Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Report From North Carolina Storm

Aired December 04, 2002 - 14:16   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to tell you, though, what's going on. We're told plenty of sleet, snow and freezing rain is going around the area, possibly as far south as the Atlanta area.
CNN's Eric Phillips is on the phone with us now from Charlotte.

Eric, what can you tell us?

ERIC PHILLIPS, CNN REPORTER: Well, good afternoon, Kyra.

We've been here in Charlotte for a couple of hours. And I can tell you that the precipitation has been constantly changing, since we've been here. It was lightly raining when we got here, then it changed to freezing rain, falling from the sky, little ice pellets hitting the windshield, sound almost like hail. But you knew immediately it was ice because the wheels on your car became slippery on the roadway.

And then a few minutes ago, big snowflakes falling from the ground, and now it's back to rain again. And so, the situation here has been very fluid. The weather has been changing and we're expecting it to get worse, the later it gets in the evening, because the temperatures will be dropping, making driving conditions really treacherous here...

K. PHILLIPS: All right, well, be...

E. PHILLIPS: ... a lot...

K. PHILLIPS: I'm sorry, Eric.

E. PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

K. PHILLIPS: I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to cut you off. We're looking at live pictures now, Eric. Stay with me. We're told, because of the weather conditions, of course, we had a hard time getting this picture, but this is coming to us from our affiliate WCNC in Charlotte.

Wow, what you're telling me really does fit the pictures. It's incredible to see all that snow. It feels like I'm in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Why don't you tell me how this is impacting the area, with regard to travel and schools and daily life there.

E. PHILLIPS: Well, the main highways around here, for example, the traffic is just crawling along, 85 and 77, the main roadways. People are really being very careful because they know, from past experience, what this type of weather can mean for driving conditions.

As far as school and office closures, many of them are letting out early today, if, in fact, they even went in this morning at all. They were warned that this weather would be on the way because, of course, there's a National Weather Service, winter weather warning in effect for several other states. And Charlotte, North Carolina, along with South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and others, knew that this weather would be coming. So a lot of places decided not to even open up this morning. But for those that did, many of the schools are getting out, trying to get those students home as soon as possible because, again, they realize the driving conditions will deteriorate the later it gets in the evening.

K. PHILLIPS: All right. And update us again on the power outage situation. How is much of the area, with regard to power?

E. PHILLIPS: Well, here in Charlotte, North Carolina, we're not seeing a huge problem with power outages yet, but again, when you've got that heavy ice weighing on the power lines, surely, they're expecting some. What we have been seeing is power crews all around the area, on the ready, knowing that they could expect problems later today. They're ready to attack them as soon as possible, but that is not to speak of the tens of thousands of other people in places like Arkansas, and Missouri and other states, that have already seen some of the this storm, tens of thousands of people still without power at this hour. And they're just hoping here in Charlotte that, when the worst does come, they're ready to deal with it.

K. PHILLIPS: And are flights going on schedule or have there been cancellations, delays?

E. PHILLIPS: We were fortunate. We flew in this morning and we were able to get, really, one of the last flights coming in on U.S. Air. Delta has canceled most, if not all of their flights, coming into Charlotte today and some of the other airlines, as well. Again, it's a tenuous situation. People know what this area is expecting. And so, even the airlines want to play it safe, rather than sorry.

K. PHILLIPS: So Eric, is it coming here to Atlanta?

E. PHILLIPS: Well, you know, Georgia is on the list of the winter weather warning. And so, I'm sure that north Georgia and, perhaps, the more central Georgia could see some of this, as well. But what we're told is that this area here in Charlotte and portions of South Carolina are really going to see the worse of it, so we should see most of the action here, Kyra.

K. PHILLIPS: All right. A little snow in the south there. Our Eric Phillips, thank you so much, Eric.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 4, 2002 - 14:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to tell you, though, what's going on. We're told plenty of sleet, snow and freezing rain is going around the area, possibly as far south as the Atlanta area.
CNN's Eric Phillips is on the phone with us now from Charlotte.

Eric, what can you tell us?

ERIC PHILLIPS, CNN REPORTER: Well, good afternoon, Kyra.

We've been here in Charlotte for a couple of hours. And I can tell you that the precipitation has been constantly changing, since we've been here. It was lightly raining when we got here, then it changed to freezing rain, falling from the sky, little ice pellets hitting the windshield, sound almost like hail. But you knew immediately it was ice because the wheels on your car became slippery on the roadway.

And then a few minutes ago, big snowflakes falling from the ground, and now it's back to rain again. And so, the situation here has been very fluid. The weather has been changing and we're expecting it to get worse, the later it gets in the evening, because the temperatures will be dropping, making driving conditions really treacherous here...

K. PHILLIPS: All right, well, be...

E. PHILLIPS: ... a lot...

K. PHILLIPS: I'm sorry, Eric.

E. PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

K. PHILLIPS: I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to cut you off. We're looking at live pictures now, Eric. Stay with me. We're told, because of the weather conditions, of course, we had a hard time getting this picture, but this is coming to us from our affiliate WCNC in Charlotte.

Wow, what you're telling me really does fit the pictures. It's incredible to see all that snow. It feels like I'm in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Why don't you tell me how this is impacting the area, with regard to travel and schools and daily life there.

E. PHILLIPS: Well, the main highways around here, for example, the traffic is just crawling along, 85 and 77, the main roadways. People are really being very careful because they know, from past experience, what this type of weather can mean for driving conditions.

As far as school and office closures, many of them are letting out early today, if, in fact, they even went in this morning at all. They were warned that this weather would be on the way because, of course, there's a National Weather Service, winter weather warning in effect for several other states. And Charlotte, North Carolina, along with South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and others, knew that this weather would be coming. So a lot of places decided not to even open up this morning. But for those that did, many of the schools are getting out, trying to get those students home as soon as possible because, again, they realize the driving conditions will deteriorate the later it gets in the evening.

K. PHILLIPS: All right. And update us again on the power outage situation. How is much of the area, with regard to power?

E. PHILLIPS: Well, here in Charlotte, North Carolina, we're not seeing a huge problem with power outages yet, but again, when you've got that heavy ice weighing on the power lines, surely, they're expecting some. What we have been seeing is power crews all around the area, on the ready, knowing that they could expect problems later today. They're ready to attack them as soon as possible, but that is not to speak of the tens of thousands of other people in places like Arkansas, and Missouri and other states, that have already seen some of the this storm, tens of thousands of people still without power at this hour. And they're just hoping here in Charlotte that, when the worst does come, they're ready to deal with it.

K. PHILLIPS: And are flights going on schedule or have there been cancellations, delays?

E. PHILLIPS: We were fortunate. We flew in this morning and we were able to get, really, one of the last flights coming in on U.S. Air. Delta has canceled most, if not all of their flights, coming into Charlotte today and some of the other airlines, as well. Again, it's a tenuous situation. People know what this area is expecting. And so, even the airlines want to play it safe, rather than sorry.

K. PHILLIPS: So Eric, is it coming here to Atlanta?

E. PHILLIPS: Well, you know, Georgia is on the list of the winter weather warning. And so, I'm sure that north Georgia and, perhaps, the more central Georgia could see some of this, as well. But what we're told is that this area here in Charlotte and portions of South Carolina are really going to see the worse of it, so we should see most of the action here, Kyra.

K. PHILLIPS: All right. A little snow in the south there. Our Eric Phillips, thank you so much, Eric.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com