Hurricane Sandy made landfall along Jamaica's southeast coastline Wednesday afternoon, while forecasters said there's a chance Sandy will eventually hug the East Coast and possibly even make landfall in the Northeast.
One of two computer models being tracked has Sandy moving inland over the Northeast by early Tuesday morning, NBC News meteorologist Al Roker said on TODAY.
That scenario is more likely to play out, he added, if the jet stream curves back and allows "Sandy to hug the coast and bring it as either a tropical storm or very weak hurricane."
In that case, the Northeast could see 10-12 inches of rain along the Eastern Seaboard.
Video: Sandy could head for Northeast (on this page)In Jamaica, schools were closed and shelters opened to residents of flood-prone areas ahead of landfall.
Several roads were flooded, Reuters said, and mudslides were reported near villages on the outskirts of Kingston. The government closed the island's two international airports in Kingston and Montego Bay on Tuesday night.
At 2 p.m. ET, Sandy was centered about 30 miles south of the Jamaican capital, Kingston, and was moving north at 14 miles per hour with top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an update.
Sandy had earlier strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane.
In the U.S. a tropical storm watch has been issued for south Florida up to Jupiter Inlet.
The Miami area should see the worst from Sandy on Thursday night and Friday, the National Weather Service stated. Strong winds, beach erosion and heavy rain are possible across Southeast Florida, it added.
A hurricane warning was in effect for both Jamaica and Cuba, although Sandy is not expected to go beyond a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step intensity scale.
The two computer models showed Sandy was on a projected path cutting across the middle of Jamaica near Kingston and then the north coast resort of Ocho Rios before passing over eastern Cuba and losing hurricane strength as it reaches the Bahamas.
Sandy could dump 6-12 inches of rain across parts of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, and up to 20 inches in a few places, forecasters said.
"These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides ... especially in areas of mountainous terrain," the hurricane center warned.
Storm surge could also raise water levels on Jamaica's south and east coasts by 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels, the center added, and as much as 4 to 7 feet above normal in the Bahamas on Friday.
Out in the deep Atlantic, Tropical Storm Tony formed overnight but posed no threat to land as it moved northeast.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49533577/ns/weather/
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