The Cities Winter Storm Jonas Could Strike

If you're living in the eastern half of the United States, odds are you're pretty familiar with a certain chaotic weather event that's going down right now ― I'm talking about Winter Storm Jonas, which is currently sweeping through the Mid-Atlantic, and moving up towards the northeast. It's provoked numerous alerts from emergency preparedness organizations and agencies, and traveling during the storm is being sternly warned against. So, how much do you have to worry about? Here are which cities Winter Storm Jonas is expected to affect, because "better safe than sorry" is a pretty apt saying in these situations.

As Brian Resnick of Vox expertly detailed, the situation is going to get hairy for a number of metropolises throughout the eastern seaboard. In particular, Philadelphia, New York City, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. are in the way of the rumbling storm, and for that last city, it figures to be a doozy ― authorities are expecting a record-setting blizzard to hit the nation's capital, potentially burying it under 2 feet of snow. It'd be a scene reminiscent of the 2010 "snowmageddon," which dumped about 20 inches of snow on the greater Washington, D.C. area, prompting a temporary government shutdown.

The above tweet from the American Red Cross further lays the force and fury of the storm even more bare ― while Washington, D.C. is expected to bear the worst of it, there will also be a blanketing of snow in the cities of Boston, Massachusetts, Asheville, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland, as well as Charlottesville and Roanoke, Virginia. Those last three cities are projected to be hit especially powerfully, with snowfall projections rivaling those in Washington.

But it's not just the towering, metropolitan cities that should be concerned. Quite the contrary, more remote, rural areas are imperiled, too. Here are the states that should be most concerned over the next few days, whether about snowfall, frigid weather, or storm conditions ― needless to say, cities, towns and villages all throughout these regions should keep aware of potentially hazardous conditions, and take any and all necessary precautions to stay safe.

• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Alabama
• Georgia
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Maryland (including Washington, D.C.)
• Delaware
• Rhode Island
• New York
• New Jersey
• Connecticut
• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts

All in all, it figures to be a foul, chilly, and hazardous scene. According to CNN, a staggering 5,000+ commercial flights have already been cancelled as a result of Winter Storm Jonas, which is expected to run through Sunday before heading out into the Atlantic. In other words, if you were planning to hop a plane into any of these major cities along the East Coast, maybe double-check your flight information before you head off to the airport. After all ― better safe than sorry, right?