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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Live Blog: East Coast Blizzard of 2016 unfolds

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Note: MPR Weather will be running a live blog of the East Coast Blizzard of 2016 through the weekend. Get the latest storm updates from selected NWS twitter feeds and the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang with some occasional perspective from MPR Weather as the storm unfolds.

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Here's a quick glimpse at our local forecast through Monday.

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Twin Cities NWS

Anatomy of a Superstorm

This is not a drill. The forecast guidance and storm developments continue to suggest an historic winter storm for the eastern U.S. states as we head into the weekend. The storm structure is simply impressive, and beautiful on the weather maps. Behold the intense and deepening low pressure center laying down an impressive snow shield. The system is feeding on moisture from the relatively warm waters of both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. This is how you draw it up on the maps. Purely textbook.

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NOAA

Blizzard warnings

It's been 30 years since Washington, D.C. was under a blizzard warning. That changed today.

The forecast models continue to crank out incredible snowfall totals of 15" to 30" in the D.C. snow bull's eye zone. Its still looks like this could be Halloween Mega-Storm level accumulations for areas in and around Washington, D.C..

You just don't see this everyday. NOAA's suite of forecast models cranking out 15" to 30"+ totals for the Washington, D.C. area. The Washington, D.C. NWS gives a 73% chance of at least 18" for D.C..

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NOAA via Iowa State University

The first real flakes have yet to fall but the impacts are already happening. The D.C. Metro subway system is shut down this weekend.

Philly

A foot or more is likely in most of New Jersey and Philly.

New York City

Snowfall totals approaching a foot  as NYC and Long Island ride the northern edge of the storm.

Winds 

Wind gusts from 30 to 55 mph will be common. Blizzard conditions and snow covered roads will likely be impassable this weekend.

Surge and coastal flooding

Some good perspective here from WxShift.

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The pre-storm forecast are done. Let the storm begin.