The governors of Virginia and Maryland each declared a state of emergency on Friday as severe winds and heavy rain battered the East Coast.

"We are continuing to see a number of serious accidents on bridges and roadways, and power outages throughout the state,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said in a statement urging residents to stay off roads.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) also issued an emergency declaration, allowing state and local government agencies to provide assistance in areas throughout the commonwealth impacted by high winds.

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The National Weather Service said that strong winds and heavy rain would continue across northeast and mid-Atlantic states on Friday evening, with its office serving the D.C. metro area a warning of high winds through 6 a.m. on Saturday. The strongest winds, with gusts reaching upwards of 65 miles per hour, were expected Friday night.

Officials warned of widespread outages due to downed power lines and projectiles becoming airborne, with gusts over 60 miles per hour leading to potentially dangerous conditions.

Nearly 2 million people along the Eastern seaboard were without power on Friday, while hundreds of flights from Washington, New York and Boston were delayed or canceled.

Amtrak also announced that all service along the Northeast Corridor was suspended until Saturday due to "hazardous conditions."