Heavy snow, epic blizzard begins to move up East Coast

WASHINGTON — A potentially historic snowstorm whipped by gale force winds began hammering the Mid-Atlantic coastFriday, threatening to shut down big eastern cities for days with more than 2 feet of snow, widespread power outages and impassable roadways.More than 85 million people — roughly one in every four Americans — in at least 20 states Friday were under by blizzard, winter storm or freezing rain warnings from Arkansas to the Carolinas to New York City and extreme southern New England,according to Weather.com. Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and parts of other states all declared states of emergencies.Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe called out an additional 200 National Guard troops Friday to supplement the 500 already at work because of the large volume of calls into state agencies. The guard was setting up "readiness centers" along the Interstate 81 corridor between Lexington and Winchester and along state Route 29 from Warrenton to Danville, as well as near Richmond, Fredericksburg and Gate City, theRichmond Times-Dispatchreported.At least five people have died in storm-related crashes in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina, the Associated Press reported. Officials warned residents to stay off roads as the blizzard makes its way across the East Coast.In Carter County, Tenn., authorities said a female driver died after her car slid off an icy road and plummeted down a 300-foot embankment, AP reported.