Big Winter Storm Could Shut Down East Coast This Weekend

WASHINGTON (AP)  — Drivers in the Washington area spent hours in icy gridlock ahead of heavy snowfall that's predicted to arrive by the weekend from the Appalachians to Philadelphia and maybe farther north.

The National Weather Service said in a statement Wednesday that 12 to 16 inches of snow could come down between Friday night and Sunday morning around the Interstate 95 corridor. As much as a foot of snow is possible for Philadelphia's northern suburbs.

The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center warns of heavy, "perhaps crippling" snow across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia, probably beginning Friday.

In the areas where blizzard conditions are possible, the weather service warns that travel will be limited or impossible. The strongest winds and potentially life-threatening conditions are expected Friday night through Saturday night.

On Wednesday, the weather service issued blizzard and winter storm watches for parts of Maryland, Washington, Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas. The watches start as early as Thursday and stretch into Saturday.

The storm will bring ice and freezing rain to Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky starting Thursday, prediction center meteorologist Rich Otto said Wednesday.

All major airlines have issued waivers for travel over the weekend, allowing passengers to rebook onto earlier or later flights to avoid the storms. The airports included vary by airline but include some cities in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia all the way up the coast to New Hampshire and Massachusetts.