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Massive Winter Storm Affects Millions In Northeastern U.S. And Along East Coast. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 23, 2016 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:00] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We'll have you covered every hour of this storm. Keep you posted on what is going on.

Just to set the scene for you. I'm coming to you live right in front of central park in the heart of Manhattan where this city has essentially been shut down in terms of all the roads in and around New York City, completely shut down by mandate of the mayor here. The main passages into New York City, the Lincoln tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, are shut down. And all the trains coming in from New Jersey and long island, those will be shut in one hour's time.

I want to go straight to our Chad Meyers. He is covering it all for us in New York City Times Square.

And Chad, you cannot overstate the severity of the storm. It is beautiful, yes, people are out here enjoying it, yes. However, this is looking to be one of the five worst storms in New York City history.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It sure could be. I'm not still going 30 inches. I have seen that number thrown out there. I still think at this point in time, we are mixing in enough sleet we grapple that we may not pile up that much. We're already at 16, so we don't have far to go.

But the forecast was great for D.C. and Baltimore. We were at 20 to 30 the entire week. What we were up here for most of the week was six to ten. And then a couple of days ago, eight to twelve. And then yesterday, 12 to 16. And now, we're above that. And that's because the storm did not go straight out to the ocean, to the east. It curved a little bit to the left. Which means the left, which means to the north. And we are north of D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

So because we got a little bit of the left part of the storm, we got what into what it is called a deformation zone. The moisture came and it stayed up and it stayed right where we are and it is still where we are right now.

So at least another six to ten hours of this snow, it's light and fluffy, people are enjoying it. My flight tomorrow home to Atlanta has just been canceled, so I'm rebooked into Monday. And I think a lot of people here will be here longer than they thought.

But you know, most people are enjoying it. I'm looking around. I don't see people pouting or really hating it. This is just kind of a family affair. And if you look up, look all the way up, up to the top, I can see that it's still 2016.

Now, earlier, I couldn't see that sign. I couldn't tell what year it was, because the snow was thick, that our visibility was less than that. So are we losing a little bit of snow? Yes. Is it still piling up? Absolutely. Are people still enjoying it, yes, except maybe the people that came from Paris that wanted to have two weeks in New York City, friends of Ashleigh Banfield. Now they're stuck in their hotel, Poppy.

HARLOW: Chad, my friend, the facts that you thought that they were going to let you fly back to Atlanta, and not cover this storm for the duration, my friend, I don't think you're getting on that plane either way.

But thank you so much. Stay with me for this. Chad is going to be with me. We have got you covered, folks, all night long as the storm develops.

I do want to tell you some of the sobering facts that we have learned. Eight people have died up in down the eastern seaboard from the storm thus far. You have got 9,000 flights that have been canceled, 200,000 people without power. If you are without power, we are being told you need to go to shelters, places with heat, as soon as possible. Again, 200,000 people without power. Eight people have died from the storm thus far.

Jason Carroll is joining me now live from Central Park.

Jason, that's where they do the official measurements. I know some people are out there having fun. Hopefully, no one is driving. Everyone is supposed to be off the road.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Everyone is supposed to be off the roads at this point. And everyone that we have been talking to out here, Poppy, we have been double-checking to make sure that they are walking into the park, not driving into the park, and that's exactly what they have been doing.

Lots of folks coming out here to enjoy themselves on the slope here at 72nd street entrance. We just saw a group of people get on a huge mattress, inflatable mattress and head on down there. Niko just got back from taking that ride down there. How was it, Niko?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was good. It was kind of cold, yes.

CARROLL: Kind of cold? It's really cold. That would be an understatement. Niko is out here with his parents. A lot of folks coming out just to enjoy the time, Poppy. These two, Lee and Lucia, you know, we were talking earlier, you were looking for a hail bail because we were talking about. How do you stop once you end up going down the hill?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to dig your feet and hand in pretty deeply, but the Hey Bails (ph) helps because it protects the children from the trees. It's dangerous. We have to watch out. CARROLL: I mean, this is about everyone coming out to enjoy this

(INAUDIBLE), but also this a serious story as well. A travel ban in effect. You guys know that. How has it been when you've been washing up here and the streets out there? Are you seeing less cars, less traffic out there? I'm sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One hundred percent. I mean, they are empty. And you could really, the sidewalks are covered. The streets are pretty covered. The plows are trying their best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very few cars on the road.

