Latest Snowstorm Forecast: Blizzards, Ice Storms And Record Snow

A dangerous weather system continued its slog Friday toward the Eastern Seaboard, where forecasters warned that fierce winds and heavy snow could bury the Mid-Atlantic states under more than two feet of snow before blizzard conditions batter parts of the Northeast, leaving another foot of snow behind.

Governors in the path of the storm have already declared states of emergency, airlines have canceled thousands of flights, and closures have begun hours before the storm’s arrival.

In a possible foreshadowing of what’s to come, schools, business and government buildings were closed across North Carolina, where up to 18 inches of snow fell Friday morning before the storm was expected to track up the East Coast.

“This will be a rare event for the region as there are not many storms that bring a foot or more of snow over such a large area and last more than 24 hours,” AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams said.

As blizzard watches turned into warnings overnight for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, the National Weather Service warned of “paralyzing snow” expected to hit as many as 19 states, make travel on roadways nearly impossible and be a “threat to life and property.”

In the nation’s capital, the Metro transit system, which runs through Northern Virginia and Maryland, was scheduled to shut down at 11 p.m. Friday and remain closed for the weekend in anticipation of up to 30 inches of snow.

Washington Mayor Muriel E. Bowser told residents to be in their homes by 3 p.m., and the city’s government was closing at 12.

The accumulation would be the most in the district’s history and could cripple Washington, where just two days ago, mere inches of snow gridlocked roadways around the city and even delayed President Obama’s motorcade for more than an hour.

The President postponed a ceremony scheduled for Friday for science and technology innovators. The Airport Authority, which manages the two major airports in the district, warned of mass flight cancellations ahead of the storm but said reservation change fees may be waived to encourage re-booking flights.

Country music star Garth Brooks has cancelled two sold-out shows in Baltimore, where nearly every public building was closing Friday afternoon and the airport said to expect mass cancellations.

Philadelphia International Airport cancelled all Saturday flights, and the city’s mass transit, too, will shut down for the weekend.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, meanwhile, told residents to use the subway as much as possible— or just stay home — through the weekend.

De Blasio said the city’s subway systems would be up and running, and planned weekend construction would be cancelled to shuttle New Yorkers around the city as efficiently as possible, a departure from last year’s blizzard when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo completely shut down the city’s mass transit, leaving thousands stranded.

But the biggest threat to the state was to Long Island, where flooding of roads and homes, as well as isolated structural damage, could be severe.

Blinding snow and wind was expected to make travel nearly impossible on the island, and the National Weather Service warned that, “If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle.”

Coastal flooding, amplified by Atlantic winds, melting snow and high tides from the current full moon could then devastate much of the island. There could be widespread flooding of vulnerable shore roads and basements. Several roads will likely be impassable.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie couldn’t seem to make up his mind about whether he would be with the people in his home state during the blizzard, expected to dump up to 18 inches in parts of the state, or stay in New Hampshire, where he was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.

He told reporters in New Hampshire that, “The lieutenant governor is there and she’s handling things on the ground” but backtracked Friday after heavy criticism from New Jerseyans, tweeting, “I’m sorry, NH but I gotta go home - we got snow coming.”

Jersey Shore communities were also facing the potential for coastal flooding that ranks with the worst the state has ever seen.

Wave heights were forecast to be as much as 20 feet during the storm, and northeast winds may gust to as much as 60 miles per hour, driving water onshore and resulting in major flooding.

The snow was expected to be a wet one, with temperatures mainly in the upper 20s and low 30s for many of the major affected areas.

A wet snow “will cling to wires and trees, which could cause numbersou power outages,” the National Weather Service said.

The PSEG Long Island power company said that it was “performing system checks on critical transmission and distribution equipment and performing logistics checks to ensure the availability of critical materials, fuel and other supplies.”

SAT testing centers from Georgia, through the Southeast, Mid Atlantic and Northeast up to Connecticut cancelled or postponed their administering of the important college-prep exams.

Here were the latest estimates of snowfall totals for the major cities and states in the area, according to the National Weather Service:

• Boston: 2 to 3 inches
• New York City and Long Island: 8 to 12 inches
• North New Jersey: 8 to 12 inches
• South New Jersey: 12 to 18 inches
• Philadelphia: 12 to 18 inches
• Baltimore: 24 to 30 inches
• Washington, D.C.: 24 to 30 inches

Photo: NASA satellite image of the storm approaching the Eastern seaboard early Friday morning.