Dennis Winds Up for Coastal Punch : Hurricane: The storm gains strength over the Bahamas. Its future course remains uncertain, but it could hit the Carolinas Monday or Tuesday.

East Coast beach-goers and coastal residents kept track of changing weather forecasts Saturday as Hurricane Dennis added muscle while moving slowly through the Bahamas.

The storm’s course was uncertain. Various computer models suggested it could affect the coast of the Carolinas late Monday or Tuesday, or veer away from land, forecasters said.

“There’s some glimmer of hope,” National Hurricane Center Director Jerry Jarrell said Saturday afternoon. “Some of the models are beginning to show that it may miss the coast.”

It would be another day or two before forecasters could feel more confident in their forecast for the Carolinas, he said, but “it is a glimmer of hope.”

Forecasters also had warned that Dennis might stall somewhere along the coast, giving it more time to pile up a storm surge and to batter the beach with erosive waves.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Dennis had strengthened, with its sustained wind accelerating to 105 mph, and was centered about 180 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Fla., the hurricane center said. It was moving toward the northwest at about 6 mph and was expected to turn gradually toward the north today.

The hurricane was expected to strengthen further and could become a Category 3 storm, with wind of 111 mph to 130 mph.

The hurricane center cautioned that storms can deviate widely from projections.

“This is not the time to let down our guard, nor is there any reason to panic,” said Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston.

Damon Smith wasn’t letting his guard down as he stocked up on 20 gallons of bottled water on South Carolina’s Isle of Palms.

“My gut feeling is, it’s not going to hit, but I like to be prepared just in case,” Smith said.

Dennis battered the northern Bahamas early Saturday, tearing up trees and utility poles, ripping small boats from their moorings and breaking down buildings under construction.

At North Carolina’s Kill Devil Hills, on the Outer Banks chain of islands, Howard and Jean Wamsley of Colonial Heights, Va., boarded up the windows and 8-foot glass sliding doors at their vacation home.

“This is my dream house, and we’ve got to protect it,” Jean Wamsley said.

Near Wilmington, N.C., Wrightsville Beach lifeguards posted red flags along the beach Saturday, warning people not to enter the water because the surf might generate dangerous rip currents. A 10-year-old swimmer drowned in a rip current before Hurricane Bonnie last year at Atlantic Beach.

Tropical storm warnings and a hurricane watch were in effect for the Florida coast north to the Georgia state line, and the hurricane center said the watches and warnings would be extended northward as the storm moves.

A heavy surf advisory was posted for the coast of Georgia. Some people called resorts to cancel their reservations while others went to the beach to surf in the high waves.

Five-foot seas also attracted dozens of surfers off Cocoa Beach, Fla.

“I grew up in Hawaii, so the only real challenge left is to say I’ve surfed hurricane waves,” Bill Boggs, 45, said as he watched fellow surfers off the Cocoa Beach Pier.

Cheryl Woods-Flowers, the mayor of Mount Pleasant, S.C., just east of Charleston, said people should at least get ready for protective measures, such as covering windows.

“I’m probably not going to start putting my husband on a ladder until tomorrow,” she said.

About 1,000 South Carolina National Guardsmen were on alert upstate and about 600 law enforcement officers were on the coast in case they are needed to direct traffic in the event of an evacuation.

South Carolina’s Gov. Jim Hodges met with emergency officials to be briefed on the storm.

“At this point we are still not talking about any evacuation. We are simply taking the normal precautions that should be taken,” Hodges said.

On the Isle of Palms, landscaper David Schwartz stocked up on water but said he would probably leave if Dennis threatens.

“The way the last ones have been, I have no gut feeling,” he said. “They are so unpredictable.”