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Calm and Quiet in Washington D.C.; Cities Have Travel Ban in Effect; Storm Coverage. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 23, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[20:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is bad and it is getting worse rapidly.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: The gusts feel like they're moving much, much faster. And sometimes you cannot literally see 10, maybe 15 feet or 20 feet in front of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst so far. I mean, literally anywhere you go, somebody is stops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay off of the road officially. The travel is now banned.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: And hello, everyone. I'm Carol Costello, live in New York City. Jim Sciutto is in Washington, D.C. and the snow is still coming down here in New York City. Jim Sciutto, 19 inches already recorded in Central Park and we just may set a record because the snow is supposed to continue till about midnight tonight.
We have reporters across the Eastern seaboard, we have them in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, we have every -- we have everything covered for you tonight. And like I said, Jim, New York City still bearing the brunt of the storm but things are winding down in Washington?
SCIUTTO: Well, I haven't seen it yet. But you can still see the snow falling behind me here. Some forecast say in another two, possibly three hours. We have about two feet inside the district here, three feet in Maryland just to the north of the district. And I know that's true, Carol, because I walked into my backyard, I'm right on the D.C.- Maryland line and it came well up above my knee and it is still falling, and it's been falling fast.
Most snow in Washington, D.C. in 94 years. And I'll tell you, it's a tough challenge here keeping the roads open as best they can. But I'll tell you, on my way into the office tonight, I drove down Massachusetts Avenue, it's a major thorough fair here, it's a snow evacuation route. During that whole time, Carol, I didn't see a single snow plow. So,
getting a sense of the city a bit overwhelmed by this even with all the resources that they deployed. But you can even hear where I am right here, I can hear the snow plows going. They're doing their best to clean this city up. But, man, it's still coming down. And I've never seen anything like it.
COSTELLO: I've never seen anything -- well, actually I have here in New York City because we've gone through blizzard before. But unlike you, I've seen many, many snow plows out and about in New York City. They're even cleaning the sidewalk here with this little mini snow plows.
It's been quite amazing, even though 19 inches of snow have already fallen in the City of New York. What's the big worry here, though, is the coastal flooding, especially on the Jersey shore and the south beaches of Long Island.
Chad Myers is in New York Times Square, he's covering the forecast for us. So, Chad, tell us more.
SCIUTTO: OK.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are going to break an all-time record. That's a new forecast, I think. AMS we are already in the middle 20s for inches in central park, 25 now I think was the latest that I just saw, 25.1. We only have to get a couple more inches to break an all-time record for anytime that they've ever measured snow in central park in New York City.
So, the snow continues to come down. It's going to come down in D.C., it's going to come down in New York and Philadelphia and Baltimore. Carol, for you, I have the North Oldham Choir girls from Louisville, Kentucky.
(CHOIR SINGING)
MYERS: Now that was the best that I've ever heard on CNN. Because that's way better than I can do, ladies. Thank you very much. Enjoy your time here.
Carol, for you have to break a record while I have to do it with pretty ladies from North Oldham High School and Louisville, Kentucky here for, well, there's 30 of them, we only have four. But they're here for a big choir and they said on Sunday we want to get on Broadway. And I said, you know what, you're standing on Broadway right.
If you can believe it, this is where there should be a line of yellow cars, taxis as far as you can see but there are only people. It is a walkway, not a driveway this night. It is a mess out here and still snowing, Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, those ladies and their beautiful voices. Thank them for me because that certainly brightened my mood. And of course, there's absolutely no traffic on the streets of New York because of travel. (CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Thank you from Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, awesome. Thank you. And they're probably much more happy being in New York City because things got pretty bad in Kentucky. In fact, people were stuck on some highways through that state for hours and hours. None of that happened here, though, because as I said as of 2.30 this afternoon, there was a travel ban put into place.
If you were caught in your car on the road, you faced the threat of arrest and police were very serious about that. Because, of course, emergency vehicles have to get through and they have to clear the streets. So, everybody had to be off the streets as of 2.30 this afternoon.
As I mentioned before, though, coastal flooding is the big right now. Brian Young is in a town in New Jersey near Atlantic City. And they're going through some bad times. Hi, Ryan.
[20:05:09] GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: 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've 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'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 there's 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-lying 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 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 or 8 o'clock.
COSTELLO: Of course, that was the governor of New York, Governor Cuomo talking about, you know, the problems they're having with water in parts of Long Island and along the Jersey shore. Let's head out there now check in with Ryan Young. As I said he's in a town near Atlantic City. Ryan, take it away.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, look, we're being pounded only by the snow, which I would trade you, guys, with what you have in New York with that solid snow for what we're getting here. We're getting the snow that's blowing sideways that sort of wet and at the same time, that coastal flooding that you're talking about. It's something that could be dangerous especially if you look back here.
