NU Online News Service, Aug. 26, 3:22 p.m.EDT

Weather forecasters pondering the possible track of TropicalStorm Danny said it could make a run at North Carolina and theNortheast over the weekend, possibly becoming a weak hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory this morningwhen the storm was north of the Bahamas, naming Danny the fourthtropical cyclone of the Atlantic Hurricane season.

The NHC said people in the Bahamas and Southeastern UnitedStates should monitor the progress of the storm in the comingdays.

AccuWeather.com issued a statement saying that the areas of theCarolina coast to New England could be at risk of impact from Danny"depending on how close the system tracks to the East Coast."

The preliminary forecast issued by AccuWeather.com brings thestorm just east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Fridaynight before taking a swipe at southern New England Saturdaynight.

Danny could also track more east and not make landfall at all,the forecast noted.

The Weather Underground weather Web site said predictive modelsseem to agree the storm will be offshore as it passes NorthCarolina, but it still has the capacity to deliver a direct hit tothe Outer Banks in that state.

Passing North Carolina, the storm "should start headingnorth-northeast, with a second landfall likely Saturday night orSunday morning somewhere between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia,"the forecast said, noting that at that time it "is likely to be astrong tropical storm or weak Category 1 hurricane, with winds inthe 55-to-80 mph range."

The NHC said Danny is expected to bring two-to-four inches ofrain to central and Northwestern Bahamas and one-to-two inches areexpected over Southeastern Bahamas and Caicos Islands.

Danny's five-day track, according to the NHC, has the storm offthe coast of Virginia by Saturday morning, moving past Maine Sundaymorning with hurricane force winds before moving past Newfoundlandwith tropical force winds on Monday.