2 FEET OF SNOW COMING TO A STATE NEAR YOU: Major Winter Storm Could Cripple Parts Of Mid-Atlantic.... Washington, D.C. could get more than 2 feet of snow.

01/20/2016 07:28 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — The forecast for a historic blizzard has been there for days, looming over the nation's capital like the UFO from "Independence Day." Projected snowfall totals have ticked steadily upward, to the point where the National Weather Service — known for its conservative predictions — says more than 2 feet of snow could land on Washington.

Residents and elected officials throughout the Eastern United States are heeding the warning.

States of emergency have been declared in five states and the District of Columbia. Schools and government offices are being closed pre-emptively. Thousands of flights have been canceled. Food and supplies are disappearing from grocery and hardware stores. College basketball games and concerts will have to wait.

"It's going to be dangerous out there," said Tonya Woods, 42, a Washington Metro station manager who lives in suburban Clinton, Maryland. "I say they should shut things down."

On Thursday afternoon, she got her wish. The capital's subway system announced that it will shut down entirely late Friday night and remain closed through Sunday for the sake of employee and rider safety. Underground stations usually stay open during major snowstorms.

The director of the National Weather Service said all the ingredients have come together to create blizzards with brutally high winds, dangerous inland flooding, white-out conditions and even the possibility of thunder snow, when lightning strikes through a snowstorm. more