Sandy On The Move

There is no sign of a western jog, and the NOGAPS forecast has now snapped back to the National Hurricane Center forecast, so Tampa will be spared inconvenience. The Bahamas will be a mess, and the beaches of eastern Florida might see some heavy rain, heavy surf and some wind, though.

[UPDATE] It’s possible that even eastern Florida will be spared trouble, the storm being far enough offshore, but the latest forecasts are showing possible landfall in New Jersey, or New York City, on Monday, so we haven’t heard the last of this storm yet!

[UPDATE 2] Ha! The forecasters are calling it ‘Frankenstorm’!:

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unusual nasty mix of a hurricane and a winter storm that forecasters are now calling "Frankenstorm" is likely to blast most of the East Coast next week, focusing the worst of its weather mayhem around New York City and New Jersey.

Government forecasters on Thursday upped the odds of a major weather mess, now saying there's a 90 percent chance that the East will get steady gale-force winds, heavy rain, flooding and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Halloween on Wednesday.

Meteorologists say it is likely to cause $1 billion in damage.

The storm is a combination of Hurricane Sandy, now in the Caribbean, an early winter storm in the West, and a blast of arctic air from the North. They're predicted to collide and park over the country's most populous coastal corridor and reach as far inland as Ohio.

The hurricane part of the storm is likely to come ashore somewhere in New Jersey on Tuesday morning, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecaster Jim Cisco. But this is a storm that will affect a far wider area, so people all along the East have to be wary, Cisco said.