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38 Million People Under Blizzard Warnings; Continuing Storm Coverage. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 23, 2016 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:12] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, 4:00 p.m. Eastern, as New York City and much of the east coast are dealing with what has turned into an epic storm, 11 states affected, nine people have died. 9,000 flights have been cancelled. 200,000 of you right now without power. What a storm it has been, and we are in the middle of it. It is nowhere near over. That's what they tell us.

Chad Myers, our meteorologist, live for us in Times Square. Chad, there are lulls here in New York City but those white out conditions that we saw in Washington, are they coming up here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They still continue for D.C. and Baltimore, Philadelphia, yes, and we still have at least six more hours of that. Not so much whiteout, we're not getting the wind, because we're not as close to the low.

So people here at Times Square, they're enjoying it. This family here from Connecticut, they came to see a couple of shows. Well, they're not going to see any show because they're cancelled. Here's Nicole, Nicole is from Pittsburgh. She came for her birthday. Nicole, how's your birthday?

NICOLE: Well, (INAUDIBLE) but yes, we're still snowed into our hotel and the show we were going to go to was cancelled and everywhere we have been, except for like a makeup store, and a bunch of (INAUDIBLE) shops have been closed.

MYERS: Nicole, you got a sweet 16 inches of snow for your birthday. That's all the sweet 16 you have. Thank you so much. Guys, this is Broadway, I am standing on Broadway, which should be filled with cars, filled with taxis, filled with big cars bringing lots of people down to downtown New York or into Times Square, or into the theatre district and it is empty. It is a pedestrian walkway. That's all we have here right now. And it is going to continue like this for the next few hours, people are trying to enjoy this, this is a far cry from what we are seeing far to the south where it's not enjoyable and it's very dangerous.

About two minutes ago, there was a BMW 7 series that tried to go across 47th, it took 14 men to push that car across 14th street because the snow now is about eight inches deep. So we're getting a plows through here but not every hour, certainly not every couple of hours, and cars are getting stuck. That's why the mayor and the governor said do not drive. This city is close. Now there are still taxis trying to get people there. There are still people trying to get home from businesses, from restaurants that are still open. And I believe in a couple of hours, this city will not only shut down legally, because it already is, this will shut down physically, because there will be just no place to go, you won't be able to move in this town at all and the rest of those cars that are still trying to move will get stuck. Nobody getting ticketed that we have seen just yet, but I'm sure that's about to happen, Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. I mean, people need to stay off those roads, you're risking your life on these roads, nothing is worth it. As we heard from Governor Cuomo, except for an emergency. Stay off the roads. Stay home folks.

MYERS: Right.

HARLOW: Thank you so much. Chad Myers for us.

Some of the folks that we do have an exception to that rule though are members of the media who are out there showing you what it's like. We've got our Brian Stelter, he's in a roving vehicle. He is right around Washington Square park, that is in near the bottom of Manhattan, what are you seeing down there?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the heart of Greenwich Village, we'll switch to the dash cam because you can see that famous Washingon Square arch right in front of us here. We're coming down Fifth Avenue, and we actually just hopped back into the car, because there's a convoy of snowplows heading down Fifth Avenue.

The last thing we want to do is get in their way. I have to tell you, Poppy, this travel ban is being heeded. We see almost no normal vehicles out here, only emergency vehicles, but there are a lot of pedestrians, as we drive along here, you'll see a number of pedestrians, a lot of children, also a lot of adults, a couple of people on bikes, and of course a couple of people on skis, all trying to make the most of it.

We're heading along one of the sides of the park now. I have to tell you I have seen relatively a small number of emergency vehicles, not too many police or fire out there, likely because there are situations in other areas that are more urgent. You know down where I grew up in Maryland, I was just reading about a humvee having to escort a fire truck to try to get to a home where there's been a carbon monoxide incident. So clearly up and down the northeast corridor, this of course, very populous region, all the way from north of New York here, towards south of Washington, such a wide variety of effects from this storm.

[16:05:14]

One of the amazing things, of course, is if you go 50 or 100 miles north of where we are here in Manhattan, kind of a quiet day, maybe only a couple of inches of snow. Big, big differences in the size of this storm depending on where you are.

