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Don Lemon Tonight
The Blizzard of 2015 Shuts Down Major Cities; Snow Picking Up in New York
Aired January 26, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is midnight on the East Coast. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Don Lemon, and we are live with the very latest on the blizzard of 2015.
The storm has virtually shut down New York City. No buses, no cabs, only emergency vehicles are allowed out on the roads. More than 7,000 flights into and out of the region's airports are canceled. And New York's bridges and tunnels closed right now.
Something that any New Yorker will tell you hardly ever happen but it has happened tonight. CNN's reporters are all out in the storm zone, all out in the region. I'm going to start with Ana Cabrera. She is out in the east end of Long Island. Hi, Ana.
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Don. I'm out here all by myself tonight. It is certainly desolate, certainly blustery, extremely windy, extremely snowy, and we're just seeing the storm really pick up right now. In fact, we are expecting 2 to 3 feet of snow here on the end of Long Island by the time all of this is over, and we're starting to see some of those blizzard-like conditions as you look behind me. You can't see too far down the road. We're starting to see all of that snow swirling around, creating whiteout conditions and starting to create some snowdrifts as well.
Now, we've been talking with folks earlier tonight who tell us they went and got extra gas for their generators, they went and loaded up on food and water. A lot of the businesses along main street, which is where we are, closed up early and headed home to try to stay safe. And we've seen continuous laps of the snowplows here, coming up and down this road to make sure that they're able to keep this area passable for those residents who need to get out at some point.
Of course tonight is supposed to be the worst, into tomorrow where we could still see another foot of snow tomorrow on top of whatever falls overnight tonight. And so this is a community that is sort of just waiting and watching to see exactly what tomorrow might bring, Don.
LEMON: Yes, and we don't know what tomorrow might bring, according to our experts, our meteorologists here, we haven't seen the worst of the storm. So stand by, be safe. Ana Cabrera out on the east end of Long Island. I want to get now to Boston. New England is supposed to get the
worst, is supposed to bear the brunt of the storm, and my colleague, Brooke Baldwin, is stationed there. She has been covering this for us this evening. Brooke, the snow has started to pick up here in New York City. What about where you are?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's definitely been steadily falling. I think, I'm losing track, I think we've been out here now, what, five hours or so, and it's definitely continuing to come down. We're in Boston Harbor area, Faneuil Hall, the aquarium right around the corner, and the water is this way.
Still, you know, a fair amount of snow, but there was a fair amount of snow when we started our evening, but what was once a clear sidewalk is now clearly entirely covered over by snow. Let me point something out that I feel like I need to emphasize. When we talk so much about Boston, you have to think about Cape Cod, Nantucket, 60-mile-an-hour winds now there being clocked. And so there's definitely some worries about stronger winds along that part of the state, and also fears of coastal flooding. So that's something I think, as we begin to wake up tomorrow morning, that might be part of the story. Walk with me this way. I have three handsome fellows here who were nice enough to hang out in the cold with me.
Give me your names.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm James.
BALDWIN: Hi, James.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, my name is Tom.
BALDWIN: Hi, Tom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Joe.
BALDWIN: And so, they all live in the north end, which is a wonderful part of the city that way. And why are you out after midnight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just love to explore. You know, we come out in hurricanes, the last snowstorm, we just love it. We love to come down and see the water.
BALDWIN: To see the water, to take it in. You feel, I mean, listen, a lot of people are saying this could be historic. We were all talking about the snow just two winters ago, and you all were here for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, yes, exactly. You know, we're not going to get deflated by this whole snowstorm, and I'm really happy to, you know, come out and --
BALDWIN: Nice reference there, by the way. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. You know, I just wanted to come out and check out the coastal part, the harbor, you know, see, you know, the worst of the storm. As they say the furry of the storm. So, I just want to come out here and check it out.
BALDWIN: So, obviously, a bit lighthearted here as we're taking in some of the snow. But, seriously, thank you guys very, very much. I appreciate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it. But, you know, listen, as I've been saying over and over, people here in Boston, they know how to handle quite a bit of snow, Don. The question, the variable, obviously how much. It's definitely, definitely coming down, and it will continue to do so overnight and then into tomorrow. And, so, the power outages. I followed up, you were you asking me last hour about if we're hearing anything as far as power outages are concerned, and just so far maybe in the 200 region of customers who are without power. But again, once really it starts coming down, and starts to accumulate, and hits those tree limbs, and hits those power lines, that's when people stop (sic) losing, you know, power.
And so, on the roads, now it is past -- the clock has hit midnight. So that is when you cannot be out on these roads here anywhere in the state of Massachusetts. So just a heads up there. Take the day off. It sounds like a lot of you here in Massachusetts get the day off tomorrow. Stay in, check on your neighbors as Mayor Marty Walsh said here in Boston, and if you can, enjoy it. Don.
LEMON: Yes, you certainly have a good excuse, Brooke, to stay at home, when everyone is telling you from the governor, the mayor on down.
BALDWIN: Right?
