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Historic Snowstorm Pummels U.S. East Coast; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 23, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:33] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to continuing coverage of the breaking we're following here at CNN. Thanks for being with us. I'm George Howell.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Natalie Allen. We have another hour straight up here. Welcome back to our viewers from the U.S. and around the world. We want to update you with the latest details on the storm and the pictures that we're getting in really tell the story.

HOWELL: They really do. It is the middle of the night in fact right along the U.S. East Coast. And this is a huge winter storm that has yet to be done with us all. In fact it is going to get even more dangerous as the night continues. It's already virtually shut down the U.S. capital and other major cities.

ALLEN: Look at that picture there. You can see it blowing sideways. It's a huge factor in this blizzard. At least eight traffic deaths as well in the southern U.S. are blamed on this storm. And the roads, of course, icy, slick messes and they are going to stay that way for at least a couple of days. Officials are urging people, stay off the roads and let emergency vehicles and the snowplows do their work for the next couple of days.

HOWELL: And hey, don't try getting on a plane either. More than 7600 flights have been canceled through Sunday.

ALLEN: Derek Van Dam is tracking the storm for us. And we're keeping a look at all of these cities in these regions that are going to be impacted because this is the time that it's really barreling down.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We actually saw in that live cam coming out of Washington, D.C., just how intense the snow actually is. And that coincides quite well with the radar that I'm about to show you.

Take a look again. There it is. Washington and you can see the snow coming down very heavily. I mean, obviously not on the ground there at the moment, but it's easy to see that that's one inch an hour, one and a half inches an hour.

This is the satellite or the radar, rather, and I want to show you just how intense the band will be in the coming hours for the greater Washington, D.C. area. And we're also just by the way anticipating this to really fill in with some of the heavier snow amounts as we start to pull in energy and some of that moisture from the Atlantic. Here's Washington, here's Baltimore. That shading of purple and blue

just to the south of that really running perpendicular with I-95. That is just set to move into the greater Washington, D.C. region. That means snow will pick up in the coming hours.

And take a look at this. New to CNN, we're starting to up our snowfall totals for the big apple as well as the surrounding suburbs and boroughs into Long Island and points southward. The snow, the northern portion of the snow shield has already reached Times Square. Our reporters coming out of there, seeing the snowflakes. People enjoying it now but we do anticipate this to really pick up in intensity as well.

This is the latest computer models indicating anywhere between 10 to upwards of 16, even locally 18 inches of snowfall for the big apple. With that said, this is a major storm but the bull's eye for the heftiest snow will certainly be just to the south and west near Philly and into the greater D.C. area.

We're starting to pull in cold air from the north, transferring the energy from the low that developed across the Gulf of Mexico to a coastal low, setting ourselves up for this classic nor'easter that is going to take shape for the next 12 hours.

Strong winds will wrap around, bringing the potential for coastal erosion as we time this peak intensity of our storm with high tide and our onshore wind. That's just going to really aggravate the coastal erosions for that area.

We currently have over 30 million people under a winter storm warning from Kentucky through the Carolinas. Then we focus in on our blizzard warnings from the nation's capital through New Jersey and into New York City. Over 30 million people under a blizzard warning.

What constitutes a blizzard? It's not the amount of snowfall. Remember, it's actually the winds and the visibility for a duration of three hours or more. We need to see winds over 35 miles per hour. So let's see if we find that as we go forward in time over the next 12 hours. Easily gusting over 50 into Richmond, Ocean City, Washington, Atlantic City, and New York.

So there we go. The first tall tale sign of a nor'easter, that's set. That storm continues to bring strong gusty winds along the New England coastline right through Sunday morning. And then we have to drop the visibility below a quarter of mile. Do we have that now? The answer is yes. Take a look at Baltimore and Washington with some of those heavier snow bands coming through. So we have reached all the criteria up until this point. Now we just need it to stay for at least three hours. And we've got ourselves a full blown blizzard. And that looks very likely.

[01:05:07] Here's our snowfall totals. I just want to hunker in on the New York City area. You can see our global forecast model, the American model, indicating anywhere between 10 to upwards of 18 inches. So what's the major concerns? Flight cancellations over 8,000 that

we're reporting at this moment in time, road closure, coastal erosion and the potential for power outages as the winds continue to pick up across this region. That will be the big concern. Obviously we're hoping people are staying off the roads and well, just taking this storm in strides because it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

HOWELL: Now I wanted to ask you. So you said to make a distinction between the comparisons to Sandy and what we're seeing right now, what do you mean?

