Okla. Red Cross volunteers head toward hurricane

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Three American Red Cross volunteers in Oklahoma are en route to the East Coast where they'll help in preparations for and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Steve Klapp of Cleveland County, Brittney Hucks of Oklahoma City and Donna Julian of Guymon left Oklahoma City this morning. Klapp and Julian are each heading to New Jersey while Hucks will travel to New York.

Five Tulsa area Red Cross volunteers are expected to leave for Baltimore, Md., on Sunday before the storm creates hazardous conditions, officials say.

Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy could rival the worst East Coast storm on record.

By late Saturday morning, Sandy was still at hurricane strength with winds of 75 mph. However, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami warn that the storm's formal category won't matter much. It will still dump rain and snow along much of the Eastern Seaboard, and could push storm surge reaching 8 feet into some low-lying areas.

Sandy is a massive storm, with winds of 39 mph or more felt as far as 450 miles from Sandy's center.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for much of the coasts of North and South Carolina. It is currently about 355 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C.

All tropical storm watches and warnings have been canceled for Florida as Hurricane Sandy makes its way northward.