Just in the last hour or so, we were actually three blocks down that way when we had to start moving our truck every single 10 minutes. Because as you can see, the water keeps pushing back this direction. And it's almost a chunk of ice, like a slushy that keeps moving down.
This is now three blocks here, you can see the homes that now have been cut off in this area because of this coastal flooding. As we walk back this direction, police officers have done a really great job in terms of blocking off some of these roadways so people don't drive their cars down here.
They have heavy four-wheeler trucks to make sure they can get through the slush. Now we're told during super storm Sandy the water was waist deep. It hasn't got that way so far. But we're waiting for that combination of a high tide, a full moon and this water and wind that's being pushed in this direction.
You have to think about these homeowners here, who have obviously been through this before but now they have to brace themselves for this again as the water keeps pushing in this direction. We've seen some people move their cars to make sure they don't have the water ending up in their engine as they park here overnight. But that is the real concern.
Because one again, it's almost like a big iceberg moving throughout the center of the city when the water keeps pushing from that bay in this direction. And we know it's going to get worse overnight.
Now what we've heard is the National Guard and more additional troops may get activated overnight to make sure that some of these people are able to stay source with that extra resources they may need.
We have seen sandbags also put up against some of these homes to make sure the water doesn't come in. But you know mother nature has a powerful punch and if this water keeps pushing, there's not much more they can do if it keeps coming over the banks like it is so far, Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness, Ryan. It's so cold out there. I can't imagine anything more miserable. So, we'll keep your fingers crossed that that water won't get higher. Ryan Young reporting live from the Jersey shores tonight.
We just got word that at least part of the travel ban will be lifted in downstate, New York State, at 7 a.m., that's tomorrow morning, of course. So, that's the latest word we have.
If you're flying, though, all of the airports in the New York area are not exactly shut down but nothing is going in or out. Thousands of flights have been canceled throughout the day. Thousands of flights will be canceled tomorrow.
Rene Marsh is in D.C. monitoring that side of the storm for us. Hi, Rene.
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, you know, airport operations essentially still at a standstill as they try to dig out from under all of the snow. Washington, D.C. airports, Dulles, Reagan National, they will be close tomorrow.
You know, at Dulles they had 30 inches of snow, at Reagan National they had this over 17 inches. So, they're still dealing with that.
[20:09:59] In Philadelphia looking forward, they are saying weather permitted they do intend to gradually resume some operations tomorrow. Of course, everything will not be up and running in full force.
I was just speaking with representatives from American Airlines, the largest airline. Well, they are saying as far as New York City, where you are, Carol, they will not have any service tomorrow at those New York City airports.
You know, one of the things that they have to be mindful of, Carol, is also diversion airports. So, you know, they don't want to start resuming service to certain areas and they don't have, let's say in the case of an emergency midair, they don't have an airport that they could divert to.
So, at Dulles could divert an airport for the City of New York. So, all of those are the fact -- or those are all the factors that they have to weigh. So, in a nutshell, travel is still going to be an absolute headache for anyone trying to get some place by air.
COSTELLO: Oh, Rene, I can only imagine what the airports look like right at this moment. Probably they look more like hotels and bad hotels at that. So, all we can say is, have patience. There's nothing authorities can do because it is nasty outside. This is a kind of snow, it's a very heavy snow and it's icy snow. So, when the wind blows and we're having wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour. When it hits you in the face, it actually hurts.
So, all of these precautions authorities are taking are much needed.
When we come back, we're going to take you to Virginia and Washington, D.C. and check out conditions there. They're not much better. We'll be right back.
[20:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, D.C. coming to you live from the nation's capital. Has not seen this much snow in 94 years. You'd have to go back to 1922 to see snowfall like this and it is still coming down. Not quite slowing down yet.
Baltimore, just about an hour's drive, normally up the coast from here. It has just declared a phase 3 snow emergency that beginning just under two hours ago. All traffic banned there except emergency vehicles and plows. A step that a lot of cities have been taking, including New York City.
Our Miguel Marquez is in Baltimore. He's been there all day. Miguel, watching you up there all day, it's not just the snow, it's the wind. I mean, the gusts of wind there have been pretty strong.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The wind is just brutal. This is, what, the Himalayas and Colorado and Chicago, the Windy City all in one. Look. This feels like Buffalo, New York in January, not Baltimore or Maryland. It's unbelievable.