LEMON: Hey, the roads are closed, so it's a good excuse. Brooke, thank you for following up on those numbers. So, listen, it's awful if anyone loses power, but 200 people at this point, I think they're doing pretty well up to this point. Let's hope it doesn't get much more than that. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
BALDWIN: Agreed, agreed.
LEMON: Yes, all right. Thank you, Brooke Baldwin. Brooke, we'll get back to you.
I want to get to my colleague, Nick Valencia, now. And as Brooke mentioned, as of midnight, the roads are closed in Massachusetts. You cannot be out on those roads. It happened at 11:00 p.m. here in New York City. And not just in the city, several counties as well. You cannot be out on the roads unless you're an emergency vehicle, unless you have gotten permission like we did, members of the media. So, Nick Valencia, take it away. What are you seeing out on the roads?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey, Don, we're right in the middle of it on the north end of Boston where the snow, as Brooke was talking about, is starting to drift down. And, for the most part, we've heard that travel ban from the governor, saying midnight travel ban, no one on the road except for emergency vehicles and some members of the media like us in our car. But you see out of our windshield right now, it's really icy, hard to see out of our car.
For the most part, I'd say, there are people sort of still on the road. We still see some cars, not many, just a handful. The majority of those that are out here right now emergency vehicles. We see some workers with local state agencies and local agencies clearing the roads. Just left the hotel a little while ago, so we'll be on this road. The peak of this storm, what we heard from state officials earlier, was supposed to be about 4:00 a.m. And another concern here as well is flooding. High tide is supposed to happen in the 4:00 hour here, that's supposed to coincide with the peak of the storm in the Boston are. So, there is concern about that, but this is something to take very seriously here. We still see on the roads -- pretty difficult to navigate. We're at a stop right now, but even our tires are having a little bit of trouble getting traction on these icy roads, Don.
LEMON: That icy windshield, though, Nick, explain that. It's really tough. That shows you the temperatures and what they're dealing with.
VALENCIA: Yes, absolutely, you know, and earlier today we were out here in the afternoon as people were starting to go home from their jobs, and the roads were packed. We're not seeing that, so to speak, but we are seeing the temperature drop. It's a lot colder than it was obviously this afternoon, and that ice, hopefully doesn't really inhibit our driving conditions here. We're doing a pretty good job with our engineer right here, Codani (ph), driving through these streets. But --
LEMON: You have to clear that windshield. You have to clear that windshield, Nick. TV is all about pictures, you have to clear that windshield and make sure, make sure you have the --
VALENCIA: I know, Don, I know.
LEMON: -- the shoulder harness over your shoulder, and don't hide it by your waist because people on social media will get really mad and think you're not wearing your seatbelt. So, Nick Valencia, we'll get back to you. Thank you very.
VALENCIA: I have my seat belt right here, guys.
LEMON: Good, great, great, great.
George Howell in Providence, Rhode Island, for us this evening. He is covering the story from there. What is happening from your vantage point?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the winds are picking up for sure. We're here in the middle of the street here in Providence. Let's walk around a little bit. You can see that the accumulation, at least a good foot of snow here, maybe over a foot so far. More snow on the way. Looks like a new band is coming in. The big concern for folks here in this area is the possibility that people could get trapped in their homes. Again, they're expecting anywhere from 2 feet plus of snow here. You can see the plows. Pan over there and just show the viewers exactly what's happening here.
Again, plenty of accumulation happening. We're seeing the winds pick up as has been forecasted. Keep in mind here on the coastline of Rhode Island, that's where they're expecting the winds to pick up anywhere from 60 to 70 miles per hour. Guys, take a look over there as well. You know, one lone guy doing his best to plow the sidewalk, but I don't know if he's having much success, you know, given the intensity of this storm right now. So we're feeling the winds come in. We'll continue to monitor it here. But so far, so good as far as keeping people off the streets. That's the good thing so far, Don
LEMON: All right, George Howell, thank you very much. Be safe, all of our correspondents be safe out there, George, Nick, Brooke, Ana Cabrera as well. I want to bring in now our storm expert here, Mr. Derek Van Dam. I saw you checking the models.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: And checking the radar there. What are you seeing? Where is this storm?
VAN DAM: Yes, we're actually seeing a very intense snow band move through the New York City area right now, and also some of the stronger wind gusts that are being reported as well, 62 miles per hour off of Nantucket. So, just a sign that this storm continues to strengthen. The worst is still yet to come. It's just exactly where is going to get the heaviest of the snow band still a bit uncertain, but we think New York City and the Hudson River is going to be really the outer periphery of this heavy band.
LEMON: What people don't understand maybe at home is that when it's this cold and you talk outside, like, your mouth doesn't necessarily -- the words don't actually form.
VAN DAM: And your fingers don't work. Tweeting is very difficult.
LEMON: I mean, that's not, you know, that's not a complaint, when you consider what George Howell said, that they were concerned that some people would get stuck inside of their homes. That's a real possibility.
VAN DAM: Yes, absolutely. I mean, with power outages, a real concern. Obviously we've only had a few hundred power outages so far, but with the winds picking up, we'll see that people will be holed inside for quite a few days, at least 24 hour, and they'll want to watch out for, you know, just being susceptible to these weather conditions.
