The US East Coast braced for a major winter storm today, just as millions of Americans prepared to travel back home after visiting friends and families for Christmas celebrations. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and storm watches across a 1,600-kilometre stretch of the US east coast, from Georgia up to Vermont. Heavy snow is forecast for the New York and Boston areas, starting today, with overnight temperatures in the 20s Fahrenheit and wind gusting up to 48 kilometres an hour. Washington is facing the prospect of up to 25 centimetres of snow today. At the airports in the national capital's regions, snow crews were standing by. Snowfalls were expected to break records in the normally mild south, where residents including thrilled youngsters were surprised by the winter weather.