( CNN ) This is no ordinary snow storm , weather experts say . The National Weather Service is using terms such as `` life-threatening '' and `` historic '' to describe the system ready to spread across the Northeast . The storm could dump up to 3 feet of snow in Boston and New York before it ends Tuesday , along with freezing rain and strong wind gusts possibly reaching hurricane level . Blizzard and winter storm warnings are up from New Jersey through Maine and into Canada . Airlines began canceling flights by the hundreds . FlightAware , a travel website , put the total at more than 1,800 early Monday . `` We plan to cancel all flights Tuesday at Newark , LaGuardia and JFK , as well as Boston and Philadelphia , '' said United Airlines Spokeswoman Mary Ryan . Other airlines were implementing similar measures . Check first if you 're flying into or out of the region . `` I want everyone to understand that we are facing -- most likely -- one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city , '' said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio . He repeated throughout a Sunday afternoon news conference that people should expect delays , very slow or stalled commutes Monday evening . Whatever people do to be cautious , he said , do more . `` My message to all New Yorkers is prepare for something worse than we have seen before . Prepare to be safe . Take every precaution . Now is the time to get ready for this extreme weather , '' he said . `` Do n't underestimate this storm . '' The Weather Service says whiteout conditions will make travel extremely dangerous in the entire affected area . Wind gusts in the New York City area could hit 65 mph . The blizzard warning is in effect from 1 p.m. Monday through Tuesday , with the worst conditions expected from late Monday evening through midday Tuesday . In Massachusetts , emergency management officials warned that the winter storm will be potentially `` historic and destructive . '' Snow in the southeastern part of Massachusetts could morph into a period of freezing rain . And a major nor'easter is likely to develop on Monday and move up the northeast coast , forecasters said . Travel across Massachusetts during the storm could be impossible and life-threatening , according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency . It 's unclear just how much snow might be on the way , but the National Weather Service is saying 1 to 2 feet is possible . The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency tweeted Sunday that the state would be under a blizzard watch Monday . That area 's storm conditions are n't predicted to let up until Wednesday morning . Christine Carew , a sales associate in Boston , said customers have been coming into the hardware store to grab last-minute snow supplies . Parents and their children have popped in to buy sleds and others are picking up shovels , ice melt and snow brushes . `` This is kind of typical , '' she said about Boston getting a lot of snow . `` We 're more prepared for it . We know it 's going to happen . '' There 's little chance the store will be closed Monday , no matter how hard it snows . The manager , she said , lives above the store . Eight counties in Massachusetts are already under a winter storm watch : Berkshire , Franklin , Hampshire , Hampden , Worcester , Barnstable , Nantucket and Dukes . A blizzard watch is in effect for Essex , Middlesex , Suffolk , Norfolk , Bristol and Plymouth counties . Barnstable , Nantucket and Dukes counties also face a high wind watch . Derek and Jim Missert have lived in the Boston area for years . On Sunday they prepared to ride out the storm by being as prepared as they usually are , with plenty of food and water on hand . Jim Missert lives outside the city , so he expects to lose power and has a generator . Derek Missert expects that he 'll not lose electricity as he works from home in the city . There could be coastal flooding in the state starting early Tuesday with pockets of major flooding on east-facing coastlines , the state emergency agency said . New York Gov . Andrew Cuomo urged New Yorkers to prepare immediately for the storm , saying they should plan for `` major disruptions '' during Monday and Tuesday morning commutes . Roads could be closed and power could go out , he said in a news release Sunday , and New Yorkers need to look out for downed power lines and tree limbs . Cuomo directed all state agencies to prepare . New York has at least 1,806 plows and more than 126,000 tons of salt to spray on roads across the region . The National Guard will also have six dozen personnel and 20 vehicles stationed throughout the state starting on Monday morning . The mayor of Danbury , Connecticut , Mark Boughton , recently made the news for creating the popular Twitter hashtag `` # Icezilla '' when a major storm hit his area . CNN 's Sara Ganim contributed to this report .
Weather Service issues storm warnings from New Jersey to the Canadian border . The National Hurricane Center says a tropical depression formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is moving west-northwest at about 10 mph. Around New York City area , 20 to 30 inches snow expected .