Washington D.C., New York and other US East Coast cities have readied fleets of snow plows, thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed and residents have stocked up on groceries ahead of a winter storm expected to dump up to 76 cm of snow on the region.
At least five states have declared emergencies as the season's first major Atlantic Coast storm started to move over the Mid-South before barrelling on an expected north and eastward course bringing up to two feet of snow to some areas.
Blizzard warnings were out in the nation's capital and Baltimore, with extreme conditions expected to begin this afternoon, while New York City is under a blizzard watch for tomorrow morning.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which includes the second-busiest U.S. subway system, said it would suspend operations from late today through Sunday.
The Virginia National Guard said it plans to bring in up to 300 troops to assist in response operations.
Federal employees in the Washington area were told their offices would close at noon to let them go home early.
Grocery store shelves were being stripped of bread, milk and other essentials as millions of residents in the storm's path prepared to hunker down for a wintry weekend. Consumer watchdogs warned against illegal price gouging for such essentials as generators, batteries, flashlights and hotel lodging.
American Airlines Group Inc scrapped all Friday flights into North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Delta Air Lines Inc cancelled about 120 flights in the Southeast region. American scrapped most Saturday flights into Washington, New York and Philadelphia, and Delta was poised to cancel many of the same.
The National Weather Service said blizzard conditions could be life-threatening across much of the mid-Atlantic on Friday night and early Saturday.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged motorists to stay off roads, starting today.
"Anyone who has the illusion you're going to be taking big trips over the weekend, get that out of your mind," de Blasio said at a news conference.
The National Weather Service put Washington and Baltimore under blizzard warnings from 3 p.m. Eastern Friday through Sunday morning.
It forecast up to 61 cm of snow in the capital, and as much as 75 cm in western suburbs, with winds gusting to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour).
In North Carolina, two women died late on Wednesday in car accidents on slippery roadways, the governor's office said.