Storm dumps snow in South, moves north, menacing Eastern US

Vincent Ayd, left, owner of Ayd Hardware in Towson, Md., and truck driver Mike Jock, of Newark, Del., unload snow shovels and ice-melt in Towson, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. “A potentially crippling winter storm”, according to the National Weather Service, which forecasts heavy snow and high winds across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and New York City. Meteorologist Tom Hawley of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, says its path could shift but right now “all indications are that it will not amount to much” in the region.

It turns out, despite attempts to formally name winter storms, there is not an official name for the storm that might drop 2 feet of snow in parts of West Virginia and Maryland. That puts estimates at more than 2 feet for Washington, a foot to 18 inches for Philadelphia and 8 inches to a foot in NY.

Governors in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania joined Bowser in declaring states of emergency, and the governor of West Virginia declared a state of preparedness. The federal government has yet to announce a decision on office closures.

Major travel impacts are expected Friday, and it could last into Saturday as temperatures are expected to remain below freezing until Sunday afternoon.

Montgomery County spokesman Elizabeth Black said in an email Thursday afternoon that Montgomery County offices would open two hours late at 10 a.m.

From her home just outside of Lynchburg, Tracy Batwinas said the storm, coming after what’s been a mild winter, has jostled many people. The Cullman, Guntersville and Fort Payne areas could see about an inch of snow.

“Sick people will come in today”, she said. College basketball games and concerts will have to wait.

Even President Barack Obama’s motorcade was caught in the gridlock as his motorcade using hazard lights Wednesday made its slippery way from Joint Base Andrews to the White House.

Mayor Muriel Bowser apologized to the city, saying more trucks should have been sent out to lay salt ahead of the snow – a mistake she said wouldn’t be repeated ahead of the much bigger storm arriving Friday. As Washington prepares for this weekend’s snowstorm, now forecast to reach blizzard conditions, a small clipper system pushed through the region Wednesday night causing massive delays and issues on the roads.

United Airlines announced it would suspend flights at its Washington Dulles International Airport hub and other mid-Atlantic airports starting Friday afternoon.

Grocery stores were packed as shoppers stuffed carts full of drinks, bread, snacks and batteries.

Train service could be disrupted by frozen switches, the loss of third-rail electric power or trees falling on wires. Several schools, churches and courts around North Carolina had been ordered closed Friday, according to CNN affiliate WRAL-TV. Other severe but non-snowy weather is likely from Texas to Florida as the storm system chugs across the Gulf Coast, gaining moisture. About 1,000 track workers will be deployed to keep New York’s subway system moving, and 79 trains will have “scraper shoes” to reduce icing on rails, the Metropolitan Transit Authority said. The weather service issued a winter storm warning for the entire state.