(RALEIGH) -- Hurricane Irene could spare much of North Carolina, but  North Carolina News Network Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said currently there is a very good chance the storm would make landfall as a category 3 hurricane on the Outer Banks.

"The trends have been, as the computer models have come out each consecutive run, to push this storm a little farther eastward, a little farther out into the Atlantic, so if that trend continues, then we may be in a little better shape along the Outer Banks," said Gardner.

She said there is a chance the northeastern quadrant of the storm could stay offshore.  Usually the northeastern part of a hurricane causes the most damage.

She cautions that this is a very large and powerful storm and even if it just skirts along North Carolina's coast all coastal areas will feel it. "We could certainly see at least tropical storm force winds down around the Wilmington area. We could have heavy surf, a rip current danger, some coastal erosion and that sort of thing, but again, a category 3 storm hitting around the Outer Banks is going to cause some major damage."