VAN DAM: We don't believe that it's going to have the potential to flood New York subways, for instance. That's what Sandy did. Now, with that said, coastal erosion right along the Long Island coast, along the coast of New Jersey and to Delaware, we could see an additional three to four feet of top of what we would normally experience. And you combine that with, you know, 10 to 15-foot waves just from the sheer intensity of the storms that's going to cause some problems along the coast.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you.

Now this storm has jolted many people from what's been a relatively mild winter so far. In fact some have reported the roads being covered in snow in just 90 minutes. Virginia State Police reported nearly 1,000 traffic accidents on Friday alone.

ALLEN: And that included one of their own Virginia State Trooper M.D. Jester was helping another driver when his car was hit. He is being treated for minor injuries.

HOWELL: Let's go live to Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia, in fact. CNN's Nick Valencia on the ground for us there.

And Nick, you know, we were just talking about the fact, the situation of 1,000 traffic crashes in one day. What is the situation on the roads as you see them?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of accidents across these interstates here in the state of Virginia. Hard-hit area from this winter storm, the blizzard of 2016 as it's being called here.

We spoke a little while ago to the Virginia Department of Transportation. They say the roads are looking pretty good. And if you look behind me here, this is basically what we've been seeing the last couple of hours, is this really empty thoroughfare. Route 50, Route 66. This interchange right here is a pretty busy thoroughfare. Nothing is happening here at this time of hour.

And that's a good thing because local officials were very concerned that the midnight hours were going to bring the very worst of this storm. We saw the winds starting to pick up around 9:00 p.m. That's when it really started to get chilly, it's been hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit or so. But, of course, the wind is a problem. But really it's -- look how much it's accumulated. I can't even get my fingers to the bottom of this.

It's nice fresh powder. This is really cool stuff if it wasn't such an issue here for the local residents on these interstates. That's the kind of stuff you want to be snowboarding and skiing in. But certainly not driving in. The good thing is that a majority of the residents here in Fairfax, they listen to local officials. They stayed off the roads. They -- you know, despite those fender benders, close to 1,000 accidents, when you look at that number just singling out, it is quite drastic. But a majority of those accidents, just minor fender benders.

We did talk to some snowplow drivers who did say they saw at least two major accidents, though we weren't able to confirm that with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Again no fatalities in this area. Just really a steady drift of snow. You know, this has been heavy at times. It's been light at times. And right now, it's pretty steady, as it were. It's coming down. Pretty hard here in the coming hours. We're expecting it to come down even more -- George.

HOWELL: Nick, we appreciate your reporting. I have to give you credit. A very graceful walk there in the snow. I know reporting in the snow, there's always concern you could fall and you haven't done that at all. A very smooth and graceful walk. Thank you so much for your reporting.

ALLEN: All right. Well, let's find out now how Virginia is faring beyond where Nick is. Joining us now on the phone is Ken Schrad. He's director of the Virginia Division of Information Resources.

Mr. Schrad, we thank you for joining us. We know you're probably quite busy. Have things quieted down now after such a dangerous run- up to this storm as far as some of these traffic crashes out on the streets?

KEN SCHRAD, DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA DIVISION OF INFORMATION RESOURCES: Well, certainly from the standpoint of Virginians hunkering down in their homes and staying in their homes, which they've done a nice job of doing after the governor declared the state of emergency on Thursday, I mean, the state pretty much prepared for today's oncoming storm. And I think that's helped a lot.

And it's allowed emergency crews to be on the major thoroughfares and doing the best they can to keep up with the snowfall and tried to the best of their ability to the interstates and major thoroughfares clear.

ALLEN: And what are your concerns, Mr. Schrad, in the next hours ahead as the storm really moves in, and as far as power outages go and what people should do if they have power outage?

[01:10:13] SCHRAD: Well, that's certainly a concern especially in the southeastern portion of the state where it was more of an icy rain type of situation, most of your maps have shown sort of where the snow line has been. In fact, the majority of the power outages have occurred in southeast Virginia and along the northern neck. I think we reached a high of maybe about 8,000 outages. Our largest power producer, Dominion Virginia Powers, did a nice job

of getting that knocked down during the course of the evening. But it fluctuates back and forth. As, you know, icy conditions and high winds now as this storm whips around a little bit we start getting sort of the backside of the low. Those high winds will make a big difference in terms of tree limbs and touching power lines and those types of things. So that's certainly something that has to be a concern as we go into the morning on Saturday.

