Washington DC, January 23

A thick layer of snow covered the Washington DC area today as a potentially record-setting blizzard arrived on the East Coast, paralysing road, rail and airline travel from North Carolina to New York.

The Washington and Baltimore metro areas were expected to bear the brunt of the storm. Two to three feet of snow are likely, accompanied by winds of 48 to 80 km per hour, before the storm winds down today afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Steady snow was falling on southeastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, early today. The storm is forecast to head north towards New York City later in the day.

The National Weather Service said it was too soon to tell whether the snowfall will break records around Washington DC and Baltimore.

“Either way, we’re looking at a significant event,” said NWS meteorologist Frank Pereira. The full force of the storm could dump enough snow on Washington to eclipse the 45.2 cm of the “Snowmageddon” storm of 2010. Total snowfall might rival the “Knickerbocker” storm of 1922, when a record 28 inches fell. Residents preparing for a weekend indoors laid in stores of food, water and wine. Some stores were left with bare shelves.

The Weather Channel said more than 85 million people in at least 20 states were covered by a winter weather warning, watch or advisory.

The storm developed along the Gulf Coast, dropping snow over Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky yesterday. On the East Coast, warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean collided with cold air to form the massive winter system, Pereira said.

The storm was forecast to move offshore in southern New England early next week. Philadelphia and New York were expected to get 12 to 18 inches of snow before the storm abated.

Low-lying areas of New York and New Jersey — some still rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 — might see flooding during high tides today and tomorrow, officials said.

Governors in several states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, as well as the mayor of Washington, declared states of emergency.