncertainty when a storm is this far out. Whether or not this is another storm we have to deal with, people should be prepared and have together their emergency kits, their plans, their contacts."

Tom O'Brien, Charleston's emergency operations manager, has begun briefings with Mayor Joe Riley and staff. "We have a plan. Everybody knows the job they have to do," city spokeswoman Barbara Vaughn said. "If this thing gets close, we go into action."

If Jeanne makes landfall on the S.C. coast, it would be the first time in at least 150 years that three tropical systems have made landfall in South Carolina in the same season. Tropical storms Charley and Gaston also landed while three other passing storms, including Ivan, have affected the Lowcountry.

Those communities recovering from the effects of Tropical Storm Gaston received some good news Thursday. President Bush declared a major disaster area in Berkeley, Charleston and Williamsburg counties and ordered federal funds to help state and local recovery efforts.

"This is great," Thomas said. "Gaston left tons of debris. The county has had people working 12 hours per day, seven days per week to clean it up. We're thankful to know the citizens are going to have help to pay for it."

Rising rivers and wet ground have heightened worries over Ivan and Jeanne. With soil in the Lowcountry already soaked from the earlier storms, any strong winds could cause widespread tree damage. Rivers also have risen far enough that state climatologist Hope Mizzell warned people who live in river or lake flood-prone areas to make preparations immediately.

Ivan could drop as much as 15 inches of rain in upstate South Carolina and 6 inches in the Midlands, along with an inch or two along the coast, Bright said.

"There's no doubt that slug of water will come your way," Mizzell said. "We are now saturated, so it's not going to take nearly as much to cause flooding as before Frances. We don't even have to talk about Jeanne yet."

The Santee River was expected to crest today nearly 17 feet above flood stage near Jamestown because Santee Cooper has released floodgates on the Lake Marion dam.

The Edisto River along its Colleton County and Dorchester County banks still was below flood stage Thursday. Dorchester County Emergency Preparedness Director Ken Harrell and his counterpart in Colleton County, Suzanne Gant, said they weren't concerned yet about the river.

In the Caribbean, Jeanne hovered near hurricane strength as it plowed through the northeastern Dominican Republic on Thursday, prompting thousands to flee their homes a day after pounding Puerto Rico and killing at least two people.

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