Northeast braces for 'potentially historic' blizzard

A "potentially historic" blizzard could dump 2 to 3 feet of snow on a large swath of the U.S. Northeast, crippling a region that has largely been spared so far this winter, the National Weather Service (NWS) said Sunday.

A blizzard warning was issued for New York and Boston, and the National Weather Service said the massive storm would bring heavy snow and powerful winds starting Monday and into Tuesday.

The NWS called the approaching system a "crippling and potentially historic blizzard," with many areas along the East Coast expected to see between 12 to 24 inches of snow. The New York City area could be the hardest hit from the storm with lashing winds and snowfall of 30 inches or more in some suburbs.

"This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Sunday.

"Don't underestimate this storm. Prepare for the worst," he said urging residents to plan to leave work early Monday.

The biggest snowfall on record in New York City was the storm of Feb. 11 and 12, 2006. It dropped 26.9 inches of snow, according to the city's Office of Emergency Management.

Boston is expected to get 18 to 24 inches of snow, and Philadelphia could see 14 to 18 inches, the weather service said Sunday.

A weekend storm that had brought snow and slush to the Northeast — the first real snow of the season for many areas — was just a warm up.

The storm system driving out of the Midwest brought snow to Ohio on Sunday and was expected to ultimately spread from Washington, D.C., to Maine for a "crippling and potentially historic blizzard," the National Weather Service said.

Preparations large and small were in effect elsewhere in New York. A Manhattan Home Depot store sold about twice as many shovels over the weekend as it normally does while transit officials hoping to keep the subways running smoothly planned to use modified subway cars loaded with de-icing fluid to spray the third rail that powers trains.

Delta said on Sunday it was canceling 600 flights because of the blizzard warning for the East Coast. Southwest Airlines said it had canceled about 20 flights and American Airlines had so far canceled a handful.

Cities along the heavily populated East Coast had snowplows and trucks to dispense road salt on standby. Shoppers rushed to stores to stock up on essentials.

Wyatt Baars, manager of the Charlestown Ace Hardware in Boston, sold out of his bags of ice-melting pellets. But he said a New Hampshire distributor is helping him and delivering more.

"Everybody is preparing for the storm," he said. "When we have something this big on the horizon, everybody comes in for the ice melt, snow shovels, snow brooms."

Wire services