Officials to Northeast: Hunker Down! - WLTZ 38 | Columbus Georgia Regional News & Community

By Chris Welch (CNN)-Across the Northeast - officials are warning that the window to prepare for the huge nor'easter has passed - and now its time to just stay safe.

Tens of millions of Northeasterners are in the crosshairs of the blizzard - the merger of two large fronts. More than two feet of snow are possible in parts - including the Boston area.

Air travel has become a headache, more than 3,500 flights have already been canceled.

This is a 19-car pileup Friday outside Portland, Maine.

There were no serious injuries reported - but it drives home officials message for people to stay off the roads. The nor'easter moving into the densely populated northeast could affect millions.

In Boston a snow emergency has been put into place, Mayor Thomas Menino had this message for residents:

This is a storm of major proportion - stay home, let the public works crew do their job

Connecticut has declared a state of emergency - as have others in the area.

If you're leaving your house to get on the highway to go buy milk at this point - you're doing the wrong thing

Officials say a plethora of snow clearing units will hit the streets - but warn that does not mean people should take unnecessary risks. At airports - thousands of flights have been canceled.

Andrew Mastey hopes to reach Boston.

Most of my flights have been canceled - I'm going to LaGuardia I hope - we'll see

Maybe I'll drive or see what happens

When the blizzard does move through - officials are warning residents to be wary of flooding - especially in coastal areas.

Now folks are already drawing comparisons between this storm and the storm of 1978, that storm here in Massachusetts brought 27 point 1 inches of snow.

From the looks of things they could easily hit that mark tonight and tomorrow.