Officials along the Carolinas coast went on alert Friday, as the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch from the Georgia-South Carolina border north to the Outer Banks.

The watch was issued after hurricane specialists decided the path of Hurricane Sandy will be a bit closer to the Carolinas coast than earlier expected.

Heavy rain, large waves and winds of up to 60 mph are possible Saturday and Sunday for the coast, and at least some of the storm’s impact will be felt in the tourists areas of Charleston, the Grand Strand, Wilmington and the Outer Banks.

Duke Energy said Friday morning it is preparing for the storm, putting its crews on alert. So is the American Red Cross.

The Duke crews also might be needed farther to the north, as Hurricane Sandy is predicted to merge with a mainland storm system and form a super storm, slamming into the East Coast late Monday or Tuesday.

Sandy will have little direct impact on the Charlotte area, producing clouds and breezy conditions Saturday and Sunday. However, a few showers from the hurricane’s outer wind bands are possible in Union, Anson, Richmond, Stanly and Montgomery counties Saturday. Heavier showers are expected in the Raleigh-Durham and Fayetteville areas, and several inches of rain are predicted on the coast.

As the merged Sandy-inland storm system morphs Monday into a super storm being billed as Frankenstorm, circulation from that system is expected to bring much colder air into the Carolinas and could cause a few snow showers in higher mountain elevations.

At 2 p.m. Friday, the center of Hurricane Sandy was near Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. The storm was barely at hurricane strength -- a Category 1 system with 75 mph sustained winds. It was moving north at 7 mph and was about 450 miles south-southeast of Charleston.

National Hurricane Center meteorologist Michael Brennan said Sandy is beginning to change its appearance as it moves north, with the storm’s wind field growing larger. That, along with the adjusted track, is why a tropical storm watch was issued for the Carolinas coast, Brennan said.

“The structure of Sandy continues to evolve,” Brennan said.

Some dry air moved into the circulation of the hurricane, cutting its top winds. But forecasters expect Sandy to remain around 75 mph for the next day or two. The Hurricane Center says Sandy actually will strengthen a bit later in the weekend, off the Outer Banks, as it merges with a large low pressure system moving eastward across the United States.

Carolinas officials are taking notice.

Duke Energy said its crews are preparing to deal with possible power outages to its customers, which the company gained in the merger with Progress Energy. At a Matthews facility for Duke Energy vehicles, trucks were fueled for possible use this weekend.

The N.C. Department of Insurance in Raleigh advised Carolinas residents in the path of the storm to make sure they are ready.

“It’s always better to be safe than sorry,” Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said. “Compiling important documents and making a home inventory are simple things you can do right now, to ease the insurance claims process should you suffer property damage or loss.”

The National Weather Service office in Wilmington says sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts to 55 mph, are expected along the Grand Strand and northward to Wilmington. Forecasters told the Sun News of Myrtle Beach that some scattered power outages are likely.

Meteorologists also warned that coastal street flooding is possible along east-facing beaches -- such as Garden City Beach; Myrtle Avenue and Springs Avenue on Pawleys Island; and in low-lying areas of Winyah Bay near Georgetown.

But stronger wind gusts, possibly to 70 mph, are possible for Carteret County and the Outer Banks.

“Along the beaches, the most significant overwash and flooding will be north of Hatteras,” said Bob Frederick, of the National Weather Service office in Morehead City.

Frederick said tides of 3 feet or more above average, along with large waves, are forecast to batter the coast. As the storm moves north of the Outer Banks on Sunday, winds will shift around to the northwest and cause sound-side flooding, he said.

Between 5 and 7 inches of rain are forecast along the beaches, with 2 to 4 inches inland.

Farther to the south, National Weather Service meteorologists are predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain and wind gusts of 40 mph for the Myrtle Beach area.

The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News and the Associated Press contributed.