In addition to record-setting snow amounts, moderate coastal flooding is expected to occur in North and South Carolina according to the National Weather Service. This will result in the full or partial closure of many airports in the effected areas, resulting in thousands of stranded travelers.
The NWS said it expects up to 30 inches of snow to fall in the metro Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas from mid-day Friday through late Saturday.
Several computer models over the last few days have consistently placed the metro D.C. area in the storm’s bulls-eye.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency late Thursday and all public schools and non-essential government offices were closed Friday.
The weekend storm has the possibility of exceeding a 1922 snowstorm that dumped 28 inches of snow in the metro D.C. area and resulted in 100 deaths, CNN reported.
Further west in Pittsburgh, officials declared a “Level 2” storm alert during a news conference Friday. The difference of a few miles in how the storm tracks could mean an area receiving 1 to 2 inches or 4 or more between Friday afternoon and Saturday night.
Guy Costa, Chief Operations Officer for the city, stressed that residents should stay home Friday night through Saturday, unless they absolutely had to be on the roads.
As of Friday morning the NWS was predicting Pittsburgh would receive between 2-4 inches of snow from Friday night through late Saturday, but areas immediately south could receive as much as 6-10 inches.
Costa said that “We’re going with between 3-5 inches,” but added the city is prepared for a higher amount.
City workers will be plowing and treating the streets starting Friday at 6 p.m. and Costa said the city has plenty of salt and calcium chloride on hand to handle the storm.
As the storm ramps up Friday night into early Saturday, much of the East Coast will experience blizzard conditions, with wind speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour,making travel extremely hazardous.
As of 9 p.m CST, Friday, almost the entire Northeast is under some type of weather warning, watch or hazardous advisory according to the NWS website..