And now as we drive up, I believe, University place here in Greenwich Village, some of the cars that are already stuck in these drifts, a combination of the wind and then the snowplows, shoveling all the snow on to the sides of these cars, it's going to be a lot of people here that's not going anywhere for at least a few days. Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, absolutely. Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

We should be very clear for people who are watching it and seeing the irony on us reporting, staying off the road, being on the road. Brian, you have, media has an exception here.

STELTER: Actually, we have a card here, we have on the dash, we haven't had any authorities stop us, because they know we're out here broadcasting, there's usually exceptions in these circumstances for media, in the same way there are for people who need to get to hospitals, for example. So that's very normal.

I have to say though it's not like you can literally shut down roads, there's no road blocks out here, necessarily, it's just that people are listening to the authorities, thankfully, including Governor Cuomo, who was just on with you a few minutes ago, listening to those instructions and frankly, because as of now, it's starting to get dark, it's going to start to get probably more windy out there, now is the time for people to be off the roads and what we're seeing, pretty much everybody is following that advice.

HARLOW: Brian, thank you very much, be safe to you and your team there. I want to go straight to our Jason Caroll. He is joining us live in Central Park. Jason, an hour ago you had a lot of folks out there sort of enjoying the beauty of all this, but it's pretty crowded still.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't believe it. You know, if it were me, Poppy, I would be at home chilling out in front of the TV, nice and warm but these are adventurers. One of them, I want to introduce you to Jackie, a friend of mine. She is out here, I think she was debating whether or not she is going to get on this or not or ride down it? Are you going to sit? Or are you going to stand?

JACQUI: I was going to try and stand, I think it's easier said than done.

CARROLL: I mean, Poppy, look at her, she makes this look chic. I'm freezing, she's got the fur hat, you're doing it.

JACQUI: I got my goggles on.

CARROLL: Have you seen many drivers driving down the road when you were on your way in here?

JACQUI: No, not many.

CARROLL: Well, maybe that's a good thing. Jacqui, I want to let you go down. We will talk later. I'm going to move over to one more person over here because this is Greg.

Thank you very much to the both of you, we were talking about everybody sort of coming out to enjoy the storm, to enjoy this weather, before things get dark, you guys decided to come out here today, to enjoy the weather, tell me why you decided to come out?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Well, I am actually, originally from Wyoming, so this is a treat, I was quite excited when I saw the forecast earlier this week.

CARROLL: How does this compare to a Wyoming storm, our storm here in New York?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: I mean, this would be like a Tuesday or a Wednesday, something like that.

CARROLL: Well for us, it's definitely a big Saturday storm. There is the travel ban that's in effect. I've just been asking a lot of people, you guys walked in. We also want to emphasize Poppy, all these people walked in hear, they did not drive in. What was it like when you were out on the roads, did you see any cars out there on the road?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No cars, we live pretty close by here so we walked.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

CARROLL: Look, I don't want to hold you guys up, get on your sled, get on your little plastic thing there and go. They keep trying to convince us to try to get on. Wear going to do that --

UNIDENTIFED MALE: That's the only way to really show -

CARROLL: That sounds like a Youtube moment waiting to happen. And I'm just not going to go there, not even in a blizzard, but I'll watch you do it. You guys go and have fun. Watch out for the man on (INAUDIBLE). You can see Poppy, people still coming out, still wanting to enjoy the last few hours of this blizzard. But I should tell you once it hits nighttime, when the sun goes down, things here really sort of start to dissipate if you will, but for now, folks are out here having a good time. Poppy?

HARLOW: Jason, thank you very much. You're a good sport out there. I know you wish you're in front of the fireplace, but have a good time, my friend, while you're out there. I do hope those people go home before it gets dark, though.

Jason Carroll, live for us in Central Park. Thank you so much.

Again, if you're just joining us, we have our continuing live coverage of what has turned into a monster storm up and down the east coast here. In New York City, they're expecting up to 30 inches of snow. You have nine people who have died up and down the East Coast. This spans 11 states, from Georgia up through New Jersey where they have some severe flooding right around Atlantic City.

We're going to take a quick break, we'll be back with much more in a moment.