The good news is that the snow seems to have just at least stopped for now, although I think it will probably pick up again in a bit. But the wind is just brutal creating drifts like this. This is about 4 feet of snow. It is everywhere. I', going to get stuck here, I think. There's no way I'm going to get out of this drifts.
Look, the city is scheduled or an track to break records this time around. Last time, the biggest snow they ever had was in 2003, 26.8 inches. Unofficial counts by the weather service right now have Baltimore City at 24 inches, just under 24 inches.
Areas around the weather service is predicting that they could get as much as 36 inches of snow, three feet, and in far western Maryland, as much as four feet of snow. These totals have been going up and up with the National Weather Service and their predictions amazing.
That emergency that you talked about, the phase 3 emergency, all cars off the Baltimore streets except for emergency vehicles that they want to keep those streets clear. That will be lifted pending other decisions at 6 a.m. tomorrow. But right now they want all cars off the streets. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Miguel, I want to ask you, because I'm just about to speak to the Baltimore mayor. Have you seen Baltimore doing a good job of being able to keep those key roads clear with plows and so on? Because I've been watching in D.C. they've been struggling a little bit. I'm curious what you're seeing there in Baltimore.
Baltimore learned a very important lesson in 2010, and they seem to have taken it to heart. They are able to keep those emergency routes open through towns. I've seen a lot of cars being towed that were left on those on those emergency routes and you have these tow trucks constantly up and down those roads.
With this wind, the snow may not be so bad anymore but the wind blowing those drifts; it's extraordinarily difficult for them to keep those roads clear. That's why they've called for that phase 3 emergency. Four-by-four is getting stuck out there now, even Humvees, the National Guard are using is having a tough time getting around in Baltimore tonight. Jim?
SCIUTTO: I hear you, Miguel. So, a lot of cars just like that in D.C., stuck in the middle of the road. It is not a place you want to be tonight. Miguel Marquez, thanks very much.
So, we want to talk more about the situation in Baltimore. The response in Baltimore. Joining us now on the telephone is the city's mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Mayor Rawlings-Blake, thanks for taking the time. I know you got a busy night tonight.
STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, BALTIMORE MAYOR: Me, too. And I'm glad to talk to be able to talk to you and give you an update and just thank everyone for heeding our warning. I was pleased that Miguel is saying the efforts that we're making.
But if people hadn't moved their cars, if people were out on the roads being unsafe, we wouldn't be able to keep pace with the snow. So, I just want to thank everyone and really thank our first responders and all of those the men and women in these crews that are working around the clock to keep our city going.
SCIUTTO: It is a tough night. I've seen them at work here in D.C. I've got to ask you, Mayor, because as I was driving in up and down and around downtown in D.C. I saw a lot of folks who clearly did not heed the warnings here in Washington, they came out their cars stuck in the middle of the streets blocking intersections, and so on.
I wonder if you have a message to folks in Baltimore and the area who might be considering coming out tonight. Because when you do that, you just don't get your own car stuck, a lot of times you get a lot of other people's cars stuck as well.
RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Well, we've been through this before. In 2010, and even last year when we had the really bad cold and ice on the roads, we've been through this and people have experienced what it's like when you have -- when you have neighbors that are inconsiderate.
[20:20:04] They overestimate their driving abilities and underestimate the weather and they get stuck and they make it bad for everyone. And I -- we work really very hard to get the word out for people to stay inside.
And you know, I think this is where -- knock on wood, I don't want to jinx us. But people have really been heeding that warning. Now people are out running around having all kinds of snowball fights and all this have fun stuff like that, but thank God, they're not driving.
SCIUTTO: I might have had a couple of snowball -- snowballs fights today with my kids earlier. Just to -- how long does it take? You've got a couple of feet of snow on the ground, more in some areas in around Baltimore. How long does it take for the city to clear something like that.
I imagine there are parents watching tonight thinking are my kids going to school on Monday. I know you can't make that decision now. But how many days do you think it's going to be to get Baltimore back to functioning relatively normally?
RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Well, the difference between this storm and 2010, is we have three times as much contractor equipment on the streets from the beginning of the snow event. So, we're in new territory. I think we're going to be able to respond some little quicker. And if we continue to get good cooperation from the residents, I think we will be able to get, you know, the city back up and running, schools open and, you know, everything back to normal sooner than we have been in the past.
SCIUTTO: Well, we wish you luck. We know you've got your hands full with this and certainly the workers who are out there braving the storm. So, thank you, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. And we wish you luck tonight.
RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Thank you so much. I think all would be well if you could get me one of those pair of snow goggles like Miguel.
SCIUTTO: I will, I will take them off of him and I'll send them to you.
RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Thank you. Take care.
SCIUTTO: Thank you. Well, looking at some of the sad casualties of this, there are 14 deaths now linked to this winter storm. That's just so far, two of those deaths in Virginia just across the Potomac here from Washington.
And our Nick Valencia he is in Fairfax, Virginia. Nick, you know, a lot of folks talking about the snowfall slowing down, but I haven't seen the snow slow down here inside the district. How is it looking out there in Northern Virginia?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No end in sight. It seems this is limitless snow. We are on our 32nd hour of consistent snowfall, Jim, if you can wrap your mind around that. This is the current conditions mere in Fairfax, Virginia.
I don't know if you can make this out but this is a car underneath all of this snow here. That's the windshield wiper just peeking out at the edge of this snow that's compiled up here.
We've been speaking with the government officials, they say they're satisfied that folks are heeding the warnings and staying off of the roads. Those roads many of them impossible -- if there's any man who knows exactly what kind of conditions those roads are in, it's D.J. Donnelly. D.J., you're a subcontractor of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
D.J. DONNELLY, VIRGINIA STATE DOT SUBCONTRACTOR: Right.
VALENCIA: And you just came out from 12 hours shift. What did you see out there, man?
DONNELLY: Well, I'll tell you it's bad. It's bad. The roads are very bad. A lot of ice underneath the snow. And you know, state police they have the National Guard in, so the hummers so they could get out on the highway. And they said that, you know, they've got to take their hat off to read that because, you know, we work long hours.
VALENCIA: We saw an update recently just in the last 30 minutes from the Virginia State Police saying 1300 accidents, more than 1600 disabled vehicles. You said it was like a beehive out there just people coming and going.
DONNELLY: Yes, it was. It was very busy. Very busy.
VALENCIA: So, you're actually, you're trying to get home yourself. You want to pan over here. This is his truck stuck here. You're trying to dig yourself out of here. So, you're no stranger to the elements and conditions here either.
DONNELLY: No, no. I was out all day yesterday and worked for the state, junior State Police and we got them all squared away so they could go in and out. It's a long haul.
VALENCIA: What's this like? You know, if you could give context to our viewers. Just people see this, OK, it's winter, it's happening. I mean, this is the kind of thing that the northeast expects. But give us some context. Contextualize the storm for us here.
DONNELLY: Well, you know, this is one of the heaviest storms that we've had in quite a while. You know, and actually I don't even remember when this being quite this bad.
VALENCIA: Not even in 2010, I mean, a lot of people remember that, or '96 in D.C.
DONNELLY: No, it was not that. Fortunately, we didn't get the wind that they anticipate, but we did get the snow.
VALENCIA: Well, that snow is continuing to fall. Thank you so much, D.J. for taking the time.
(CROSSTALK)
DONNELLY: No problem.
VALENCIA: We know you're right back out there in the morning.
DONNELLY: Folks ride around.
VALENCIA: Great souls like you making a difference out there. Really unfortunate news to report, Jim. We did just confirm a little while ago with the Virginia State Police, that there's actually three fatalities in the commonwealth of Virginia. One man actually struck a tree, getting wrap up in that snow and lost control of his car, and two others dying of hypothermia.
And the really, the sad news in all of this, the fatalities of course. But there is just seemingly no end in sight. I just checked the forecast a little while ago, at 2 a.m. is when the snow is expected to light up.
But then as D.J. was talking about, you know, you have to worry about the ice on those roads and the freezing conditions, perhaps up to 40 inches of snow in and around D.C. and especially here in Fairfax, Virginia. Some places really getting hit hard, suffering the brunt of the damage. Jim?
[20:25:02] SCIUTTO: Those fatalities a reminder just how risky it is. And that's the reason why so many mayors are making a decision to make a travel ban.
Thank you for joining us there. We are joined now by the governor of the great State of New York, Andrew Cuomo. He is joining us now on the telephone. Governor Cuomo, thanks for taking the time tonight. CUOMO: My pleasure. Nice to be with you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So, let me ask you. I'm a New Yorker. I have been -- I've been in some snowstorms in New York but from afar, this is a big one. How is the city managing?
CUOMO: Well, this is, it may go down in the record books as one of the biggest. We took some unusual steps. The travel ban that we issued for downstate New York was unusual, but I think in retrospect it was exactly right. What the travel ban did for us, Jim, was number one, it keep people off the roads in what was a very dangerous situation.
I spent the morning on the roads. I can't tell you how many accidents there were between the snow and the near whiteout conditions. There were cars stranded all across the roadways. And number two, the travel ban allowed us to get the emergency crews out and some -- one stranded car can stop an entire highway from being plowed.
