A massive snow storm is expected to hit the US east coast on Friday, paralysing the eastern third of the nation as high winds and blizzards are expected to dump up to 30 inches (76 cm) of snow, including on Washington DC.

A state of emergency has been declared in Washington DC and five states: Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania. In Virginia, the national guard said it planned to bring in up to 300 troops to assist in response operations.

The director of the National Weather Service said all the ingredients have come together to create blizzards with brutally high winds, dangerous inland flooding, white-out conditions and even the possibility of thunder snow, when lightning strikes through a snowstorm.

Snowploughs work to clear the pavement in front of the White House ahead of Friday’s expected storm. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

“It does have the potential to be an extremely dangerous storm that can affect more than 50 million people,” said Louis Uccellini.

Washington looks like the bullseye of the blizzard, with New York City just inside the slow-moving storm’s sharp northern edge, which means it is likely to see heavy accumulations, Uccellini said.

Uccellini said it won’t be quite as bad as Superstorm Sandy, but people should expect high winds, a storm surge and inland flooding from Delaware to New York. Other severe but non-snowy weather is likely from Texas to Florida as the storm system chugs across the Gulf Coast, gaining moisture.



Blizzard warnings have been issued in Washington and Baltimore, with extreme conditions expected to begin on Friday afternoon. New York was under a blizzard watch for Saturday morning.

A worker in a hardware store assembles snow shovels ahead of the expected blizzard. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Paul Kocin compared the storm to “Snowmageddon,” the first of two storms that “wiped out” Washington in 2010 and dumped up to 30 inches of snow in places.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which includes the second-busiest US subway system, said it would suspend operations from late on Friday through to Sunday to ensure staff and passenger safety. Underground stations usually stay open during major snowstorms.



Shoppers queue in a Washington supermarket to buy essentials as a state of emergency is declared. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA

Washington mayor Muriel Bowser and New York mayor Bill de Blasio urged motorists to stay off roads, starting on Friday.

“Anyone who has the illusion you’re going to be taking big trips over the weekend, get that out of your mind,” de Blasio said at a news conference.

Computer modelling of storm expected to hit a large part of the US east coast on Friday. Photograph: AP

Schools in Washington DC will be closed on Friday and government offices will shut down at noon.

Bowser apologised for not having the city ready for about 2 inches (5 cm) of snow that caused problems on Wednesday’s rush hour traffic, in what many Washington residents saw as a bad omen for the weekend.

Bowser said more trucks should have been sent out to lay salt ahead of the snow a mistake she said wouldn’t be repeated ahead of the much bigger storm arriving Friday.

Bottled water is in demand in Washington DC ahead of the storm. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Grocery store shelves were being stripped of bread, milk and other essentials as millions of residents in the storm’s path prepared to lock down for a wintry weekend.

Consumer watchdogs warned against illegal price gouging for such essentials as generators, batteries, flashlights and hotel lodging.

At a supermarket in Baltimore, Sharon Brewington stocked her cart with ready-to-eat snacks, bread, milk and cold cuts. In 2010, she and her daughter were stuck at home with nothing but noodles and water.

“I’m not going to make that mistake again,” Brewington said.

The Mid-Atlantic region is notorious for struggling to cope with winter weather, and a light dusting on Wednesday night served as an ominous prelude to the massive blizzard.

All major airlines have issued waivers for travel over the weekend, allowing passengers to rebook onto earlier or later flights to avoid the storms. The flight tracking site FlightAware estimates airlines will cancel at least 2,000 flights on Friday and another 3,000 on Saturday, which is the slowest travel days of the week.

