Major snowstorm advances on northeastern US

PennDOT's Tom Collins prepares a truck for snow removal in preparation for a expected winter storm, in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 18, 2009.


A woman uses an umbrella to shield herself from strong winds in midtown Atlanta on Friday, December 18, 2009. Forecasters warned of heavy rain and strong winds as a storm system heads north to the mid-Atlantic.



Northeastern United States from North Carolina to Connecticut was under a winter storm warning Friday, as a major storm system threatens to dump up to 20 inches (half a meter) of snow in the region, weather forecasters said.

The storm "track gives a stripe of heavy snowfall from western North Carolina to New York City, impacting major cities including Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia with potentially a foot or more of snow," the National Weather Service said.

"Winter storm warning remains in effect from midnight Friday (0500 GMT, Saturday) to 6:00 am Sunday (1100 GMT)... heavy snow with accumulations of 10 to 20 inches (25-50 centimeters) through Saturday night," it added.

The storm system originated over the Gulf of Mexico putting much of southeastern US under a flood advisory. The rain is turning to snow as the storm tracks northeastward into sub-freezing temperatures.

In Washington and New York City, municipal authorities are under a state of alert and have requested additional snow-removing equipment and salt to cope with the weekend snowstorm.

There are no delays at present at major airports in the northeast, but the situation is likely to change late Friday, when the first snowflakes are expected to hit the Washington area, and on Saturday when the storm reaches New York, forecasters said.

United Airlines announced the preventive cancellation of several flights from airports along the eastern seaboard on Saturday, and most airports in the northeast are advising passengers to check their flight times well ahead of schedule.

Major landing delays are expected at most airports over the weekend.

And traffic snarls are predicted on major thoroughfares as the snowstorm coincides with the last shopping weekend before the Christmas holiday.





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