美国东海岸准备应对暴风雪袭击

US East Coast Prepares for Epic¹ Snowstorm 美国东海岸准备应对暴风雪袭击

People across the Washington, D.C. region are hunkering down for a massive winter storm that is expected to dump near record amounts of snow and create crippling blizzard² conditions as it moves up the east coast.

Forecasters say the storm could bury the U.S. capital in more than 60 centimeters of snow, which began falling midday Friday and is expected to continue into Sunday. Dangerous winds and coastal³ flooding are also expected.

Ahead of the storm, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency and closed local schools Friday.

"This has life-and-death implications, and all the residents of the District of Columbia should treat it that way," said Bowser.

Federal government offices in the city have also shut down. Authorities are even taking the rare step of closing the DC Metro⁴ public transit⁵ system.

So far, more than 4,500 flights have been canceled across the nation. Widespread power outages are also expected, and authorities warned residents to stock up on essential food and supplies.

Emergency status

The Associated Press reports that at least five people have died in storm-related crashes in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. Officials are warning people to stay off roads as the blizzard makes its way across the East Coast.

In addition to D.C., states of emergency were also declared in Maryland as well as in Virginia, where the governor, Terry McAuliffe, said people should "take the threat of this storm seriously." The two states are adjacent to Washington.

The storm is expected to affect tens of millions of people from Kentucky through New England.

Many meteorologists say the various forecast models and readings that frequently disagree on the path of big storms all concur⁶ that it will be strong as it comes up the Atlantic coast and pulls in moisture.

Computer forecast models are calling for a windy, slow-moving system.

Nor'easter expected

Rich Otto, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center outside Washington, said Tuesday an upper-level disturbance⁷ in the air was moving from the Pacific Ocean to the Rockies to the southern Plains.  It was predicted to become a "nor'easter" Friday evening over the mid-Atlantic and then move up the coast on Saturday.

A nor'easter gets its name from the northeasterly winds that blow in from the ocean ahead of the storm.  These storms form along the U.S. East Coast as warm air from over the Atlantic Ocean clashes with Arctic cold to the north and west.

1 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

2 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 concur   

v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生

参考例句：

• Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。

7 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。