Blizzard bearing down on Boston and New York, entire Northeast bracing for massive snowfall

A monster blizzard — called “one for the record books” by weather experts — is bearing down on New England, with latest projections warning of three feet of snow to be dumped beginning Friday between New York City and Boston.

School’s already called off in Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other communities throughout New York and New England, The Associated Press reports. More than 2,600 flights have been canceled. And Amtrak is halting train runs through the region, beginning Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, grocery stores up and down the East Coast are reporting record sales of staples, and state and local government transportation officials are standing at the ready with ice, sand and plows.

“This one doesn’t come along every day,” said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., in the AP report. “This is going to be a dangerous winter storm. Wherever you need to get to, get there by Friday afternoon and don’t plan on leaving.”

Fox News reports power outages are of especial concern — and forecasters are not speaking so much in terms of “if,” but rather “how many” residents and businesses will be impacted by electrical outages. Flooding is also a concern for the same coastal areas that are still struggling to recuperate from October’s Superstorm Sandy, AP reports.

Snow started falling in some areas on Friday morning and forecasters were tracking wind gusts, which were expected to hit up to 75 miles per hour in some locations, AP said.

This could one for the Top 10 list in New England. Boston’s record for snowfall stands at 27.6 inches, in 2003, AP reports.