LEMON: What do -- do we -- do we know what to expect when we wake up tomorrow? Just depends on the severity of the storm, and we don't know that, right?
VAN DAM: The heaviest of the snow is going to move through here between 12:00, midnight, and 6:00 a.m. Eastern standard time. Now, we're going to start to see the snow taper off probably about noon on Tuesday along the East coast, but just because the snow ended, Don, doesn't mean that the storm's over. It's the strong winds that are going to continue to bring in drifting of the snow, and that's where we're going to see the two to three foot drifts, even though they have plowed the streets, it doesn't really matter. It's still going to drift over the roads once again.
LEMON: And that was one of the main concerns, if not the main concern, initially, anyway.
VAN DAM: Yes, people need to listen to emergency personnel. They'll tell them when it's safe to get back out onto the roads because, just because they've plowed, it will come back.
LEMON: That's one of the biggest mistakes in a storm like this, because you think it's over because it's not snowing anymore, right?
VAN DAM: Right, yes, and it's not only one of the many mistakes, there are so many of them that people need to consider, and that's just using their generators appropriately, looking out for signs of hypothermia and frostbite, all kinds of things.
LEMON: All right, thank you very much, Mr. Van Dam. Listen, the worst of the storm has not hit yet. CNN is covering it for you. We have correspondents stationed throughout the region. We're going to cover this storm for you from top to bottom. Don't go anywhere. We'll be back right after a quick break.
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LEMON: Our breaking news tonight, New York City virtually shut down by a blizzard that is heading for the rest of the northeast. We're going to go to CNN's Randi Kaye. She is live for us now in New London, Connecticut. What are you seeing there, Randi?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing a lot of wind, Don, and the wind is definitely picking up. They were telling us that we were going to get winds of about 60 miles per hour on the coast of Connecticut, but here inland in New London, Connecticut, where we are, they are about 40 miles per hour right now. The snow is picking up, it's coming down about 4 inches per hour.
This town is virtually shut down. The only thing that we're seeing on the streets right now, ever since that travel ban went into effect at about 9:00 p.m., everybody's supposed to stay home and stay there maybe even for a few days now. But all we're seeing now are maybe a few people walking, a few peek walking their dogs, but mainly, in terms of vehicles, we're only seeing police vehicles and plows. I mean, you see a gentleman right there just walking along, enjoying the wintry weather.
Every time we get out of the car here, we warm up in between our live shots, every time we get out of the car we think oh, maybe it's going to be a little bit better, but it is actually getting much, much worse. We talked to some of the folks here in the neighborhood, and they're very concerned about the power going off, Don. They're expecting maybe as many as 120,000 people here in the state of Connecticut to lose power for several days. One guy told us he tried to get a generator right after the storm was announced, he couldn't get a generator, they were already sold out even just within a couple of hours.
You can see this wind is really tough here. They couldn't get any water, they couldn't get any milk, they couldn't even get any salt to put on their driveway. So, they're trying to stay warm, they have a couple of kids at home, and hopefully that will work for them. But we talked to the guys, they're out here, they're trying to keep an eye on the power lines, they're trying to make sure that the folks don't lose power. And the plow drivers, that is the one thing I have to say, they are doing a great job. We have seen them come around, and around, and around, Don, trying to keep these streets clean, and they say they're going to work at it every hour through Thursday, Don.
LEMON: Let's hope that they keep it under control. And, also, the power. You can pan over here. When you said the snow trucks, or the plows, keep going around, and around, and around, every once in a while we'll see them come through, and here comes the cavalries, one, two, three four. About four or five plows come around here in Columbus Circle, and then they move into different parts of the city. But, again, according to the mayor, about 2,800 vehicles out tonight here in New York City, either salt trucks or sand trucks as well as snowplows.
So, the big concern really all over, electricity, and people getting trapped in their homes, and you heard Randi Kaye talk about that. She was in New London. But joining me now on the phone is the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, Toni Harp. Good evening, Mayor.
TONI HARP, MAYOR, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT (via telephone): Good evening.
LEMON: How are you faring so far?
HARP: Well, you know, it's very similar to New London. No one is on the streets. Everyone paid a lot of attention to the travel ban. And as well, they're not parking, they're parking on the right side of the street. And they're not parking on our snow routes, and they're not parking downtown. So, there are no vehicles that we see that are in the way, and we're able to get the snow as it comes down, but as you know, it's going to be coming down for many hours.
LEMON: Yes. That travel ban, Mayor, started at 9:00. Do you know when you're going to lift it? Does that depend on the severity of the storm and the length of the storm?
HARP: It really does depend upon the severity of the storm and how long it lasts. So, we really couldn't tell you.
LEMON: Now, what do you, when you, when you listen to the meteorologists we've had, one of our meteorologists on now, does it -- are they telling you anything about, and officials in your area, about the forecast? Is it better or worse than they predicted?
HARP: Well, It sounds like it's gotten worse for this part of Connecticut. The number of inches that we thought we would get of snow has actually gone up. There -- We didn't think that we would have a flood problem, but it looks like during high tide there will be another 2 to 4 feet of water that we weren't expecting, and so it seems to have gotten a lot worse for us here in New Haven.
