More than 85 million people in at least 20 states were covered by a winter weather warning, watch or advisory, the Weather Channel said, and many stores were left with bare shelves as residents stocked up on food, water and wine, preparing to spend the weekend indoors.
At least six people were killed in car crashes due to icy roads in North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The governors of several states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, as well as the mayor of Washington, declared states of emergency. Officials warned people not to drive.
The Washington and Baltimore metro areas were expected to bear the brunt of the storm. Two to three feet of snow are likely, accompanied by winds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour), before the storm winds down on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Steady snow was falling on southeastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, early on Saturday. The storm is forecast to head north toward New York City later in the day.
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RECORD BREAKER?
The National Weather Service said it was too soon to tell whether the snowfall will break records around Washington D.C. and Baltimore. "Either way, we're looking at a significant event," said NWS meteorologist Frank Pereira.
The full force of the storm could dump enough snow on Washington to eclipse the 17.8 inches (45.2 cm) of a 2010 storm and total snowfall might rival the storm of 1922, when a record 28 inches fell.
The storm developed along the Gulf Coast, dropping snow over Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky on Friday. On the East Coast, warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean collided with cold air to form the massive winter system, Pereira said.
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