Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Northeast's Biggest Cities Shut Down by Blizzard; Airlines Cancel 7,700 Flights; Libyan Troops Surround Militants in Hotel; President En Route to Saudi Arabia
Aired January 27, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning, the northeast's biggest cities shut down, crippled by a historic, monster blizzard. 58 million people in its path, thousands of flights canceled, schools closed. Driving banned, people warned stay at home. We're tracking the latest on this storm this morning. Live team coverage starts right now.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. It's about 30 minutes past the hour right now. Standing in what would usually by this time be a fairly busy Columbus Circle here in New York. Now the only thing behind me is a little snow plow trying to keep the streets clear if they can.
Then a brave soul out for a run here, I admire that young man. This is a dangerous, historic storm, the blizzard of 2015. It is ongoing for several more hours in parts of the northeast, the freezing temperatures and snowfall amounts, two feet or more in some areas.
Massachusetts, you are getting pounded. Wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. As many as 58 million people will be affected by this storm by the time it is all said and done. Widespread travel bans. Public transit shutdown and only emergency vehicles allowed on the road in so many places.
Bad day to fly or even try it, airlines have canceled close to 8,000 flights today and yesterday. Hundreds more canceled for tomorrow. Huge numbers of students across the area in for a snow day.
Public schools shutdown in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and many other cities. Mayors and governors are warning people to stay off the roads and stay at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Safety first. Your life matters the most. Your health and safety matters the most. The smart thing is to stay back. Any employer who is treating employees the wrong way will have something to say about that. This is not a time for employers to be cheapskates.
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Whiteout conditions and treacherous roads will make driving anywhere extremely dangerous. I cannot stress this part enough. Please stay off the roads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right, this has been going on for several hours now. Several more hours still to come. I want to bring in meteorologist, Derek Van Dam.
Derek, you know, people are waking up to New York City, I think and starting to say, look, there's 8 inches of snow on the ground. This is not as bad as we thought here.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It could have been a lot worse. Really, this was the cutoff point between the very heavy snow and the moderately heavy snow. New York City, we have roughly 8 to 10 inches with another 2 to go.
So we could call it a foot solid, but other areas east of here, we're talking about Rhode Island and Long Island and into Massachusetts, that is where we had reports of upwards of 16 inches in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They are still expecting 12 to 15 inches on top.
BERMAN: There will be places that hit that 2 to 3 feet of snow, eastern Long Island, Eastern Massachusetts, and talk to me about the winds here.
VAN DAM: The winds are the big factor because once the storm starts to exit the New England coast that is where it is headed at the moment. It will leave a lot of wind in its wake. Just because the plows are out now, it doesn't really quite matter.
The wind will push the snow right over the roads again. It will create tricky travel weather especially on the highways, the bridges, the overpasses, all those --
BERMAN: I have been hearing reports of coastal flooding, particularly in Massachusetts, high tides in some of those areas as the storm is reaching the peak over the next few hours.
VAN DAM: Right. Now we are starting to work away from high tide going towards low tide now. I have been checking Twitter. We have not seen any reports of damage so far in terms of coastal storm surge. But it was on average about 2 to 4 feet above where it should have been. It was timing with that high tide and the most powerful part of the storm.
BERMAN: All right, well, that is some good news. We have seen here largely what we are hearing all across the New England and New York area is that most people did stay off the roads allowing the emergency crews to do their work. We are not hearing reports of that many power outages just yet. Hopefully preparation made a big difference here.
VAN DAM: But again, John, we still have a couple of hours to go. We will give it another 6 to 12 hours in the Boston area.
BERMAN: Yes, and again, the winds keep on blowing even after the snow dies down. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much.
Massachusetts is bearing the brunt here. It is in the bull's-eye. Governor Charlie Baker has declared a state of emergency in that state. Logan airport shutdown in Boston until late tomorrow.
There is a statewide ban on any motor vehicle travel except for emergency vehicles. You will get a $500 fine if you get on the roads. Hundreds of school systems including Boston have canceled classes today.
No mail today in Boston. The Postal Services cancelled delivery, closed many post offices across the state. Let's get to Nick Valencia on the ground in Boston with the latest -- Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we wanted to give you a scale of how much snow has fallen in the overnight hours in Boston. Take a look. I'm standing right in it. This is about a foot and a half of snow. It's quite different from what we are seeing in those roads and plows and emergency vehicles.
They made a concerted effort in those overnight hours to clear the roads. Every step I take, I'm sinking right in it. The emergency crews have done a lot to clear the streets. We have seen them out in full force throughout the overnight hours.
