The storm threatened whiteout conditions, high winds and coastal flooding, followed by intense cold that could leave many people shivering amid power outages. Parts of 10 states were under blizzard warnings. Officials from Virginia to Massachusetts declared states of emergency, imposed parking bans and warned of hazardous travel in advance of wet, heavy snow that could fall as fast as 5 inches per hour. DonвЂ™t blame the Joro spider.BOSTON - Last-minute shoppers cleared grocery shelves and raided snowblower dealers Friday along the East Coast ahead of a storm that could drop 2 feet or more of fast-falling snow on some of the nation's biggest metro areas, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston. вЂњHumans are at the root of their invasion. вЂњThereвЂ™s really no reason to go around actively squishing them,вЂќ Frick said.

Although the spiders can bite, they are not a threat to humans as their fangs are often not large enough to puncture human skin. The chances of a Joro spider climbing into a car or into luggage is quite high but researchers stress that there is no reason to panic. You have people with saltwater guns shooting them out of the trees and things like that, and thatвЂ™s really just unnecessary.вЂќДЇrick believes humans will help the spiders spread, saying: вЂњThe potential for these spiders to spread through peopleвЂ™s movements is very high вЂ¦ Anecdotally, right before we published this study, we got a report from a grad student at UGA who had accidentally transported one of these to Oklahoma.вЂќ вЂњIf theyвЂ™re literally in your way, I can see taking a web down and moving them to the side, but theyвЂ™re just going to be back next year.вЂќД«enjamin Frick, co-author of the study and an undergraduate researcher in the School of Ecology, said: вЂњThe way I see it, thereвЂ™s no point in excess cruelty where itвЂ™s not needed.

вЂњPeople should try to learn to live with them,вЂќ he said. It is unclear how the spiders traveled from east Asia but researchers say their proliferation is probably due to changes in weather conditions.ДЄccording to Davis, the Joro does not appear to have much of an impact on local food webs or ecosystems and may even serve as an additional food source for native predators like birds. Last year, the spiders made their way through the yards of northern Georgia, spinning webs up to 3m deep. вЂњJust by looking at that, it looks like the Joros could probably survive throughout most of the eastern seaboard here, which is pretty sobering,вЂќ said Andy Davis, a research scientist at the Odum School of Ecology and co-author of the study. Unlike the golden silk spider, which has been unable to spread north due to its inability to withstand cold temperatures, the Joro has a 77% higher heart rate and can thus survive freezes that kill off its cousins.ДЄccording to the new study, Joro spiders, which predominantly hail from Japan, will probably survive on the US east coast because Japan has a very similar climate and is located approximately on the same latitude. Researchers found that the Joro has double the metabolism of a relative, the golden silk spider, which moved to the US south-east from the tropics 160 years ago. Females have blue, yellow and red markings and can measure up to 3in when fully extended.

The spider, Trichonephila clavata, is known for its ability to spin highly organized, wheel-shaped webs. According to researchers at the University of Georgia, the Joro spider, an invasive species native to east Asia, is expected to spread after thriving in the state last year.

Weather up and down the east coast