UPDATED: McDonnell cancels appearances to prepare for snow storm

Gov. Bob McDonnell has cancelled his pair of political appearances this weekend in the Washington-Baltimore region because of an impending snowstorm in Virginia that may leave as much as a foot of snow in parts of the state.

Tomorrow morning, McDonnell was scheduled to speak to Republican members of Congress who will gather for their annual retreat, titled "Winning Back America," in Baltimore.

In the evening, he was supposed to be the guest of major Republican donor Fred Malek at the exclusive black-tie Alfalfa Club dinner, an annual gathering of inside-the-Beltway elite usually attended by the president in Washington.

Instead, he will remain in Richmond to monitor what is expected to be a major storm.

McDonnell declared a state of emergency Thursday for an area stretching from southwest Virginia to Hampton Roads due to the approaching storm. The southern half of Virginia is under a winter storm warning.

In November, Republicans blasted then Gov. Tim Kaine for being in Arkansas on Democratic National Committee business while a storm continued to flood parts of the state.