Do I hear 40 inches anyone? Blizzard warnings were picking up speed on Thursday, as the latest predictions pointed to three feet of snow possibly being dumped on the nation’s capitol by Winter Storm Jonas.

By Friday afternoon, a “dangerous” winter storm is expected to bear down on the East Coast, bringing heavy snow and strong winds, and travel headaches for anyone trying to get anywhere to or from that block of the U.S. The hashtag #BlizzardWatch was making the rounds on Twitter.

In a blog on Weather Underground, Bob Hensen said forecasters are looking for the biggest snowfall to hit D.C. in nearly a century—that is, anything over 20 inches at Washington National Airport. CNN meteorologist Tom Slater said one computer model shows the capital will be in for 30 inches by Sunday.

Locals grumbled on Twitter after an inch of snow caused crippling traffic jams on Wednesday evening, and some schools in the area were reportedly closed for Thursday:

In its latest update, The Weather Channel has predicted up to 12 inches of snow for New York City:

Coastal flooding is also mixed into the wintry mess due to start Friday:

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm early Thursday.

Clearly taking no chances, airlines were pushing out travel advisories. Southwest Airlines Co. LUV, -2.10% said on its website that scheduled services from Thursday through Sunday could be disrupted—delayed, diverted or even canceled. Those include flights in and out of airports in Washington, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charlotte and other cities in the path of the storm.

Delta Air Lines Co. DAL, -3.23% said on its website that customers would be entitled to a refund if their flights were canceled or delayed and they could make a one-time change without a fee if they were scheduled to fly between Jan. 22 and 24 from a cluster of airlines on the East Cost, plus other affected areas.

American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, -3.59% was also waiving a one-time ticketing fee for travelers who wanted to avoid traveling over the weekend via the most affected areas.

Football fans waiting for the American Football Championships game on Sunday in Denver, Colo. between the Broncos and the Patriots may want to bundle up, that is if they can get there.

But that’s nothing compared with some of the coldest games ever, such as the recent meet-up between the Seahawks and the Vikings in Minnesota a few days ago. Temperature minus 6 and wind chill minus 25, according to this roundup. Back in 1967, the Cowboys and the Packers played on a frozen field in minus 13 temps and a wind chill of minus 48.

And while last year’s Winter Storm Juno didn’t deliver an expected big blizzard to New York City roughly a year ago, Jensen had this to say about Jonas: “Although it’s too soon to get too precise about exact amounts and locations, confidence is uncommonly high for a high-impact event in the mid-Atlantic,” he wrote.

Some were holding out for a dud: