Millions of Americans brace for a massive storm that threatens to pummel the Northeast and dump more than 2 feet of snow on parts of New England. TODAY's Al Roker shows which areas of the North and Northeast will be hit by snow, wind gusts and coastal flooding.
By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News
Updated at 10:10 a.m. ET: A crippling and potentially historic winter storm barreled toward the Northeast on Thursday, threatening tens of millions of people with 2 feet of snow. Airlines encouraged fliers to change their plans and get out of the way.
By mid-morning, there were delays of more than two hours at O?Hare International Airport in Chicago, where tangles can snarl air traffic across the country. Major airlines waived fees to change flights, which run up to $150.
The culprits were a so-called clipper system moving through the Upper Midwest and a low-pressure system headed for the waters off New England. When they converge, probably late Friday, they are expected to sock the region with its heaviest snow in two years.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch for parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Long Island and said travel there could become nearly impossible.
?You?re going to see some really significant snow totals,? said Tom Niziol, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. ?This is something we haven?t seen in a while, particularly in New England.?
Full coverage from The Weather Channel
Forecasts called for as much as 9 inches of snow across central Michigan, a foot and a half in the Hudson Valley region of New York, and 2 feet or more across coastal New England. Possible hurricane-force winds off Massachusetts and Rhode Island also made flooding a threat.
In Boston, the storm had the potential to take out century-old records. The city?s biggest snowstorms since 1892 were a 27.5-inch blast in February 2003 and a 27.1-inch dumping exactly 35 years ago, in 1978.
For at least some people there, the storm was a chance to profit.
?Shoveling, cleaning cars, anything you need me to do,? Isaac Morales told NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston. ?I already have rock salt. I already have shovels. I?ve got extra bodies. I?ve got everything so I?m all set.?
But for survivors of Hurricane Sandy, including thousands of people still displaced and many more with disrupted lives, it was more serious. A much smaller snowstorm followed Sandy in late October.
?People were just miserable, unhappy, and it started to get cold,? Annie Petraro of Long Island told NBC New York. ?Things just weren?t good. And now it?s freezing, it?s gonna snow.?
The Long Island Power Authority, which was strongly criticized for a slow response to the hurricane, said that it was planning for this one and making sure it had enough people working and enough supplies.
American Airlines said that it was waiving its fee to change flights for people going through major airports in the Northeast, including Logan in Boston and LaGuardia and Kennedy in New York. Delta and United announced similar plans.
Amtrak canceled some runs of its Downeaster train line, which runs from Brunswick, Maine, south to Boston.
Ski resorts were excited by the prospect of a major snowstorm.
?It is perfect timing because it will just remind everybody that it is winter, it?s real, and get out and enjoy it,? Tom Meyers, marketing director for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Massachusetts, told The Associated Press.
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