ALLEN: And yes, you said as we moved into the morning on Saturday, but we know that this snow is going to continue for a while and if things stay frozen, how long would you want people, if this goes on through the weekend to -- and how long could you expect them to stay inside?

SCHRAD: Well, I think there's an expectation that through most of the day Saturday it's still going to be important for people to stay put because even the Virginia Department of Transportation expects it will take 48 hours to make roads passable. Again, once that's the conclusion of the -- of the storm itself. So again, the focus currently is on the interstates and the major roads. That hasn't even talk about getting into the secondary roads and of course, you know, the streets that go through everyone's residential areas. So it's going to be a major clean-up effort throughout the rest of the weekend and I'm sure into Monday.

ALLEN: Ken Schrad, we really appreciate you joining us. Hopefully we'll talk with you again as the weekend presses on here with this storm. Thank you.

HOWELL: So now the city of New York, it is definitely in the snow zone, though it is not expected to get a record-breaking amount of snow but it will definitely get plenty.

Let's take a live look now at Columbus Circle just outside the Time Warner Center. You see New York's mayor. He has issued a weather emergency there, urging people not to drive on the streets.

ALLEN: With some taxis going around the circle there. Hundreds of snowplows are clearing the roads and airports. Of course all up down the Eastern Seaboard. You've got to feel for those folks who were working all night.

HOWELL: Yes.

ALLEN: And New York City's three major airports are open but most flights are canceled. Just because they say the doors are unlocked doesn't mean the planes are going anywhere.

HOWELL: That's right.

ALLEN: Sure.

HOWELL: Let's go live to New York now to CNN's Jason Carroll on the streets of New York.

Jason, what's the latest from what you see there in Times Square?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, not only are we under a weather emergency, but also a blizzard warning, George. That until 4:00 a.m. Despite that, a number of folks coming out here to Times Square. After all this is the city that never sleeps. Doesn't sleep at 1:00 a.m. Probably won't be asleep at 2:00 a.m. At least not out here in Times Square when the snow was falling like this. A lot of folks coming out here to enjoy the snow.

Again, we're not experiencing the high winds, not yet. That is expected tomorrow morning. In terms of snow accumulations, New York City expecting about a foot to a foot and a half, maybe a foot here in places like Manhattan. Maybe a little bit more than that in places like Brooklyn.

Whatever the case, city officials say they are prepared. They have some 2300 sanitation workers working 12-hour shifts. We've seen a number of snowplows and salt spreaders out on the road. The roads looking pretty good at this hour. But once again most of the accumulations not expected until tomorrow morning.

The governor also saying, George, that 600 National Guard members are on standby. Basically what the city is doing is it's a wait and see mode, wait and see what happens tomorrow morning in terms of having to either beef up the people who are out here ready to stand by, beef up emergency crews or pull back. That will all depend upon what we see tomorrow morning about 8:00 a.m. That's when most of the snow accumulation expected to hit New York City -- George.

HOWELL: Jason Carroll, live in Manhattan. Jason, thank you so much.

ALLEN: Just trying to picture -- Central Park is going to be a picture postcard in a few hours, isn't it?

HOWELL: Yes. Nice place to be. Yes.

ALLEN: All right. We continue to follow this breaking news of this historic winter storm hitting the eastern U.S. here live on CNN.

HOWELL: Straight ahead, we will check with some of our correspondents in the field for the very latest conditions where they are.

[01:15:01] Stay with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Following the breaking news here on CNN NEWSROOM. A live image from Baltimore, Maryland. It looked bad. See that snow going kind of sideways, that is sort of an indicator of the intense winds that are here and yet to come.

Thank you for being with us on this continuing breaking news coverage. This strong winter storm hitting the East Coast right now. The worst yet to come. This snow will continue through the coming hours into Saturday. ALLEN: Yes. And as we look at that, distinct about it, the weather

team is telling us that the storm will explode once it picks up moisture over the Atlantic Ocean so it's going to get worse before it gets better. And some areas can expect up to 40 inches. That's one meter of snow.