So, I think it worked. The roads are basically clear. The snow is forecasted to slow down to a rate where the plows can keep up with it. And I think the plan worked and I think the government has performed. New York City, I think they did an extraordinary job.
The Department of Sanitation, the NYPD, Mayor de Blasio, I think the proof is in the pudding. And they did a great job. This storm cost about 14 lives as it came up the coast. Thus far, Jim, we haven't lost a single New Yorker in a storm related fatality, car accident, et cetera.
Unfortunately, we lost three New Yorkers to basically heart attacks from snow shoveling. But not a -- not a New Yorker from a fatality involving an accident. So, public safety in a situation like this is job one. And again, the proof is in the pudding. And I hope that it stays that way. We're worried about flooding tonight on low-lying areas. But so far, so good.
SCIUTTO: Good reminder you mentioned about heart attacks while shoveling snow. I'll tell you, I was doing it today. I got winded. It's a reminder. Follow that advice, it's staging it as best as you can.
We got Carol Costello, she is in New York. She's experiencing it firsthand. I want to toss it to Carol now, Governor Cuomo, to ask you a question as well.
COSTELLO: Yes. I like to talk to my governor. Thanks, Jim Sciutto.
Governor, this is Carol Costello, I'm live in New York City. The travel ban seems to have worked great. But earlier today, there were cars on the road and I understand you helped out more than a few motorists push their cars from the snowy roadways. Tell us about that.
CUOMO: Carol, New Yorkers really demand to get their money's worth from almost any service and also from elected officials. So, I'm a full-service governor. I towed cars, I push cars, I shovel snow up to the doctor-recommended limit. So, there was, as I was saying to Jim, there were cars all over the
roadways this morning, which is one of the reasons we imposed the travel ban. But there was one car we came across that was really in a dangerous position. It was on an exit ramp where many cars were trying to get off and it was blocking the exit ramp. There was at, you know, at mayhem. It's amazing what can happen so quickly.
So, we actually got out to help that person move the car and get out of the snow bank. And we were successful because it was just a matter of time before that cascaded into a number of accidents.
But, in retrospect, thank you. I think it did work, the travel ban. I know people were inconvenienced and New Yorkers don't like to be inconvenienced. But it allowed us to clear the roads. People were safe. It was a Saturday, so not a lot of people were going to work or going to school.
And hopefully now we get the ban lifted at 7 a.m. tomorrow and we get -- we start to get back to normal and hopefully by Monday, things are running on time.
COSTELLO: Oh, man, that sounds really good to me. Of course, the people in Long Island, especially the people who live on the south shore, they're worried about flooding. What have you -- what can you tell us about that, Governor?
[20:29:58] CUOMO: Well, we're -- people are watching on TV. I know I am, the flooding in Southern New Jersey. And New Yorkers who lived through super storm Sandy, that sends a chill down our spine because we had the same experience on Southern Long Island, parts of New York City, Staten Island, Brooklyn, et cetera.
So, watching New Jersey has caused great trepidation here in New York. I've been speaking with the county executives in Nassau and Suffolk. They expect mild to moderate flooding, but nothing severe at this time.
The high tide is just hitting Long Island and we are poised -- we have the National Guard on site. We have the right equipment on site. We're keeping our fingers crossed. We don't now expect a serious flooding situation. And again, that can change and fingers crossed. But, so far, so good.
We've offered help to New Jersey and I offered help to Governor Christie because they do have a real problem once again in Southern New Jersey. And, you know, when you see this, these are the same places and same people who went through super storm Sandy and it seems like just yesterday. So, they are reliving a nightmare and my heart goes out to them and anything we can do to help we will.
COSTELLO: So, Governor, you have reached out, you've talked to Governor Christie?
CUOMO: Yes, I've spoken to him several times today.
COSTELLO: OK. So, the cooperation between the... (CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: You know, in situations like this, the cooperation of New Jersey, New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, the lines don't mean anything. It's one region that has a significant weather situation to deal with. And we all work together.
And when government works, it's actually a nice thing to be part of. And to the extent we could, it worked today. And as I said, anywhere we can be helpful to New Jersey with what they're dealing with, with the flooding situation, it's going to be our pleasure.
COSTELLO: All right. Governor Cuomo, thank you for taking time out of your busy night to talk with us. I want to take you back to Washington, D.C. and Jim Sciutto.
As you can see, Jim, behind me there are like, oh, maybe five or six people with shovels shoveling off the sideways. I mean, they have done a great job of clearing the roads and the sideways. At least, you know, in my neighborhood. I live on the upper west side, way up there near Harlem. They were doing a great job. And here near central park it's pretty darned amazing, I must say.