CARROLL: Very few cars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were walking down the middle of the road.

[15:05:02] CARROLL: Very few cars, Poppy. And the good news is we have been hearing from what you, what we have been seeing ourselves, thanks very much. A number of plows, salt spreaders out there on the road trying to do what they can. But as you know, and you heard the mayor say, you heard governor talk about when you have so many inches of snow falling, you know, some estimates, two to three inches per hour, sometimes it's very difficult for the plows just to get on top of that. An example of that, just coming up 8th Avenue on our way to the park here, we saw a number of taxis that were stuck. Stuck in the middle of the road as they were heading out. But once again, stay indoors if you're coming out to the park. Walk, if you have a big inflatable mattress like this one, go for it -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Jason Carroll, you have -- probably, if you you're going to cover a blizzard, you might as well covered with such happy people there in Central Park, right. I hope they get home, though, in the next hour before it gets dark.

Jason, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

I do want to talk about New Jersey, because New Jersey is getting some of the worst of it, that coastal flooding that we were being warned about for so long. It has really taken effect. We did hear from Chris Christy, governor Chris Christie a little earlier talking about the fact this is the 17th of this big snow storm that his state has dealt with while he has been in office, and issuing a warning to residents. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the northern part of the state, we're in one of the heaviest snow bands right now. From where we are right here, in Sayreville up to the northern part of the state. So the snow is at its heaviest point so far today for the northern part of the state. So for the folks from here in Middlesex County, north all the way up to Bergen County, stay home. I mean, I have been saying that all day, but you are in particularly bad time now. And I was out on the roads a couple of hours. I saw a lot of people off the road, you know, not being able to move off, exit ramps, et cetera. So don't put yourself in a position, I don't care whether you have four-wheel vehicle or four-drive vehicle or not. It's just very slippery out there right now and the snow is difficult. And the visibility is no more than a quarter of a mile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You heard that, visibility, no more than a quarter of a mile. Stay off of those roads.

I want to go straight to Margate, New Jersey. That is just around Atlantic City. That is where we find Ryan Young.

And Ryan, the flooding there, how bad is it?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we are going to show you that, because you can see behind me are these cars cutting through the water, which we've seen several people do. I don't know why they decided to drive through this.

The wind gusts here are really punishing us, because we have seen wind gusts above 30 miles per hour so far. But let me walk you out this way. I almost rather cover the blizzard with snow than to deal with all this water and coastal flooding and those wind gusts that keep just pounding us as we are walking through. You can look at this. It is like little needles on your face. Whereas you can look at this, you can see the police have the roadway blocked up here, because they're trying to stop people from driving through certain areas where there is flooding. And these people actually turned the corner -- wait. What are you guys doing? Why you guys walking around?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were across the street and we went through the hurricane, the (INAUDIBLE). I live right there. I worked at Johnny's right. This is the third worst I would say. The hurricane, I lost my car, my brand new car, right. This one I parked under the bank. I'm not losing that one. I'm going to Florida next week.

YOUNG: You are not losing the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not lose my car. If I lose my car, I'm going to kill somebody. OK. And I'm only kidding. I'm on CNN. I'm only kidding. Cut that out. I parked under the bank. We live right there and --

YOUNG: Has the water entered your house at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we are high. We're built high. It didn't enter the first hurricane. I live there in (INAUDIBLE). Wrap it up. He said wrap it up. Anyway, I hope everybody --

YOUNG: You guys have power still.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We got power. We got cable.

YOUNG: Perfect. Well, Poppy, you hear that. There you go.

Poppy, as people decided to come out, again, some provisions, there is one place that is still open, but this is the flooding that people are driving through. They decided, hey, they are going to come out any way and do this. High tide is still coming in this direction. And the wind gust are still popping. So hopefully, tonight they'll get through it without some heavy wind and rain as we are experiencing already -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, I certainly hope so. Ryan Young in Margate, New Jersey. Just around Atlantic City where they are dealing with that flooding. Thank you so much.

I want to take you now to Washington, D.C. We heard a lot about D.C. heading into the storm. How bad it was going to get hit. What was going to happen.

Our meteorologist, Jennifer Gray live for us this afternoon in Washington. What's it like there?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Coming down like you would not believe. Just in the past two hours, I guess, it's been coming down just like this. Visibility less than a quarter of a mile, and the capitol is behind me. You can't see it at all. In fact, you can't even see on the other side of where I'm standing.

