Washington, D.C. and another five U.S. states along the U.S. East Coast on Thursday declared state of emergency as the region was bracing itself for a historic snowstorm over the weekend.
As authorities in Washington, D.C., and the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania declared the state of emergency on Thursday, blizzard watches were also issued by the National Weather Service along the storm’s path, stretching from Arkansas through Tennessee and Kentucky to the mid-Atlantic states.
According to the weather service, extreme conditions, including high winds and a storm surge, are expected to begin Friday afternoon through Saturday night.
While the storm was expected to easily paralyze the eastern part of the country, the U.S. capital city of Washington, D.C. was very likely to bear the brunt. According to weather predictions, more than two feet of snow was expected for Washington.
A slighter snow has already hit Washington, D.C. previously on Wednesday evening, causing heavy traffic congestions in the city.
Vehicles were seen stuck on the roadside since they had broke down on the snowy roads.
To prepare for the potentially crippling winter storm, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on Thursday announced that it would shut down the city’s Metro system from Friday night through Sunday.
Snow sweepers and other facilities have been arranged and put in place in the city to prepare for the weekend’s snowstorm.
Meanwhile, major airlines began to cancel flights for Friday and Saturday. According to FlightAware, a flight tracking site, at least 2,000 flights on Friday and another 3,000 on Saturday were expected to be canceled. (CCTV/Reuters)
