hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm robyn curnow. ahead on cnn arb a frightening in flight incident in the sky. a commercial airliner raining dubry onto homes and streets in colorado, shocking moments witnesses knew something had gone wrong. that story plus the deadly crisis in texas. millions are without water and food. as the state starts to thaw they're facing a long, long recovery. also we speak to a doctor in south africaoon their covid vaccine rollout and how the vari

want is impacting their response. u.s. vafbiation authorities are investigating a midair emergency that ended with one passenger expressing, quote, pure relief even though it could have been deadly and catastrophic. parts of a passenger plane plunged from the sky above colorado after a boeing triple 7 blew an engine. it was ultimately able to land safely. now, this is what it looked like on saturday afternoon as on lookers watched the debris come down. pieces of the plane ended up in front yards unbruinfield, colorado, which is near denver. the engine failure happened shortly after take off forcing the hawaii bound flight to return to denver international airport. here's audio of the moment the mayday call went out. take a listen.

>> mayday, mayday, united air aircraft. just experienced an engine failure need to return immediately. >> all 241 passengers and crew on that flight made it off safely. it airline says most of them have since boarded a new flight to hawaii. amazingly there have been no reports of injuries. lucy is in bruinfield covering the story for us and she filed an update a short time ago. >> reporter: this was the area most impacted by the debris raining down from united flight 328, the boeing 777 that took off from denver's international airport. it was bound from honolulu. but minutes after take off the pilots reported a problem where the right engine. they then turned around. as they were flying over this

area residents, eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing the sound of an explosion. one eyewitness described it as something that sounded like a sonic boom. and that's when they saw black smoke coming from the plane and pieces of metal raining down. just to give you a sense of the scope of the debris field i mean down the block behind this cop car is a massive soccer field. there's a dog park, there's a lot of folks out and about earlier in the day playing soccer, walking their dogs, enjoying the nicer weather that denver had earlier in the afternoon. all of that disrupted by this incredible event. the broomfield police say they've used a massive amount of police tape to section off these areas because quite frankly anywhere you go here you can find pieces of debris. they're still urging residents to report those pieces. they're saying you shouldn't touch that, get the authorities involved. and again a miracle no one was hurt. not any of the 241 people

onboard that craft nor any of the residents here on the streets of colorado. >> here's another view of the ground showing the moment witnesses knew something had gone wrong. >> it's something blew up. >> that video was shot by tyler thore. he spoke with cnn earlier about what he saw. >> i just couldn't believe it. we were on a walk with the family just like any other saturday and there's a low flying airplane. and i looked up and as i'm looking at it i actually see fire burst out of the plane and an explosion. so, you know, kind of in shock at first and then you start thinking oh, my gosh, is this plane going to go down? so i mentioned it to my family. i didn't know what else to do. i pulled out my camera. i grabbed my phone. i didn't know if i was going to call someone or not or who i'd

call, but i took the video. once the sound from the explosion hit, it was very frightening to my daughter. you could hear her in the video. i didn't know what to do. we were far enough away. i wasn't concerned for our safety necessarily, but knowing the area i knew that was over broomfield. and that's a populated area. the debris i saw on that soccer field, i've been there with my family. so i was absolutely concerned for the people on the ground and the people on that plane. and thankful they were all okay. >> well, i want to bring in former senior ntsb investigator and aviation security consultant. he joins us from golden, colorado. hi, greg. just listening to all these eyewitness accounts and seeing all of this video and the photographs of the debris field, what are your initial thoughts? >> one of the first things,

robyn, is that investigators are going to be collecting these pieces. it's evident this was an uncontained engine failure. we've seen it in the past on a variety of different aircraft. with this particular event it's fortunate that it happened right after take off and not five hours into the flight. so with the debris being fortunately located in an area that's accessible by investigators, that will provide evidence for them to try and determine the origin of the failure. >> i mean, just the video of that plane and what was left of that engine kind of limping back to the airport, i mean did the pilots do an amazing job after this catastrophic event happened? >> definitely with this particular flight crew as with other flight crews they're constantly being trained to handle situations like this. so they are prepared. fortunately, they have those skills. we don't want to see them use it, but when they do have to use

it like in this particular instance, it's a very prescribed procedure. they did the right things. it was very thorough, methodical. their primary mission, though, is to maintain control of the airplane. assess what's going on after the event, assess the controllability of the airplane and then determine the best kofrs course of action to get the plane back on the ground. and it's evident they did it and did it safely. >> they certainly did. i mean hats off to that crew. but just from your expertise, an engine should not pop off mid-flight. and it wasn't just after take off when sometimes the plane was stressed the most. it happened a while afterwards. does that tell you anything? >> well, they were still in the climb phase, robyn. so you're still at a maximum power setting. they were in a phase of flight they were heavy low and slow. so they have a lot of fuel onboard. they're climbing to their cruise altitude so they're

