(Miami) September 9, 2005 - Hurricane Ophelia weakened to a tropical storm and began drifting away from Florida's northeast coast early Friday, but forecasters say the storm could still be dangerous.

Ophelia might turn back toward land as a hurricane next week, menacing the peninsula, Georgia or the Carolinas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) has moved to Operating Condition 4, and is monitoring Ophelia closely. Ophelia could bring heavy rain, damaging winds, tornadoes and localized flooding to South Carolina.

"I don't want people to say, 'Whew, this one's going out to sea.' There's still a possibility that it could loop back," NHC meteorologist Jamie Rhome said.

Ophelia became a hurricane Thursday when sustained winds reached 75 mph, that's 1 mph over the hurricane threshold. It could become the third hurricane to strike Florida this year and the seventh in 13 months.

Many Atlantic coast residents have learned from previous experiences and have already stocked up on batteries, water and nonperishable food.

"These people around here are veterans. They are already prepared," said Rick Storm, a clerk at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Merritt Island. "They are fully stocked and ready to go."

At 11am, Ophelia was 130 miles east of Daytona Beach. The storm is moving north-northeast at five miles an hour. Highest winds are 65 miles an hour.
Ophelia- (Forecast Path | Latest Advisory)

But even as it lingered offshore, Ophelia sent waves crashing onto beaches and stirred up winds. Officials shut down a stretch of coastal road in Flagler County so transportation workers could shore it up with sand and boulders.

"The storm is eating up our dunes," county communications manager Carl Laundrie said. "It has cut up right next to the road."

Officials at NASA were also keeping an eye on Ophelia. Last summer, the space agency's launch and landing site took the brunt of three hurricanes, which punched big holes into the massive building where shuttles are attached to their booster rockets and fuel tanks.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Bermuda's tropical storm warning was discontinued as Hurricane Nate pulled away, and Hurricane Maria weakened into a tropical storm over colder north Atlantic waters. Neither posed a threat to land.
Nate- (Forecast Path | Latest Advisory)
Maria- (Forecast Path | Latest Advisory)

Maria and Nate were the fifth and sixth hurricanes of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends November 30. Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September.

Updated 10:54am by Bryce Mursch with AP