The blizzard disrupted several regions, and in some areas the snowfall rate prevented snow plows from maintaining the roads.

[6] It produced record rainfall in regions of Texas and had the potential to strengthen as it moved through Georgia and Florida and further north.

Weather models accurately predicted that this storm would meet with cold air while retaining its heavy precipitation.

[1] By the afternoon of December 19, the large, low pressure region had moved off the East Coast, intensifying and bringing heavy snow to the major Mid-Atlantic cities.

[9] The storm produced whiteout conditions and dumped about 16–20 inches (41–51 cm) of snow in major cities along the Eastern seaboard.

[10] The storm produced record 24-hour snowfall in Washington, D.C., and Roanoke, Virginia, where nearly 2 feet (61 cm) of snow accumulated.

[8][11] The National Weather Service in Brookhaven, New York reported 26.3 inches (67 cm) of snow, the town's largest snowfall since 1949.

A blizzard warning for Cape Cod expired at 1 p.m.[18] The storm reached southwestern portions of Nova Scotia, delivering up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) of snow in Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne and Queens counties.

[20] One Amtrak train, carrying 255 passengers, halted for six hours while a frozen track switch was fixed.

[24] In West Virginia, on I-77 between Ghent and Beckley, thousands of motorists were stranded for up to 18 hours due to impassable roads.

By midnight Saturday morning, when the storm had just begun to strike the area, reported power outages had already exceeded 40,000.

[16] A snow emergency was declared in Washington, D.C., where Mayor Adrian Fenty asked residents to avoid venturing onto the roads.