[16:10:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. You're looking at live images of New York City, where there's not a car in sight there, that's on Washington Square Park by the NYU campus in lower Manhattan. Just some people out and about.

A travel ban in effect, that manes no cars other than emergencies allowed on any of the roads in and around New York City.

I want to go straight to Washington, D.C., our meteorologist Jennifer Gray, is there. Jennifer, when we spoke to you last hour, it was whiteout conditions. I mean, so much so and so windy, that your lights almost blew over, it looks a little bit more tolerable now.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that was pretty brutal, Poppy, we almost lost our life, but now we are seeing visibility improving just a tad. As you see behind me, you still can't see the capitol, it is right behind me. But you can't see, I would say almost half a mile from where we are standing, but we are still getting the very heavy snow, windy, windy conditions and the snowfall rates coming up.

We have seen snowfall around this rate for the last several hours, so at last check around 1:30 in the afternoon. We had snowfall amounts of, say, 23 inches right around Dulles, Reagan, not quiet as much, we have seen almost 15 around Reagan, so those snowfall totals are going to go up quite a bit over the next couple of hours, so this is going to be lasting on into the evening hours. The wind is blowing, I don't know if you can see the trees, but the snow is piling up on the trees, and if you look, you can see the snow just fall off of the trees in these huge clumps on to the ground.

So it's still a pretty serious situation here in the D.C. area. Of course, the mayor is urging people to stay off the roads, and I can tell you, earlier this afternoon we were talking, it wasn't quite as heavy, the snowfall. So people were out and about. Now I can tell you, no one out here, it's an almost eerie feeling being in the nation's capital and no one in sight.

[16:15:03]

Every now and then you'll see a car, we have seen a couple of plows roll through, but the street that we're on, right along Pennsylvania Avenue, I mean, the snowfall is probably a foot deep in some places right in the middle of the street, even if you tried to get out, there's no way that you would make it down the street. So, Poppy, we are going to be in this for the next several hours, I would say the next six to 10 hours most likely, so well after dark.

Tomorrow the sun is supposed to come out, we will see temperatures around 35 degrees, so we will get a little bit of melting going on, so then the concern Sunday night is going to be that refreeze, so we could see an icy mess on our hands as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, absolutely and they're saying a windchill of minus 7 tonight in D.C.. Jennifer, while I have you, talk me through some of this coastal flooding, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo saying they're concerned about that. You know, potential surge around 7:00, 8:00 p.m. Eastern in New York on the coast and you have already got the flooding in New Jersey there in Atlantic City.

GRAY: Yes, well, you know the water has been receding over the last couple of hours, little by little, but the concern is when that high tide approaches later this afternoon, that's when you were talking about those specific tames, that's when we're going to see another possible surge of water, you have the winds blowing onshore, it's going to mean more water than normal. So we're going to see an astronomical high tide once again.

On top of that we have a full moon, and so tides are on above normal, on a full moon anyway. So we're going to get possibility of another round of that coastal flooding or more water being pushed onshore as we go through this evening. That's what kind of plays in people's minds, when you see the water come up early, then it goes down, you think it's going to stay that way, well, it's not, because you have another high tide coming in later this evening. So we could see another round of that coastal flooding, Poppy, as we go through the evening hours.

HARLOW: All right. Jennifer Gray, thank you so much, for us, in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.. We'll keep you posted on everything from there and that flooding she was telling us about. I believe we're going to Philadelphia after the break. We'll be right back.

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[16:20:08]

HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. You're looking at a deserted, pretty deserted New York City on this Saturday afternoon, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the roads are closed in around the nation's most populous city, a live look there. I do want to take you now, go to Philadelphia and other cities dealing with quite a headache from this blizzard.

Sara Ganim is there, a lot of people are stuck, stranded on the highways right around there, aren't they?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Poppy, I actually want to show you what this looks like, for hours and hours today, hundreds of people stranded on the Pennsylvania turnpike, after semitrucks got stuck, were not able to make it through on the highway because of the snow that's falling. This is near Breezewood, Pennsylvania, really in between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh, on the Pennsylvania turnpike, the National Guard was brought in to help those people who have been stuck out there, a five mile stretch of cars that had been unable to move for hours, 19 miles in the Pennsylvania turnpike shutdown.

