(NEW YORK) — The East Coast is bracing for a weekend snow storm stretching from the Carolinas to Maine and bringing blizzard conditions to some areas.
The snow, set to begin Friday night, may hit especially hard in Boston where Boston Mayor Michelle Wu warned, “this has the potential to be a historic storm.”
With 1 to 2 feet of snow expected, Wu has declared a snow emergency and warned residents to stay home.
“It’s going to be a big one,” Wu told reporters Friday.
“I’m very relieved that this is happening on a Saturday,” Wu said, adding that she expects schools to be open on Monday.
Blizzard warnings are in effect from coastal Virginia up to Maine, including Atlantic City, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston and Portland. This marks the first blizzard warning for Boston and the Jersey Shore in four years.
Nearly 1,000 flights are canceled in the U.S. Friday and more than 2,200 are already canceled for Saturday.
The snowfall is forecast to start on the East Coast late Friday night and continue into Saturday evening in New England, before the storm exits the area.
By Saturday morning heavy snow will be falling from Virginia to New England. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are expected. Around Cape Cod and Long Island, snowfall rates may reach 2 to 4 inches per hour. The light and fluffy nature of this snow will help it pile up even faster.
The latest forecast has 1 to 2 feet of snow for Boston, 6 to 12 inches for New York City and Connecticut, 4 to 8 inches for Philadelphia and 1 to 3 inches for Washington, D.C.
Whiteout conditions and blinding wind gusts over 60 mph are expected, which will make travel extremely dangerous in the Northeast on Saturday.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, have declared a state of emergency and urged residents to stay off the roads.
There’s also the possibility of coastal flooding, from Maryland to New Jersey and into parts of Long Island and New England. With wind gusts forecast to be over 50 mph for many areas from Maine to New Jersey, the strong winds could blow ocean water onto the shore and create flooding.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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