Weather

The Northeast Is Getting Hit With A Whopper Winter Storm

The storm started pounding the East Coast Tuesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a blizzard warning for more than 30 million people.

The Northeast Is Getting Hit With A Whopper Winter Storm
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Just when we thought spring was right around the corner, the Northeast is getting hit with a whopper winter storm.

The storm started pounding the East Coast early Tuesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a blizzard warning for more than 30 million people. 

Major cities including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., could see up to a foot of heavy snow. The storm is also bringing damaging winds and thundersnow.

As of Tuesday morning, the storm already grounded thousands of flights and forced many schools across the East Coast to cancel classes.

And officials are warning residents to avoid the roads and shelter in place during this "life-threatening" blizzard.

The Northern Hemisphere Is Getting Less Snow, And That's A Big Problem
The Northern Hemisphere Is Getting Less Snow, And That's A Big Problem

The Northern Hemisphere Is Getting Less Snow, And That's A Big Problem

Less snow means more problems.

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If this snowstorm's wrath is as fierce as meteorologists expect, it could go down in the history books as one of the biggest on record to hit New York City this late in the year.

That's a pretty big deal, considering the city only had about 20 inches of snow for the whole winter season before now.

But massive late-winter blizzards like this one aren't exactly unheard of. 

The April Fools' Day blizzard of 1997 dumped more than 2 feet of snow on an unsuspecting Massachusetts after the area had enjoyed above-average temperatures.

As for this storm, it's expected to be at its strongest through Tuesday afternoon and leave the area by Wednesday.