( CNN ) -- Slowly but surely , Hurricane Sandy is making its way toward the U.S. East Coast . Exactly when and where it will hit is unclear . Sandy is a swirl of moving parts and any change in forecast could mean major changes in its impact . That said , a serious storm is clearly afoot -- and meteorologists are working overtime to track Sandy 's progress . Here are the latest storm predictions from the CNN Weather Unit : . Saturday . Sandy , which is over the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida , is expected to continue moving up alongside the East Coast . It will likely weaken to a tropical storm . But do n't be fooled ; Sandy should strengthen again later in the weekend . Rough seas and surf will be building along the seaboard as far north as North Carolina . Storm has Northeast in crosshairs . Sunday . Heavy rain and strong winds will pound the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia as the storm slogs north . Rough seas will stretch up through Delaware and Maryland . Monday . Sandy 's massive size , coupled with a full moon peaking Monday , will lead to extremely high tides , rough seas and storm surge that will cause beach erosion and flooding . Hurricane preparation checklist . The mid-Atlantic region will be hit hard , with tropical storm force winds extending from the Carolinas up to Maine . Sandy should make landfall late Monday or Tuesday , striking somewhere between Virginia and New York . Tuesday into Wednesday . Sandy is forecast to move slowly . In spots , its center could linger for as long as 48 hours , unleashing heavy rain from the Great Lakes down to the Mid-Atlantic , through the Northeast . The strongest winds may not be nearest Sandy 's center , as they are with traditional hurricanes . On the backside of the storm , record-breaking snow will fall over portions of the Appalachian Mountains , mainly in West Virginia .
Exactly when and where the storm will hit is unclear . Sandy is expected to weaken to a tropical storm , then strengthen . Comment: