Sandy pounds the Caribbean, leaves 31 dead

R Reports - The Bahamas are drenched. Hurricane Sandy's fierce winds and heavy rain left 31 people dead across the Caribbean.

Sandy barreled across the Bahamas knocking out power on several islands. The Category 1 hurricane sent swirling rains and winds across several hundred miles and is headed for the east coast of the U.S. where the winds are already picking up.

In Florida, locals are stocking up on supplies and snapping up generators in preparation. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of Florida up to North Carolina.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA BEACH PATROLMAN, SCOTT PETERSOHN SAID:

"Every year we have some kind of terrible thing happen where somebody goes out and either gets injured or killed because they went out in the ocean when it is like this or worse."

It will be several days before Sandy arrives in the U.S. but forecasters are warning that the storm could combine with a polar air mass resulting in a unusually potent and dangerous storm.