(RALEIGH) -- Tropical Storm Isaac is gaining strength as it approaches the Caribbean. Gail Hartfield with the National Weather Service office in Raleigh said the latest forecast track has the storm curving toward the tip of Florida by early next week.

"Depending on where the track goes, there is still that envelope of possibility that it could re-curve a little earlier than expected and skirt along our coast or make landfall somewhere along the Carolina coast the middle of next week.  That's way beyond the forecast, but it's certainly possible that we could receive some rainfall with it," said Hartfield.

He adds that it is also much too early to say with any certainty whether Isaac it will gain hurricane strength or make a beeline for Tampa, on Florida’s west coast. This is the site of next week's Republican National Convention. It is the type of weather that convention organizers knew was a possibility during the peak of hurricane season, so they have backup plans in place in a worst-case scenario.