How should communities prepare for extreme weather events like this snowstorm?

Blizzard warnings blanket the Northeast Monday as a beastly winter storm is snarling travel and pounding millions with heavy snow. Threat level: In hard-hit areas, travel will be "extremely treacherous," forecasters say, and some leaders are restricting it. Meanwhile, more than half a million customers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island are without power. The latest: The National Weather Service predicted Monday morning that heavy snowfall rates and gusty winds will keep battering the Northeast and spread into New England. The governors of New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and several other eastern states declared states of emergency and urged residents to stay home.Winter storm forecast The NWS said very heavy snowfall rates of at least 2 to 3 inches per hour would persist Monday, along with 40 to 70 mile-per-hour winds. Those conditions make travel "nearly impossible."In New York, a local NWS branch warned of whiteout conditions, which severely limit visibility.Snowfall amounts updated Monday morning showed roughly 15 inches of snow in Central Park, more than 18 inches at Newark and upward of 22 inches at Islip on Long Island. NWS Boston stressed in its most recent discussion that the storm would "likely bring extreme to destructive impacts south and east of the I-95 corridor." The area forecast discussion said reports of snowfall in the region exceeding 30 inches would not be a surprise. Zoom out: Areas near the coastline could awake to one to two feet of snow by tomorrow morning, per the NWS Weather Prediction Center. Travel bans and flight cancellations The massive storm has grounded air travel, with more than 5,300 flights canceled within, into or out of the U.S. as of roughly 8:30am ET. That includes more than 500 flights at both John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia in New York City. Zoom in: Several regional leaders also announced travel restrictions. In New Jersey, transit services are suspended and a travel ban is in plac