Travelers, well, you know this by now. You can forget about getting to your destination for the most part especially flying. 7500 flights have been canceled so far this weekend and a number of major highways are shutdown at the moment.

HOWELL: The New Jersey shore, I should say, it is still trying to recover from the vicious Super Storm Sandy that hit back in 2012. Now the governor is warning the coast could see flooding yet again with this storm.

[01:20:05] ALLEN: And of course, he's also asking people not to go out if it's not absolutely necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: If you don't have to drive, don't. OK. The work week is over. You know, it's the smartest thing for you all to do on Saturday afternoon would be stay home. Stay where you are. Hopefully tonight by the time you're seeing this you would have gotten all the essentials from the supermarket and elsewhere. Hopefully you've prepared for any emergency matters like with flashlights and your generators and all the rest. If you do that, you should be in good shape tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We hope so. Let's go to CNN's Ryan Young. He's along the Jersey Shore for us. And if anyone has any questions about whether you want to be out on this, just look at Ryan.

Ryan, we're so sorry but it looks like it's really coming in and it's coming sideways. How are you doing?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's coming sideways. We're getting hit with the one-two punch of the wind and the snow. But I can honestly tell you, it's not that cold, but it's really annoying as it kind of pelts you in the face over and over again. You can just look at our jackets and see how we're covered in snow.

Since the last hour we joined you, if you look behind me, it is like a winter wonderland here. It's almost like someone shook a snow globe up and it just dumped all the snow here in the last few hours. Really, honestly, we've seen at least four inches come down in the last hour or so. As we walk back the stretch and as we talk about that coasting flooding that they're worried about, especially after Super Storm Sandy, this is what they're worried about.

In this area, this fence was knocked down by the power of the water when it came over the last time. They believe 7:00 a.m. That's the time the high tide could affect this area. Because there's a full moon, a high tide and the snow coming down, that's a powerful combination that could really mean trouble for this area. They're hoping to avoid that.

The other thing you're talking about, the wind gusts. I'm sure you can hear the wind kind of coming through this area as I'm talking during this live shot. It could be 60 miles per hour winds. That's already -- that warning is already in effect. We've been measuring the wind here with our wind meter. So far we haven't seen anything over 20 miles per hour.

But I can honestly tell you it's beginning steadily worse as the hours have gone on. The water that knocked out this area right here, also came this direction and did a lot of damage to the first floor of all these buildings over here.

So it's something that we're watching. We actually had a police officer come by and tell us at one point the water was -- more than waist deep at one point during Super Storm Sandy. So there's something they're obviously thinking about. We have seen people out, though. They've been stopping by the bar here. Going out for a few drinks, it is Friday night. they've been enjoying themselves. Some of them walking home. Some have been driving home.

We've also been paying attention to the power lines above us because the wind, it's really been whipping so we've been watching those. But there's been no power outages. We've watched the crews come through, clear the snow. Haven't seen them in the last half-hour. But again all waiting for the high tide at 7:00 because no one wants to deal with the water and the snow. It could create a big slush here and a problem for all those who live in this area.

ALLEN: Absolutely. Ryan, thank you. Yes, it looks peaceful now. We know it's freezing cold. Well, hopefully people are inside with their provisions and we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings -- Ryan Young for us there. Thanks, Ryan.

HOWELL: I remember Don Lemon's hour, when he would talk to Ryan, he suggested maybe we go inside the bar and warm up. And only warm up.

ALLEN: Yes. He may be doing that in believe live shots. We don't know.

HOWELL: Thank you so much. Now let's turn to the greater Washington, D.C. area. That is where the snowstorm could be the largest in the history of the nation's capital. Emergency workers have now been deployed there and the Washington mayor is asking people to stay off the roads.

ALLEN: Also in the state of Virginia, at least one person has died due to the storm. There have been nearly, though, 1000 car accidents. And one Virginia State trooper is in the hospital after his car was hit. We wish him well.

HOWELL: Certainly do. Let's go live to Washington, D.C. Our Chris Welch on the ground for us there.

And, Chris, what's the condition there? We see the snow hitting -- coming sideways there for you.

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes. It's interesting because, you know, just about a couple of hours ago we saw a tweet from the National Weather Service that things would really pick up and be at their worst between 1:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. And here we are, it's 1:20 -- it's about 1:22 a.m. Eastern Time. And almost right on cue, we started to see the snow come down heavier, at times blow more sideways.

