East Coast prepares for powerful winter storm

Flights are being canceled, states are declaring emergencies, and residents are stocking up on food and supplies as the East Coast braces for a potentially historic winter storm.
The storm could drop as much as 30 inches of snow in some areas, and the National Weather Service put Washington D.C. and Baltimore under blizzard warnings from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced it would suspend operations late Friday through Sunday; public schools in the capital will be shut down on Friday; and at least 300 Virginia National Guard troops are being called in to assist with any emergency operations, Reuters reports.
Some 950 flights scheduled for Friday have been canceled, primarily at airports in Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. "Anyone who has the illusion you're going to be taking big trips over the weekend, get that out of your mind," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a press conference.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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