LEMON: Stand by, Mayor. And I just want to tell our viewers, just in case you're listening, go ahead and pan over here. Don't go anywhere, Mayor, if you hear that sound, that sound is the sound of the plows behind us. And really, that's music to everyone's ears, and I'm sure it's music to the mayor's ears as well when you hear those snowplows out there on the streets, Mayor.
HARP: Oh, it's music.
LEMO: Yes, yes. Can you talk to me about power outages in your area? Are there any?
HARP: Right now there aren't any power outages, and, but we're expecting just our area in south central Connecticut up to 30,000 outages. And United Illuminating is the company that is our power company here, and they are expecting that, and they are hoping that they will get some assistance from Ohio. They're expecting about 34 trucks to be coming from Ohio to help and assist for what they believe, because of the winds, will be a problem here in south central Connecticut.
LEMON: Mayor of New Haven, Toni Harp. Thank you, Mayor. Best of luck to you, okay?
HARP: All right, thank you so much.
LEMON: Thank you. You know, this storm has shut down New York City. We're going to have much, much more on where it's headed to next when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: States of emergency declared in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts. A region with a combined population of over 30 million people. And if you think that we're out of the woods yet, then you need to look at this. Here's Ana Cabrera. Check out her shot. She's live for us in Long Island right now. Long Island home to more than 7.5 million people, all of them, I'm sure, bracing for the worst, Ana.
CABRERA: This is one of the areas expected to be hit the hardest from this storm, Don, and we are on the very end of Long Island, it is Montauk, and you can see it's a pretty desolate time here in this community. The lights off in the distance are from one of the snowplows that we've seen making multiple laps around here as the snow just continues to blow, completely covering the roadway within minutes after they come passing by. The highest wind gust out here recorded so far right about 50 miles per hour with sustained winds now around 30 miles per hour. So, those wind gusts are really picking up. And here you see one of those snowplows coming by, and just how much snow they're able to skiff off of the ground.
In fact, remember that area we kind of dug down just a little bit ago? Well, here's what was a hole that was a foot deep, completely covered up once again. So, each time they remove the snow it just continues to replace itself. Again, the snowdrifts are some of the biggest concerns as we talked with the superintendent of the highway here of East Hampton. He said that is what they are focusing on, trying to keep up with that drifting snow, because if that snow drifts over in some places it can be several feet high. That is what really put these communities at risk from being cut off from the rest of the mainland, of course. This is just about 90 miles to 100 miles outside of the Big Apple. And we do know that the National Guard is in the vicinity, at the ready should they need to deploy to help people who could be stranded. We also know that the New York state police have 50 4x4 vehicles, 8 all terrain vehicles, and they, too, are prepared to help residents as this storm continues to settle into this region and beyond, Don.
LEMON: Ana Cabrera, we'll get back. Thank you very much. Be careful out there. I want to take you to New Jersey now, and tell you New Jersey transit shut down around 10:00 p.m. tonight. New Jersey travelers should not expect services tomorrow. This is the information that we're getting from officials there, and the state-run trains shut down. No service until Thursday.
Let's take you out on the roads now. CNN's Brian Todd out in the New Jersey blizzard mobile. What are you seeing?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, you mentioned the transit being shut down, that has been shut down for more than an hour. A travel ban has been in place now for more than an hour. No one out, no one allowed out on these roads except for emergency responders, snowplows and spreaders, and members of the media. We're going to show you our dash cam here. We have a long line of snowplows, we just fell in behind them, and spreaders. We have a spreader right in front of us here spreading some salt on some of the roads. This is an encouraging sign, Don, because we talked to a police officer in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where we were a short time ago, and he was saying that because of the nature of the storm and just the driving nature of this, they didn't think they were going to be able to get plows out until about 4:00 in the morning because the side roads were just so bad and the snow was coming down faster than they could plow it, but this is an encouraging sign.
They've gotten them out now, just after midnight, and they're starting to spread salt on the roads, treat the roads a little bit. Again, they may have to take a break and wait for some of this to pass and some of this to fall on the roads before they deploy again. That's the nature of the way these things are, but it is a good sign that they've got a long line of snowplows out here, on a main road, heading west out of the Asbury Park, New Jersey, area.
But still, a lot of the storm is yet to come between now and about noon tomorrow. They think still maybe 1 to 2 inches an hour are going to fall in this area. And, as we showed you on the boardwalk a short time ago, the wind is still a huge factor, not as much inland where we are right now as it was on the boardwalk, but the wind conditions, the high winds up to 30 miles an hour in some areas of this region, are causing whiteout type conditions and really big visibility problems. But right now, Don, a good sign right in front of us out our dash cam, you can see these spreaders and snowplows doing their work. LEMON: All right, thank you very much. And everyone, even if you have
to be out there, the emergency workers, Brian Todd, don't get overconfident, be safe. Thank you, Brian. We'll get back to you.
I want to bring in now our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam. Now, Derek, as I was noticing earlier, the snow let off for a little bit and then it was a little bit slushy, and now it's starting that sort of, you know, fluffier snow right now, the drier snow. What's happening?