We have been measuring the snow all afternoon. We have come up about three inches or so. Now about 13 where we are standing. However, that number varies, depending on where you are. In fact, totals that we have been seeing around Reagan, almost 15 inches of snow. And this is at 1:30. Keep in mind, it's been coming down at this rate since then. So I know those numbers are going to go up.

Dulles has had 23.5, and again, still coming down very, very heavy. And so, those numbers will go up as well. These are definitely top ten storms. And we are getting up there. Will it be number one? I don't know. We are still going to be in this another six hours, eight hours possibly. Maybe not quite this heavy, but we're going to see a lot of snow.

The good news is, you really don't see anyone out here. Once it started coming down like this, people really went indoors. We haven't seen any cars on the streets at all, which is good. It's going to allow those plows to get out there and try to stay ahead of this, the best they can.

It's colds out here. Temperatures feels like the teens when you at in that windshield. Winds are gusting at about 20 to 25 miles per hour, maybe even higher. You can hear the wind even howling through the buildings at times at sort, actually it is a little eerie when we are standing out here in the nation's capital. And you can actually hear the wind howling through those building.

So Poppy, D.C. is definitely at a standstill at the moment. We are about to lose our lights because the winds are so heavy. The wind are sort of strong, rather. So we are going to be in this for the next couple of hours. So everyone is just urge to stay indoors, of course. And that snow is going to keep piling into the D.C. area -- Poppy

[15:11:26] HARLOW: And Jennifer, just to be clear here, is that intensity of the storm, those winds, that whiteout condition, is that headed north to where I am? Is that headed to New York City?

GRAY: Yes, these bands are actually the one that we are in right now, it is actually headed southeast that I was -- I believe, I was just looking at the radar, but the storm as a whole heading to the northeast. And so yes, New York City will possibly get some of this. Just depends on -- this is going in a big swirl basically. And so, it is going to depend on where you are in relation to where this band is. I have to look at the radar one more time to know exactly. But it's not over for you either up in the New York area. I can tell you that.

HARLOW: Jennifer, thank you so much. You and your team stay safe. Jennifer, thank you so much.

Coming up next, much more live from New York City, where I'm including, talking to some of the folks that are braving the weather out here. What they have to say about it. If they're going home soon. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:11] HARLOW: You are looking at live imagines of Columbus circle, increasingly difficult to see through what has become quite a storm here up and down the eastern seaboard. I'm Poppy Harlow, joining you live from New York for our continuing coverage.

Some New Yorkers here to talk to us, some people visiting I should say about what this weather was like. During my last live shot, they came up to say hello. We thought we bring them on, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, his daughter Mia and artist,and a New Yorker. Thank you both for being here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Let's be clear. You are a New Yorker. You live downtown from here just like I do. You took the subway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I thought I would be safe and take the subway.

HARLOW: The prudent thing to do. They are saying stay off all these roads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I am a little bit of a bad ass, so I like taking the train.

HARLOW: Train is way faster, by the way.

Boston based, Aerosmith, you are used to this weather. What do you have to say to folks? I know you are stuck here for a little while. You're not flying out any time soon.

STEVEN TYLER, LEAD SINGER, AEROSMITH: Not flying out any time soon. I'm from New York City and I'm down here to see my daughters and my grandson, Milo. How you doing, Milo? And Royston, decided to go downtown but then decided not to. The weather is terrible. HARLOW: Where are you guys going next? The weather is terrible. You

were here promoting your latest single on Colbert last night. Where are you going next? I mean, you are going to obviously hunker down for this thing.

TYLER: I'm going to hunker down. I got a funny feeling the storm is going to keep us here a couple of extra days. But Monday, I'm doing Howard Stern.

HARLOW: No matter how much snow we get.

TYLER: No matter how much.

HARLOW: You know, it is interesting. I'm from Minnesota, so this is sort of par from the course in Minnesota. But as a New Yorker, I mean, when is the last time we saw it like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a while. The global warming thing is really messing us. But I love it. I like playing until the snow, so I'm kind of happy about this.

HARLOW: And having a little time with your dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. We grew up playing in the snow and doing snow angels, because he's a big kid. So the minute I got - the minute I got up here, I was like let's go play.

HARLOW: OK, my executive producer in my ear are dying to hear what your favorite album is to bring in the storm?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listen to metal, so you guys probably don't want to hear that. But I would like to say I would like to listen to my dad's new album.