So this really is coming down right on schedule. Take a look at where I'm standing right now. We probably have, yes, at least six inches, maybe seven inches where we're standing here. And that light very cold so it's not exactly sticking together type of snow. We saw a cross-country skier go by. Good type of snow for that. We haven't seen too many people, though. It seems like most people are heeding local officials' warnings to stay inside. Just a cross-country skier.

You're still seeing the occasional cars go by. Just a few, though. Not nearly like what we saw earlier. There's one go by behind me now.

[01:25:03] There's one man who went walking by within the past couple of hours. I asked what -- well, what are you doing out here? What's going on? And he said my wife dropped me off. I just wanted to go for a walk and take some pictures. But thankfully he's the only one we've seen in hours.

That was not the case earlier today. The mayor had asked everyone to be off the streets as of 3:00 p.m. And for several hours after that who saw a lot of people here. We saw joggers, we saw tourists taking pictures. We saw college kids probably out, it is Friday night after all. They were all out and about. There were lots of cars still on the streets.

And the mayor actually had to hold another press conference earlier this evening to say we need everyone off the streets. The only people who should be on the streets at this point are first responders so that they have an open street to get to people if they need to.

Now again, I just want to reiterate, here in Washington we're still anticipating possibly hitting 2 1/2 feet of snow. And if we did hit that, it would be a record. That record set back in 1922, the previous record was 28 inches.

HOWELL: Potentially historic snowfall there in Washington, D.C. Chris Welch live for us. Chris, thank you.

ALLEN: A little bit guilty, so many of our correspondents out freezing and you and I just sitting here chatting it up with them. We hope most of you are inside watching us and certainly staying warm up. In a moment we will go live to Virginia, coming next.

HOWELL: We certainly appreciate all of our correspondents that are out there. We will have the latest from them and the situation across the eastern U.S.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:15] HOWELL: Live pictures throughout the East Coast You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

Our breaking news coverage continues of this winter storm affecting some 85 million along the U.S. East Coast. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: It's surreal, isn't it? I'm Natalie Allen. I want to update you with the latest on the blizzard.

Right now the nation's capital is getting walloped with snow. We don't get to say the word walloped very often but that is what's happening. More than six inches or 15 centimeters already. National Weather Service officials say the worst of it for Washington is just now beginning. With more heavy snow and damaging winds on the way throughout Saturday.

HOWELL: Crews throughout the storm zone are rushing to clear and treat the roads. Despite the fact that officials have urged people to stay off the streets police have responded to hundreds of accidents. Nearly 1,000 in the state of Virginia alone.

ALLEN: Eight people have died due to the storm. Most of those in car crashes.

HOWELL: CNN is covering the story as only CNN can do. Our correspondents scattered across the storm zone. Nick Valencia in Northern Virginia and Jason Carroll live for us in New York City.

ALLEN: Let's bring you up to date, though, on what we can expect in the hours ahead before we go to our correspondents so hopefully they're warming up right. They've been out there for hours.

HOWELL: Hopefully so.

Derek Van Dam with us to tell us about the situation now.

VAN DAM: That live shot in Baltimore was incredible. I'm hoping that we can bring that up one more time. Just so -- I mean.

ALLEN: Oh my goodness.

HOWELL: Look at that.

VAN DAM: That's --

ALLEN: Yes, we had that about an hour ago and it wasn't like this. You could still a few more buildings.

VAN DAM: That's right. Can we perhaps bring up the Washington, D.C. web cam as well or that camera? Because I want to show you the difference.

ALLEN: Yes. VAN DAM: And we're talking about two to three inches per hour versus

one to one and a half inch an hour. But that's going to change for Washington, D.C.

Natalie, George, and for our viewers at home, let me show you what's about to take shape across the nation's capital. We've got a lot of snow coming your way obviously. We've been talking about this for a long time.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ALLEN: All right, Derek. Thank you.

HOWELL: Thank you.

ALLEN: We'll talk with you again very soon.

Virginia is one of nearly a dozen U.S. states that have declared states of emergency as a result of this gigantic storm.

[01:35:05] CNN's Nick Valencia is getting hit by the snow in Fairfax, Virginia. He's been out there for quite some time.

