and tunnels closed right now. something that any new yorker will tell you hardly ever happens, 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 on the east end. >> reporter: hey there. i'm out here all by myself. it is certainly desolate blustery. and we are expecting 2 to 3 feet of snow here on the end of long island. you can't see too far down the road. and it's 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 making sure that they're able to keep this area passable for residents who had have to get out at some point. we could still see another foot of snow tomorrow on top of whatever falls overnight tonight. so this is a community that is sort of just waiting and watching to see what tomorrow might bring, don. >> 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 be safe. i want to get now to boston. new england is supposed to get the worst, is supposed to bear the brunt of this storm. and my colleague, brooke baldwin is covering this for us this evening. the snow has started to pick up here in new york city. what about where you are? >> reporter: yeah.

it's definitely steadily falling. i've been out here five hours or so and it's definitely continuing to come down. we're in boston harbor area. the aquarium right and the corner. still a fair amount of snow. and there was a fair amount of snow when we started our evening, but what was once a clear sidewalk is now entirely covered over by snow. let me point out something. when we talk so much about boston you have to think about cape cod, nantucket, 16-mile-per-hour winds being clocked. so there's worries about stronger winds along that part of the state and 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 hand some fellows here who were nice enough to hang out with me in the cold. >> hi i'm james. >> hi i'm tom.

>> i'm joe. >> reporter: they all live in the north end, which is a wonderful part of the city that way. and why are you out after midnight? >> we just love to explore. we come out in hurricanes. the last snowstorm, we just love it. we love to come down and see the water. >> reporter: to see the water, take it in. you feel a lot of people are saying this could be historic. we all talking about the snow two winters ago. >> we're not going to get deflated by this whole snowstorm. >> reporter: nice reference by the way. >> we want to check out the coastal part the harbor see the worst of the storm. the furry of the storm. >> so so i want to come out and check it out. >> reporter: a bit lighthearted thank you very much. >> thanks brooke. >> reporter: as i've been saying over and over people know how to handle a bit of snow. the question is how much. definitely coming down and it

will continue to do so overnight and into tomorrow. so the power outages. i followed up were you asking me last hour if we were hearing anything as far as power outages are concerned, just so far maybe in the 200 region of customers without power. but once it starts coming down and accumulating and hits the power lines, that's when people start losing power. so now on the roads, the clock has hit midnight. so that is when you cannot be out on these roads anywhere in the state of massachusetts. so just a heads up there. take the day off. sounds like a lot of you here in massachusetts get the day off. stay in check on your neighbors as the mayor said here in boston, and if you can enjoy it. >> yeah. you certainly have a good excuse brooke to stay at home when everyone is telling you from the governor the mayor on down, the roads are closed. it's a good excuse. brooke, thank you for following

up on those numbers. 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 home it doesn't get much worse than that. >> reporter: agreed. >> i want to get to my colleague, nick valencia. 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 here in new york city. and not just in the city several counties as well. you can't be out on the roads notice you're in an emergency vehicle or unless you have gotten permission like we did, the media. what are you seeing on the road? >> reporter: yeah, hey don, we're right in the middle of it. it's starting to drift down. for the most part we've heard that travel band from the governor no one on the road except for emergency vehicle and some members of the media like us in our car. but you see out of our

windshield right now, it's icy hard to see. for the most part i'd say, there are people still on the road. we still see some cars not many just a handful. the majority of them out here are emergency vehicles. we see workers with local state agencies and local agencies clearing the road. the peak of this storm what we heard from state officials was supposed to be about 4:00. and another concern here is flooding. high tide is supposed to happen in the 4:00 hour here. that's supposed to coincide with the peak area in boston. but that's something to take very seriously here. very difficult to navigate. we're at a stop right now. but even our tires are having a bit of trouble getting traction. >> the temperatures, it shows you what they're dealing with. >> reporter: yeah 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 inhibit our driving conditions here. we're doing a pretty good job with our engineer here driving through these streets. >> you've got to clear that wind child. you've got to clear that windshield. tv's all about pictures. make sure -- >> reporter: i know i know. >> make sure you have the shoulder harness over your shoulder and don't hide it by your waist. people on social media will get really mad and think you're not wearing your seat belt. >> reporter: i got my seat belt right here, guys. >> george howell is providence rhode island what is happening from your vantage point? >> reporter: the winds are picking up for sure. we're here in the middle of the street 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 here. more snow on the way. looks like a new band is coming in. the big concern for folks 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. you can see the plows. pan over there and show the viewers exactly what's happening here. again, plenty of accumulation happening. we're seeing the winds pick up here as were forecasted. the coastline is expecting the winds at 60 to 70 miles per hour. guys take a look over there. 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.