accelerating. so when this event took place, you know, this is probably the worst time. they're at maximum power. so this is the point in the flight where you have the most stresses on the? gen. so investigators are going to be looking to determine whether there were a series of blades. now this engine has fan blades, compressor blades and turbine blades. they're going to look to see if those failed or some other mechanical part failed which led to this uncontaped failure. >> and you heard our reporter there and of course one of the eyewitnesses who had one of these pieces of the plane sort of dumped outside his house. how much does this debris field, how much will it tell you, the scope of it, the size of it, what dropped where? certainly there's some great clues for investigators on the ground. >> absolutely, robyn. when you look at documenting the debris field you can of course trace by trajectory the larger pieces and of course where they fell in relation to the flight

path of the aircraft. they're going to have to try and find out if there was something in flight that the flight crew didn't see such as ingestion of a bird or a flock of birds they may have hit that could have led to this event or was this a true mechanical problem? because where that debris is, the smallest piece of that debris could be the origin of this failure. so it's going to be very important to get as much of the debris as possible. and that's why they want people if they do see it, don't touch it, call the local authorities. because it could be something, you know, that you can hold in your hand that could have been the origin of this failure. >> yeah. and these folks were supposed to be on their way to hawaii. so when they do actually get to hawaii they're certainly going to have a much needed holiday there, that's for sure. thank you very much for talking to us. you're there in colorado. really appreciate you sharing your expertise. >> thank you, robyn. so coming up on cnn, the

deepening crisis of broken waterlines in texas, 14 million people across the state are without ready access to fresh-water. we have that story just ahead. also a climatologist explains how warming temperatures in the arctic may help trigger winter storms as far south as texas. all of that next.

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we've been without hot water since monday, so it's been a little tough. and yesterday we lost water, so like a lot of other people in this city we don't have any water, and we're just trying to look for water. so we're here, and it's great to see the community come together and pitch in and do stuff like this, but yeah we're scrambling. >> as you heard there, water is the issue for millions of texans right now. last week's deadly winter storm knocked out power across the state. surely lights are coming back on, but fresh-water will take much longer. at distribution sites water handed out as quickly as new ones are trucked in. those who do get tap water must boil it.

some are resorting to melted snow to flush toilets. and from not enough water to way too much. many homes are currently unlivable because of severe water damage from burst pipes, as you can see here. and the expected thaw this weekend could make it worse as more pipes unfreeze and fail. the state has announced plans to recruit a small army of plumbers to begin the extensive repairs. and president biden saturday freed up additional resources for texas by approving disaster declaration and 3,000 members of the texas national guard have now been pressed into relief efforts. >> the water's not even bubbling. >> reporter: the lights may be on but across parts of texas, the water isn't. drinking water still needed. >> there's a panic mode that we didn't have enough drinking water. we would love showers, but we'll get that when we get our water turned back on. >> reporter: texans waiting in

long lines just to pick up cases of water with nearly half of the state under boil water advisories. >> this is community of people that are scared and upset and angry. we're eventually going to need some better answers. so right now we're just trying to get water to our neighbors. >> reporter: but it's not just drinking water. some residents can't even flush the toilet without melting snow. >> we relocated back to our house. five adults and two dogs, and we started harvesting snow because we'd also lost water at that point. harvesting snow for toilet water. >> reporter: that lack of water making it especially difficult for those suffering from kidney failure. some dialysis clinics have been forced to temporarily close meaning patients have to go to the hospital to keep their kidneys from shutting down. >> so we've had double sometimes triple coverages of physicians at all the hospitals. we cover many hospitals in austin. ordinarily we'd finish most of our dialysis between about 8 and

5:00 and 6:00 at night. for a regular day we were working 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning dialyzing patients in the hospital. >> reporter: president joe biden approving a disaster declaration for texas freeing up more help from fema. >> you know when disaster strikes, this is not just an issue for texans, this is an issue for our entire country. disasters don't strike everyone equally. when you already have so many families in the state and across the country that are on the brink that can't even afford an emergency to begin with, when you have a disaster like this, it can just set people back for years. >> reporter: and as residents wait for the water and power to come back, some still forced to use their cars for warmth. others if they're lucky find shelter in a hotel. >> the guests, frankly, it's been the equivalent of camping indoors. >> reporter: and moving forward officials here are going to start looking at what exactly

