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Washington, Virginia issue "state of emergency" ahead of possible blizzard

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Authorities in Virginia and Washington, D.C. issued on Thursday a state of emergency as the Washington area and the northeast of U.S. are bracing themselves for a blizzard over the weekend that was expected to bring up to two feet of snow in part of the region.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe warned that people in the state should "take the threat of this storm seriously" and asked residents to prepare for travel disruptions and power outages.

Speaking at a press conference in the U.S. capital city, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser also declared a state of emergency ahead of an expected snow storm and ordered all public schools closed on Friday.

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued blizzard and storm watches for areas in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas. According to the watches, the storm and possible blizzard conditions are expected Friday night through Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the weather service also issued a blizzard watch for New York's Long Island starting Saturday morning. Endit