some questions about the following news

[760831]

Hi,I'd like to ask some questions about the following news,thank you！:
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A fierce winter storm virtually shut down parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Saturday and airlines canceled more than 2,500 flights, as forecasters warned some areas could be blanketed in 2 feet of snow by late Sunday.

A blizzard warning that will end at midday Sunday has been posted for New York City, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters predicted bitterly cold temperatures, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow during the next 24 hours. The warning was extended northeastward to Boston, Massachusetts, at 5 p.m. ET.

1.the 1st paragraph mentioned that"some areas could be blanketed in 2 feet of snow by late Sunday",but the 2nd paragraph continued to say"A blizzard warning that will end at midday Sunday has been posted."Is there any contradiction between "by late Sunday" and "will end at midday Sunday"?
2.What's the meaning of the "as" used in ", as forecasters warned"?

[Tdol]

As- this shows that the two actions happened at the same time- the warning came during the storm.
There's no contradiction here- the blizzard involves the high winds, while the settled snow is a different problem.

[Hotspur]

Now you don't want to keep reading American news, do you silly? Read the BBC website instead (www.bbc.co.uk in case you can't quite handle a search engine). That's a far higher standard of journalism.

BBC - putting the British back in Broadcasting Corporation.