HARLOW: A little bit of promotion there.

TYLER: Yes.

HARLOW: On a more serious note, though, we are going to have governor of New York Andrew Cuomo on in the next hour. And obviously, you're both well-known. Have a lot of influence. People listen when you talk. What do you have to say to people that are thinking this isn't so bad. I'm going to go out and drive. I'm going to do this and that. What do you say to them?

TYLER: I say do not do it. It's supposed to go until 12:00, 1:00 in the morning, so it will be another foot of snow. Stay home. Two words. Hot chocolate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And family hugs.

HARLOW: And family hugs. Look at this.

You guys are adorable. Thank you very much, Steven Tyler. I appreciate it, Mia. Lovely to meet both of you. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Congratulations on the new single and everything.

Guys, thank you very much.

You heard them. If you don't want to listen to us, this is a New York moment for you. Steven Tyler and Mia saying stay inside. Take their words, not mine. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:20] HARLOW: Welcome back, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. You are looking at live images of Washington, D.C. right now. Pretty much white out conditions there. The intensity of the storm focused on Washington right now. Moving southeast, also moving northeast.

This is the storm that stretches 11 states, from Atlanta, Georgia all the way up through New Jersey where we are seeing coastal flooding. Eight people have died thus far in the storm, 200,000 people right now without power, 9,000 flights across the eastern seaboard canceled.

This is a big one, folks. An epic storm. They are estimating up to 30 inches of snow where I am here in New York City, in Baltimore, it is bad as well. Five hundred National Guard members have been called in to help. That's where we find Miguel Marquez -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are up on federal hill, which overlooks the inner harbor here. You can see this a snowdrift. We have about 18 inches now in Baltimore itself.

Yesterday, when we were talking about all of this, they were talking about 24 inches at the most in Baltimore. Now they're talking about up to 30 inches in Baltimore, and other areas of the state. Anything above 1,200 feet, about 36 inches. You could see just how difficult it is to get through the snow. Some of the most extreme conditions we have seen.

The wind, howling. The blowing snow, stinging my face. It hurts. The city says that they are actually dealing with everything quite well so far. They have emergency lanes. They are keeping open. Keeping the cars off those lanes. Plowing them constantly and they are able to get to every emergency they have had so far, and they have not had major problems.

But, about eight more hours of snow ahead. The mayor saying they have another pulse of this bad weather coming to them. So when -- if we turn around this way, we should be able to see downtown Baltimore, and for the first time today, we can't see anything. The visibility has dropped here. The wind is blowing incredibly hard, and the snow just is unrelenting -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Miguel, thank you so much. It is unrelenting, no question. You've been doing a great job out there covering it throughout. Miguel, thank you.

I want to take everyone now to Charlotte, North Carolina. We saw a lot of the storm yesterday and overnight. This is also the location obviously of the NFC championship game tomorrow in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Our Alina Machado is there. It sounds like things are getting better finally in Charlotte. Is that the case? I see it looks like the sun is out behind you?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes,Poppy, the sun actually feels real good right now. It's incredible what a difference 24 hours makes. I mean, yesterday we dealt with a little bit of everything. We dealt with rain, we dealt with sleet, we dealt with snow. And they were prepared here for the worst case scenario. They had 3,800 crews from out of state on standby in this area near Charlotte ready to respond to power out stages, but thankfully, things didn't happen as badly as they thought they were going to be.

The focus now here is on clearing up roads around Charlotte. Getting the city ready again for tomorrow's NFC championship game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals we are told are on their way now to Charlotte. Their plane is expected to land here in just a few hours. And Panthers fans aren't wasting any time. We were at a team store a little earlier today and we asked some of the youngest fans if they were worried when they saw this winter storm hit Charlotte. Here is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:25:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like unbelievable we made it because we are all sitting there gone. I think for the first time in 15 years, we are not going to make AFC/NFC championship. But we made it.

MACHADO: What are you looking forward to the most tomorrow?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking forward to the Panthers beating them up real bad.