VAN DAM: Well, basically we're starting to see some of that moisture being picked up from the Atlantic Ocean and we're seeing the banding of snowfall with this nor'easter starting to take full effect. And we're starting to see it really pick up in intensity across Massachusetts, Connecticut and into Rhode Island, and in the eastern parts of Long Island. That's where we actually expect the highest of snow fall totals. Here in New York City, another 4 to 8 inches definitely on top of what we already have on the ground here. That makes it a total of perhaps 15 inches of snow.
LEMON: Do we know what the rate is right now?
VAN DAM: Roughly -- This is falling at a good 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour, but what we're seeing with some of our reporters out in the field, out in New Jersey and into Massachusetts and Connecticut, we're talking about 2 to 3 inches an hour, and it's only going to increase from here. There's been reports of thunder snow, which is a great indicator that this is a particularly strong storm. So, you start to see the flashes of lightening and hear the thunder while it's snowing, and that means that those very intense bands are coming though.
LEMON: Yes, I remember last year there was thunder snow. My dog, like, jumped into the couch, I said, hey, you're supposed to protect me. Thunder snow does not happen very often. What happens to cause the thunder snow?
VAN DAM: Well, basically, thunder snow behaves just like a thunderstorm. We get a lot of updrafts and with these bands of snowfall that we have coming through here, we have similar updrafts, that of a thunderstorm. So, it's not out of the likelihood to see lightning and to hear thunder in some of these really intense bands that come through, so don't be surprised.
LEMON: We're talking about ocean-effect snow. Is that what -- because where Ana is, I mean, she has to have goggles and what have you there, the winds and the snow, it's coming so quickly. Is that because of an ocean effect?
VAN DAM: Well, think about it here. We're protected in New York City. We have a lot of buildings that protect us from the strong winds, but along the coast, there's nothing to stop that wind. So, she gets the brunt of it when she's on the coastline, and that's why we get that compounding effect with the water that pushes up the waves, we get the problems with the coastal storm surge, and the strongest of winds are typically on the coast. They start to decrease the further inland you travel. LEMON: Yes, and now what about the timing of the storm, because
initially we said, you know, between midnight, and I think it's midnight, before midnight, and 6:00.
VAN DAM: 6:00 a.m., yes.
LEMON: Still the same timing?
VAN DAM: Absolutely. The heaviest of snow bands still moving through as we speak. New York City has a pretty heavy snow band right now as you can see behind us, but the heaviest of snow still another three to four hours out. By tomorrow morning it's a good that the roads have been closed down, because that's when the strongest of snow bands will be coming through, around 6:00 a.m. Then we start to see them taper off by about noon on Tuesday, but just because the snow has let off doesn't mean the storm is done.
LEMON: Yes, I was just looking, because we don't have a -- everyone can see everything. We can't see anything. 12:29 here on the East coast, and again we want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You usually do a lot of work on CNN international.
VAN DAM: International, yes. That's correct.
LEMON: Derek Van Dam, our meteorologist here. Derek, we're going to head out to Boston now and the scene with Brooke Baldwin. Brooke, he said the timing was still on target with the timing between midnight and 6:00 a.m. The snow has picked up here. It's become pretty steady now. I want to get back to you and tell me what you're seeing.
BALDWIN: Yes, Don, it's definitely -- it is definitely really coming down, the hardest I've seen so far. I don't know how much this translates -- forgive me. It's after midnight and things are happening around my all of a sudden. Gentlemen, we're on live Tv. Could you pretty please just scootch that way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't want us on?
BALDWIN: It's that kind of night. We're just going to roll with it. My point being, I don't know if you can quite see this through the camera lens, but it is really, really coming down. One of the -- let me walk. Can we hop off sticks on the fly? Because it's after midnight and we can do all kinds of things like that.
LEMON: Hey Brooke, why don't you yell at me when you're done and we'll get back to you. How about that? Yes, Brooke -- hey Brooke, we'll take it.
BALDWIN: I'm good if you're good. yes, yes. yes.
LEMON: You got it?
BALDWIN: You want to stay with me?
LEMON: Yes, go for it. Go ahead. BALDWIN: I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. Walk with me. Steve Swar (ph) gets a gold star for working with me and doing that. So absolutely no one out other than a few people from a hotel right here. Got a plow truck over here. Definitely can tell, walking through the snow, much more accumulation. The wind's still whipping, but again it's the coastal flooding. When you think of Massachusetts, obviously, you're thinking of Boston where I am. We're at the harbor so I'm looking at the water now.
The water looks fine right here after midnight, but the issue is you think of the people on the cape. You think of people in Nantucket. We just heard actually the winds are whipping at Nantucket, the Nantucket Regional Airport clocking 62 miles an hour winds. So that's pretty intense for over there and so hopefully not a lot of people are down on the cape. And if they are, they have boarded up the windows of those beautiful homes that they have over there.
But for now, the statewide travel ban is in effect. By now, I'm seeing some flashing lights over this way, Steve. I hope it's not someone getting towed and hopefully it's a plow. It's looking like a plow. Because we heard from the mayor in Boston, if your car wasn't off one of the main thoroughfares, you get towed. So we watch and we wait to see how much more of this falls here in Boston. Don.
