They’re holding on to their hats around Wilmington, N.C., as Tropical Storm Hanna rumbles toward the Carolina coast. The storm also could allow area residents to hold on to their old TV sets a little longer, as federal officials and broadcasters said they might postpone Monday’s planned test of the digital television conversion in Wilmington if Hanna causes significant damage.

The storm, which is approaching hurricane strength, is expected to make landfall just south of Wilmington early today local time. That’s causing some angst for broadcasters at the region’s five commercial television stations, which are scheduled at noon Monday to be the first in the country to permanently switch to digital signals.

Broadcasters and Federal Communications Commission officials discussed the situation in two conference calls this week and plan to have another conversation Sunday morning to decide if they will postpone the digital conversion. But based on the forecast, which calls for the storm to move quickly through the region, they remained optimistic that there would be no delay.

“I think it’s still going to end up taking place,” FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin told reporters Friday. The FCC plans to post an announcement about the test on its Web site by 1 p.m. CDT Sunday.