Back here in Center city, 15 inches had fallen when we woke up this morning. Another 10 to 14 inches expected to fall today and into tonight, a total up to 30 inches. But the big thing here right now, we're - that's very real to us, as we're standing outside, Poppy, is the wind gusts, up to 40 miles an hour winds, 20 to 25 miles an hour. When you're just standing here, you can see at times when it really picks up, these flags really start whipping around, and you can see the snow being picked up and swirled around.

Poppy, I just want to show you too, the snow, this is the soft, heavy, wet snow, this is the stuff that's difficult to get off of your driveway, it's difficult to get off your car, this is the stuff that really hurts, when it falls down, you can hear it hitting your jacket and when that wind picks up, you can really feel it pelting you in the face. This is something that people here have been braving all day, in Philadelphia, you can see that there's been people out here coming to experience this blizzard, but officials here warning that this is not going to get easier as the day goes on.

In fact it's going to get worse before things start to let up. So they're urging people to please go inside for the night. Read a book, watch a movie, keep indoors and not venture out, not only is it dangerous for people to be on the roads, but it also makes it more difficult for emergency responders to get to where they need to go. And as we're talking, the wind is picking up. This has been a cycle here, as they clean the snow up, it blows and continues to fall. Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, no question about it. Sara, here in New York and New Jersey, we're just learning there are 2,300 members of the National Guard who have been deployed to help. Obviously they're very worried about the flooding in New Jersey along the coast, you heard the governor of New York telling me he's worried about potential flooding tonight about 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Eastern, what about there? I mean, do they have the National Guard helping? Do they have the resources they need?

GANIM: They do have the resources. Here's the thing with this storm, Poppy, cities like Philadelphia and others up along the east coast, this time last year, we were standing out here, but it was the fourth or fifth storm that had hit these cities, their salt piles had been depleted, their snow budgets were depleted. This time around, this is really the first major storm of the season for a town like Philadelphia, and so they're ready, their pockets are full.

They do have the National Guard here, and the National Guard right now is focused on helping those people who are stranded on the Pennsylvania turnpike. Thankfully, the mayor here in Philadelphia, is telling us no major incidents, no major crashes and no major power outages. That's a really big deal. Penndot, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, telling us the same thing, for the regions of Pennsylvania that were hit the hardest, aside from that Pennsylvania turnpike incident, there were no major crashes, no major incidents, just some disabled vehicles, so in that respect, so far, this area has been very lucky. The biggest thing that officials want people to know is, let's not tempt that luck, let's stay inside and wait until the storm passes, Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Not worth taking any risks. Sara Ganim, thank you so much, live for us tonight in Philadelphia.

Coming up next, I'm going to tak you live to New Jersey. Really bad flooding, frankly. Look at those images, right around Atlantic City, New Jersey, a live report on what the folks there are coping with, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:27:55]

HARLOW: Live pictures of Washington, D.C., near whiteout conditions there, the heart of this storm hammers the nation's capital. We are feeling it, up and down the eastern seaboard, from Georgia all the way through New Jersey where they're dealing with coastal flooding. The New York city mayor Bill de Blasio speaking just a little while ago about how intense this storm has become. Let's listen to the mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY: If it goes past 20 inches, it will be in the top five in terms of accumulation, literally in our recorded history, goes back to 1869. So this is a very big deal. And at this point the National Weather Service and we certainly agree, think it is almost a foregone conclusion that we will pass that 20- inch mark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You heard it there, almost a foregone conclusion that they will pass, they, as in we in New York City will pass 20 inches of snow, at least, in this storm, calling it one of the five worst in New York City.

Chad Myers, our meteorologist, live for us in Times Square. Chas, so this is right around what you guys were predicting on the far end of this, 20-plus inches.

MYERS: Up high. Sure.

HARLOW: The real concern right now for New York and we heard it from the governor when I was speaking with him is the coastal flooding tonight between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern. How big a risk?

MYERS: The winds have been blowing onshore now for a couple of days, that is piling up the water along the coast. And we also have 15-foot waves on that higher water, about to really scour the beaches there along the Jersey Shore and also along Long Island, that's always been the real threat.

