- States of emergency issued in at least four states and the District of Columbia
- Airlines offer customers free flight changes to and from the Atlantic Coast
- Sandy will move slowly, could merge with cold front to morph into a "superstorm"
- As far north as New Jersey, residents prepare for long-term power outages
Are you affected by Hurricane Sandy? Send us your pictures and videos but stay safe.
(CNN) -- Sandy dropped to tropical storm strength early Saturday, but weather forecasts remain ominous, still predicting it will turn into a destructive "superstorm" that will impact the Eastern Seaboard as early as Sunday.
This storm will be studied for years to come, said Louis Uccellini, who is responsible for environmental prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
CNN Weather estimates damage from Hurricane Sandy could reach $3.2 billion. This estimate is based only on wind damage and does not include flooding.
At least four states in its path, as well as the nation's capital, have declared states of emergency, and some airlines have announced they will allow passengers to change existing flights to and from Atlantic coast cities free of charge.
How is Sandy expected to develop?
Sandy's decline to tropical storm level was expected, and the storm should regain hurricane strength before the weekend is over, as it makes its way northward, according to a National Weather Service advisory at 5 a.m. ET Saturday.
Weather forecasters still predict it will push in a large storm surge as it nears land, inundate a broad, highly populated region with rain, and knock out power for perhaps weeks with its broad, destructive winds.
"Forget about the category with this," said CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano. "When you have trees with leaves on them still, this kind of wind and rain on top of that, you're talking about trees that are going to come down, power lines are going to be out and the coastal flooding situation is going to be huge."
CNN's Weather Unit expects Sandy to merge with a strong cold front from the west and morph into a "superstorm" that could sit over New England for days, making untold trouble for millions of residents, even dumping heavy snow in the Appalachians.
The tropical storm force winds will likely spread over a vast distance, potentially up to 700 miles across stretching from North Carolina to Maine, which could mean widespread power outages.
Sandy is taking on a lopsided form, and its heaviest winds should be in the northern and eastern sections of the storm as it nears land -- and be directed inbound toward the coastline.
The surge is likely to hit during a full moon, when the tides are the highest, exacerbating the situation.
Computer models predict Delaware, Maryland and Virginia could see up to a foot of rainfall, according to the CNN Weather Unit.
"Expect it to move very slowly," said James Franklin of the National Hurricane Center. "The large size of the system and its slow motion will mean a long-lasting event with two to three days of impacts."
At 5 a.m. ET Saturday, forecasters said Sandy was about 350 miles south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, heading north at 7 mph. It was a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph.
The U.S. target area is hard to predict at this point. Some landfall computer models show the storm striking somewhere between the border separating North Carolina and Virginia north to Connecticut, some of the most densely populated areas of the country.
Keep a hurricane preparation checklist
Sandy's death toll for the week rose to 22 Saturday. Police in Puerto Rico reported the death of a man who drowned attempting to cross a river Friday that had flooded due to rains dumped when then Hurricane Sandy passed over.
How will Sandy effect voting and election campaigning?
With a national election already under way in many early-voting states, Sandy's wrath could have a ripple effect on politics.
In Virginia Beach, a campaign rally scheduled for Sunday for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was canceled because of Sandy. There was no word yet on the status of other events scheduled later in the week. "We're keeping an eye on it," said a senior campaign adviser.
Similarly, Vice President Joe Biden canceled his visit to Virginia Beach on Saturday, "out of an abundance of caution to ensure that all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm," according to the campaign of President Barack Obama.
Bad weather in Maryland or the nation's capital could make it harder for people to get out and cast their ballots. Early voting kicked off Monday in Washington and is scheduled to start Saturday in Maryland. But Friday, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley warned that his state's early voting could be affected by the pending storm, leaving open the possibility that the vote could be rescheduled, or polling stations relocated inland.
What preparations are being made?
The District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and New York have declared states of emergency, while Maine's governor signed a limited emergency declaration. Delaware's governor has said the state will issue a mandatory evacuation of its coastline, if the storm stays on path.
All the Northeast metro airports will see flights delayed and canceled, the CNN Weather Unit said.
Air carriers American, United and Spirit announced late Friday they will waive changes fees for passengers traveling in and out of many Atlantic coast cities.
Amtrak will deploy preparedness crews and equipment along its tracks in the Northeast to remove debris, make repairs and mend any downed electrical lines, it said in a statement Friday.
In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is studying whether it should suspend all or some services ahead of the storm, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
In Maryland, the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company expects that several hundred thousand customers could be affected, as early as Sunday.
Hurricane safety: When the lights go out
Residents in New Jersey have been stocking up on batteries and bottled water, and hardware stores have put up preparedness displays, CNN affiliate KYW reported. One location quickly sold out of electric generators.
"This is the worst timing for a storm," Newark Mayor Cory Booker told CNN's Soledad O'Brien. "You have fall ending, a lot of loose branches.
"The storm itself will be bad, but I worry about the aftermath, people being caught without power."
Along the Jersey shore, storm preparations included bulldozers shoring up piers with mounds of sand. Worried residents filled sandbags in case of flooding.
'Superstorm' meets barnstorm as weather and politics collide
"We will be piling up as much sand as possible along the beachfront," said Frank Ricciotti, Margate, New Jersey, public works director. "I think the water damage is worse than another type of damage, and the hardest thing is to stop water, once it starts coming up."
Farther south, in the Norfolk, Virginia, area, more than two dozen ships were being sent to sea for their own protection. Sailors at the naval base stacked up sand bags in preparation.
Is Sandy another "Perfect Storm?"
Sandy presents a scenario not unlike the one that led to 1991's "Perfect Storm," when moisture flung north by Hurricane Grace combined with a high pressure system and a cold front to produce a tempest in the north Atlantic over Halloween.
But Grace never made landfall.
Sandy is expected to.
Stay well-fed in any disaster
CNN's Joe Sutton, Brandon Miller and David Alsup contributed to this report
A satellite image of Hurricane Sandy from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) taken on Friday, October 26. 
Corey Hutterli works on securing his sailboat as the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy are felt in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday, October 25. 
A woman stands at the entrance of her house surrounded by flood water after heavy rains in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Thursday. 
People walk on a flooded street after Hurricane Sandy hit Port Au Prince, Haiti, on Thursday. 
A woman peers out the door of her house Thursday after it was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Bayamo, Cuba. 
A man clears debris from his house on Thursday. It was demolished by Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba. 
Residents in Bayamo, Cuba, try to fix a house damaged by hurricane Sandy on Thursday. 
A U.N. peacekeeper on Thursday stands at the edge of a bridge that was washed away by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 
A house ruined by heavy flooding from Hurricane Sandy sits abandoned in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday. 
Men deal with downed tree branches after heavy rains caused by Hurricane Sandy in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday, October 24. 
Students walk in floodwater from Hurricane Sandy's rain in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Wednesday. 
Citizens of Bayamo, Cuba, buy food on Wednesday, as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. 
Waves hit the coast in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Wednesday. 
Citizens of Bayamo, Cuba, talk on the sidewalk on Wednesday. 
People in Bayamo, Cuba, hold umbrellas as they purchase food before the arrival of the hurricane. 
The Hope River begins to swell with rain from approaching Hurricane Sandy in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday. 
Houses sit along the Hope River in Kingston, Jamaica. 
Jamaicans shelter themselves from the rain of approaching Hurricane Sandy as they walk along the Hope River. 
A satellite view shows Hurricane Sandy. 
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