TODD SCHULTZ, FAN TRAVELED FROM PHILADELPHIA: Our flight twice was canceled, so my son and I got on a 12 hour train ride from Philadelphia. That ended up taking 15 hours because of all the signal failures that we are going on. We felt like almost we had to go out and, you know, help these conductors that had to kept fighting get on and off the train. But we made it. And we left about 8:00 in the morning and got here about 11:30 last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: So those were some fans from the northeast who thankfully made it here ahead of the storm. That they are very grateful to be here. The younger fans I was talking about, the kids who live in Charlotte, they're excited, obviously, about the snow. And they said that they are not too worried, because they knew that this was a possibility and there were a few days ahead of the storm, ahead of the game, sorry. So thankfully, they are OK.

Now, the game is expected to take place here tomorrow night and it's going to be in the 40s, which is perfect football weather, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, it is. Alina Machado, live for us in Charlotte. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Everyone, stay with us. Coming up next, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will join me live, talking about what has turned out to be, they are expecting one of the five worst storms in New York City history. This is one to hunker down for. Stay off the road. He will join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:55] HARLOW: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow, joining you in the mid dis of what is turning out to be quite a winter storm, slamming us here in New York City. And up and down the eastern seaboard. They knew it was going to be big. They didn't know it was going to be this big, from Washington, D.C. to New York City, where we could see up to 30 inches of snow now.

This is a storm that is spanning 11 states from Georgia through New Jersey. You've got 200,000 Americans without power, 9,000 flights canceled. And you also have eight people who have died in the storm thus far.

I want to go straight to Allison Chinchar. She is in the CNN severe weather center.

When we look at the scope of the storm, it's very slow moving. So we still got hours ahead, don't we?

[15:30:38] ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Indeed, we do, yes.And you kind of talked about those delays and cancelations that we have been dealing with. This is why. Take a look.

Dulles airport, picking up almost two feet of snow. Philadelphia International airport, 17 inches. LaGuardia, 16. JFK picking up 13 inches. And for a lot of these, they are still going to pile up. They are going to continue to rise until they get to numbers like this. Very impressive.

West Virginia, 40 inches of snow. Incredible. Red Hose, Maryland, 38 inches. Hancock, West Virginia, about 35 and Winberg(ph), West Virginia, about 31 inches of snow. And that bottom one by the way, it's still snowing there.

This is what we are looking in terms of the radar. Still snowing in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and some of the heaviest bands going through New Jersey and New York right now. That's that purple color that you kind of see through here.

Those are going to be your very heavy intense snow bands, two, three, four inchesan hour is what comes out of some of these purple bands. So despite all of the snow that we have already seen in New York and New Jersey, even more is coming down. And is some spots, it is coming down very quickly, which causing very low, incredibly low visibilities.

Right now, visibility in New York City, less than a quarter of a mile. Less than a quarter of a mile in Baltimore and D.C. Pretty much zero for all intense and purposes in those two cities. We are about a half mile of visibility in Harrisburg. It is up to three miles visibility in Philadelphia, but the snow is still coming down. So in terms if you are truly out in the roads, a, I feel sorry for you, but b, conditions aren't going to be getting any better in Philadelphia, at least not in the short-term.

We have a lot of the winds that are starting to pick up as well, 58 miles per hour winds in Ocean City, 41 in Atlantic City, 31 miles per hour in New York, and especially in New York, those winds are only going to up. They are probably likely peeking around Ocean City, but as the low finally begins to makes it way out over open waters, the other concern again is going to on the coastal flooding. You have those winds pushing all of that water in, our high tide comes around 7:20 tonight, Poppy. That combined with the full moon and the strong winds does not make for very good conditions for folks along the coast of New Jersey. So that's something we will definitely have to keep a close eye on over the next 24 hours.

HARLOW: Absolutely. And not all, Allison. We just saw that flooding firsthand with our Ryan Young near in Margate right around Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thank you so much for keeping us posted. I appreciate it.

I want to take everyone now to Philadelphia. You've got some very severe weather in Philadelphia. Sara Ganim is there.

Sara, you also have a number of drivers I'm hearing stranded on those highways around Philadelphia.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, you could see from the streets out here, Poppy, that things are not, even with the plows coming through, constantly, it's impossible to keep up with the snow. And what happened down on the Pennsylvania turnpike is that tractor trailers got stuck. They weren't able to move. And it caused a huge backlog, miles long. Thankfully, no one injured. But hundreds of people stranded in their cars for hours and hours, and hours today. The National Guard coming in to start to help try and rescue people. Especially they've been sitting in their cars, burning gas, trying to keep themselves warm. Ninety miles of the turnpike between Washington D.C. and Pittsburg were shut down. This backlog was about five miles long. Imagine what that's like.

