The South and East are bracing for a nor’easter at week’s end with the potential for significant snowfall.

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warns of heavy, “perhaps crippling” snow across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, the weather service issued blizzard and winter storm watches for parts of Maryland, Washington, Virginia and West Virginia. The watches start as early as Thursday and stretch into Saturday.

Center Meteorologist Rich Otto says the bigger cities could get 1 to 2 feet of snow, but first, the storm will bring ice and freezing rain to Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas starting Thursday.

As the storm moves east Friday, it will bring snow and then will affect Philadelphia and New York City as it moves north.

(AP)