Storm expected to bring snow to parts of northern Alabama

The latest on the heavy snowfall expected to the Washington area and possibly the Northeast.

There could be winds as strong as 60 miles per hour, coastal storm surges and flooding on top of whatever precipitation will fall.

Needless to say, there will be massive travel delays and cancelled flights starting Friday.

SATURDAY NIGHT: A 70 percent chance of snow. There are a little more than 22,000 flights scheduled to, from or within the US, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

Around the nation, over 3,000 flights have already been canceled for Friday and Saturday.

Major airlines are issuing travel waivers over the weekend. It’s an extremely large storm.

Washington D.C. got sucker punched.

While the inches accumulate, gusty winds will drive blowing snow and lead to white-out conditions. If that forecast holds, Mayor Marty Walsh said Thursday that he would lend Bowser two new truck-mounted snow blowers to help clear the capital’s streets.

Cary Prince of McLean, Virginia, picked up rock salt at the hardware store, but struck out on snow blower fuel, which was sold out.

South of Washington, “significant icing is likely for portions of Kentucky and North Carolina”, NWS said.

Authorities along the East Coast announced preparations for the storm, with officials vowing to be ready and issuing dire warnings urging people to avoid travel.

Shoppers queue in a Washington supermarket to buy essentials as a state of emergency is declared.

Hogan declared the state of emergency on Thursday. By Sunday afternoon, however, the airlines hope to be back to full schedule.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol says two people have died in weather-related crashes.

We continue to monitor the development of what will become a historic winter storm for the Mid-Atlantic states. The second death occurred in Stokes County where similar icy and snowy road conditions caused a auto to go down an embankment.

“I’m not going to make that mistake again”, Brewington said. The 55-year-old slid on an icy roadway, crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a pickup truck head-on. Drivers were stuck for hours because roads were not treated in advance of all the snowfall.

Schools and local government offices in the capital will close at noon on Friday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Thursday. Snow and drizzle began falling early Wednesday across much of Kentucky and Tennessee leading school…

Arlington County officials said the region “underestimated” the storm and it was a “scary and frustrating night” for residents.

Boston is also expected to see higher snow totals than Connecticut Saturday into Sunday.

A potentially crippling snowstorm moving towards the Eastern seaboard triggered blizzard watches and states of emergency Thursday from Washington, D.C., up the East Coast to New York City and Long Island, as the storm threatened to pummel some areas with up to 24 inches of snow over the weekend.

“It’s simply easier to communicate about a complex storm if it has a name, which our naming program has demonstrated”, said Bryan Norcross, senior hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel and compiler of the list.

While Washington appears to be in the storm’s bull’s-eye, most of the Mid-Atlantic states – and a few points west – will also take a hit.

In northern Virginia, minor accidents built to gridlock and ramp closures continued through the night, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord said. She described, “a long night for a lot of people trying to get home”.

“Visibility will be reduced to near zero in whiteout conditions”, it said.

As for Charlotte Douglas, a statement from the airport said snow crews were to be activated at 11 p.m. Thursday and would work in 12-hour shifts throughout the night to clear the runways.

Almost 2 feet of snow fell in February 2010’s “Snowmageddon” storm, which cut power to hundreds of thousands in the region.