We have not seen too many residents out either. There have been some that braved these temperatures. It translates, but you can see how hard the snow is coming down right now. Wind, of course, has been a factor for the last several hours. It is about 10 degrees right now, but feels way colder.
National Weather Service saying it feels about negative 5 degrees here in this area. That snow it has not let up here, John. It is continuing to fall. That is expected to be the case for the rest of the day. Tuesday is under the blizzard warning well into Wednesday.
So if you are watching us from wherever you are watching in the Massachusetts area, it is probably a safe bet to stay inside and not come outside to brave these temperatures -- John.
BERMAN: Grab that blanket. You will need it for a while. Nick Valencia, as you said, several more hours of the snow and wind in Massachusetts. Also in Rhode Island is getting hit hard by the storm, a state of emergency declared by the governor in that state.
All flights canceled in the Providence airport, T.F. Green. The governor is ordering a strictly enforced travel ban. Classes canceled at public schools in Providence and also the University of Rhode Island and Brown University. Our Sara Ganim is in Providence. Sara, how do thing look there right now?
SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we are approaching the peak of the wind gusts here. Most certainly they have picked up in the last couple hours. This is when we expect them to really be at the worst they will be of the day during the day.
This will normally be the beginning of the morning commute. We see almost no one on the roads. Maybe one or two cars that are not snow plows. The plows, we have seen them come by a few times, and they are keeping the roads relatively clean relatively to the amount of accumulation not on the roads.
It is cold and snowy, but the wind you notice when you are standing out here. That seems to be what is setting the storm apart from other storms. Wind gusts are tropical storm-force winds. We expect those to only get worse in the next couple of hours between 6:00 and 8:00.
As then the day goes on and the snow continues to fall, at least the winds are expected to die down a little bit. The good news here is we haven't heard of any significant amounts of power outages. It appears that that is not affecting people as much.
We are told that Providence at this point is somewhat protected because the winds are coming from the north and it is over land instead of from the sea from the south. That may have an effect on the small amount of power outages that we've seen.
It is important to note, John, that one of the main concerns here is coastal flooding. This is a very coastal state. Every single one of the coastal communities in the state is under a flood watch this morning because high tide coincides with the worst of the storm which is about to happen soon -- John.
BERMAN: All right, Sara Ganim for us in Providence. Be careful in Rhode Island for several more hours because this storm is not over yet particularly Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The parts of New York, particularly in New York City, dodged the worst part of the storm. It is still having a big impact.
Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the southern counties. Thousands of flights canceled at the airports. Non- emergency travel banned on New York City streets. We have not seen many cars out here at all, fewer than ten cars in the last several hours.
Subway and rail and bus service suspended. New York City public schools are closed today as are many other school systems in this date. Having a big impact here, having a big impact, Christine, all over the region.
ROMANS: Yes, John, you are right. It is really inconsistent the kinds of snow totals that we are seeing. The Philadelphia and suburbs, this point, at least, dodged a bullet like Manhattan. Still snow accumulation, no question, but not the worst snow totals many had been bearing, John.
New Jersey, we are watching New Jersey. It is getting walloped by the blizzard. Governor Christie is declaring a state of emergency. A statewide travel ban is in effect. Mass transit shutdown as the storm intensified overnight. Newark Airport remains open. It's about 3.3 inches of snow there as of 1:00 a.m. in the morning. Still some falling, but the cancellations today are likely going to outnumber departures and arrivals. Many schools in the state are closed. Governor Christie says the state has been here before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: We had Hurricane Irene. We had Hurricane Sandy. For better or worse, we know how to deal with the situations. I feel completely confident that the folks behind me and all of the people that work for them are prepared. You never know how bad these conditions will be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Flights are not moving this morning at major airports in the northeast. Newark, JFK, LaGuardia and Boston and Philadelphia and LaGuardia are at a standstill. The two biggest carriers, united and American, decided to cancel all flights in New York, Boston and Philadelphia today.
Airlines are hoping to resume normal service tomorrow. They will let passengers rebook flights for free from the airports. Flight cancellations affecting more than 250,000 travelers by the cancellations.
All of the cancellations ripple throughout the country. Backlog is expected to make travel a nightmare through the end of the week.
OK, we are tracking the historic snowstorm all morning long. We have new video and new developments overnight live after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right. This storm, this historic storm of 2015 is still pounding big areas across the northeast here in the under this morning. The National Weather Service just lifted the blizzard warning though for New York City and all of New Jersey.
