Boston could see 12 to 20 inches of snow.
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 the mayor said it might be a “historic storm.”
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.
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.
Snowfall totals are estimated to be higher than previously expected due to a number of factors. The storm is expected to move closer to shore, bringing heavy bands of snow inland, with a snowfall rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour. The light and fluffy nature of this snow will help it stack up higher than the wet, heavy snow that typically comes with coastal storms.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has declared a snow emergency and warned residents to stay home.
“It’s going to be a big one,” Wu told reporters Friday. “This has the potential to be a historic storm.”
“I’m very relieved that this is happening on a Saturday,” Wu said, adding that she expects schools to be open on Monday.
The latest forecast has 12 to 20 inches of snow for Boston, 6 to 12 inches for New York City, 4 to 6 inches for Philadelphia and 1 to 2 inches for Washington, D.C.
The frigid air in the forecast will allow the snow to accumulate quickly and create very slick conditions on roads.
Meanwhile, the wind chill on Saturday morning could make the temperature feel like it’s in the single digits for the Interstate 95 corridor and in the teens for the Carolinas.
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.
