From Appalachia to Philly, people get ready for heavy snow

The District of Columbia was preparing for blizzard conditions with up to 2ft of snow, Mayor Bowser said.

Downpour… a pile of shovelled snow stands in the plaza on the east side of the US Capitol. “We will move the snow”. But shortly before 11 a.m., the weather service added these counties to the blizzard watch area: Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland.

The strongest winds and potentially life-threatening conditions are expected Friday night through Saturday night.

A blizzard watch is in effect for the Washington D.C., and Baltimore region for Friday and Saturday.

“I haven’t seen this type of model agreement on a big snowstorm since 2009-2010”, said FOX 5’s Gary McGrady.

The storm we’re watching now has energy diving toward the Southeast U.S. before it transfers energy off the Carolina coastline and develops into a powerful Nor’easter.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers in the evening…then partly cloudy after midnight.

“Strong winds with whiteout conditions are likely”, the service said. Forecasters say snow (shown in blue) will still be south of Philadelphia and most of South Jersey during Friday’s afternoon commute.

Further north, road crews and hardware stores in eastern Pennsylvania were gearing up Wednesday ahead of the potential winter storm.

The National Weather Service put Washington and Baltimore under blizzard warnings from Friday afternoon through to Sunday morning. As much as a foot of snow is possible for Philadelphia’s northern suburbs.

The National Weather Service warned that between 1 and 2 feet of snow could fall in the Northeast, with coastal flooding also likely.

Up to a quarter inch of ice is expected to accumulate in part of north Georgia, forecasters said.

Airports stretching from Kentucky to MA are expected to be affected by the storm.

There will be “enormous amounts of snow and wind” in the area, NBC Washington meteorologist Chuck Bell said. He tried a nearby Home Depot first, without success.

Speaking at a news conference surrounded by dump trucks being loaded with salt, Bowser said the USA capital’s public schools would be shut on Friday and local government offices would close at noon. Make sure the auto is gassed up.