Hurricane Sandy Lashes Jamaica, Moves to Cuba

A well-organized Hurricane Sandy struck Jamaica early Thursday morning and appears to be on course for landfall in Cuba later today, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Category 2 hurricane, and the 18th storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season, was moving north/northeast at 15 mph and is expected to head into the Bahamas as a hurricane.

The storm's path thereafter is of concern for the South Carolina Lowcountry, though most forecasters estimate the storm will stay 300 miles or more off the coast.

Still, that's close enough to create rough conditions on the water and gail-force winds on land, local forecasters say.

Forecasters caution that this storm will not bring the sort of conditions Hurricane Irene brought last fall when it made a close brush with the Carolina coast before making landfall in Long Island, NY.

"It's going to be breezy, and the surf will be up, but not much more than that," said Vern Beaver, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston. "The impacts won't be severe."