Monster storm rolls in, and with comes a blizzard of news

This image shows a computer model forecasting
the chances of a snow
storm hitting the East Coast this weekend.

Washington, DC: The leading edge of a monster snowstorm arrived on Friday afternoon in Washington, DC, threatening to dump as many as 76 centimetres of powder on parts of the Middle Atlantic region and bring record accumulations to the US capital.

After days of planning by emergency officials and a scramble by residents to stock up on supplies, the blizzard got underway in the nation's capital at about 1 pm. The storm, expected to end late on Saturday afternoon, could leave 61 to 76 cm on the ground and bring winds of 48 to 80 km/h, according to the National Weather Service.

The western suburbs of the capital were expecting up to 91 centimetres of snow. In Virginia, the National Guard planned to bring in up to 300 troops to deal with emergencies.

Read the Melbourne Age story - “US snowstorm: 'Life and death' blizzard threatens to bury Washington,DC.”