Danny could bring weekend repeat to Outer Banks

"Here in central North Carolina, there will be no impact from this storm whatsoever," Fishel said. "We will keep an eye on the Outer Banks just to be on the safe side."

Forecasters advised people in the Bahamas and the southeastern U.S. to keep an eye on Danny, which could slowly get stronger as it moves toward land.

As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, the storm was very weak, WRAL Meteorologist Mike Maze said. "We are probably not going to see much strengthening over the next couple of days."

The storm has top winds near 45 mph and is moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph). The storm's center was about 390 miles (625 km) east of Nassau, Bahamas, and about 735 miles (1,185 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.

Fishel pointed out that while the current forecast has the storm on a path to clip the east coast, with the "cone of uncertainty" for landfall barely touching Cape Hatteras, a storm's track can be difficult to predict days in advance.

An area of high pressure in the Atlantic Ocean is forecast to drift east, pulling Danny farther out to sea, Fishel said.

"This particular model keeps the storm well, well offshore," he said. "It that is the case, there would be little impact on the North Carolina coast, probably even less than we saw with Bill."

Meanwhile, far out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Ignacio is weakening and expected to become a tropical depression as it moves northwest with top winds of 45 mph.