East Coast braces for major winter storm, but will the snowpocalypse actually come?

The East Coast could be in for its first major winter storm of the season, with forecasters predicting a weekend of heavy snow, high winds and coastal flooding from Virginia to Maine.

Winter storm watches have been posted in parts of the mid-Atlantic as officials in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are bracing for blizzardlike conditions along the I-95 corridor beginning as early as Friday. A blizzard watch has already been issued for the D.C. metro area.

Up to 50 million people could be affected by the storm, which already has a name: Jonas.

"Forecasters are monitoring the possibility of a major winter storm affecting the Northeast later this week, including the possibility of heavy snow for the urban corridor extending from Washington, D.C., to New York and Boston Friday into Sunday," the National Weather Service said. "Based on the anticipated storm track, as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible near and northwest of I-95. Coastal flooding is also likely."

Those along the storm's 1,000-mile path will see at least six inches of snow, while a large swath stretching from the West Virginia mountains to southeastern Pennsylvania could see up to three feet.

While a high-impact snowstorm is likely, the exact timing and snowfall totals are subject to change.

"There remains considerable uncertainty regarding snow amounts on the northern edge of Jonas' snow shield from Pennsylvania to southern New England," Weather.com noted.

Last year, a massive snowstorm that had millions along the Eastern Seaboard hunkering down pummeled Boston with more than two feet of snow. New York City and parts west, though, were spared the brunt of what "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart dubbed "Blizzapocalypsegeddon '15." (Remember CNN's "Blizzardmobile"? "Settle down, Batman," Stewart quipped. "It’s a Ford Explorer.”)

But that hasn't stopped some forecasters from sounding the proverbial alarm, particularly in Washington.

"Colossal storm to unload a foot of snow from D.C. to Philadelphia, NYC," AccuWeather.com declared.

Whatever happens, one thing is for certain: A winter storm that shares the name of a popular boy band will dump plenty of memes on the Internet.