Nick, thank you for hanging with us. As far as conditions go, are you seeing a lot of deterioration this past hour?

VALENCIA: Natalie, we have been out here all day, it's safe to say. More than 12 hours. And in that time we've seen conditions get better, get worse and now it seems as though we're right in the peak of it. This is what local officials were worried about after that midnight hour. It's just a little after -- well, closer to 2:00 a.m. now Eastern Time. And the snow is really starting to come down. It's gotten a lot worse especially for those plow truck drivers out here. We are fortunate to be with one of them.

Thank you so much for joining us on CNN. You're around the world right now. What's going on? Explain to our viewers what kind of conditions you're dealing with out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just wet, sloppy conditions and just trying to make the best of it and clean everything up as much as we can.

VALENCIA: You're form here. You're around this area. You're a Virginia guy. How does this compare with storms in the past, years past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is predicted to be one of worst storms we've had, that I've had to deal with. So --

VALENCIA: Is it living up to it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So far yes.

VALENCIA: So we've seen -- we saw something pretty cool right now. This is Interstate Route 50, an interstate -- a pretty busy interstate, right now there's no one out there. We saw a plow train going by. Can you explain a little bit to our viewers what they're doing? Why that caravan of plows just went by a little while ago?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically what they do is they form a train the whole width of the road, that way, they can clean it all at one time instead of having to make multiple passes with different trucks. And it's just one big sweep, pushing it all to one side.

VALENCIA: Excellent. Excellent. And do you expect it to be out here all this weekend? I mean, this storm is just going to keep steady like this. We see the snow falling us right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All this weekend we'll be here. We're taking care of the mall and the hotel, and we got trucks out on the road as well working for (INAUDIBLE). And so it's going to be an interesting weekend.

VALENCIA: We can tell you've been through this before because I'm wearing about twice as many layers as you are, Joey. Thank you so much for taking the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No problem. Thank you.

VALENCIA: Thank you for the brave work you're doing out there. Stay safe, obviously. We hope the best for you guys. And what a great -- what a great guy for joining us there, Natalie and George.

You see these are the kind of conditions. Even folks that are from here, even people that are from this area believe that this is a storm that has lived up to the hype, lived up to the billing, the meteorologists, they really nailed this one. They got it right, the weather models were accurate. Here, we were told a little while ago by the Virginia Department of Transportation that we could expect up to 40 inches of snow this weekend. 40 inches of snow.

It's just incredible. When you think about it. And I mean, it's hard not to say that they're not lying here. Lots of snow accumulating on the ground. Beautiful fresh powder. Of course, it is dangerous to drive on those roads. That is the concern right now for officials that people will start sneaking out of their homes come daybreak and start to see exactly what Mother Nature brought over the course of the last 24 hours.

Of course, better stay inside. We were told by those local officials that once that heavy part of the snow started this afternoon, it's probably where you're going to be for quite some time. So hopefully if you are watching us, you're around some people that you like and especially most importantly, you're being safe -- George, Natalie.

ALLEN: And being warm. I didn't know you've been out there 12 hours, Nick. Thank you. And thanks to the snowplow driver who was right there without a coat and seemed as uncomfortable as can be. We really appreciate those folks who are going to be working for the next several hours for sure.

HOWELL: Just a Virginia guy. He's used to it.

ALLEN: Another day. HOWELL: Absolutely. And they do some tireless work, the guys that

are out there. We appreciate the men and women who are doing that.

The states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania are two that are under emergency declarations right now. Interstate 75 in Kentucky, it was completely shut down on Friday due to snow.

ALLEN: Yes. And in Pennsylvania, all flights in and out of Philadelphia, of course, canceled Saturday. Philadelphia's mayor praised city workers for braving the storm to keep people safe and told everyone else please stay home and rent a movie or two.

HOWELL: Of course. Sara Ganim tells us to get a book. Just stay and get a book.

Let's go live to Sara Ganim live in Philly for us.

Sara, good to have you with us. We see the winds are picking up, it seems. You've got some snow behind you. What's the situation there in Center City?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You certainly get those gusts of wind here, George, in Philadelphia. We're in one right now. You get a moment of calm and it all looks pretty and then there's the gusts of wind that we've been warned about all day by the meteorologists. They're right. These are no fun. This is the dangerous gusts that people have been talking about.

