Early Friday Morning Update on Danny...

Tropical Storm Danny continues to inch its way closer to the U.S., but it's still expected to gradually curve north and northeast, staying well east of the Virginia coast. It's closest point of approach will be the Outer Banks of North Carolina and a Tropical Storm Watch is posted from Cape Lookout north to Duck. This means there is the possibility of tropical storm force winds along the North Carolina coast within the next 36 hours.

After strengthening earlier Thursday, Danny weakened a bit as of the late night advisory. Maximum sustained winds are at 45 mph. While some strengthening is possible, the overall computer model suite isn't as impressive as earlier runs, which showed the potential for a hurricane. The storm is quite disorganized and it's hard to pick out the center on satellite imagery.

If you have plans to go to the beach, be aware that even at Virginia Beach and up the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, large swells are expected to produce dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents through Saturday.

Central Virginia should not experience any significant impact from the storm. The overall wind flow should enhance the moisture content over the area Friday afternoon and evening, leading to numerous showers and a few thunderstorms. However, as the storm passes by on Saturday, drier air will gradually take over and we'll see a decent amount of sunshine. That doesn't mean rain chances will disappear though, as a cold front will approach from the west on Sunday. As this front sinks south and east of the region, somewhat cooler air will take over early next week.

The official NHC forecast track is shown below, followed by the late night computer model tracks.