Major Snowstorm Poised To Strike US Northeast

A blizzard of potentially historic proportions is threatening to strike the Northeast US with a vengeance. Up to two feet of snow is forecast along the densely populated corridor from the New York City area northwards. Boston and Providence in Rhode Island closed schools on Friday, and airlines cancelled more than 4,000 flights. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ordered all cars off the roads by 4pm local time, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg advised New Yorkers to make it a night in. "Everybody's going to get plastered with snow," said Massachusetts-based National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham. The snow was expected to start on Friday morning, with the heaviest amounts falling at night and into Saturday.Wind gusts could reach 65mph. Widespread power failures were feared, along with flooding in coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy in October. New York City was expecting up to 14ins (35.5cm) of snow. Mr Bloomberg said ploughs and 250,000 tons of salt were being put on standby. "We hope forecasts are exaggerating the amount of snow, but you never can tell," he said. Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of New Jersey and New York's Long Island, as well as portions of the New England region, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The warnings extended into New Hampshire and Maine. In New England, it could prove to be among the worst 10 snowstorms ever, and perhaps even break Boston's record of 27.6 ins (70cm), set in 2003. It comes just after the 35th anniversary of the blizzard of 1978, which paralysed New England with more than 2ft (60cm) of snow and hurricane-force winds. The last major snowfall in southern New England was, unusually, well over a year ago - the Halloween storm of 2011.