The East Coast is prepared for a weekend snowstorm that will reach from the Carolinas to Maine, with blizzard conditions forecast in certain regions.
The snow, which is expected to start Friday night and persist until Saturday evening in several areas, maybe particularly damaging in Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu said, “This has the potential to be a historic storm.”
Wu announced a snow emergency and advised locals to remain home as up to 2 feet of snow was forecast.
“It’s going to be a huge one,” Wu predicted to reporters on Friday.
“I’m relieved that this is occurring on a Saturday,” Wu remarked, adding that schools will be open on Monday.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker warned residents to take the storm “seriously” and avoid driving on Saturday unless absolutely essential due to hazardous traffic conditions.
“This is going to be a very massive storm, maybe one of the biggest we’ve seen in a few years,” he said during a news conference on Friday evening.
Blizzard conditions are predicted along the coast, with 2 to 4 inches of snow falling every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday will be “essentially whiteout conditions,” according to Baker.
According to the governor, the state is deploying around 40 troops of the National Guard to assist with high-water rescues and stranded drivers if necessary.
From coastal Virginia to Maine, blizzard warnings are in force, including Atlantic City, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston, and Portland. This is Boston’s and the Jersey Shore’s first blizzard warning in four years.
In the United States, 1,300 flights were canceled on Friday, with 3,100 more scheduled for Saturday.
Heavy snow will fall from Virginia to New England by Saturday morning. Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour are forecast. Snowfall rates on Cape Cod and Long Island may reach 2 to 4 inches per hour. The light and fluffy quality of this snow will most likely contribute to it piling up even faster.
According to the current estimate, Boston will receive 1 to 2 feet of snow, New York City and Connecticut will receive 6 to 12 inches, Philadelphia will receive 4 to 8 inches, and Washington, D.C. will receive 1 to 3 inches.