SCIUTTO: It is. And I'm glad to hear it. And I'll tell you, listen, I've seen a lot of hard work under way here in D.C. One thing I will say, you heard it from Governor Cuomo there, we heard it from the Baltimore mayor a few minutes before and I've seen it certainly myself here in D.C. People are listening to those travel bans. I did not see a lot of cars out on the road. By and large they are.
But I'll tell you, some of the folks who don't listen, they end up stuck. And I think it's just a reminder, if you got to travel tonight, just rethink it. If you think you got to travel tonight rethink it. Because you could end up out for a very long time.
And for some people as the governor reminded, and we heard earlier, that can lead to accidents, it can lead to hypothermia. But it's good to hear that most of these places people are listening to those travel bans. Are you seeing many people on the streets there in New York tonight?
COSTELLO: Actually, yes. Because, you know, people live in tiny little boxes in the City of New York and you can't possibly stay in those tiny boxes, you know, all day and all night. You simply have to get out of you go crazy. So, every so often people have to leave their homes, walk on the street and then they go back in.
And, you know, one more thing, one more aside. Friday night, there were very long lines at the grocery stores and even longer lines at, you know, places that sell wine. So, I'm sure there's more than one blizzard party tonight, Jim Sciutto.
SCIUTTO: I'll invite you over to my place for ours. Because we did a fair amount of shopping yesterday too, I'll tell you.
COSTELLO: Awesome. All right. We'll have much more in our special coverage of the big blizzard of 2016, when we come back.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: The nation's capital is empty and quiet tonight. You're looking at a live picture there of Washington, the national mall there. We've had this kind of eerie calm here in Washington, D.C. as the snow keeps falling.
They tell us it's tapering off but it looks like we still got a bit more coming down here. Blizzard warning in effect until tomorrow.
We have CNN meteorologist, Jennifer Gray. She is on Freedom Plaza, that's very close to the White House, close to the National Mall. Jennifer Gray, you've been watching it come down since last night. I know we talked last night. Your prediction, you told me two feet as I left the office last night, and I think you're right on.
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, depending on where you are, some areas got a little less, some areas got a little more. So, definitely a range. And for example, Reagan has received a little more than 17 inches, but Dulles has received a little more than 28 inches, and those two airports are what about 30 miles apart and it's almost a foot difference.
And so, just in a small space, 30 miles, you can get quite a difference in your snowfall totals. Dulles is ranked number two now for the snowiest storm and Reagan is ranked number five. So, the snow is still coming down, though, Jim, as you said, and so we're still going to be in this for another couple of hours.
The good news is that it feels like the winds are starting to relax a little bit. We still get a few bursts of very heavy snow, but right now, things are just very steady. People for the most part have been staying indoors. Every now and then you'll get a car to come by or a person to just walk by, but all in all, folks definitely heeding those warnings.
But look at this, where the plows come through you get these banks of snow. This one here is about 28, 29 inches, and people are going to have to get out there and shovel all of this snow where they have been plowing. And so, that's why the mayor got on earlier during a press conference and she said, don't get out there and shovel unless you are able to.
[20:40:01] They have a web site set up which is very cool. It's snow.dc.gov. And if you cannot shovel your own snow or you want to volunteer to help a neighbor, you can go on that web site and sign up. They really want people to stay safe out there shoveling.
Unfortunately, during a lot of snowstorm we see deaths because folks have heart attacks during shoveling the snow, it is so heavy.
So, Jim, still in this for a couple more hours. I know, you're very close to me up on the balcony there. And so, visibility is improving little by little, which is good news. We are finally able to see the capitol for the first time today. Still can't see the White House, tough. We are seeing visibility about
three-quarters of a mile. So, hopefully things will be better tomorrow. Believe it or not, sunshine, 35. We will see a little bit of melting going on, and then possibly refreezing by Sunday night.
So, even though the sun will be out tomorrow, the threat will be far from over because things could get pretty icy Sunday night once we have a little bit of melting on the street and then it refreezes, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I was just going to ask you about that I saw the sun was going to be shining tomorrow, and then you start to think about where all that snow is going to go. And great advice there on -- I was doing my digging, my plowing this morning and I was exhausted. So, that's good advice for everybody who's watching back home.
GRAY: Yes, it's hard work.
SCIUTTO: Jennifer Gray, she is out there. She is going to be staying out there. We'll go back to her soon. I want to turn now to my colleague, Carol Costello. She is in New York where the snow is still falling as well. Carol, what's it look like up there?