went wrong over this past week. and among what they're investigating is that many customers here in texas reported getting extremely high power bills even amid this catastrophe so texas officials are investigating that. and on the waterfront, whenned could we see the water come back to texas? well, in some places we're well on our way. in houston, for example, they've reached that minimum threshold for water pressure. and here in austin officials are optimistic they can get water citywide by the end of the weekend. omar himenez, cnn, houston, texas. >> it will be many months before we learn exactly why the texas power grid failed. and there will be questions and concerns about the unusual nature of this storm itself. it was far colder and more persistent as anyone expected and prepared for that far south. scientists want to know if it's more evidence of weather extremes brought on my climate change. and while some have falsely tried to pin the blame on

renewable energy such as wind turbines, the mayor of houston says that is nonsense. take a listen. >> for anybody that attempts to blame what happened this week in texas on renewables being totally, totally disingenuous. what is important to bear in mind is that the climate is getting warmer, and we have to address the issue of climate change even in the state of texas. anybody who contends that what happened this week was due to renewable energy, they're trying to deflect where the real responsibility lies. >> let's talk more about all of of this with an atmospheric scientist and director of the climate science center at texas tech university. great to have you on the show. thank you so much for joining us. i really do want you to unpack for us why warming arctic has an impact in texas.

>> well, first of all in texas about every ten years there is a very severe cold wave with ice and snow that knocks out the power. it happened in 1989 there was a very big one in 2011 there was a very large one. and after every single one of these winter storm events there was a commission. there were findings saying that the power grid was not prepared, the gas plants were not prepared, the gas lines were not prepared. and they really should be winterized as they are winterized in other places further north. but each time those recommendations were ignored. so the storm that happened in texas this past week, it was not unprecedented and not something that has not happened before. now, as the world warms we know that our weather is getting weirder. we know that heat waves are becoming more intense and more frequents. we know wildfires are burning a greater area from california to alaska to australia. we know that hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are

getting stronger and more damaging. we know that our really expensive weather and climate events are getting worse, and we know that today we are already woefully unprepared for those changes as this week has just showed us. >> it certainly has. but just explain to us what played out in terms of the atmosphere that led to these catastrophic scenes we saw in texas. >> we get these terrible cold waves in texas when there is an outbreak of cold arctic air that makes it all the way down to texas. and this does happen on a fairly regular basis. not all the time but enough if you've lived here a while like i have, you've experienced it a few times. here's the connection to climate. the jetstream is powered by the temperature difference between the arctic and the midlatitudes. but the arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. and, in fact, this past week some parts of the arctic were

over 15 degrees celsius, almost 25 degrees fahrenheit warmer than they would be normally this time of year. so the jetstream slows down and begins to meander. and scientists are not sure yet dace this is still at the cutting edge of scientific research. we don't have enough satellite record to be sure, but there's some indication as the arctic warms much faster than the rest of the world even though our winters are getting warmer, which they are, we could still be seeing these cold air outbreaks happening. so you'd have more and more cold, more and more cold as the world continues to get warmer. >> so you call it global weirding, i understand, which is pretty good description because it has been wacky weather. what should folks do about it, because this is about mitigation, adaptation. i think also someone said it's about suffering. but it's a balance how all of us

are going to manage this global weird weather in the weeks or months or years ahead. >> to complete the quote we have these three choices. and the more mitigation we do which means the more carbon emissions we reduce, the less adaptation is required and the less suffering there will be. adaptation means to look ahead down the road and see what's happening. we have to prepare for 500-year flood events to be happening every three years as they have in some parts of houston. we have to prepare for hurricanes to be capable of dropping 50 inches of rain as hurricane harvey did three years ago. the midwest was in record flood condition just two years ago. it's hard to remember that far back, and we are seeing weather records broken all around the world as they normally do with hot and cold, but our high temperature records have been broken much more frequently. so we cannot only prepare based on the past. we must also prepare based on how things are changing so when we hit them in the future we'll be ready.

>> so you advise cities and city managers, engineers, ecologists about these scenarios. if you look at the globe, i mean this is the kind of expectations in terms of weather that we all need to prepare for, but what is clear from texas is even knowing all of that nothing was done, and then on top of it we're hearing all these reports of folks being charged crazy prices for their electrical bills. so it's ordinary folks who are then going to have pay for all the ill preparedness of the infrastructure of cities. what do you make about that? how can any of us who are listening to you now try and fathom and put this into our own daily lives in terms of preparation? >> you are absolutely right. that is what is happening. so those who reap the benefits of failing to prepare to adequately winterize their equipment because it would cost more up front, they are not the ones paying the greatest price. as with any disaster, the poorest people, those living