>> all right, george howell thank you very much. please stay safe out there. nick ana cabrera as well. i want to bring in our storm expert here mr. derek van dam. i saw you checking the models and checking the radar there. what are you seeing? >> we're seeing a very intense snow band move through new york city at the time. and 62 miles per hour wind gusts off of nantucket. the worst is still to come. it's just exactly where is going to get the heaviest of the snow band still uncertain, but we think new york city and the hudson valley is going to be the outer perimeter. >> when the words don't form -- >> and your fingers don't work. tweeting is very difficult. >> 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. >> absolutely. with power outages a real concern. obviously we've only had a few hundred power outages so far. but with the winds picking up people willing holed up inside for a few days. and they'll want to watch out for being susceptible to these conditions. the heaviest of the snow is going to move through here between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 eastern standard time. we'll see the snow probably taper off about noon tuesday along the east coast. but just because the snow ended doesn't mean the storm is over. it's the strong winds that is going to continue to bring drifting of the snow. that's where we'll see 2 to 3 foot drifts even though they've plowed the streets, it doesn't matter it will drift over the roads again. >> that was one of the main concerns. >> people need to listen to emergency personnel. they'll tell them when it's safe

to get back out onto the roads. just because they've plowed it will come back. >> that's one of the biggest mistakes you think it's over because it's not snowing anymore. >> right, and it's not only one of the many mistakes there are so many that people need to consider using their generators properly looking out for signs of frostbite. >> the worst of the storm has not hit yet. cnn is covering it for you. we'll cover this storm for you from top to bottom. don't go anywhere. we'll be back right after a quick break. introducing... a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve.

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and get in the know. our breaking news tonight, new york city virtually shut down by a blizzard that is heading for the rest of the northeast. we go to cnn's randy kaye. she is live for us now in new london, connecticut. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: we're seeing a lot of wind and the wind is definitely picking up. they were telling us we were going to get winds about 60 miles per hour. but in new london connecticut where we are, they are about 40 miles per hour. the snow is coming down about 4 inches per hour. this town is virtually shut down. the only thing we're seeing on the streets right now, ever since the travel ban went into effect about 9:00 everyone's supposed to stay there for a few days maybe.

but all we're seeing now are a few people walking, a few peek walking their dogs, but in terms of vehicles we're only seeing police vehicles and plows, you see a gentleman there walking along, enjoying the wintry weather. every time we get out of the car we think maybe it's going to be a little better but it is actually getting much much worse. we talked to some of the folks in the neighborhood and they're very concerned about the power going off. they're expecting maybe 120,000 people losing power. one gentleman tried to get a generator, they were already sold out within a couple of hours. this wind is really tough here. they couldn't get any water, couldn't get any milk or salt to put on their driveway. so they're trying to stay home. they have a couple kids at home and hopefully that will work for them. we talked to the guys. they're trying to keep an eye on the power lines and the plow

drivers, they are doing a great job. we have seen them come around and around and around gontrying to keep these streets clean. >> you can pan over here. when you said the trucks keep going around and around and around every once in a while we see them come through. and here comes the cavalry, four or five plows come through and they move into different parts of the city. but according to the mayor, about 2800 vehicles out tonight in new york city either salt trucks or sand trucks as well as snowplows. so the big concern all over electricity. and people getting trapped in their homes, and you heard randi kaye talk about that. and she was in new london. but joining me is tony harp. good evening, mayor. >> caller: good evening. >> how are you faring so far? >> caller: 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. >> 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? >> caller: it really does depend on the severity of the storm and how long it lasts. so we really couldn't tell you. >> now what do you, when you, when you listen to the meteorologists we've had, one of our meteorologists on now, does are they telling you anything about, initialsofficials in the area are

the conditions better or worse than they predicted? >> caller: it sounds like it's gotten worse for this part of connecticut. the a inches that we thought we would get has gone up. we didn't think 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 got and lot worse for us here in new haven. >> stand by mayor. i want to tell our viewers 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. >> caller: oh, it's music. >> can you talk to me about power outages in your area? are there any. >> caller: right now there aren't any power outages, and, but we're expecting just in our

area in south central connecticut up to 30,000 outages. and the company that is our power company here 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. >> mayor of new haven toni harp. thank you. >> caller: thank you so much. >> this storm has shut down new york city. we'll have much more on where it's headed next when we come back. they're still after me. get to the terminal across town. are all the green lights you? no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51.

