What to expect from the 'paralyzing' blizzard set to clobber the Northeast this weekend

A potentially historic snowstorm, dubbed Winter Storm Jonas, is expected to clobber the US's East Coast from Friday afternoon through Sunday, affecting millions of Americans and bringing heavy snow, strong winds, and a risk of coastal flooding.

"It is a potentially paralyzing storm," Louis Uccellini, director of the National Weather Service, said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.

Here's a NASA satellite image of the storm moving up the coast, shown in yellowish-orange:

NOAA

Blizzard warnings are in effect for the Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York areas, and the storm is expected to bring travel delays, school and airport closings, and hazardous conditions.

And it has already begun - more than 5,000 US flights have been canceled, according to the website Flight Aware, many of them because of the weather.

Here's the forecast for Winter Storm Jonas, as of Friday:

Washington, DC

Here's a National Weather Service map of predicted snowfall totals - in inches - for the DC area from Friday through Sunday, from least (blue) to most (purple):

NOAA/NWS

DC, Philadelphia, and part of Maryland and Virginia have a blizzard warning lasting from 3 p.m. ET Friday through 6 a.m. ET Sunday. Here's what residents in these areas can expect over the next three days:

• The National Weather Service predicts more than 2 feet of snow, starting late Friday and lasting through Saturday night.
• Winds are expected to reach 25-35 mph, with gusts of up to 60 mph.

Cities are already getting prepared:

• The DC metro is shutting down service at 11 p.m. ET Friday and will remain closed Saturday and Sunday.
• Airports in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore area have canceled all flights Saturday, the AP reports, according to The Weather Channel. Flights are expected to resume at noon Sunday.

The storm "has life and death implications, and [people] should treat it that way," DC Mayor Muriel Bowser warned Washington residents, according to CNN. "People should hunker down, shelter in place and stay off the roads."

New York

Here's a NWS map of the snowfall forecast for the New York area - in inches - from least (gray) to most (blue):

NOAA/NWS

The blizzard watch in New York has been upgraded to a blizzard warning, affecting all five boroughs, coastal parts of northeast New Jersey, and Long Island, from 4 a.m. ET Saturday through noon ET Sunday.

• The snow forecast for New York suggests about 7 to 12 inches in New York City, Long Island, and Southern NE New Jersey; 5 to 9 inches in Northern NE New Jersey and South West Chester; and 2 to 8 inches elsewhere in the area.
• High winds are expected, with sustained speeds of 20-35 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph.
• Minor to moderate flooding is also expected during high tide Saturday morning and evening, and major flooding is also possible Saturday night.

NOAA/NWS

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York has issued a hazardous-travel warning, telling New Yorkers to travel carefully and take public transit if possible.

• All American flights from New York's three airlines have canceled flights Saturday afternoon, the AP reports, according to The Weather Channel. Flights are set to resume Sunday.

The same storm system is bringing severe weather to the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida. NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement satellite captured this view of severe rainfall on Thursday:

Here's an image of what the blizzard looks like from space, captured by NOAA satellites:

NOAA