National Weather Service recognized the threat of a significant snowstorm. This marked the first time National Weather Service meteorologists were able to predict accurately a system's severity five days in advance. Official blizzard warnings were issued two days before the storm arrived, as shorter-range models began to confirm the predictions. Forecasters were finally confident enough of the computer-forecast models to support decisions by several northeastern states to declare a state of emergency even before the snow started to fall. Impact The storm complex was large and widespread, affecting at least 26 US states and much of eastern Canada. It brought in cold air along with heavy precipitation and hurricane-force winds which, ultimately, caused a blizzard over the affected area; this also included thundersnow from Georgia to Pennsylvania and widespread whiteout conditions. Snow flurries were seen in the air as far south as Jacksonville, Florida, and some areas of central Florida received a trace of snow. The storm severely impacted both ground and air travel. Airports were closed all along the eastern seaboard, and flights were cancelled or diverted, thus stranding many passengers along the way. Every airport from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Tampa was temporarily closed due to the storm. Highways were also closed or restricted all across the affected region, even in states generally well prepared for snow emergencies. Some affected areas in the Appalachian Mountain region saw of snow, and snowdrifts as high as . Mount Le Conte, Tennessee recorded 56" and Mount Mitchell, NC recorded 50" of snowfall. The volume of the storm's total snowfall was later computed to be , an amount which would weigh (depending on the variable density of snow) between 5.4 and 27 billion tons. The weight of the record snowfalls collapsed several factory roofs in the South; and snowdrifts on the windward sides of buildings caused a few decks with substandard anchoring to fall from homes. Though the storm was forecast to strike the snow-prone Appalachian Mountains, hundreds of people were nonetheless rescued from the Appalachians, many caught completely off guard on the Appalachian Trail or in cabins and lodges in remote locales. Snowdrifts up to were observed at Mount Mitchell. Snowfall totals of between were widespread across northwestern North Carolina. Boone, North Carolina—in a high-elevation area accustomed to heavy snowfalls—was nonetheless caught off-guard by more than of snow and 24 hours of temperatures below . Boone's Appalachian State University closed that