Even so, some 58 million people in 12 states will be affected by the storm, heavy snowfall, more than two feet in some areas, high, high winds. Gusting up above 70 miles an hour in some places. Widespread travel bans. Non-emergency traffic told to stay off the roads. Most people have obeyed that rule here.
Public transit shutdown in New York and other cities. Thousands of flights have been canceled. Airports pretty much shutdown. A lot of schools, kids will be staying home. Universities closed for the day across the region. It is a day, a great day to stay home, watch CNN, stay safe, and stay warm.
How long will this all last? I'm joined by meteorologis, Derek Van Dam.
VAN DAM: I think we have another 6 to 8 hours with the brunt of the heavy snow. We are talking about Massachusetts and into Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut. As you just talked about, how the blizzard warning has been lifted for New York City and all of New Jersey, that's big news.
We are still under a winter storm warning. It doesn't mean the storm is done for New Jersey or New York City. We still have a few hours left of on and off again heavy snow showers. We could get a couple more inches of snow.
BERMAN: Let's talk about Massachusetts right now. They will get in some places that 2 to maybe two and a half feet of snow.
VAN DAM: Plymouth is reporting up to 16 inches of snowfall. They are still going. They have a heavy band of snow through the region. John, the other thing we want to talk about is the fact the winds -- just because the snow has come to an end in some parts and it will taper off from the west, the wind will be around. Blowing and drifting is a concern with windchill.
BERMAN: All right, again, the blizzard warning lifted in New York City. Not at all for Massachusetts. They are in for it for some time. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, John, thanks for that. We are watching the potential power out ages and very few of those this morning. We are watching the historic snowstorm all morning long.
But first, President Obama is on his way to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. largest ally in the war on terror. More on that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: We have breaking news from Libya at this hour. State run television says troops have surrounded at least three militants involved on the attack on the hotel in Tripoli. It started with a detonation of a car bomb outside the building.
Gunmen stormed the hotel shooting to the high floor. The hotel spokesperson said the guests and staff have been evacuated to safety. It is not clear how many casualties there are. An online group claims it was carried out by militants supporting ISIS. Again, that is in Tripoli.
Breaking overnight, President Obama is ending a historic visit to India earlier this morning, pledging $4 billion in loans and investments claiming the untapped potential of the world's two largest democracies.
The president is now in the air. He is on his way to Saudi Arabia. He will pay respects to the late King Abdullah and bring the alliance with the newly appointed king. He will discuss the issues in Yemen and the fight against ISIS.
A drone that crashed landed on the White House grounds raising new concerns about security. The Secret Service says a hobbyist was behind the crash of 2-foot long quad copter. Officials say the man came forward to say he lost control of that device in flight.
A New England Patriots locker room attendant is a person of interest in the NFL deflate-gate investigation. Surveillance video reportedly shows him taking footballs into a bathroom for about 90 seconds before the AFC championship game.
Meantime Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, is addressing the issue publicly for the first time taking the league and the media to task for what may be a rush to judgment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT KRAFT, PATRIOTS OWNER: If the wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs, I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team and in particular Coach Belichick and Tom Brady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The NFL's investigation expected to take several more weeks to complete. Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong said if he had to go back in time, he would probably dope all over again. Armstrong is promoting a documentary and insists attitudes were different in the '90s.
Calls his use of performance enhancing drugs, quote, "a bad decision in an imperfect time, Armstrong says after all the cheating and lying, the one thing he wishes he could change is, quote, "The man who did those things."
Thousands of flights canceled across the northeast, they cost airlines plenty, but they cost passengers more. An EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: This blizzard and the shutdown around it causing an economic freeze. Let's get an EARLY START on money. The storm will not stop trading on Wall Street. Despite the travel ban, the New York Stock Exchange is planning to open today. It is not surprising. It closed for two days turn Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Before that, it had been years since weather stopped trading.
More than 7,700 flights have been canceled in the last two days. That costs airlines, but it costs you, passengers, more. Cost airline about $6,000 to cancel a domestic flight. It costs the passengers $58,000. You spend more on additional housing and meals and lost productivity from missing work.
Winter weather that keeps shoppers home is devastating businesses. People are not spending money that they normally would. There is a bit of a backlog. That's according to -- but according to America's Research Group, 85 percent of the lost dollars never come back. ARG estimates that this week's big storm shuts down the northeast for more than a day or two, it could cost retailers more than $1 billion in lost sales.
It's 58 minutes past the hour. Historic blizzard slamming the northeast. "NEW DAY" picks up the coverage right now.