LEMON: All right, Brooke, I couldn't see you. I thought maybe some hooligans were harassing you and I was becoming concerned, but I know you can handle yourself.
BALDWIN: I got this.
LEMON: I know, I know you can take care of yourself. All right, my dear, I'll get back to you. Thank you very much. Brooke Baldwin rolling with it in Boston.
So listen, you can stop asking me about the Blizzardmobile on social media, or emailing me or texting me, because it's Chris Welch is now out in the Blizzardmobile. And he is in Manhattan and he is going to give us a gauge of what's happening on the streets. What are you seeing, Chris?
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, yes. We have taken over your spot here in the Blizzardmobile and I'm proud to be the one to take that baton from you, so to speak. We are -- where are we now, Tom? We're at East 83rd street and Park Avenue, just trying to give you a picture here. I heard you mentioning it just a few minutes ago but that's pretty obvious now. If you look out our front window here, snow's starting to come down a little bit more heavily. This is similar to what it looked like a few hours ago when it was coming down.
Of course, we've been through this lull, the quiet, for the last three hours. But just to give you a sense of the streets now, you know, here we are, it's 12:30. That traffic travel ban went into effect about an hour and a half ago. And we really haven't seen many cars on the road here. People seem to have been heeding the warning of government officials. We have seen some kids. We just came across some teenagers, just kind of running through the road, trying to slip and have some fun, enjoy the night before a day off of school. But for the most part, it looks like, Don, most people listening to the warnings and staying off the roads, staying inside.
LEMON: Hey, Chris, I want to ask you, when we were out it was a bit slushy. And as you are out looking, can you tell, and I'm sure the same producers are with you, does it appear that the roads are clear and not quite as slushy?
WELCH: Well, I think what we're seeing now is this fresh snow now kind of piling up onto what had fallen earlier and become slushy as it sat on the ground, which had some residual heat in it. Some of that stuff that fell hours ago is still underneath this. So it's still got that soft layer underneath. But now, you know, it's got this fresh, fresh layer of powder on top of that, Don.
LEMON: Where are you in the city, Chris?
WELCH: We are traveling on Park Avenue and we are at about 80th Street now, so we're heading south on Park Avenue. As you can see out our front camera now, you can see there's a person with an umbrella up ahead. There's another person crossing the street in a hood, everyone obviously bundled up as best they can be, but really, again, no traffic. And this is Park Avenue we're talking about here, obviously more well-to-do street in New York City. But, you know, regardless of what neighborhood we're in, we are really not seeing any traffic out here tonight, Don.
LEMON: All right, thank you very much, Chris Welch.
After Plowgate last year when some streets were plowed, others weren't, the mayor making sure that all of the streets in all of the areas of New York City are plowed this evening. They put lots of equipment on. Of course, a big concern, usually the major streets, the big avenues, they're not usually a problem. It's the side streets, the residential streets, that usually create the problem when we have these snowstorms and the big piles of snow and people's cars get stuck or what have you.
We're going to continue on with our coverage now. Chris Welch, thank you very much. Travel bans in effect in New York and Connecticut and Rhode Island, also in Massachusetts. Our live coverage continues next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, back now with our breaking news coverage. We want to get you the very latest on what's happening in Manhattan in New York City. CNN's Miguel Marquez out and about. What are you seeing, Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you're seeing up there, Don, it's harder snow coming down right now and the wind conditions are getting worse as well. This is Eighth Avenue downtown in New York. You can look up the street here, you can see people on the street, something that you don't see very often. And those red lights all the way up. If we went another 50, 60 blocks, we'd be up at CNN where you are right now. If we look downtown, come around this way, Walter, all the way around and you can see that there is nothing as far as the eye can see.
And this is the problem that the sanitation workers are going to have as they try to get those trucks out, the roads salted, and all of this snow cleared in the next several hours will prove whether or not this storm comes back around to New York and really hits the city hard. It has -- the snow is picking up. The wind is picking up. And we may see those more blizzard-like conditions in the hours ahead, Don.
LEMON: It is definitely falling within the time parameters that our meteorologists and our experts said.
So listen, I want to continue on now. Let's get our meteorologist. Where is Derek Van Dam? Derek is standing inside for a little bit. But again, Derek has been watching the forecast and watching the satellite here, and he's saying that it's falling within the parameters and we can expect the worst of it between midnight and 6:00 a.m.
And I'm wondering, as you were saying, Miguel, the storm -- the snowfall is coming down pretty steady right now. I feel that it's picking up. It's more than steady. It looks like it's picking up now.
MARQUEZ: Oh, absolutely, it's picking up. We had about seven hours from noon to 7:00, 8:00 where it was very, very hard snow for most of the day. We really were led to believe that it was going to continue at that pace and then it died off for several hours after that. And in the last hour and a half, two hours, it has really picked up. And this is the result.
