South, East brace for big storm, significant snowfall

WASHINGTON (AP) — The South and East are bracing for a nor'easter at week's end with the potential for significant snowfall.

The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center warns of heavy, "perhaps crippling" snow across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said today the city was preparing for blizzard conditions and up to 2 feet of snow. The city has requested Humvees from the National Guard to reach isolated people and places if necessary.

"If this is a blizzard and we have sustained winds and people lose power, that would be my biggest concern," Bowser said at a news conference. "We can move the snow. We will move the snow."

The NWS today issued blizzard and winter storm watches for parts of Maryland, Washington, Virginia and West Virginia. The watches start as early as Thursday and stretch into Saturday.

The bigger cities could get 1 to 2 feet of snow, but first the storm will bring ice and freezing rain to Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky starting Thursday, prediction center Meteorologist Rich Otto said. But it's not yet clear where the storm will hit the hardest, he said.