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your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ states of emergency declared in new york new jersey massachusetts. a region with a combined population of more than 30,000 people. and if you think we're out of the woods take another look. long island is bracing for the worst. >> reporter: 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 in this community. the lights off in the distance are from one of the snowplows that we've seen make multiple laps around here as the snow continues to blow completely covering the roadway minutes after they come passing by. the highest wind gust reported so far right at 50 miles per hour with sustained winds around 30 miles per hour. so the wind gusts are really picking up. and here you see one of the snowplows coming by and how much snow they're able to skiff off the ground. and remember that area we dug down a little bit ago? here's that hole completely covered up against. so each time they remove the snow it 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

foixing on. it is putting the communities at risk from being cut off from the rest of the mainland. 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 deemploy to help people who could be stranded. we also know that the new york state police have 50 4x4 vehicles. >> ana cabrera, we'll get back. be careful out there. i want to take you to new jersey right now. new jersey transit shut down around 10:00 tonight. new jersey travelers should not expect services tomorrow. this is the it information we're getting from officials there and the train shut down. no service until thursday. let's take you on the road.

cnn's brian todd out in the new jersey blizzardmobile. what are you seeing? >> reporter: you mentioned the transit being shut down it has been shut down for more than an hour. a travel ban has been in place for more than an hour. no one allowed 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've got a long line of snowplows we fell in behind them and spreaders spreading salt on some of the roads. this is an encouraging sign because we talked to a police officer in asbury park new jersey where we were a short time ago. and he was saying because of the nature of the storm and the driving nature of this they didn't think they were going to be able to get plows out until 4:00 in the morning because the side roads were 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. again, they may have to wait for some of this to fall on the roads before they deploy again. but they've got a long line of snowplows heading west out of the asbury park new jersey area. but still, a lot of the storm is yet to come between now and noon tomorrow. they think still maybe 1 to 2 inches per 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 per hour in some arias of the region are causing whiteout type conditions and really big visibility problems. but a good sign out our dash cam, you can see the snowplows and spreaders doing their work. >> if you have to be out there, the emergency workers, don't get overconfident, be safe.

we'll get back to you. i want to bring in our meteorologist, derek van dam. the snow let off for a little bit. and it was a little slushy now it's starting to you know fluffier snow right now, the drier snow. what's happening? >> basically we're starting to see some of the moisture being picked up from the atlantic ocean and the banding of snowfall with the nor easter starting to take full effect. and we're starting to see it pick up in intensity across massachusetts, connecticut and lienld. it makes a total of perhaps 15 inches of snow. >> do we know what the rate is right now. >> this is falling at a good 1 to 2 inches of snow. but what we're seeing with some of our reporters in the field in new jersey and massachusetts, 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. can you see the flashes of lightning and hear the thunder while it's snowing. >> last year there was thunder snow. my dog, like jumped into the couch, i'm like hey you're supposed to protect me. that doesn't happen very often. what happens to cause the thunder snow? >> thunder snow behaves just like a thunderstorm. you get updrafts and with the bands of snow you have similar updrafts of a thunderstorm. so it's not out of the likelihood to see lightning and hear thunder in some of these really intense bands that come through. >> we're talking about ocean-effect snow. ana has to have goggles is that because of an ocean effect? >> think about it here. we're protected in new york city. we have a lot of buildings that present protect us from the strong

winds, but along the coast there's nothing to stop the wind. so she's in the brunt of it. the water pushes up the waves. the problems with the coastal surge. and the stronger winds are along the coast. >> what about the timing of the storm? initially we said between midnight and 6:00. still same timing? >> absolutely. the heaviest of snow bands still moving through as we speak. new york city has a pretty heavy snow band as you see behind us. still another three to four hours out, it's good that the roads have been closed that's when the strongest of the snow bands will come through around 6:00. then we see them taper off around noon on tuesday. but just because the snow has let off doesn't mean the storm is done. >> we can't see anything. 12:29 here on the east coast. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. you do a lot of work on cnn.

