Washington, December 22: A snowstorm blanketed the U.S. East Coast early on Saturday and the National Weather Service forecast up to 2 feet of snow would fall on and around Washington over the weekend.
Between 15 and 25 inches (38 to 64 cm) of snow accumulation was expected by early Sunday in the capital with cold and windy conditions, the weather service said on its website.
Mayor Adrian Fenty declared a snow emergency in the Washington area from 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday. “All indications are this will be a major storm — perhaps the biggest we’ve seen in several years,” Fenty said in a statement posted on the city’s website.
In Virginia, Governor Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency.
Winter storm warnings were in effect from North Carolina and Tennessee in the south to southern New England in the north. The weather service said travel conditions throughout the region would be “extremely treacherous” by early Saturday.
The storm was expected to pass through the mid-Atlantic region by early Sunday, blanketing areas to the north including Philadelphia and New York City during the weekend.
Snow was expected to start falling in New York by mid-afternoon on Saturday, with accumulation of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) by midday Sunday.
Authorities were urging drivers to stay off the roads.
Airports in the Washington area including Dulles International and Reagan National were open as of 3:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) but the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority advised travellers to check their flights with airlines.
The snowstorm, predicted to dump more snow on the region than any storm since at least February 2003, was expected to take a big bite out of retail sales on the last weekend before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest of the year.
–Agencies