This season has been pretty tame, but winter isn’t leaving without hitting the Northeast with a monster snowstorm. The Weather Channel is dubbing it as Winter Storm Nemo and it’s expected to pound the Boston area with as much as two feet of snow. Get your snow-boots and shovels ready and prepare for the biggest snowstorm of the year. Here’s what you need to know about Winter Storm Nemo.

1. Winter Storm Nemo is a Result of Two Systems Merging



The potential storm depends on the course of two systems : the cold front moving from the north and a rainy system from the south. If the two systems collide, the result will be the massive storm.

2. The Storm is Expected to Drop 1 to 2 Feet of Snow on New England

Boston and eastern Massachusetts are expected to get the worst of it. 18 to 24 inches may fall in Boston with an 85 percent chance of at least 12 inches.

3. The Storm Has the Potential to be Historic



Boston has the potential to see more snow than the past two winter’s combined. Boston rarely sees more than 20 inches of snow from a single storm and Winter Storm Nemo may do the trick.

4. New York City May Receive 6 to 10 Inches

A winter storm watch has been posted from Maine to New Jersey, including New York City. New York City may receive 6 to 10 inches. Areas north and west of the city may get 10 to 18 inches and Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey may get up to 20 inches.

5. The Storm Will Arrive on Thursday with the Worst of it on Friday into Saturday



“A potential historic winter storm and blizzard is expected to drop 1 to 2 feet of snow across much of the region Friday into Saturday,” the weather service said in a bulletin. “The worst of the storm will be Friday night into Saturday. Snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour possible,” The National Weather Service announced.

Flurries are expected to fall as early as Thursday, but the worst of it should come Friday and continue into Saturday morning.

6. Travel May Become Nearly Impossible

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for New England and the Tri-State area starting at 6 a.m. Friday and until 1 p.m. Saturday. Residents up and down the coast are being warned to not leave their homes, especially to drive. More than 2,100 flights have already been cancelled in advance due to the impending storm as well. The airports with the most cancellations are Newark Liberty, New York’s LaGuardia and JFK and Boston’s Logan International.

7. People are Already Dubbing it as the “Snopocalypse” and “Snowmageddon”

If you live in Boston right now, don’t expect to get out of the grocery store without waiting in line for over an hour at the checkout. People are already dubbing the storm as the “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon.”

Snowmageddon’s coming! Stock up on milk, eggs, bread. Oh, and shovels. They alwys show ppl buying shovels. What gives u live in New England! — Hùng Pham (@hqp921) February 6, 2013

8. It Comes After the 35th Anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78

Winter Storm Nemo comes just after the 35th anniversary of the historic blizzard of 1978. The storm pounded the Boston region with over 2 feet of snow and hurricane force winds from February 5-7. This weekend’s storm isn’t expected to be nearly as bad, but nevertheless it’s a big one.

9. Ski Areas are Thrilled



“We’ll be here with bells on,” Christopher Kitchin, inside operations manager at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, Massachusetts said. “People are getting excited. They want to get out in the snow and go snow-tubing, skiing and snowboarding.”

The good thing about Winter Storm Nemo is that it will set the stage for an awesome weekend of skiing and snowboarding. This winter season hasn’t been the best when it comes to snowstorms, leaving many ski areas with bare ground for much of the season.

10. Different Predictions of the Storm Say it Won’t Be as Bad

Forecasters agree that the two winter systems will merge to create the snowstorm, but they differ on exactly how much snow the area will get. The two models that differ are The European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), or Euro model, and the Global Forecast System (GFS) model of the U.S.

“The European model has continued to insist there is going to be this really big storm but the other models are not bullish on it at all,” the Weather Channel’s Carl Parker said. “The difference is – will it be a blockbuster for places like Boston?”

I guess only time will tell on this one. What do you guys think? Are you excited for a big snowstorm or are you praying it misses us?