Very, very quickly, all of the work that sanitation workers were able to do has been undone by the snow that's coming down. The temperature has certainly dropped as well. It is down to probably the mid-20s at this point. It had gone up to about 28, 29 degrees at one point, and now the temperature's come down a little bit more. It is an amazing sight to be in the middle of Manhattan, the city of 8 million people, and to see it stopped, to see people walking down the streets, and to pretty much see everything done here. And now people are just waiting to see how bad the storm will get, Don?
LEMON: Thank you very much, Miguel Marquez. Look at the big clock here, the big CNN clock in Columbus Circle. It says 12:41 a.m.. 25 degrees Fahrenheit. It's probably a bit chillier out where Ana Cabrera is; she's out on the east end of Long Island, way out on the tip at Montauk. And she has been seeing the winds whipping up there and lots of snow. Ana
CABRERA: Yes, very windy, Don. In fact, this gives you a sense of just how windy it is. There are bare patches here on the ground, like on the sidewalk here, and nobody cleared this. It's just the way the wind blew.
And then come over here, just a few feet away, you find snow that's about mid-shin deep, because of the drifting. And in some areas, it's almost knee-deep further up the road. So definitely, the wind playing a big factor here in blowing this snow around and that could cause trouble for drivers, certainly, and the residents who are trying to get out of their houses come the morning who have battened down the hatches tonight.
As you look down this street, can you see we are having very poor visibility out here, not quite whiteout conditions, but at times it's felt like whiteout conditions, especially when we've seen wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Again, sustained winds have been near 30 miles per hour for the last hour or so, and when you look at the light over there, you can see just how much the wind is really swirling, coming one direction at one time and then coming back on itself.
It's the wind that is going to be the biggest X factor out here because we have the power lines that could be impacted if trees blow down, if tree limbs fall down. We've got the weather that's going to be affecting the water and the storm surge that's anticipated here in the next hour and a half or so when high tide comes. So, Don, we will be continuing to watch all of these different elements and wishing the best for the folks of this community. Don.
LEMON: Absolutely. Ana Cabrera, thank you very much. We're out here so that you don't have to be out here. So just sit back at home and watch. We're going to continue our coverage here on CNN.
Well past midnight. Streets of New York City and other cities around this region empty as the blizzard of 2015 gains strength. More when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. New York City very quiet right now as the blizzard of 2015 strengthens, and snow is accumulating by the minute. I want to bring in now CNN severe weather expert, Derek Van Dam. He's here with me. We're out in this, Derek, so that they don't have to be in it and they can just sit back home hopefully with the milk and bread and peanut butter and everything that you're supposed to get at the store.
VAN DAM: And being able to feel all their extremities.
LEMON: And hopefully they have electricity. Seriously, right?
VAN DAM: Exactly. Major concern, because the winds have the potential to topple over trees, which take down power lines, leading to all kinds of concerns.
LEMON: We've been talking about the timeline of this storm. And as I -- you say it's steady. I feel that it is picking up.
VAN DAM: It is.
LEMON: I've been out here a couple of hours now and the snow is picking up. VAN DAM: We keep monitoring Twitter to see what the latest activity
is, looking at the latest snow reports. The National Weather Service coming out of New York City actually just tweeting that Central Park right behind us reported 5.5 inches so far from the storm officially. And we've had a quarter mile visibility. So that brings it up to, if we had wind gusts of around 33 miles per hour, that is traditional blizzard conditions. And we do expect a very heavy band of snow to move through the New York City area and the conditions to deteriorate going forward over the next 15 minutes.
LEMON: So these are blizzard conditions. They're officially a blizzard, the National Weather Service says that.
VAN DAM: Exactly.
LEMON: So that's happening New York City. What about New England, which is supposed to -- and by the way, we call those guys the cavalry behind us.
VAN DAM: The plow brigade.
LEMON: Because a lot of them will show up and do the Columbus Circle when we're here, but that's good.
VAN DAM: No respect for our live shot.
LEMON: No, but that's music to the New Yorker's ears. Because that means that they're getting the snow out of the way.
VAN DAM: That's right.
LEMON: So what about the New England area where it's supposed to be the worst?
VAN DAM: So they're seeing the heaviest of the snowfall at the moment and the strongest of the winds. Nantucket had a wind gust clocked at 62 miles per hour. I mean, you're talking about snow coming down at 2 to 3 inches per hour and then you have those types of winds. You're going to start accumulating that snow, see it drift upwards of 2 feet, possible 3 feet by tomorrow morning. And just because the plows are out like this, Don, doesn't really mean a whole lot because that snow will drift right back over the roads, once again creating a dangerous travel conditions.
LEMON: So just because -- don't think that it's over, right, because the trucks are out. And maybe even if there is a lull in the snow.
VAN DAM: That's right. And a lot of things that we've been forgetting to mention too here is the potential of wind chill being a major factor. I mean, with the winds picking up to near hurricane force gusts, we're talking about the potential to bring down wind chills well below freezing. And that is going to cause some serious concern for any exposed areas of the skin. People don't -- they often underestimate hypothermia and the effects of hypothermia.
LEMON: See what that says right there? VAN DAM: 25 degrees.
LEMON: 25 degrees, according to the big CNN clock and thermometer right in the middle of Columbus Circle. Thank you very much. We'll get back to you.