I want to talk a little bit about the snow for a minute, too. We're here in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. This is city hall. The snow started falling here about 7:00 this evening. And this is what we got in just a few short hours. About five hours -- five, six, seven hours. You know, a good solid three inches. And look at the snow. I mean, this is -- this is hard snow. This is snow that people -- this is what you make snowballs out of. This is the wet stuff. This is the stuff that when it's falling you can hear it hitting your jacket.

And when it hits you in the face, it sticks to your -- yes. Yes. This is what -- this is what the people out here are doing. OK, guys, guys. We're good. Thank you.

[01:40:11] This is what people are doing with the snow if they're out in Philadelphia but thankfully this is not the norm. Two citizens who wanted to be on live television tonight. But we've seen pretty calm people who are acting well here in Philadelphia, people who are dealing with it. And you don't see a whole lot of cars out on the road. They're heeding the warning of officials who asked that, you know, they go out for their Friday night and then go home for the weekend. Maybe get a book, maybe watch a movie, stay inside.

This is a city that's used to -- they're going to get one day, they're used to seeing that maybe in the entire month of January if that at all. So this city began prepping for this actually earlier this week. On Wednesday they began brining the streets, getting them ready. We've seen the caravan of plows that you heard Nick Valencia talk about in Virginia.

Same thing in Philadelphia. They've been hitting the streets 400 plows here in the city today alone and then in the suburbs an additional 450 plows out there. Making sure that people are safe. Officials also putting into action a code blue so that they can get homeless people off the streets here in Philadelphia and into a shelter.

A little bit of good news here about the storm. This time last year storms that were hitting the northeast, cities in the northeast, this was the third, fourth, fifth storm that they have dealt with. They were getting low on salt and low on resources. This year, their salt piles are full, their budgets are full for snow removal. You can see that there are continuous plows coming through. They're getting ahead of this. So that's the good news during this storm -- George.

HOWELL: Sara, we see a great deal of snow there behind you. We appreciate your reporting there and also dealing with the randoms who try to run through your shot there. But nicely handled. And we appreciate your time. Thank you.

ALLEN: Sara didn't hear us.

HOWELL: That's all right.

ALLEN: All right. Our correspondents have been talking the roads are getting quieter and quieter, but there's always that one or two cars that go behind them during their live shot as always out there.

We've got much more of our breaking news coverage right after this.

HOWELL: That's right. We will have live reports from New York and the Jersey Shore. Stay with us.

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[01:45:39] HOWELL: A live image here from Baltimore, Maryland. You see the snow coming down at this hour. It is one of the major U.S. cities that's being impacted by this historic and this deadly snowstorm. At least eight people have been killed along the East Coast at this point. Several areas are experiencing blizzard conditions. At least 85 million people are in the path of this storm, which shows no signs of slowing down now with more than 130,000 customers without power and at least 7600 flights that have been cancelled.

ALLEN: And there are many, many states affected. The storm started in Arkansas and then it hit Nashville. Well, the U.S. state of Kentucky is having problems as well. Emergency workers are now working to rescue drivers stranded on a major interstate there after a layer of ice topped with snow made the road treacherous and then virtually impassable.

Joining us now, Kentucky State Police Captain David Jude is on the phone.

Captain, thank you for joining us. Which highway are we talking about or interstate where people are stranded?

CAPT. DAVID JUDE, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: Yes, it's been quite a night. This is -- we're talking about Interstate 75 coming up out of Tennessee into the southern part of Kentucky in Rockcastle County.

ALLEN: And what about the -- how many -- can you tell us about how many people are stranded and what the rescue effort is for them right now?

JUDE: As far as a number, it's really hard to give you that. If you can just imagine many miles of interstate traffic backed up because of ice in the hill conditions that are there. So it's been a full day, a full evening of trying to get this problem rectified and of course now we're moving into diverting traffic off the interstate. And then the reason for that really is to get those that are still on their cars, still stuck on the interstate to shelter into warmth.

ALLEN: Yes. Absolutely. Can't imagine what they're going through right now. But no reports of fatalities in this situation?

JUDE: That's correct. There's been no report of even any injuries that I'm aware of. It's -- you know, it's been a long night, a long evening and a long night for first responders. Of course that doesn't compare to those who are still inside of their cars. I can only imagine, you know, what they're feeling at this particular point but I can tell you every available resource that we can have in that area has been deployed and has worked tirelessly to get the roadway back open or at least treated where it can -- the ice can fall and we can get the roadway moving again.

