Get used to that ominous cloud on the radar screen.

Ophelia, which gained a name and tropical storm status on Wednesday, lurked 60 miles off Cape Canaveral and forecasters didn't expect it to move anywhere far anytime soon.

Where it might eventually head, however, remained rather perplexing.

Emergency-management officials in Horry County and other counties along South Carolina's coast went on alert Wednesday in response to a potential threat from Tropical Storm Ophelia.

It was the first time this year state and local officials moved to alert status. It means that officials are closely monitoring the storm's development.

Lisa Bourcier, Horry County public-information officer, said officials are concerned because of the storm's proximity to South Carolina and the uncertainty of its direction.

The meandering storm Ophelia was stalled offshore Thursday about 60 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, but forecasters said it was impossible to say what path the storm would take, or whether it would reach hurricane strength.

The National Hurricane Center nudged the official track off the North Florida coast into the open Atlantic Ocean, but cautioned the only thing forecasters were sure of was that the entire state of Florida, particularly North Florida, ought to keep an eye on Ophelia for four or five days.

"Right now, it's a very low-confidence forecast," said Eric Blake, a meteorologist with the center in West Miami-Dade County.

Locally, Horry County authorities are receiving storm updates from state officials and the National Hurricane Center, which says Ophelia could be a hurricane within three days, Bourcier said.

The S.C. Emergency Management Division said Wednesday that Tropical Storm Ophelia could bring heavy rain, damaging winds, tornadoes and flooding to the state.

In announcing the alert, authorities said now is a good time for families to review hurricane plans.

"If a tropical storm is out there, we want people to be mindful of it," said John Legare, spokesman for the Emergency Management Division.

As of Wednesday evening, the emergency-operations center in Horry County had not been activated. The county emergency-management officials will not advance from alert status unless the storm threat increases, Bourcier said.

The state Emergency Operation Center is on limited-activiation status but not because of Ophelia, said John Legare, spokesman for S.C. Emergency Management Division. State officials there are coordinating relief for Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast, Legare said.

He said any help sent for victims from that storm will not jeopardize S.C. protection.

"We still have resources for traffic, security and sheltering evacuees."

Some computer models showed the storm moving farther east and away from the Florida coast, others had it going west, closer to shore, and some showed it heading east and then looping back toward the state.

The hurricane center's five-day "area of uncertainty" covered a huge area from South Miami-Dade to central North Carolina.

According to the National Hurricane Center, it could bring high winds and rain across portions of central and northern Florida and southeastern Georgia over the next few days.

Ophelia is the 15th named storm of the season. At 5 a.m. EDT, its top sustained winds increased to 60 mph, but it remained nearly stationary.

A tropical storm warning, meaning winds exceeding 39 mph are possible within 24 hours, was posted for Florida's east coast from Cocoa Beach to Flagler Beach. A tropical storm watch was in effect from Flagler Beach to Fernandina Beach. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 36 hours.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Hurricane Nate was expected Thursday to gradually pull away from Bermuda, while a renewed Hurricane Maria was moving over the colder waters of the north Atlantic with 75 mph-winds.

At 5 a.m., Nate had top sustained winds of 85 mph. It was centered about 145 miles south of Bermuda, where forecasters said it could drop up to 3 inches of rain, with battering waves and storm surges up to 4 feet.

It was moving northeast at 9 mph, and was not expected to threaten the United States, forecasters said.

Maria was centered about 1005 miles east-northeast of Bermuda and moving northeast near 13 mph.

Nate is the sixth hurricane in a busy Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.