Now, here in center city, Philadelphia. We got about 15 inches in the last 24 hours or so, with another 10 to 14 expected that could continue to fall. Right now, you can tell it's not snowing at the moment, it's let up. But we are expecting those bands to continue. What hasn't let up here at all, Poppy, is the wind. When those gusts come through, it's really painful, up to 40 mile an hour winds here in center city.

I just want to show you for a second, because we have been digging the cars out as the snow keeps falling. What people are dealing with, this is heavy, wet snow. This is really difficult to shovel. We've been seeing people out here all day long, trying to get through it. But look at this. I mean, this is -- this is the stuff that gives you a work out when you're out shoveling. So officials here are urging everyone to be extra careful. Don't come out if you don't have to.

We do see a lot of people out on the streets here. They're coming out to enjoy it a little bit while they can. The problem is, you cannot under estimate that the storm is not over. And officials are really trying to emphasize that to the people here this afternoon -- Poppy.

[15:35:14] HARLOW: I'm so glad you said that, Sara, even when there are lulls that come back with incredible intensity like a whiteout conditions we just in Washington, D.C.

Thank you very much. Sarah Ganim, live in Philadelphia.

Anupdate for all of you watching. We are now hearing nine people, nine people have died as a result of this winter storm up and down the eastern seaboard. Two hundred thousand Americans without power. All of the roads here in New York City under mandate of Governor Andrew Cuomo have been shut down until further notice. Something we rarely see in the nation's most populous city. This is severe.

Stay with us for the latest. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:05] HARLOW: You are looking at live pictures of Baltimore, where that city has called in 500 members of the National Guard, to try to deal with what is one of the worst winter storms they've seen in quite a long time.

I'm Poppy Harlow, joining you live in New York city for continuing coverage of this blizzard that has become quite the storm up and down the eastern seaboard, stretching from Georgia through New Jersey, affecting 11 states. We know of nine deaths associated with this storm, 200,000 Americans without power. And if you're trying to fly right now on the east coast, good luck, 9,000 plus flights have been canceled.

Here in New York City, something we rarely see, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, closing all the roads in New York City as of 2:30 this afternoon, only emergency vehicles allowed on the road, and a few members of the media out there telling people what is going on. That's where we find our Brian Stelter in the roving vehicle.

Brian, what are you seeing, anyone out there?

[15:40:00] BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one exception made for media personnel on a day like today. Otherwise, very few cars out here, Poppy. And we can show you the dashcam live shot.

We are on 5th Avenue, the heart of Manhattan, coming up on 42nd street, right by the New York public library. We just passed Rockefeller center. And we are heading downtown. I think one of the concerns in the next few hours is certainly going to be coastal flooding including here on the (INAUDIBLE) in Manhattan. Certainly, we are not talking about anything like super storm Sandy from several years ago. Nonetheless, we have seen very high tides earlier in the day and there is another high tide cycle expected in a few hours. It feels, Poppy, like Mother Nature is making up for lost time here.

It had been a warm, warm winter in New York, and all around the metropolitan region. There had barely been a trace of snow until, well, today. It really does feel like that we are seeing a pile on from all the missed weeks of snow earlier in the winter.

Right now, 16 or 17 inches, depending on where you are here in the city. The record for the city is 27 inches. Actually 26.9 to be exact. It is very possible this will be a record setting storm. Certainly, in the top five. We will see if it could crack the number one ranking here in New York City.

So we are at the corner now of 5th Avenue and 42nd street. You can hear a snowblower over there on the side. Working the sidewalk the best he can. It's sort of a losing battle out here to be honest. I have seen a lot less pedestrian traffic and many fewer cars than we did even an hour ago.

So that travel ban, that warning from city and state officials is clearly having an effect. Mostly what you see now are not cars, but these pedestrians. As we look here live at the dashcam, most people think we are staying off to the sides, but they are in the street, because the streets are somewhat plowed and it is a little easier to walk. Most people actually walking against traffic, walking north on 5th Avenue trying to get a sense of what it is look like today.

Poppy, back to you.

HARLOW: Brian, thank you so much for that. I appreciate it. You guys, stay very safe out there. You and your entire team.

