Sandy Downgraded From Hurricane To Tropical Storm

The National Weather Service has downgraded Sandy from a hurricane to a tropical storm but warns that "widespread impacts" are still expected into next week for the U.S. East Coast.

The storm was expected to increase in speed and move away from the Bahamas and parallel to the southeast coast of the United States later this weekend.

Maximum sustained winds dropped to near 70 mph early Saturday, pushing it below the threshold for being classified as a hurricane. However, the weather service said it was possible that the storm could regain strength by Sunday night.

Sandy killed more than 40 people in the Caribbean, wrecked homes and knocked down trees and power lines.