Now there will be a slight storm surge too of about four feet into these rivers up in Wilmington and Philadelphia, and if you have low- lying areas, or if you're in one, you may have to watch for that water to come up. Also something else we talked about this week, was 30 million people in the blizzard warning, that's 20 million pets.

[16:30:01] We want you to take care of the pets because they get cold too. Dexter and Halle are out here enjoying the snow, but we want them out only briefly.

Hi, guys. How are? Yes, all right. Good kisses.

I think he can still smell my beagle. But this guy's got four inch legs and the 16 inches of snow, he's having a little trouble with his four-wheel drive.

It is beautiful out here for the pets, it's beautiful for the people, but it's dangerous if you're out too long. I mean, I was born in Buffalo, I get it. I was out when I was a kid, I don't even know that I was ever cold.

But the pets are cold, even when you get cold, they can get cold sooner, they're not wearing boots like I am, they're really not prepared for this. This is their first snow, the first snow Dexter has ever seen -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Chad Myers, thank you so much. Pretty cute little buddies out there with you. If you got to be out covering a blizzard, it's good to have some four-legged friends right alongside you.

Chad, thank you so much.

MYERS: Right, it's a two-dog night right now.

HARLOW: I hear you, my friend.

On a very serious note, we're going to take you to show you that coastal flooding that Chad was talking about in southern New Jersey. This is Margate, New Jersey, right near Atlantic City, right along the Jersey shore there. Ryan Young is there.

This has been really the concerned zone. How bad is it?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the concern has definitely been the flooding, you think you're going to cover a blizzard and not necessarily deal with all the water that we have been dealing with all day long.

But if you look behind us, you can see some of the water that's collected on the street. In fact, Poppy, the good news is it's going down over the last hour and a half. I want to show you this -- just an hour ago, I couldn't do this, which is just walk across the street because this water here was pretty high. So, I'm going to walk across here because right now, the water now is at a point where we can actually get in it.

This was more than ankle deep at one point. Cars have been passing for the last few hours or so. More people have started to come out. But one of the things we have been obviously paying attention to is the impact on businesses. And what we notice is, especially people getting ready for it, they have been using sandbags to make sure that the front of their stores were okay.

Most of the ones we walked over here to, it looks like they have done a pretty good job of making sure the water didn't get on the inside. There are a few businesses, though, on this first floor level that had to deal with some water on that first floor.

Talked to some residents that decided to come out. They said they were lucky and happy. They haven't seen the immense flooding expecting, but they have seen that high tide and that full moon affecting the businesses and the overall neighborhoods here. But if you look here, look, the water is going down, you have people driving around in their jeeps, looking if people need help, the residents, we haven't seen that at all. We talked to a guy who lives two blocks over, he says the water has gone down tremendously.

The wind, though, that's the part that's been punishing, we have had went gusts on our wind meter of about 27 miles an hour. But outside of that, it looks like there's been good news as far as the water that's starting to dissipate in this year, but tonight could be the night where they deal with more of that coastal flooding -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Ryan, thank you so much. You and your team, please stay safe. I know those wind gusts are pretty brutal out there right now. Ryan, thank you very much.

You just heard Ryan talking about what they're dealing with there in southern New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey leaving the campaign trail, he was in New Hampshire, leaving yesterday going back to his home state to deal with this huge monster storm.

He spoke a little earlier today about a dune project that he says some were opposing that he argues could have saved some of the beaches. I want you to listen to the governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Beaches are being pounded. Now, we put a lot of sand up there at the request of the mayor of Tom's River, but that sand is already washed away. And if we had the dune project moving and close to completion in that area, those people at Ortley Beach would not be suffering the damage and loss they are today. So, if the people in Ortley Beach sustain that kind of loss and damage, they can send their "thank you" notes to the people in Bay Head and the people in Point Pleasant who continue to fight what is an environmentally sound and necessary project.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. We're going to take a quick break. That was the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie there. Quick break, on the other side, I'm going to take you live to Virginia where of those nine deaths have occurred as a result of this storm.

Stay with us for continuing coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Mario Bosco was pulled from the audience on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," he seemed like a typical kid from Brooklyn.

