Check Out Winter Storm Jonas From Space

The Northeast is gearing up for a major winter storm this weekend that could leave major metropolises like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia buried in snow. After a few blizzard warnings turned out to be overreactions to a little harmless precipitation in recent years, many Northerners are skeptical that a real Snowmageddon is headed our way. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but a NASA video shows that Winter Storm Jonas is very real. If you were holding out hope that it was all a hoax or meteorologists' over-enthusiastic forecasts, you might want to reconsider and start preparing for the worst.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put together images from the GOES-East satellite that span from Tuesday to Thursday in a 21-second illustration. The video clearly shows one frontal system moving across the southern United States, followed by another storm system expected to bring a powerful storm to the Mid-Atlantic. While it's still difficult to predict exactly how dangerous Jonas will be, the images make it obvious that the storm is already in motion and headed for the East Coast. The National Weather Service even issued blizzard warnings for Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Friday morning, 20 states had either a blizzard warning, winter storm watch, winter storm warning, winter weather advisory, or freezing rain advisory. Little Rock, Arkansas, already got 7 inches of snow thanks to Jonas, and Kentucky, western North Carolina, and western Virginia received half a foot of snow or more. The Weather Channel said: "Conditions will go downhill rapidly Friday night through Saturday in the mid-Atlantic and portions of the Northeast where blizzard conditions, strong winds and coastal flooding will develop."

The Weather Channel predicted that eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., northern Delaware, southern Pennsylvania, and central New Jersey could get hit with at least a foot of snow, while northern New Jersey, New York City, Long Island, central Kentucky, and middle Tennessee might get at least 6 inches.

If you live in any of these areas, let the NASA video be a warning that you should prepare for a harsh winter storm. Buy plenty of food (and booze), gather your flashlights and candles, charge all your devices, and follow the local news to stay up-to-date on Jonas' movements. It's better to be ready for whatever may happen than trapped in your home without the essentials as feet of snow accumulate outside.

Images: NASA.gov/YouTube (3)