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[h=4]East Coast braces for heavy snow, epic blizzard[/h]As much as two feet of snow threatens some major cities.
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A massive East Coast blizzard could dump up to 30 inches of snow in some parts of Virginia and Philadelphia. Across the region, people are preparing to be snowed in for multiple days. WUSA
A car slid off the road in Asheville, N.C.(Photo: Leah Buletti/[email protected])
WASHINGTON —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A potentially historic snowstorm whipped by gale force winds<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was barreling down on the Mid-Atlantic coast<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Friday, threatening to <span style="color: Red;">*</span>shut down<span style="color: Red;">*</span>big eastern cities for days with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>more than two feet of snow in some areas,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>widespread power outages and impassable roadways.
As of Friday morning, more than 85 million people – or roughly one in every four Americans – in at least 20 states were covered by blizzard, winter storm, or freezing rain warnings<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from Arkansas to the Carolinas to the New York City area and extreme southern New England, according to Weather.com.
In Washington, the bull's eye of the storm, the federal government was shutting down at noon, as residents braced for as much as two feet of snow and likeLY whiteout conditions from strong winds.
"This is a major storm, it has life and death implications, and all residents of DC should treat it that way," District of Columbia mayor Muriel Bowser said Friday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>She said that residents by 3 p.m. need to be in the place they intend to be for the weekend.
"We want people to hunker down, shelter in place and stay off the roads," she said. "We need people to be in a safe place as soon as they can for their own safety and the safety of our first responders."
Blizzard warnings were in effect Friday morning for the big cities of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mid-Atlantic and Northeast as snow and ice continued to fall across portions of the South, Ohio Valley and Appalachians.
More than 50 million people are likely to be affected by the storm, some forced to stay indoors and off the roads for at least two days.
Snowfall could approach 2 feet or more in some locations, including the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas. The storm could rival the biggest snowstorms on record in Washington, D.C., potentially topping the city's all-time biggest snowfall of 28 inches from Jan. 27-29, 1922.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Philadelphia is forecast to get up to 20 inches while<span style="color: Red;">*</span>New York City could see 6-12 inches of snow.
Air and road travel is expected to grind to a halt throughout much of the weekend as forecasters predict no way out of a monster storm that could affect 75 million people. Philadelphia International Airport announced it will be closed on Saturday.
Airlines preemptively canceled more than 4,500 flights before the first snowflakes had even fallen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>All major airlines have issued waivers for the weekend, allowing passengers to rebook onto earlier or later flights to avoid the storms.
A state of emergency was declared in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and parts of other states, the Associated Press reported.
In Nashville, where 8 inches of snow was expected, buses were only operating on five major corridors.All other service was suspended. Buses in Music City Central were shut down, with about a dozen people waiting for a relative or cab.
USA TODAY
As blizzard bears down, concerns for D.C.'s homeless
In Asheville, N.C., in a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mid-morning<span style="color: Red;">*</span>battle of plow versus snow, the snow was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>maintaining the upper hand.
“The call I got this morning was that we were not able to keep up with the snow enough to open up the city’s roads, so we closed down except for emergency and road crews,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, according to the Citizen-Times.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“We’re focused on safety and hopefully everyone is staying home and not trying to drive on the roads. That’s pretty key in keeping everyone safe.”
In Washington, the city's entire rail and bus system will be closed both Saturday and Sunday, the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority announced Thursday.
In New York City, some<span style="color: Red;">*</span>1,000 track workers will be deployed to keep the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>subway system moving, and 79 trains will have "scraper shoes" to reduce icing on rails, the Metropolitan Transit Authority said.
The only upside of the storm in the nation's capital was the green light from the U.S. Capitol Police for sledding on Capitol Hill, which only became permissible after an act of Congress.
Otherwise, thousands of demonstrators from the anti-abortion group March for Life were not letting the impending storm and cold weather derail their annual rally and march to the Supreme Court.
USA TODAY
Fliers face chaos as blizzard slams East Coast
Scattered to widespread power outages are likely from the storm, especially across the southern Appalachians, the western Carolinas and most of the Mid-Atlantic, according to weather.com meteorologist Matt Sitkowski.
He added that strong, gusty northeast winds will bring high surf, coastal flooding and beach erosion from southeast Virginia to Long Island and the southern New England coast by Saturday and into early Sunday.
The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Jonas.
USA TODAY
Top 10 snowstorms in Washington, D.C., history
Nearly 6 inches of snow had already fallen in Little Rock, Ark., as of Friday morning, leaving 15,000 customers without electricity. Roads were coated with snow in the Nashville area.
Charlotte, N.C., reported freezing rain, leading to a slew of accidents.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>More than 2,500 Duke Energy customers are without power across North Carolina, according to AccuWeather.
Snow was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>covering Bank of America Stadium, home to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The Panthers host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday for the NFC Championship.
Three inches of snow was reported in Asheville, N.C., with at least 7-10 more inches on the way.
Severe thunderstorms and a possible tornado battered the Gulf Coast late Thursday and early Friday. The reported tornado touched down in Lamar County, Miss., damaging at least 12 homes.
By Sunday morning, the storm<span style="color: Red;">*</span>should move off the Atlantic coast, leaving clearing skies for the day, according to weather.com. Temperatures in many areas should climb at least a few degrees above freezing, allowing the cleanup to begin.
Contributing: Casey Swaney Citizen-Times
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