COSTELLO: It is. Oh, it's still falling. And did I mention that we're going to make history here in New York City because New York City recorded 25.1 inches of snow in Central Park at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. That's according to the National Weather Service. This snowfall ranks as the third largest since records have been kept in 1869.
Now, that falling snow is creating a kind of a strange problem. It's creating a flooding problem along the Jersey shore and it seems to be getting worse. In fact, cities along the Jersey shore are flooded and some of the water there, the standing water in neighborhoods are a couple inches deep.
Ryan Young is in a little town right near Atlantic City. He is here to tell us more. Hi, Ryan.
YOUNG: Hi, Carol. This is our fourth live location. We keep moving because the water keeps chasing us away. And it's still snowing here. So, you have the cold temperatures, you have the wind, and then you have the water that you can see right behind me.
And we walk here towards the edge we're trying to keep your feet dry at this point because we've been dealing with this for quite some time. But we're going to walk our camera around the corner here so you can see this. Look at the main thorough fair here. This is all flooded. This wasn't like this even an hour ago. This water had receded and as we come back this direction, you can see how the street is covered by water.
If you look down there there's a trash can that's in the distance right there. That is almost covered completely by this water. And as we fade back this way, you see the fabric of America. You know small businesses are so important to this country and you see all of these business owners who will have to come here tomorrow and evaluate their businesses. You can see one right here, it's a little higher than the others, it's
built a higher plane here, they have sandbags in the front. But I can tell you as you go down the street you can see that sometimes the sandbags are not keeping the water out.
And here are the police officers who are in this town who are still patrolling at this hour dealing with this water. You can see them pushing through right now as this water is pretty high at this point. Actually this is not -- yes, it is a police officer.
So, they're coming through. They actually have higher four-wheel vehicles so they can get through this area. But this constant pounding of water with it going up and down is something that everyone knew they were going to have to deal with as you see the water now bouncing up in our direction.
We know high tide is coming and there will be more water coming throughout the evening. So, Carol, everyone is going to have to cross their fingers to deal with the rest of this for the next few days.
COSTELLO: It just looks awful. Ryan Young, thanks so much for your reporting.
The mayor of North Wildwood, New Jersey is on the phone with me now. His name is Patrick Rosenello. Welcome, sir.
PATRICK ROSENELLO, NORTH WILDWOOD NEW JERSEY MAYOR: Hey, good evening. Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness, it looks so terrible along the Jersey shore. What's it like in North Wildwood?
ROSENELLO: Well, this morning high tide was really bad. It came in much higher than we had anticipated or had been forecast, actually to levels that exceeded what we saw during hurricane Sandy. We had a lot of evacuations, a lot of people who had stayed in their homes not anticipating this, needed to be rescued. And so, we've actually rescued well over 100 people from flooded homes throughout the day.
We've also been without electricity in most of the city since 6 a.m. this morning. And so, with the cold temperatures and the flooding, that is also led to more evacuations.
And one of the things that we experience with the storm which it looks like we're experiencing again tonight, is that the actual cresting of the tide is coming in somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours after the predicted high tide.
[20:45:10] Even as we're here right now, we're about an hour after the predicted high tide and the tide is still coming in. But we don't anticipate tonight to be as bad as this morning.
COSTELLO: Can you tell me more about the people that you rescued in their homes? How did that operation go down?
ROSENELLO: So, during hurricane Sandy, for instance, the entire island had been mandatory evacuation, there quite frankly were a bunch of empty buildings. At this time around, North Wildwood has a year around population of about 5,000 people that actually balloons to almost a quarter million during the summer season.
There was no evacuation, again, because we had not been -- it had not been forecasted to be as bad as it turned out to be. And so, we have residents living in their homes. This tide comes in. It literally starts coming into people's homes. I was out with some of the volunteer and professional emergency management folks during the day. I was in some of these homes. And, you know, there's people there, they woke up this morning, the tide is coming in and next thing you know, they have 6, 8, 10 inches of water in their living room.
So, obviously that's a very traumatic experience. They were calling the phone lines at our dispatch center, were jammed all day. We had again paid police and fire, as well as a large contingent of volunteer firemen and OEM people out on the road all day using surplus military high water trucks.
That we could the only way that we could get around our town at all today for most of the day, was using those military surplus high water vehicles. And so, we would take the people -- we are currently housing several dozen people in our community center. Again, because of the flooding and because of the electric being out. We have about 36 people housed currently in our community center.
COSTELLO: Is everyone accounted for, Mayor?
ROSENELLO: Yes. Yes. Again, with our large group of volunteers and paid staff today, there were no fatalities in North Wildwood. There were no serious injuries even. So, we're very, very fortunate and very lucky for that situation.