>> international. >> we're going to head off to boston and get to brooke baldwin. you said we were still on with the timing. i want to get back to you and tell me what you're seeing. >> reporter: yeah 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 please scootch that way? it's that kind of night. we're going to roll with it. i don't know if you can see this through the camera lens but it is really really coming down. let me walk. can we hop off sticks on the fly? it's after midnight. >> why don't you yell at me when you're done and we'll get back to you. how about that? >> reporter: i'm good if you're

good. yeah yeah. yeah. >> you got it? >> reporter: you want to stay with me? >> go for it. >> reporter: i'm good i'm good. walk with me. steve gets a goldstar star for working with me. no people out other than people from a hotel. got a plow truck, walking through the snow much more accumulation. the winds, 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 we're looking at the water. but the issue is you think of the people on the cape. you think of people in nantucket. we heard the winds are whipping clocking 62 miles per hour winds in nantucket. 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 thorough fares, you get towed. so we'll wait and see how much more of this falls in boston. >> 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. >> reporter: i got this. >> i know, i know you can take care of yourself. i'll get back to you. thank you very much. brooke baldwin rolling with it in boston. you can stop asking me about the blizzardmobile. because it's chris welsh is now out in the blizzardmobile. what are you seeing chris?

>> reporter: well yeah. 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 at east 83rd street and park avenue just trying to give you a picture here. i heard you mentioning it a few minutes ago. if you look out our front window here, snow's starting to come down a little more heavily. this is similar to what it looked like a few hours ago when it was coming down. >> 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. 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 just trying to slip and have some fun the night before a day off of school.

but most people listening to the warnings and staying off the roads, staying inside. >> hey chris, i want to ask you, when we were out it was a bit slushy 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 not quite as slushy? >> reporter: 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. >> where are you in the city chris? >> reporter: we are traveling on park avenue and we are at about 80th street now, as we're heading south on park avenue.

can you see out our front camera now, there's a person with an umbrella up ahead. there's another person crossing the street earn obviously bundled up as best they can be but really, 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. >> all right, thank you very much, criswellhris welsh. the mayor making sure all the streets are plowed. the major streets are not usual a problem, it's the side streets that 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. travel bans in new york and

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all right, back now with our breaking news coverage. we want to get to 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? >> reporter: as you're seeing up there, 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. can you see people on the street that you don't see very often. and those red lights all the way up as we went another 50 60 blocks we'd be up at cnn where you are right now. if you come downtown this way 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 we'll 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. >> it is definitely falling within the time parameters that our meteorologists and 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 derek has been watching the forecast and the satellite here and he's saying it's falling within the parameters, and we can expect the worst of it between midnight and 6:00. i'm wondering, as you were saying miguel, 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. >> reporter: oh, absolutely it's picking up. we had about seven hours from noon to 7:00 8:00 where it was hard snow for most of the day. we led that it was going to continue at that pace and then it died off for several hours after that. and the last hour and a half two hours, it has really picked up. and this is the result. very very quickly, all the work that sanitation workers were able to do has been undone by the snow that's coming down.

the temperature has 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 temperatures come down a little bit more. it is an amazing sight to be in the middle of manhattan, the city of 8 million people to see it stop and 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? >> thank you very much. miguel marquez. look at the big clock, it says 12:41. 25 degrees fahrenheit. a bit chillier where ana cabrera is way out on the tip at montauk. she's seeing the winds whipping up. >> reporter: very windy. there are bare patches here on the ground 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 res accidents who are trying to get out of their houses in 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 hours 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 how the wind is swirling coming one direction 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 we will be continuing to watch all of these different elements and wishing the best for the folks of this community, don. >> absolutely ana cabrera, thank you very much. we're out here so you don't have to be out here. sit back at home and watch. we'll continue our coverage here on cnn. >> well past mid night. streets in new york city and streets around the region empty as the storm of 2015 gains strength. more when we come right back. ugh... ...heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm... amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. next.

