'Snowpocalypse' to Descend on U.S. East Coast; Largest Blizzard Ever?

Snowmageddon, snowpocalypse - these are just some of the names assigned to the "historic" storm that is seen to hit the U.S. East Coast very soon.

These names may prove to be apt for the coming blizzard as "up to 58 million people could be put into the deep freeze," CNN reported. "And the storm could have a far-reaching economic and political impact, even beyond the region directly hit."

"This is literally the calm before the storm. It's about to start in earnest. And when it does, it's going to come in very fast and very hard, and people have to be very, very careful. People have to stay off the streets and stay off the sidewalks," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on the coming snow dump.

"This will most likely be one of the largest blizzards in the history of New York City," de Blasio declared.

In the wake of the grim forecasts, "airlines canceled thousands of flights, public-transportation systems wound down, governors declared states of emergency, and officials said they would institute far-reaching travel bans to keep people off the roads," Time noted.

The news source went on to say that Boston is preparing for the worst as about 3 feet of snow is expected to blanket the city, while New York will reportedly only have 2 feet. Philadelphia may be dealing just over a foot of snow.

"The governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York each declared states of emergency," Time said. "Travel restrictions in each state were set to begin Monday evening, when the heaviest snowfall was expected to start."

Charlie Baker, Massachusetts governor, had called the coming weather disturbance a "top-five historic" storm. Meanwhile, The National Weather Service had called the blizzard as "crippling and potentially historic."

The NWS' Glenn Field had revealed to the BBC that the storm may "be worse than previously thought."

"Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (129km/h) will batter Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard," the news outlet quoted Field as saying. "The heaviest snowfall will come in the early hours of Tuesday, with 15 inches expected between 0100 and 0500 local time, and 30 inches in total in parts of Massachusetts."

Forbes contributor Jim Gorzelany counseled those planning to drive themselves out of the storm's way to make sure the car is prepared for such harsh climate.

"Of course the easiest way to remain safe is to avoid driving altogether once the weather turns ugly - the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that transportation accidents are the leading cause of death during winter storms," he added.