MARIO BOSCO, ACTOR WITH RARE GLAND CONDITION: He had a cigar. He sat back in his chair and I would come by --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sure it was me?

GUPTA: But looks can be deceiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?

BOSCO: 36.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA (on camera): Mario has this rare condition known as panhypopituitarism. His pituitary gland was damaged when in utero. It means his gland doesn't make enough essential growth hormones.

[16:35:00] He spent much of his childhood in and out of hospitals.

BOSCO: When being in these hospitals, I had to watch my sitcoms. I'd crawl up into the bed and watch "Barney Miller," "Maude," "Give Me a Break." Why? Because I wanted to be an actor.

GUPTA (voice-over): Mario got bit parts in movies and on TV, including "NYPD Blue" in spite of and because of his size.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: How old are you?

BOSCO: How old do you want me to be?

GUPTA: When doctors suggested the actor take testosterone to force puberty, he said no.

BOSCO: My life was OK, my career was moving forward. They say don't break something that doesn't need to be fixed.

GUPTA: At now 43, Mario has added author to his list of accomplishments, hoping to inspire others.

BOSCO: I'm happy being Mario Bosco, this height, this size, this weight.

GUPTA: All 4'10", 90 pounds of him.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: Welcome back.

You're looking at live pictures of New York City, live shot there of Columbus Circle, right at the entryway to Central Park, where this blizzard continues to come down. Hours and hours of snow, about 20 inches so far on the ground here in New York City, according to the latest estimates. State of emergency declared in 11 states stretching up the Eastern Seaboard from Georgia through New Jersey.

A major concern right now is flooding -- flooding potentially tonight along the coast of New York, and especially in southern New Jersey.

I do want to take you a little bit south of where I am, to Virginia, that is where Nick Valencia is. And, Nick, you know, we've had nine deaths so far in this storm, two of them where you are.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and the government officials we were speaking to yesterday warned us that today was going to be worse than yesterday.

[16:40:04] And look at behind here, these cars are essentially playing hide and seek, Poppy, you can see how much snow has accumulated here, it's wonderful, beautiful, fresh powder.

But it's really causing treacherous conditions on those roadways. We were just on the other side here, on this thoroughfare, Route 50, where we saw a lot of disabled vehicle, or at least one I could tell you about, an emergency vehicle actually got stuck in the snow, on it way to go clean up some of those roadways, just gives you a sense of what emergency crews are dealing with.

We have a plow driver there that we want to introduce you, we want to show you a little bit about what they're going through and how they're dealing with this. Virginia state police tells us that disabled vehicles are really the big issue right now.

And, Danny, hey, man, how is it going? You're live on CNN. How are you doing, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

VALENCIA: So, how is it out there? You've been running around, cleaning these roads, what is it like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy, it's real bad, there's nowhere to push the snow and it's getting worse.

VALENCIA: I mean, these are blizzard like conditions. You've been through this before. You're a native of Virginia, and you have seen storms like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. This is probably the worse one I've seen.

VALENCIA: Is it worse than 2010? I know here, had a really bad snowmageddon, they called it. It was pretty terrible actually. Is it worse than that you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, by far.

VALENCIA: Show our viewers a little bit of how you maneuver this, how do you work with this snowplow? What are you working with?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a joystick and it moves the plow up or down, right or left. And just push the snow with it.

VALENCIA: All right. Well, we let you get back to your job. We know you have an important. Thank you so much for what you do, man. You guys stay safe out there.

Thanks to Danny for taking the time with CNN.

Poppy, the snow continues to come down. We are told, the National Weather Service estimates that the snow could stop around 8:00 p.m. tonight. That doesn't necessarily mean that the concern will be over. It's going to be freezing like conditions and that could cause a major problem for those roadways.

As I mentioned, lots of disabled vehicles, we have heard of at least 1,000 crashes all across the state. You mentioned some fatalities as well. At least one person we know of confirmed dead as a result of this weather-related event here throughout the state and really up and down to the East Coast, this weekend, perhaps up to 40 inches we know in some parts of Virginia have seen already, 25 inches of snow, if you can believe that, with more on the way -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Nick, thank you so much. We appreciate -- we appreciate you reporting for us live from Virginia.