I want to go straight now to New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. He joins me on the phone. Governor, thank you for being with me. This is your ban. It's something we rare see in the city that never sleeps. But again, you are doing this for the safety of all New Yorkers, all of the roads are closed. Walk me through the decision- making process and what you're seeing.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK (on the phone): Well, you're right, Poppy. You know, the last resort is obviously shutting down the businesses and the subway system and the bus system. But public safety comes first. And the situation is dangerous. I declared a state emergency this morning. And then as the snow continued to fall, and the national weather service increased their forecast for the amount of snow that was going to fall, we put a travel ban in place as of 2:30 this afternoon, for basically the entire downstate area. Long Island, New York City area.

We also were having trouble with the railroad system, the Long Island railroad, and what's called the metro north system. So we are shutting down the railroad system, and parts of the subway system that go above ground. The underground subway system will continue to run.

You don't want to do it, but other states, you've literally had the loss of life. Some states have lost several individuals. This is a dangerous storm. As beautiful as some of the photos are of the snow falling, it's dangerous. And as I said, public safety comes first. We want to make sure we don't lose anyone. And that's why we decided to do the travel ban. We will lift it when we are sure that we can clear the roads and protect the public. But up until then, we err on the side of public safety. HARLOW: Yes. No question. Absolutely, that comes first and

foremost.

Governor, we have some imagines here, because I understand you and your team actually stopped just a little while ago to help a stranded motorist. Let's show those on the Long Island expressway, I believe. I mean, this is how bad it can get for people on the roads. They need to take this incredibly seriously. What did you and your team find?

CUOMO: Well, first of all, Poppy, these are New Yorkers who believe that they are all superheroes, and that nothing can slow them down. But Mother Nature is pretty tough out there today and the roads are very dangerous. And they were stranded motorists all over the roadways.

I spent the morning driving throughout the metropolitan area, which is one of the reasons why I felt comfortable doing this travel ban, because Poppy, I had seen what was out there. And how dangerous it was. And this was a motorist who happened to be at a very dangerous spot, stuck in a very dangerous spot, where people were trying to get off. And as they were trying to go around this car, it was causing other problems. And in New York, they expect a full-service government, New Yorkers, they want to get their money's worth from their elected officials, so I'm the full-service governor here in New York, poppy.

[15:45:24] HARLOW: Also, in terms of the subways, governor, I -- if I go home tonight from here, I'll be on the subway if it stays open. Obviously we're not driving. For those New Yorkers who are longing at the subways underground still open right now, any update and what you're expecting to do with the subway?

CUOMO: Yes. The railroads, Long Island railroad, metro north railroad, the last train in or out of the city will be about 4:00. For the subways that are above ground, the same thing, about 4:00. Underground subways, which is the vast majority of the subways, will remain open under normal weekend schedules. So my guess is, Poppy, you probably take a subway that goes underground. Those will remain open.

HARLOW: In terms of injuries or God forbid deaths, I mean, governor, we have heard about nine people dying now up and down the eastern seaboard as a result of this storm. Any update what you're seeing in New York City or state?

CUOMO: We have thus far, thus far, we have been lucky. We have had a number of car accidents, et cetera. Nothing serious. We have had no reports of loss of life. Thank God, thus far.

What I'm most concerned of, poppy, is the potential for flooding. Snow, winds, dangerous weather conditions on the road, that I think we've taken care of with the travel ban, et cetera. And all day long, we have been telling people not to be on the street. The ban says that you can literally be ticketed if you are on the roads. There is now a state ban in effect. The flooding that could potentially come with the high tide this evening, it's a full moon, meaning the higher tide than usual. And if there is a tidal surge, that is probably the most dangerous aspects that goes along with this storm. Parts of New York City, Brooklyn, Staten Island that are low level areas, but the whole south shore of long island is an area we're vulnerable. So we're keeping a special eye on that.

We have state police working with the national and Suffolk police, we have boats on-site, we have swift water rescue teams on-site, but if we're going to have a real problem, it's going to be the tidal surge tonight, about 7:00, 8:00.

HARLOW: OK. So that tidal surge, potential major risk for parts of New York, along the coast there between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. tonight. We will obviously be on life bringing people updates.

Just before I let you go, governor, a lot of people where I am in Columbus circle and a lot of people in central park behind are out with their children playing in the snow. Yes, it is beautiful. But what is your message to New Yorkers that are out and about right now?

CUOMO: Well, if you are out and about in New York City, Poppy, you know, part of this is very enjoyable and very beautiful. Just use caution. Normal caution. But my main concern was people being on the roads.

HARLOW: OK.