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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 cnn severe weather expert derek van dam. he's here with me. we're out in this derek so they don't have to be in it. they can sit home with the milk and bread and peanut butter and everything you're supposed to get at the store. >> and hopefully feel all their extremityies extremities. >> and have electricity. >> exactly. the winds have the possibility of taking down power lines. >> we've been talking about the

timeline. you say it's steady. i feel like it's picking up. i've been out here a couple of hours now and the snow is picking up. >> we keep monitoring twitter to see what the latest activity is looking at the latest snow reports. the national weather service tweeting that central park reported 5.5 inches so far officially. and we've had a quarter mile visibility. if we had wind gusts of 35 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. >> so these are blizzard conditions. >> exactly. >> what about new england. we call those guys the cavalry behind us. because a lot of them will show up. and do the columbus circle when we're here, but that's good. >> no respect for our live shot. >> no but that's music to "the

new yorker's" ears. >> what about the new england area? >> they're seeing the heaviest of the snowfall at the moment and the strongest of the winds. nantucket had a wind gust at 62 miles per hour. you're talking about snow coming down at 2 to 3 inches per hour and you have those kinds of winds. you'll see it drift upwards to 2 to 3 feet by tomorrow morning. and just because the plows are out like this doesn't mean a whole lot, because that snow will drift right back over the roads creating a dangerous condition. >> don't think it's over even if the snow's over or if there's a lull in the snow. >> that's right. the potential of wind chill is a major factor. with the winds picking up to near hurricane force, we're talking about the potential to bring wind chills well below freezing. that's a concern for any exposed arias of the skin. people underestimate the effects

of hypothermia. >> 25 degrees, according to the big thermometer in columbus circle. we're out here so you don't have to be out here. we'll be right back with our breaking news the blizzard of 2015 as it is picking up steam here. (son) oh no... can you fix it, dad? yeah, i can fix that. (dad) i wanted a car that could handle anything. i fixed it! (dad) that's why i got a subaru legacy. (vo) symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 36 mpg. i gotta break more toys. (vo) introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru.

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welcome back everyone. snow falling faster here in new york as the blizzard of 2015 gains strength. joining me now is chris welsh out and about new york city. what are you seeing? >> reporter: yeah, 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 photo journalist 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 stuck at a red light. once we make this turn here you can get a pretty good shot of what would be sixth avenue a wide thoroughfare. you will get a pretty good idea of 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 damme a few minutes ago. a lot of folks hoping 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 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. no one really knows. there's a band of snow that could get closer don. we're just waiting to see where that goes. >> we don't know. and that's why you have to keep watching and be prepared. it's better be to overprepared than underprepared.

thank you very much chris welsh. we appreciate you reporting from the blizzardmobile in manhattan. we'll be right back with our coverage. don't go anywhere.

our breaking news tonight, the delivered of 2015 gaining

strength and taking aim at millions across the northeast. i want to go now to cnn's ana cabrera. what are you seeing? >> reporter: 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. >> anna kaa cabrera, stay safe. derek, you believe it's picking up. >> it is. look at that. they just plowed this a little while ago. this is pretty tight. >> 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 in a perfect place to get the heaviest snow. so she's probably going to get the brunt of this. >> 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 they plowed this about what 20 minutes ago, and it's white now. >> and the wroodroads will continue to deteriorate. no matter how hard they try to plow the roads, snow will

continue to accumulate 2 to 3 inches per hour that will become white very very quickly. >> it's almost 1:00. so between midnight and 6:00 is supposed to be the brunt of it. it doesn't mean at 6:00 boom, it's going to stop. >> it'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. we're still going to have heavy bands through now. but just because the snow's tapered off doesn't mean that the storm's done. the wind will be the next factor. >> and the biggest concern, people become overconfident. they think oh, i can get out there and they try to go to work. but if you have this excuse from the governor from the mayor. >> you cannot go wrong. >> you should probably heed it. >> we can make that call right now. i would say something like eh time for me to go. 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 our correspondents who are covering it. that's it for our coverage with me but john vause, zain asher pick up the coverage live now from the cnn center in atlanta. >> this will most likely be one of the largest blizzards in the city of new york city. >> poses a threat to public safety. >> it's dangerous to be out there now. it's only going to become more dangerous. >> this is going to be a lot of snow no matter how you are add it up. >> people should act in such a way to bhak themmake themselves save. >> the most important thing is for people to hunker down. >> yeah hunker down. that's what a lot of people are doing. and we'd like to welcome you in the