Seven states on the Northeast are in watch mode as a potentially record-setting storm is churning up the coast, threatening to dump up to 3 feet of snow in parts and paralyze the region from Philadelphia to Maine.

More than 7,700 flights for Monday and Tuesday have been canceled as of Monday evening, with Boston’s Logan Airport and Providence’s T.F. Green Airport closed outright. Delays and the knock-on effects of stranded planes and lost connections will start hitting the entire nation’s air-travel system Tuesday.

Ground transportation was also affected. Amtrak beginning trimming back its services all along the Eastern seaboard Monday afternoon, especially its lucrative services between Boston and New York. The New York Metro subway system and New Jersey Transit had closed by Monday evening, and Boston prepared to halt its transit service Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, non-essential travel was banned on all streets and highways in New York City and the governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island also slapped restrictions on driving.

The winter storm hit Monday and was forecast to last through Wednesday, with some areas feeling the storm’s wrath for up to 36 hours, Weather.com reported.

Snow became heavy Monday evening in Philadelphia, central New Jersey and New York City, on Monday night in Boston and was expected to start hitting Maine in earnest early Tuesday morning.

More than 28 million people could be affected by power outages, travel disruptions and lingering cold and ice, Weather.com reported.

According to the Associated Press, the National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings, which means much of the Northeast could see whiteout conditions with heavy snow swirling amid gusts of sustained or frequent wind topping 35 mph. Gusts along the Massachusetts coastline could reach hurricane-force levels — 75 mph — and 50 mph gusts were forecast even inland.

Washington, D.C., and its environs got hit as well, but only with a couple of inches expected to end in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

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