More Bark, Less Bite? NYC's Forecast Eases

New York City is expected to get less snow than forecast in a late-winter storm that has slammed other parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Snow changed over to pelting sleet in the city early Tuesday, and the National Weather Service says to expect 4 to 6 inches of snow, after earlier forecasts of 18 inches or more. Elsewhere, forecasters are still expecting lots of snow, reports the AP. In Massachusetts, officials warned Tuesday morning that the storm was just getting started. In the western part of the state, the National Weather Service forecast as much as 2.5 feet of snow. Also:

• Dominion Power reports more than 50,000 customers are in the dark in Virginia on Tuesday morning, with more than 40,000 of those outages in the Richmond area. Maryland officials report about 30,000 outages. Thousands more were reported in Delaware, New Jersey, and around Philadelphia.
• US airlines have scrapped about 5,400 flights Tuesday. Southwest Airlines, which carries more domestic passengers than any other airline, doesn't expect to operate any flights Tuesday at 14 airports stretching from Washington to Portland, Maine. Southwest canceled about 900 flights, while American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines each canceled more than 500.

(More snow stories.)