January 23, 2016•Update: January 23, 2016
NEW YORK
A potentially historic blizzard began to dump excessive storm on a large swath of the U.S. east coast on Saturday, with some cities having woken up to more than 45 centimeters of snow.
The weekend whiteout has been blamed for at least nine fatalities, as states of emergency have been declared in 11 states and Washington D.C. weather officials say up to 85 million people are now in the storm's path.
7,406 flights have been cancelled within, into, or out of the U.S. since Friday through Saturday morning, according to FlightAware.com.
More than 150,000 people in 13 states have been left without power because of dangerous weather, U.S. media said, citing various energy companies.
"Major to historic winter storm will continue to impact a large area extending from the Middle Atlantic Region to southern New England. Very heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions are forecast with the heaviest snow expected from the Baltimore and Washington D.C. metro areas west to the Blue Ridge Mountains," the National Weather Service said.
"Widespread snowfall accumulations of 1 to 2 feet [30 to 61 cm] can be expected with locally higher amounts of 2 to 3 feet west of the major cities. Heavy snow will also spread northward into Philadelphia, New York City and Long Island."
The heaviest snowfall recorded so far is 28 inches (71 cm) in Terra Alta, West Virginia, as of Saturday morning, according to the Weather Prediction Center branch of the service. The White House in Washington D.C. has seen at least 13 inches (33 cm) of snow.
"We see this as a major storm. It has life and death implications. And all the residents of the District of Columbia should treat it that way," Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York City, saying more than 2 feet (60 cm) of snow is forecast for the city's five boroughs.
"This is a major storm, and travel conditions throughout downstate New York are dangerous,” said Cuomo. “We are doing everything possible to keep the roads and mass transit operational, but unless there is an emergency people should not be traveling."
The city suspended its bus service, and 1,800 personnel are working to maintain subway operability, Cuomo added.
New Jersey's southern shores faced significant flooding Saturday morning, as more than 50 people have been forced from their homes near Atlantic City, according to city officials.
Governor Chris Christie said snow could fall in some parts of the state at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour. He said there were some 17,000 power outages across the state as of Saturday morning.