CUOMO: People getting stranded in public transportation, et cetera. But if you're using caution, especially in New York City, you know, there a chance to enjoy the beauty. A lot of young people haven't had snow yet this season with the extreme weather patterns we have been having. So there is no doubt, you know, for a young person, you can have a lot of fun and parents can have fun with their children. Just use caution.

But again, the main point all day was stay off the roads. And now that we have put a travel ban and we have closed down the railroads and subways that were problematic, I'm feeling much better about it.

HARLOW: Governor, we are hearing that you have increased the number of National Guard members who are going to be in New York helping. Is that the case?

CUOMO: We will have hundreds of National Guard people, and army equipment essentially, Humvees, high axle vehicles for snow removal. But again, the main vulnerability in a situation like this is the potential for flooding. That is where you have the greatest public that is where you have the greatest public safety risk. The floods also do the most damage.

You have to remember, Poppy, this is an area where we went through superstorm Sandy. I was governor at that time. We learned a lot of lessons the hard way. We are better prepared than we were at that time. New York physically is different than it was at that time, we have more storm barriers. We have done more work along the beaches. We have more equipment. But I learned firsthand how dangerous Mother Nature can be, especially the wrath of tidal surge. And New York is a port city. It was its greatest strength, in a situation like this. It's its greatest weakness. So the National Guard, especially for tonight, will be on duty on the water front areas. We know from past experience the areas that tend to flood and that's where we'll have people dispatched.

[15:51:30] HARLOW: We all remember what that was like, going through Sandy, a lot of lessons learned.

Governor, thank you to you. Thank you to all the first responders out here. I got a line of New York City's finest. Police officers, all in their vehicles behind me. They are working during all of this to keep all of us safe.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, thank you.

CUOMO: Thank you. Thanks very much, Poppy.

HARLOW: Of course. We are going to take a quick break. Much more of our breaking news coverage on this epic storm when we return.

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[15:54:55] HARLOW: The 2016 Sundance Film Festival kicked off this week in Park City, Utah. Lucky folks who get to be there. The nation's most prestigious film festival has been a watching path for Oscar hopefuls.

Our Stephanie Elam speaks with the Hollywood Reporter's Matt Belloni about this year's contenders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:55:14] STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's that time of year when Hollywood types leave the palm trees behind, grab their parkas and come here to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. And sure that means the parties, the glitz, the glam, but the real draw is the movies.

MATTHEW BELLONI, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: It really sets the tone for the year in culture in film and television.

ELAM: For documentary filmmakers, this festival is the place to be.

BELLONI: This is really the only place to get a high profile launch for a non-fiction film. And a lot of these films go on to get bought by television networks and by theatrical distributors and make a big difference.

ELAM: Be a fiction or documentary, this year's list of films may ruffle some feathers.

BELLONI: A lot of the most anticipated films are ones that are not only potentially controversial, but are seeking that controversy. You have documentaries about Anthony Weiner, you have documentaries about ISIS, you have a film called birth of the nation which is about a slave uprising, holt from the perspective of slaves.

ELAM: But no matter to the topic, every filmmaker comes to Sundance looking to make a deal.

BELLONI: In addition to theatrical distributors, there are Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, CNN, all of these difference venues that are going to Sundance looking for great movies to buy.

ELAM: The ultimate goals, turns Sundance buzz into Oscar gold.

BELLONI: Let's take Brooklyn for an example.

This film was seen at Sundance last year, with was bought by FOX up search light. Now a year later, it's in the Oscar race as the best picture candidate.

ELAM: Stars can also get some shine from Sundance. Take boyhood and whip flash, both debut at the festival and went on to be nominated by the academy in 2015 for best film and ultimately led to Oscar wins for Patrick (INAUDIBLE) IN Boyhood and Jay Kay Simmons in Whip Flash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, six, and --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you rushing or were you drinking.

BELLONI: Jennifer Lawrence was nothing before she had a movie, a tiny movie at Sundance. That movie got a lot of attention, she got hunger games and became a huge star.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You will rest a caw Peta at the earliest opportunity or you will find another mocking jay.

ELAM: A huge star and an Oscar winner.

So chances are a few of the films debuting here, may soon be coming to a theater near you.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Park City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Stephanie Elam, thank you so much for that.

Stay with us right here on CNN. We will bring you the latest on this huge winter storm affecting millions and millions of you right now. Much more live coverage ahead.

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