By Michael Snyder – End Of The American Dream
If this is how crazy people are going to become when a big snowstorm arrives, what do you think they are going to do when a real disaster strikes? Washington D.C. is about to be hit by one of the worst blizzards that it has ever experienced this weekend, and people are already beginning to panic. It is being projected that there could be up to 30 inches of snow in some areas, and wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour will cut visibility to almost nothing and will make travel next to impossible. Along the east coast, more than 50 million people could be affected by this storm, and many of them don’t have a lot of food and supplies on hand. So we have been seeing things like bread, milk and batteries fly off of store shelves all throughout the region, and at this point many stores are already completely wiped out.
Without a doubt, this is going to be a very powerful storm. In fact, some are suggesting that it could potentially be the worst one that D.C. has seen in all of modern history. If you live in the area, you probably already know that the National Weather Service has officially issued a blizzard warning…
The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington has issued a Blizzard Warning… which is in effect from 3 PM Friday to 6 am EST Sunday. The blizzard watch is no longer in effect.
* Hazard types… heavy snow and wind with blowing and drifting snow Friday afternoon through Saturday night. Sleet may mix with the snow Friday night into Saturday morning east of Interstate 95 before changing back to all snow by Saturday afternoon.
* Accumulations… snow accumulation of 18 to 24 inches in the eastern suburbs of Washington DC… and 24 to 30 inches in the western suburbs. The city of Washington DC is expected to receive around 24 inches.
* Timing… heavy snow will develop late Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday night. Conditions are expected to deteriorate Friday afternoon with the heaviest snow… strongest winds… and potential life threatening conditions expected Friday night through Saturday.
* Impacts… heavy snow and blowing snow will cause dangerous conditions and will be a threat to life and property. Travel is expected to be severely limited if not impossible during the height of the storm Friday night and Saturday. Visibility will be reduced to near zero at times in whiteout conditions.
I once lived in the region, and normally people would start freaking out and raiding the stores about 12 hours in advance. But this time it started happening two or three days ahead of time. The following comes from Reuters…
Grocery store shelves were being stripped of bread, milk and other essentials as millions of residents in the storm’s path prepared to hunker down for a wintry weekend. Consumer watchdogs warned against illegal price gouging for such essentials as generators, batteries, flashlights and hotel lodging.
Lots of pictures of empty grocery store shelves have already been posted to Twitter. Here is one example…
About the author:
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.
Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream.
Read his new book The Beginning of the End
Survival World News 
Reblogged this on TheSurvivalPlaceBlog.
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