Hurricane Sandy, now near Jamaica, could hit the East Coast as a strong tropical storm, causing flooding early next week, according to one forecast model. But it could also head out to sea. 
 
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 Weather forecasters are keeping their eye on hurricane Sandy, which could potentially affect residents from Florida to northern New England. 
 
 Although the forecasters caution that the computer models are still divided over the future path of the storm, in a worst-case scenario the US will get hit with a storm that will be bring back memories of the “perfect storm” that hammered the US in Halloween 1991. 
 
 “The weather system could have some similarities to the perfect storm,” says Paul Walker, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com in State College, Pa. “I’m not quite sure if it will be that bad.” 
 
 The perfect storm resulted in widespread flooding as 30-foot waves raked seaside communities. Thirteen people lost their lives and damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A Hollywood movie, “The Perfect Storm,” chronicled the storm and its impact on a fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, which sank offshore. 
 
 At the moment, the National Hurricane Center reports Sandy is south of Jamaica with 80 mile per hour winds. It is expected to cross Jamaica and then Cuba early Thursday morning. It will then move north through the Bahamas as a strong tropical storm, predicts Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the NHC in Miami. 
 
 “At that point the tropical force wind field will expand to more than 200 miles,” says Mr. Feltgen. “That’s why there is a tropical storm watch along the southeast Florida coast. That watch may have to be expanded northward.” 
 
 By late in the week, forecasters expect the storm will be running parallel to the southeast coast, staying well offshore. This is where the computer models diverge. 
 
 Some models have the system getting caught up in a westerly airflow. In this scenario, Sandy moves away from the coast and becomes mainly a maritime hazard. If the system moves offshore it will mainly result in some rain in the Northeast early in the week. Halloween may be wet in some communities. 
 
 Yet other computer models envision Sandy getting sucked back toward the East Coast. It would no longer be a hurricane but would still have near hurricane force winds. 
 
 “You can have hurricane force winds and not have a hurricane,” says Feltgen. “There can be some powerful nor’easters.” 
 
 In a worst-case scenario, there could be travel disruptions early in the week from southeast Virginia all the way to New England, says Mr. Walker. Because the winds could be driving large seas in from the ocean, coastal areas could experience flooding. 
 
 If the storm does head inland, the computer models show it slowing down. This could potentially result in a lot of flooding. 
 
 In addition, some of the computer forecasts predict snow in the mountains of western Pennsylvania up to western New York state. 
 
 “A high pressure zone building on the back of this would funnel down cold air from James Bay onto the back side of this system,” says Walker. 
 
 Last October, a snowstorm dumped more than a foot of snow in some parts of the Northeast causing widespread power outages since the trees still had their leaves. Walker says this is not likely to happen this time since it will be warm along the coast. 
 
 It is not unusual to get hurricanes this late in the season. “We typically get two in October,” says Feltgen. In fact, every November since 2007 there has been a tropical storm or hurricane. 
 
 “So we are not out of the woods yet,” says Feltgen. 
 
 In fact, even if Sandy goes out to sea, Walker says some computer models envision yet another nor’easter forming at the end of next week. “We will just have to wait and see,” he says. 

 One forecast model shows the storm slamming into the Northeast next week. 
 
 Rain brought by the outer bands of Tropical Storm Sandy falls in the Standpipe neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo: Jamaica Tropical Weather) Story Highlights Hurricane Sandy's rampage through the Caribbean is only the beginning 
 
 Chances are increasing for a major storm impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, a forecast says 
 
 Sandy's first U.S. impacts will be along the east coast of Florida 
 
 Hurricane Sandy's rampage through the Caribbean today is only the beginning: Forecasters say the storm could morph into a monstrous nor'easter and slam the U.S. East Coast next week — or it could miss us entirely. 
 
 If it hits the Northeast the day before Halloween, as one computer model shows, it would be a disastrous storm, bringing coastal flooding, drenching rainfall, high winds, downed trees, power outages, travel mayhem and even Appalachian snow, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. 
 
 Could that happen? Unfortunately, as of midday Wednesday, the "chances are increasing for a major storm impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast," according to an online forecast report by meteorologist James Cisco of the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. 
 
 INTERACTIVE MAP: Track Hurricane Sandy 
 
 PHOTOS: Sandy strikes 
 
 Regardless of what happens next week, Sandy's first U.S. impacts will be along the East Coast of Florida this afternoon and evening, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen says. 
 
 Although the center of gigantic Sandy (even if downgraded to a tropical storm) will be between Cuba and the Bahamas, it will still affect Florida: Sandy will grow into a huge storm Thursday, Feltgen says, with tropical-storm-force winds extending as far as 220 miles from the eye. 
 
 The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings and watches for Florida's southeastern coast from the Volusia/Brevard County line south to the Upper Keys. 
 
 The weather along waterlogged Florida's East Coast will be dismal today through Saturday as Sandy slogs north, bringing gusty winds and rain, huge waves and dangerous rip currents. South Florida has had one of its wettest years on record and could do without any additional rain from Sandy. Just since May 1, Miami has received more than 5 feet of rain, the National Weather Service reports. 
 
 Where the storm goes after it moves past Florida Saturday is just a guess, Feltgen says. One computer model shows it curving out to sea, while another shows it hooking into the Northeast coast as a powerful nor'easter. 
 
 Nor'easters are intense areas of low pressure that develop off the East Coast during late fall, winter and early spring. They are called "nor'easters" because they usually bring strong northeast winds over the East as they move north along the Atlantic Coast. 
 
 By that point, Sandy would no longer be a tropical storm or hurricane, having transitioned to what meteorologists call an "extratropical" storm. 
 
 Before it's done, Sandy is likely to produce total rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches across Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches possible, according to meteorologist Steve Bowen of global reinsurance firm Aon Benfield. These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain. 
 
 Tropical storms and hurricanes this late in the season aren't actually all that unusual, Feltgen says. He says that, on average, there are about two named tropical storms or hurricanes each October. Additionally, each of the past three Novembers has seen at least one storm, meaning we're not out of the woods even after Sandy. 
 
 Sandy is the 18th named tropical storm or hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, and Tropical Storm Tony, spinning harmlessly in the Atlantic, makes 19. An average season sees about 12 named storms and hurricanes. 
 
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– This much is clear: Hurricane Sandy is belting the Caribbean today, and it will start dousing southeastern Florida tomorrow. What happens after that is key: Computer models are split on whether Sandy turns out to sea or heads up the East Coast, report USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor. If it's the latter, expect a nasty nor'easter next week that fouls travel from Virginia to New England and maybe even delivers snow to western New York and Pennsylvania—just in time for Halloween. As of midday today, "chances are increasing for a major storm impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast," says the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.