Again, we're out here so that you don't have to be out here. We're going to be right back with more on our breaking news, the blizzard of 2015 as it is picking up steam here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Snow falling faster here in New York as the blizzard of 2015 gains strength. Joining me now is Chris Welch, out and about in New York City checking out the scene on the streets. Chris, what are you seeing?
WELCH: Yes, Don, well, we are heading west now. We're on 39th Street. Last I spoke to you, we were heading south on Park Avenue. I have to quote our photojournalist Tom Jourick (ph) here -- it feels pretty weird to be the only car out on the streets of New York City tonight.
And I echo those sentiments. It really is an odd feeling. We're obviously stuck at a red light here, and once we make this turn here onto Sixth Avenue heading north, you can get a pretty good shot of what would be Sixth Avenue, a pretty wide thoroughfare. You will get a pretty good idea of just the desolateness of the city right now.
You have those stragglers. You see a few people coming and going, obviously very bundled up. But a lot of folks wondering, did we miss the brunt of this? Did we miss the big impact of this storm? Or could we still get a little bit more? I know you were talking to Mr. Van Dam just a few minutes ago. We could get several more inches. I know Central Park's got 5.5 inches but I think a lot of folks hoping obviously that this doesn't become the historic storm that we've been discussing, that we know it could have been.
But a lot of folks here tonight just sort of taking heed, really, listening to our government officials, staying inside, staying off the streets, staying off the roadways. That's the important thing tonight, you know, because everyone was unsure if this could really get bad. And we don't know what the rest of the night has in store. I've got to say, no one really knows. We know there's a band of snow that could get closer, Don. We're just kind of waiting to see where that goes.
LEMON: Yes, we don't know. And that's why you have to keep watching and that's why you have to be prepared. It's better be to overprepared than underprepared. Thank you very much, Chris Welch. I appreciate you reporting from the Blizzardmobile in Manhattan.
We'll be right back with our coverage. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Our breaking news tonight, the blizzard of 2015 gaining strength and taking aim at millions across the northeast. I want to go now to CNN's Ana Cabrera. She is out on the east end of Long Island. Ana, what are you seeing?
CABRERA: Don, winds, snow, coastal flooding, all the things that people out here are concerned about with this storm. Take a look at the snow that is drifting out here. Just across the street from our live location, you can see that store with about 2 to 3 feet of snow that is now piled up in front of the door. So, again, we are seeing some major conditions changing out here in terms of the intensity of this storm. It's really been picking up within the last hour and a half to two hours or so with perhaps the worst yet to come.
We know that high tide is going to be the worst or the highest, I should say, at 2:00 in the morning. So we're waiting for that in about an hour from now when the coastal flooding could become an issue, as well as some erosion of the beaches in this area.
People are continuing to stay off the roads, obviously; it's the middle of the night here, so a lot of people are asleep. But we did see people go home early. We've talked to a lot of residents who say they're planning to hunker down until this storm is over, Don.
LEMON: Ana Cabrera, stay safe. Thank you very much. Ana will be out there; she'll be covering the storm for us.
I want to bring in now our meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, as you said, you believe it's picking up. And again this is --
VAN DAM: It is. And now, look at that. They just plowed this a little while ago.
LEMON: This is pretty tight. And it's pretty fluffy, right?
VAN DAM: That's probably roughly about 2 to 3 inches an hour. And it's starting to pick up a lot of the moisture from the Atlantic. Ana's actually in a perfect place to get some of the heaviest snow that's coming right off of the ocean right now. So she's probably going to get the brunt of this.
LEMON: Yes. And, again, so if people are wondering why I have so much snow and you don't, that's because you get to go under the thing afterwards. But again, they plowed this about, what, 20 minutes ago, and it's white now.
VAN DAM: And the roads will continue to deteriorate. I mean, no matter how hard they try to plow the roads, snow is going to continue to accumulate, with 2 to 3 inches per hour, that will become white very, very quickly as we've seen.
LEMON: And so what is it now -- almost 1:00. So between midnight and 6:00 is supposed to be the brunt of it. But just because it's the brunt it doesn't mean at 6:00, boom, it's going to stop.
VAN DAM: That's right. The storm's going to continue right into the morning hours as well. It's very good that the roads are closed, because that's probably when the heaviest of the snow will be moving through. I mean, we're still going to have heavy bands through now. But through 6:00 a.m. for sure. It starts to taper off at noon, but just because the snow's tapered off, Don, doesn't mean that the storm's done. The wind will be the next factor.
LEMON: And the biggest mistake, people become overconfident, I would imagine. They think oh, well, I can get out there and they try to go into work. But if you have this excuse from the governor, from the mayor, from the leaders of your town, the emergency --
VAN DAM: You cannot go wrong.
LEMON: You should probably heed it.
VAN DAM: You should. And we could actually make that call right now because I would say something like, eh, time for me to go.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Again, these guys are out there doing their work. They're going to be out here 24 hours a day, as is CNN. We're out here so you don't have to be here.
Thank you very much to our meteorologists and all of our correspondents who are covering it. That's it for our coverage right now with me, but John Vause, Zain Asher pick up the coverage now live from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
