A severe snowstorm began to drift toward the East Coast on Thursday as the National Weather Service added the New York City and Philadelphia areas to a blizzard watch already in place for Washington, D.C.
The storm, which started to form in parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, created icy conditions that snarled traffic and left two dead in North Carolina.
The ominous forecast caused officials in Mid-Atlantic states to urge residents to stay off the roads and hunker down when the worst of the weather begins on Friday.
Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, urged residents to use mass transit or stay at home as much as possible on Saturday and Sunday, when the worst parts of the storm are expected to cause severe winds and drop between eight and 12 inches of snow.
“We are bracing for the first big storm of the winter,” de Blasio said.
In Washington, up to 2 feet of snow could hit the surrounding area, including Baltimore, starting Friday. In a somewhat ominous sign, people in those cities had been struggling the night before, after an inch of snow effectively brought traffic to a standstill on many major streets and highways.
Although the Washington and Baltimore areas are planning for a blizzard, a 24-inch snowfall is most likely to happen west of Washington, into parts of Virginia, Patrick Burke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, said in an interview. He warned people in the hardest-hit areas to expect to lose power and to stay indoors.
“I would just really emphasize to people the hazardous nature of the storm,” Burke said. “Since we have the good lead time, go ahead and make your plans to be where you’re going to be and have supplies ready.”