COSTELLO: What does the damage look like right now?
ROSENELLO: There's two separate -- well, there's a couple different categories, I guess. Our shore protection, our dune system was devastated. Again, on far with the damage that we saw in hurricane Sandy. As far as private residences and businesses, again, a lot of water damage.
There is going to be a major cleanup, there's going to have to be major renovations, you know, carpets, floors, drywalls, coming out, electric systems, insulation. Just a lot of residents and business. Again, you know, you bring a foot or more or water into your house or your business and it causes a lot of damage.
So, that's what -- that's what we experienced this morning. And so, there's going to be a major cleanup here.
COSTELLO: All right. Well, our hearts go out to you. Mayor Patrick Rosenello, thank you for taking time out of your busy night to talk with us.
We'll be back with much more of special coverage of this historic blizzard, next. [20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, the nation's capital. The most snow in 94 years here in Washington, D.C. You're looking there at the White House barely visible through the snowfall.
We're talking to meteorologist Jennifer Gray. She now in the mall, she says we've got a couple more hours of this. It is serious, it is dangerous in places. But I'll tell you, there is at least one person or animal who was enjoying it.
This is Tian Tian, one of the panda cubs at the Washington National Zoo having a little frolic in the snow today. It must felt like home.
Let's get more on the storm from meteorologist Karen Maginnis in the Atlanta Weather Center. Karen, tell us about the snow and how much longer are we folks on the East Coast going to be buried in this?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I think the worst of it has probably happened but it is not over. Because you are still looking at some pretty gusty winds over the next four to six hours. So, as that area of low pressure moves away, there you can see some of the wind speeds really beginning to drop off.
They'll be a little brisk every now and then and it does look like places like Philadelphia, coastal sections of New Jersey, Baltimore, may get another little burst here or there. I see a couple of little areas where you might see a little burst of snowfall, not like you saw earlier where the snowfall rates were between 2 and 3 inches an hour.
But definitely, a couple of little areas like right around Toms River. It looks like New York, you've got a little bit of a break right now, but it looks like another one right on Southern Long Island. For Philadelphia, most of it looks to be minor to moderate so far right now.
So, as it pulls away, we'll see the diminishing wind, we'll see the diminishing snowfall. But we still have that coastal flooding that has been significant.
I want to take you a little bit further north before we talk about those tides once again. We had hurricane force wind out on the cape in Massachusetts. Boston, you were never really in any particular bull's eye, but nonetheless, you probably got a little bit more snowfall than you were anticipating, and you certainly got the wind as well.
Here is some of snowfall reports and here is Dulles, 28.3 inches of snowfall. And I just want to point out to you, that in Anchorage, Alaska for the season, they've already seen 25 inches. So, Washington, you have beat Anchorage, Alaska with there so far.
A real quick. Let's take a look at some of the tides. We go to Cape May and it looks like you probably have seen just about the worst in Cape May. But, no, you have to go to the high tide coming up about 6 o'clock in the morning, it will be over 6.5 feet. [20:55:03] So, Jim, not out of the woods yet. It has been devastating.
They have had inundate -- they've been inundated with that sea water and it is a complete mess. And that's one aspect of the story that we really haven't focused on a whole lot.
Yes, we've seen some pictures, but these people who have been devastated by the big storms, they're going, oh, what's happening again.
SCIUTTO: Yes, visions of hurricane Sandy as you watch that storm surge. Certainly alarming. Karen Maginnis, great to have you. Thanks for filling us in.
We have our own Brian Stelter. He's been driving around New York City. Our roving reporter on the weather there. Brian, tell me how the city is doing. We were talking to Governor Cuomo a few minutes ago, and he was talking about how proud he is as to how the city reacted. What's it look like out there?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You know, for about 20 minutes, Jim, we were stuck in a snow drift down in the west village. We're up on the upper west side now on half an hour the vehicle for a moment. We're by the Natural History Museum, a wonderful landmark. I'm sure many folks recognized.
We'll show to the dash cam shot and we'll show you there are a couple of officers out here, a couple of emergency vehicles. Otherwise it's deserted. This obviously is a serious situation. There are health and safety risks for people out here. But there's also a sort of beauty, a sort of majestic nature to the storm, especially in New York City.
If you look around here, the city that never sleeps is almost sleeping tonight. For people that love snowstorms, and I do, I met my wife in a blizzard, you know, I like to think maybe something like that is happening right now here in the city.
Otherwise, pretty quiet here but a lot more going on and the snow is still falling. Live continuing coverage here on CNN right after the break.
[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
