Newly formed Tropical Storm 04W may pose threats for both the northernPhilippines and eventually Japan.As of Friday morning, EDT, the center of Tropical Storm 04W (which had yet tobe given a name) was located approximately 200 miles east-southeast of thesmall island of Yap.

Due to light winds aloft, this storm will move very slowly over the nextseveral days. The center of the storm will pass over or very close to YapSunday, EDT.

Early next week, the storm will be over the warm waters of the Philippine Sea,and should be able to strengthen into a typhoon.

The future track of the storm remains quite uncertain through the middle to endof next week. An upper-air trough of low pressure will dive southeastward oversoutheast China. This upper-air trough will eventually steer the storm to thenortheast.

If the trough moves in fast enough, this could steer the storm out of harms wayof both the Philippines and eventually Japan.

However, if this trough is slower to dive southeastward, the storm may passclose to the northern Philippines and may get steered close enough to Japan tobring effects to the country.

Any effect on the Philippines would not occur until the middle of the week atthe earliest, with any possible effects on Japan occurring late in the week.

Story by Rob Miller, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist