Three feet of snow in Washington DC by Sunday? Forecasters think this could be the biggest storm in six years to hit the eastern region of the US, and the impact could run from Arkansas to Massachusetts all the way down to Georgia. The saving grace of the blizzard may be that it will hit over the weekend, when traffic would normally be light anyway. CBS This Morning reports that 75 million Americans may be impacted by Winter Storm Jonas:

The blizzard menacing the eastern United States could rank near the top 10 to ever hit the region, according to the National Weather Service.

Snowfall as heavy as 1 to 3 inches an hour could continue for 24 hours or more in some places, said meteorologist Paul Kocin with the service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. That puts estimates at more than 2 feet for Washington, a foot to 18 inches for Philadelphia and 8 inches to a foot in New York.

CBS Radio Washington, D.C. affiliate WTOP-AM says parts of that region could see 2-and-a-half feet of snow.

“I’ve lived in D.C. most of my life, and I don’t know that I have lived through a forecast like this,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser.

When Washington DC got an inch of snow this week and bolloxed up their response, people living in heavy-snow areas snickered up their sleeves at the incompetence. A storm of this size, though, would put even Minnesota and Wisconsin into paralysis, at least for a short period of time. For good reason, states of emergency have already been declared in the areas expecting to get hit hard by Snowmageddon. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory warned people to stay off the roads, for their own sakes and for the sake of others. “You could kill other people, not just yourself,” McCrory scolded in a press conference. That’s good advice, but as Minnesotans and Wisconsinites will attest, some people will live in denial. Let’s hope they don’t die in denial, too.

CBS’ report raises an interesting question about a big event this weekend. The Carolina Panthers won home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and should be hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. However, the Cardinals have yet to arrive in Charlotte, and even if they get there, how will the fans make it to the stadium on Sunday? The New England Patriots will leave Massachusetts today to fly to Denver, and they should be able to make it out, but the Cardinals were supposed to arrive Saturday morning. Bruce Arians isn’t changing travel plans, according to the Charlotte Observer:

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians keeps getting asked about the rough weather headed toward Charlotte and Arians shrugs off each inquiry.

The plan all week was for the Cardinals to fly out of Phoenix on Saturday morning after a normal practice day Friday. A forecast of snow and ice in the Queen City didn’t change Arians’ thinking.

“As far as I know, we’re set to be in there and it should be cleared up,” Arians said of the wintry precipitation.

The Cardinals may make it out there, but many of their fans may not, ABC’s affiliate in Arizona reports:

If the game goes off as planned, it should be … interesting. Having a dome team coming in against a warm-weather team in conditions more suited to the Green Bay Packers might scramble all of the predictions for the NFC championship game, and could provide an exciting afternoon for fans … assuming any of them can get to the stadium.