ALLEN: Yes, because, you know, these southern states, it is ice that so often makes situations so perilous for drivers. And suddenly you're just in it. You think that's the situation that you saw there in Kentucky.

JUDE: Yes, ma'am, that's exactly what happened here. In a stretch of roadway, ice about a quarter to half an inch of ice came to this location prior to the snow hitting. And I think it's still snowing in this area from there on the ground.

This particular area is known for its hills. It's a steep hillside in both directions obviously. And it's a -- it's a known problem area, and once that ice hits and then the snow hits, once the first vehicle or first truck can't make it up the hill, then we see the start from there. And that's exactly what happened tonight and as soon as we could get one tractor trailer fleet or towed up the hill another one will get stuck. It's been simply a series of starts and stops, and starts and stops, all evening long.

ALLEN: Oh, my goodness. We really feel for all the people that you say are working the situation to help clear the road, to help get these people to shelter. And we really appreciate your time to talk with us.

That's Captain David Jude with the state police there. He's talking about a situation in Rockcastle County there in Kentucky. You get that layer of ice and the snow and people right now stranded. And that is the situation that we have not talked about, that we have not heard in the hours -- couple of hours we've been on the air. But now we've got a very dangerous situation there in Kentucky.

HOWELL: And important to point out, as you mentioned, these southern states. You know, our focus right now on Baltimore, Philly, New York but again the southern states many of them did get some precipitation, some snow even in Atlanta. Thirty degrees right now. There is concern about slippery roads.

[01:50:03] You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, we will have the view from New York and New Jersey as we continue with our rolling coverage here. Stay with us.

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ALLEN: This blizzard continues to roll on in through the night. We've taken you live to Pennsylvania and D.C. and Virginia. Now we're going to check in with our Jason Carroll. He is live in New York's Time Square. And also as well, Ryan Young in Margaret, New Jersey.

Jason, let's start with you there.

CARROLL: Well, here in Times Square, it's been like what we've been seeing all night. A number of folks coming out to enjoy the snow simply because we're not experiencing the conditions that you've been seeing down south, at least not yet. Even so, New York City under a blizzard warning until 4:00 a.m. We're expecting anywhere between a foot to a foot and a half of snow.

Also under a winter weather emergency until 8:00 a.m. The mayor encouraging folks to stay off the streets, to leave the streets open to emergency vehicles so they can get through. Some 2300 sanitation workers are going to be out here working 12-hour shifts. We've got some 600 salt spreaders and plows out on the roads as well.

[01:55:02] Here's another number for you. Some 600 members of the National Guard, also on standby, ready to be activated in case they are needed as well. The question is, will they be needed? The answer will come tomorrow at about 8:00 a.m. -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Jason Carroll for us there in Times Square. Thank you, Jason.

HOWELL: And now let's go to CNN's Ryan Young in New Jersey with the very latest there.

Ryan, so the situation, we see the snow coming down and you say that the hours to come will be the most telling.

YOUNG: Definitely. You know, snow has been going sideways. In fact, since the last time we joined you, we've seen a power outage that's lasted about five minutes out in this area. We've been watching these power lines, but we noticed all the lights on this block went out.

I wanted to show you something, George, because what we did is we pulled out our shovel just to see how much snow has collected here so far. I mean, it's been a good two or three inches. But the hours that everyone is going to be worried about is around 4:00 when we're told the National Weather Service is concerned about this. The idea that the high tide, the full moon could have flooding here.

The coastal flooding is what they're concerned about. And you can see we're dealing with heavy gusts of winds as our photographer almost got knocked over after that last gust. It's something they're worried about. They're telling us, 60-mile-per-hour winds could be in this area overnight. They're telling everyone to stay home obviously to avoid this. But we're watching the water over the next few hours to see if it will come over to the side of the banks here -- George.

HOWELL: We will watch and wait. And Ryan Young pulling out the shovel. A lot of people will certainly need that. Ryan, thank you so much.

ALLEN: And we've been bringing you the breaking news of this blizzard and we are not going anywhere. We'll be here throughout the night.

Thank you for watching this hour. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Stay with CNN and we will be back with more coverage on this winter storm in two hours' time.

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