below the poverty line, those already vulnerable because of health conditions or or the reasons, those are the people most affected by these disasters. and as climate changes we see that they are also the ones most affected. whether they live in a floodplain because those are where the most affordable houses are, whether they're disproportionately affected by or exposed to air pollution. air pollution from burning fossil fuels alone. the poorest and most vulnerable are the first to suffer. and that's why preparing is a job for all of us. cities, water districts, counties, states, provinces, departments, federal and government agencies, businesses, churches, places of worship, schools, everybody has a role to play in looking around their community and saying who is vulnerable and what could we do to prepare to help. >> yeah, it's certainly a lesson. what happened in texas could happen anywhere. and our thoughts do go out to

everybody. and you are there in texas. how have you been -- just before we go, quickly. >> i've been incredibly fortunate to have the power on, but our university has had rolling black outs, and have many colleagues and friends who have been in dire circumstances throughout the rest of the state this past week. >> well, our thoughts and much love to you all. thank you. atmospheric scientist, thank you very much for joining us and sharing your expertise. more now on the climate crisis. the u.n. released a new climate change report. among the sobering findings in the lengthy document, species and ecosystems are vanishing faster than ever. at the current rate global warming will reach 1.5 degrees celsius around 2040 and earlier. and a quarter of the world's so-called disease burden or death and loss of health stems

from environment related risks such as exposure to toxic waste and pollution as we heard there. and the report says governments could play a major role in protecting the planet as the world reemerges from the pandemic by prioritizing environmental policies as they restart their economies. you are watching cnn. brutal winter weather over much of the u.s. has also delayed vaccine shipments and getting doses into arms. we'll tell you what the government is doing to make up for lost time in the u.s. and south africa is rolling out its vaccine program starting with health workers. we talk to a disease expert that explains why such a race to vaccinate people before the variants gets out of control.

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welcome back. to all of our viewers here in the united states and all around the world, i'm robyn curnow. you're watching cnn. so severe winter storms have delayed efforts to get more americans vaccinated against covid. there's now a backlog of millions of vaccine doses waiting to be shipped. and many states are most poning vaccination appointments. white house officials say deliveries will be ramped up to comp compensate. paolo? >> reporter: just a month after reaching 400,000 confirmed covid-19 deaths the united states is closing in on nearly half a million people dead from the virus. the cdc warning it's unclear how much of the decrease is due to

recent winter weather closing testing sites. and there's a sharp spike in cases at the university of maryland. school officials there are ordering all students living on campus to skequester in place until next saturday. >> it's pretty much expected when you see students are returning back to campus. >> despite the positive signs elsewhere the director of the university of washington's institute for health metrics and evaluation thinks we may not achieve herd immune until next winter, this despite reports suggesting we may get there next month. >> we know covid is really seasonal. so when the next winter rolls around we need to have a much higher level of protection to stop covid in its tracks than we're likely to achieve. >> reporter: this week weather related shipping delays are fueling discussions about whether or not the administering of second doses should be delayed, allowing for more first round shots for americans. the white house maintains that is still too risky given the

data about the vaccines. the doctor who sits on the fda's advisory committee told jake tapper yesterday he agrees. >> i worry if people wait a long time for that second dose -- i'm not saying you can't wait say six weeks between dose one and dose two, but if you're waiting and months and months i think you're going to have this false notion you're protected when you may well not be. >> reporter: many states are getting vax naze efforts back on track, and maryland officials are using a vackination unit to make up for last ground. in the city of minneapolis health officials are making additional efforts such as partnering with local organizations and churches to reach communities hardest hit by the pandemic. >> the best thing i can say to anyone is if it's available, take it and pray it works for you and you stay safe. >> reporter: along with vaccinations the u.s. needs to prioritize testing, shoez a former head of health and human services. >> focus on both testing that we

need to identify, who has the disease and then the serology test that will test us more about antibodies and what kind of variant is circulating. but we need both tests and we need them very, very quickly. >> reporter: paolo sandoval, cnn, new york. >> covid variants have certainly become a major variable in defeating the disease. health officials pressing for faste faster vaccinations. over the past few days south africa began giving health care workers the one dose johnson & johnson shot. and they're happy to be getting it. >> i think it's about time we get a vaccination because it's the only way out of this pandemic. otherwise we're going to sit with a problem for a long time. let's hope it works. >> so i want to bring in the cochair of the south african

