The 'snowstorm of a lifetime' is set to swamp the Northeast this week, dumping as much as two feet of snow in some cities.

The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center is warning of heavy, 'perhaps crippling' snow in the mid-Atlantic region, including the Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia metro areas.

Forecasters claim it has the potential to develop into a blizzard unlike any seen for 20 years.

With high tides, severe flooding is expected on the coast, as well as 60mph winds that would cause widespread power outages.

As the region prepares for the worst, Washington, D.C., has even requested Humvees from the National Guard to reach isolated people and places if necessary.

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Forecasters claim it has the potential to develop into a blizzard unlike any seen for 20 years

This image provided by NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center shows amodel forecasting the chances of a windy, strong sleet-snow storm hitting the East Coast on Friday and Saturday

Shoppers stock up on ice melt and other supplies at Strosniders Hardware two days before a snowstorm is expected to hit the Washington, DC area in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday

Nathaniel Love rides a sled down a hill on Wednesday in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Kentucky (pictured) is getting the first wave of the so-called Storm Jonas on Wednesday

Snow in Bowling Green, Kentucky, (pictured) is set to intensify over the next 24 hours

Joe Anglin tows a car out of a ditch after the driver lost control on an icy road near Burwood, Tennessee

People have been hitting stores in Washington, D.C., (pictured) to stock up ahead of the storm

Half empty shelves of water are seen at Safeway in Bowie, Maryland, on Wednesday

'For some areas in the mid-Atlantic, this could be the storm of your lifetime,' MSNBC meteorologist Bill Karins said on Wednesday morning.

He pointed out to Twitter followers that it has been 94 years since Washington, D.C., has seen a storm with 20 inches of snow.

The capital sees a foot of snow drop about once every eight years. But it has only ever exceeded that twice since 1884, according to the Weather Channel.

A video posted on Twitter showed shelves are already clearing out in D.C. supermarkets in anticipation.

New York City is set to get a foot of snow, according to Wednesday's forecasts.

On Thursday night, snow subsides in the northern Plains as sleep and freezing rain sweeps through Arkansas and Tennessee, pushing up into Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.

On Friday, the sleet in Tennessee turns into snow.

On Friday night, snow and sleet batter Ohio Valley, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia - eventually pushing into D.C. and Maryland.

On Saturday morning, severe coastal flooding and the worst winds of the storm will be seen all the way along the coast from Virginia Beach up to New York.

As the day goes on, heavy snow will batter the entire region between Virginia and Philadelphia, moving into New York City by the afternoon.

Also on Saturday afternoon, heavy winds are set to hit the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, and up into Long Island so hard that there will likely be power outages and fallen trees.

Snow will persist in New York on Sunday, as it cools off in the Virginias and Maryland, and pushes up into Boston.

The light snow currently sweeping through the northern and central Plains will persist then die out on Thursday

On Thursday night, snow subsides in the northern Plains as sleep and freezing rain sweeps through Arkansas and Tennessee, pushing up into Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia

On Friday during the day, sleet persists across the Appalachian region but in Tennessee it turns into snow

On Friday night, snow and sleet batter Ohio Valley, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia - eventually pushing into D.C. and Maryland

A blizzard watch has been issued for DC and Baltimore as of Friday night

On Saturday morning, severe coastal flooding and the worst winds of the storm will be seen all the way along the coast from Virginia Beach up to New York

As the day goes on, heavy snow will batter the entire region between Virginia and Philadelphia, moving into New York City by the afternoon

Snow will persist in New York on Sunday, as it cools off in the Virginias and Maryland, and pushes up into Boston

What is certain, according to the Weather Channel, is that the first blast across Kentucky, West Virginia and northern Virginias will see at least one foot of snow.

As it moves into DC, Maryland and northern Delaware, it is likely to bring two feet of snow.

There is a chance New England may escape the brunt of the storm, though forecasters are still unclear about this leg of the weather system.

It is likely, however, that this region - from northern coastal New York up to Boston - will be slammed by strong winds.

Weather Underground, which was the only site to rubbish claims of a devastating storm in New York last year, has also predicted heavy snow and severe winds.

Travel disruptions are expected all the way up the Interstate 95 and along highways in states just south of New York.

Office workers in Washington, D.C., are warned to take their laptops home on Thursday night as the intensity of the snow may causes businesses to close on Friday.

It is not yet clear how airports will respond to the weather warnings.

This map shows where in the US will likely see more than eight inches of snow between Friday and Sunday

'There's going to be a big storm. Somebody's going to get walloped,' said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at College of DuPage outside of Chicago, which should be spared. 'It does look like it's going to be a doozy.'

Rich Otto, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center outside of Washington, said some major cities will likely see a foot or more of snow. Other meteorologists talked about 18 inches, two feet and more.

Gensini said the heavy snow is likely because the system will be slow moving. Forecasters see Saturday as the worst day in the East.

Early Tuesday, the Weather Prediction Center said the storm could be historic, but Otto said that may have been going a bit too far.

'Things will change; that's a guarantee,' Otto said. 'Nothing ever stays the same with these forecasts.'

St Louis, Missouri, (pictured) is experiencing the first leg of the so-called Storm Jonas on Wednesday

Heavy lake-effect snow and cold temperatures are expected in parts of New York (Central Park pictured)

A couple walk along a beach on the icy Chicago lakefront as frigid temperatures continue throughout the area

A woman walks her dog along the Chicago lakefront on Tuesday as the cold blast moves eastward

Otto said an upper-level disturbance in the air is moving from the Pacific to the Rockies to the southern plains.

It should pass over Texas, hit the Ohio Valley, join with other unstable air and become a nor'easter Friday evening over the Mid Atlantic, moving up the coast on Saturday.

'Since the storm is arriving on a southern track, impacts will include Kentucky, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Northern Virginia into D.C., then Philly,' said meteorologist Ryan Maue of the private WeatherBell Analytics.

Then once it gets up north, expect strong winds — gusting easily to 50 to 60 mph — beach erosion, and storm surge in the New Jersey area, Maue said.