UTC. Vertical wind shear persisted and Danielle soon began to weaken again. Later on August 27, the National Hurricane Center predicted that the storm would travel along the periphery of an anticyclone centered just east of Bermuda, which would keep the storm away from the East Coast of the United States. Despite being in an apparently favorable environment, Danielle continued to slowly weaken, as the forecast for decreasing wind shear did not initially materialize. Additionally, upwelling from Hurricane Bonnie roughly a week earlier contributed to a decrease in strength. Although the storm weakened further, reconnaissance aircraft observations on August 29 concluded that the structure of Danielle had improved compared to the previous day. By early on August 30, Danielle had weakened to the extent that it was only a minimal hurricane, with maximum winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) at the time. On August 30, the National Hurricane Center noted that Danielle would soon leave the upwelling track left by Bonnie, and likely lead to intensification. Thus, the possibility of re-strengthening increased, though predictions only showed gradual intensification. By early on August 31, an increase in sustained winds, a decrease in barometric pressure, and a wide eye observed by reconnaissance aircraft all suggested that Danielle was beginning to intensify. On August 31, the anticyclone near Bermuda caused Danielle to curve northeastward, away from the East Coast of the United States. Later that day, a significant increase in intensity led the storm to again reach its maximum sustained wind speed of 105 mph (165 km/h). On September 1, there was significant uncertainty in the future intensity of Danielle, as a shortwave trough located northeast of the storm would either enhance outflow, causing strengthening, or increase wind shear, resulting in weakening. At 1500 UTC on September 1, it was predicted that Danielle would strengthen slightly before weakening and becoming extratropical by September 3. Three hours later, Danielle reached its maximum sustained wind speed of 105 mph (165 km/h) for the fourth and final time. Early on September 2, the storm weakened again and was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. At 0600 UTC on September 3, Danielle reached its minimum barometric pressure of 960 mb (hPa; 28.35 inHg), although sustained winds were only 80 mph (130 km/h) at the time. As late as 1500 UTC on September 3, satellite imagery indicated that Danielle was retaining tropical characteristics. The National Hurricane Center did