We're going to take a quick break. On the other side, you will hear my conversation with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo instituting a travel ban on all the roads here in and around New York City, something we almost never see in the nation's most populous city.

Governor Cuomo with me, next.

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HARLOW: Live look for you at New York City, a city that is under something we see very rarely here and that is all of the roads have been mandated closed by the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. All the roads here, in New York City, around New York City, the Lincoln Tunnel is closed, the George Washington Bridge is closed. The trains coming in and out from New Jersey and Long Island, those have been suspended, all above ground. Subways also suspended many New York City until further notice.

I spoke extensively with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo about the situation, why he decided to put that travel ban in effect. Something we almost never see here, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK (via telephone): Public safety comes first, and the situation is dangerous. I declared a state of 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 man in place as of 2:30 this afternoon. So, basically the entire downstate area, Long Island, New York City area area. We also were having trouble with the railroad system, the Long Island railroad, what's called the Metro North system. So, we're shutting down the railroad system and a parts of the subway system that goes under ground. The under ground subway system that continues 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 with we decided to do the travel ban. We'll 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 images 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 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, you know, 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 there 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 have 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.

HARLOW: Also, in terms of the subways, governor, if I go home tonight from here, it will be on the subway, if it stays open, obviously we're not driving. For those New Yorkers who are looking at the subways, underground still open right now. Any update for us on 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 are the vast majority of the subways, will remain open on the normal weekend schedule.

[16:50:07] 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, Governor, we have heard about nine people dying now up and down the eastern seaboard, as a result of this storm, any update of what you're seeing in New York City, in New York state?

CUOMO: We have thus far, thus far, we have been lucky. We have had a number of car accidents, et cetera. Nothing serious and 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, wind conditions on the road, we have taken care of that with the travel ban, et cetera, and all day long, we have been telling people not to be on the street. The ban says you can literally be ticketed if you are on the roads.

There's now a state ban in effect. The flooding that could potentially come with the high tide this evening, it's a full moon, meaning a higher tide than usual. And if there is a tidal surge, that is probably the most dangerous aspect that goes along with this storm. Parts of New York City, Brooklyn, Staten Island, that are low-laying areas, but the whole south shore of Long Island, is an area where we're vulnerable.

So, we're keeping a special eye on that, we have state police working with the Nassau and Suffolk police, we have both 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, a 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 live, 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 are out playing 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: If you're 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, people getting stranded in public transportation, et cetera. But if you're using caution, especially in New York City, you know, there's a chance to e 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's no doubt, 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 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're 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 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're 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.

[16:55:02] In a situation like this, it's its greatest weakness.

So, the National Guard, especially tonight will be on duty, on the waterfront areas. We know from past experience the areas that tend to flood, and that's where we'll have people dispatched.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Miguel Marquez in Baltimore, where the storm was expected to be on the down side right now, but it is picking up. We have whiteout conditions here. I will have much more from here in Baltimore and CNN will have much more everywhere this storm is slamming, coming right up.

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GRAY: Hi there. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray live in the nation's capital where the snow is falling at one to two inches per hour. It has been this way for the past several hours.

And we are continuing to see those snowfall rates pile up. The nation's capital behind me, you would never know it because visibility is next to nothing.

The good news is people are staying home. They are not out here in this. Winds are gusting at 35 to 45 miles an hour. And that's going to be the story as we roll into the evening hours.

On top of that, we're going to see wrap-around snow, as this lull continues to push to the east, we'll continue to get very heavy bands come through here at times, it is going to slack off, and then at other times, just like you're seeing now, we're going to see very, very gusty winds, and rainfall rates at one to two inches per hour.

And so, this is the definitely stacked up into the top 10 as far as the snowiest storm ever, and we're waiting to see those final -- those final numbers as we go forward in the next six to ten hours.

I also have my colleague Nick Valencia here.

And, Nick, you're in Fairfax? How are things looking for you? You've been in some pretty brutal conditions throughout the day?

VALENCIA: Oh, I think all of our team of correspondents has been in brutal type conditions here, everyone here from residents to government officials really feeling the effects, Jennifer.