Weather forecasters are predicting that Hurricane Sandy could merge with another weather system as it moves north, and bring a "Frankenstorm" to parts of Eastern Canada and the U.S. in time for Halloween.

The hurricane, which is sweeping through the Caribbean, has been downgraded to a Category 1 as it heads north for Florida this weekend, but the storm could hit the U.S. northeast early next week, according to CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.

As it curves northward and hooks left, Sandy could merge with the remnants of a cold front, which is already dropping temperatures in the lower Great Lakes area Friday and Saturday, he added.

"Despite the comical name … Frankenstorm is a pretty decent analogy because we are taking spare parts from another storm and combining it with Sandy, and this will become a powerful, what is known as a hybrid nor'easter storm. A potent coastal fall storm," he said Friday.

The impact could be widespread for Eastern Canada, with potential wind and rain from southern Ontario through to southern Quebec to the Maritimes, although "there is still potential for swings" in its path.

The remnants of the storm will reach southern Ontario and Quebec by Halloween, and "will result in a wet and windy week ahead for many Canadians," he said.

The weather super-system bears some similarities to the famous 1991 "Halloween nor'easter" that inspired the movie The Perfect Storm, starring George Clooney. The storm saw a nor'easter absorb Hurricane Grace, creating a "perfect storm" that killed 13 people, said Scotland.

In this case, Hurricane Sandy is being drawn inland towards the cold front by a trough of low pressure.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre said Friday that Sandy — which has killed 22 people — will lose some of its tropical storm characteristics early next week, but will remain a "large and powerful cyclone" as it heads for the East Coast of the U.S.

"Sandy will quite likely impact parts of Eastern Canada early next week," it said in a tropical information cyclone statement. "The track and intensity will, as always, depend on many changing factors over a period of several days. Thus, it is too early to meaningfully state how the storm will affect particular areas."

Sandy is expected to maintain Category 1 status as it curves upward, and move inland starting between Washington, D.C., and New York City early next week, Scotland said. This could bring weather horror, with heavy rain, winds and potential flooding, power outages in major population centres, he said.

Experts are predicting at least $1 billion in damage.

"It's looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground.

For Canadians, the potential Frankenstorm means "Halloween could be bad for the kiddies" in areas near the Great Lakes, Scotland said.

"We are looking at the remnants of this storm bringing wind, bringing rain, and bringing just messy weather in general to places as far west as the lower Great Lakes as we move Tuesday into Wednesday into Halloween."

I don't get this. Sandy has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is rapidly weakening. Why the gloomy forecasts of doom?

I suspect a lot of it is media hype to keep people tuned in.

You can hype it all you like. It's going to be an inland storm by the time it gets to Canada and will be no worse than plenty of storms that don't get the media.

I just checked out some of the webcams for the affected areas on http://google.org/crisismap/sandy-2012

I have yet to see anything other than rain. Maybe I didnt hit the right camera

Give it time ... it isn't expected to make landfall until this evening.

Are they still not sure of the effect it will have here yet (in terms of weather forecasting that is, which is sometimes 50/50 at the best of times). Depending on the sites I visit we are ranging anywheres from a little gust of wind to coming close to being washed to sea.

Gasoline prices soared as the storm strengthened as refining companies began to evacuate staff. Companies such as Phillips 66, NuStar Energy and Hess said they are shutting or reducing output at New Jersey refineries.

Probably the only real effects we'll feel here are increased gasoline prices