Central Massachusetts residents should prepared for winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour Monday and Monday night as Hurricane Sandy hits the Northeast.

The latest forecast expects Sandy to hit southern New Jersey near Atlantic City on Monday, according to Mathew Doody, meteorologist in the Taunton office of the National Weather Service. Mr. Doody was attending the Southern New England Weather Conference this morning.

Mr. Doody said there is a possibility the storm could come ashore on Long Island, which would increase its severity in this area.

Mr. Doody said the storm is changing from a tropical system to a storm more common in this part of the country and that change is increasing its strength and expanding the area likely to be hit by high winds. That means high winds will hit Central Massachusetts, even though the storm's center will be several hundred miles away.

The storm is predicted to take a westward turn into the New Jersey coast, which many forecasters say is unprecedented.

“Storms in this part of the country usually don't go from east to west,” Mr. Doody said. “This is a very dangerous storm.”

Heavy rain is predicted, and Mr. Doody said several inches can be expected. Worcester County could see especially heavy rain as strong east winds push up against what he termed the Worcester Hills, causing heavier rain than what would be expected if the wind was coming from the west. Higher elevations could be whacked by the strongest winds, capable of knocking drown trees and causing power outages.

“Some places could really get a lot of rain,” he said. “After all, it is a system of tropical origin.”

The storm is arriving on the one-year anniversary of the 2011 snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Central Massachusetts, but Mr. Doody said snow is not expected anywhere in New England.

There is a possibility a weak tornado could form, because the atmosphere will be very unstable. However, Weather Channel severe weather expert Greg Forbes, who is attending the conference, said that is very unlikely, and any twisters would more likely occur south of this area.

Because Sandy is transitioning from a tropical system to type of a storm more common to this area, tropical storm or hurricane watches most likely will not be issued by the National Hurricane Center, Mr. Doody said.

Glenn Field, warning coordination meteorologist in the Taunton NWS office, said a high wind watch and flash flood watch, which could be changed to warnings as the storm gets closer, could be issued later today.