ministerial advisory committee on covid. it's great news health workers starting to get vaccinated. no doubt a huge relief for many. >> good day, robyn. good day to all of the viewers. yes, indeed. it's been an amazing celebration here. it's been a long time coming. and i think for us this particular event marks a change, a shift in our overall strategy and that now we're not only using nonnpharmaceutical behavioral interventions but combining it and giving us a pathway now to protection. >> why has then the south african government given away it's astrazeneca vaccines despite the fact some scientists have suggested, yes maybe it won't be as effective against the variant found in south africa, but it certainly prevents real illness or death. why give it away then? >> the south african national vaccine plan calls for a

diversity of candidates. we don't want to just go with one or two. we want to go with many candidates just in case there's manufacturing problems or whatever. the initial selection process looked at the data on astrazeneca and showed it was 70% effective. there was some concern about the lack of data in the elderly, but there was overall support for the vaccine. however, a few weeks ago a study done by astrazeneca in south africa a small study with young people mainly showed the vaccine was not as effective against mild and moderate disease. now, the problem is you've got a vaccine that's 70% efficacious is now 22% efficacious for mild and moderate disease, and we don't know whether that deduction in efficacy also applies to severe disease and hospitalization, which is our goal. and so now we have uncertainty. in the midst of uncertainty of course there are many opinions. there will be, in fact, very

forcefully held opinions on both sides of the argument. but the reality is there is no data. and so we felt it was important that if we're going to roll this out it's going to be rolled out in a way that we can measure its efficacy -- we don't want to end up vaccinating a million people and learning only then that it doesn't work against severe disease. so a step to rollout was what was proposed. the government has been looking at that and a few alternative as to what to do with the current million doses of astrazeneca that it has. >> okay, and what do you make then also of the suggestion that potentially over 50% of the south african population has already been infected? is that good news for herd immunity in fighting off a winter wave example or do you still think the worst is yet to come? >> unfortunately, it's not always good news. but at one level it certainly

means we've had very high levels of exposure. it should be pointed out that these surveys especially the ones done by discovery are done in the wealthy 14% of our population. so they exclude rural people. they exclude poor people. and they exclude in terms of racial composition. so you can't really extrapolate without a lot of caveats in that case. so let's just go on the basis it's probably a skewed estimate and probably an overestimate. if that's the case we probably have around maybe up to 40%, maybe up to 50% of south africans expose said. that's not enough for herd immunity. but for us to big concern that we saw from our first wave is that those individuals who got infected in our first wave were not protected from the variant we had in south africa in the

second wave. they were at risk of getting the new variant just as much as somebody who'd never been infected in the first wave. so having natural protection does not necessarily mean that it's a pathway to herd immunity. >> doctor, always good to speak to you. thanks so much for answer lg of our questions and for all the hard work you've been doing. appreciate it, sir. >> pleasure. thank you, robyn. the u.k.'s road map to easing coronavirus measures is set to be unveiled monday. prime minister boris johnson is finalizing the details. mr. johnson has said reopening schools is a priority. this is all thanks to the success of the u.k.'s vaccine rollout. it's hoped every adult in the country can get a first dose of the vaccine by the end of july. meanwhile the country has already administered 15 million shots. the third highest vaccination rate in the world.

more from london with all of that. hi. >> reporter: good morning, robyn. yes, everyone here waking up to this really exciting news that i'm sure everyone would be very keen to hear that all adults should get their vaccine by the end of july. that's moving the date forward. it had original been by autumn, so that's coming even earlier as expected. all adults over 50 now have been told they'll get their vaccination by may. now being told they could get it by mid-april. the prime minister saying he wants to see this country go further and fastwer its vaccination program despite the fact it's one of the top in the world when it comes to the its imi imnization speeds. all of this of course good news ahead of what is going to be tough news from the prime minister on monday. yes, vaccines are rolling out but that does not mean restrictions can be eased. and that will be the prime

minister's message tomorrow. he's going to lay out a road map to ease rules, but it will be slow and reversible. schools they could reopen march 8th and after that we're looking at nonessential shops, the economy reopening and finally the hospitality industry, bars, hotels, pubs, restaurants, that will be the last to reopen. we already know one change in restrictions is going to happen at care homes march 8th. care home residents can start having one home regular visitor and they can hold hands, robyn. >> okay, well that says a lot about the year everyone's had, doesn't it? thanks so much. appreciate it. >> so coming up here at cnn, myanmar protesters refusing to cave to police violence. the latest on their fight to end a military coup. that story we've been following it for three weeks now. more just ahead. ly

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more pro-democracy protests in myanmar today. it's the 16th consecutive day of rallies following the military coup and follow the deadliest day of demonstrations so far. too people killed, 20 wounded saturday when police opened fire on protesters. they warning military leaders against a wider crack down on demonstrations. well, salina wang joins me now from tokyo with the latest on what's happening on the ground in myanmar right now. what can you tell us? >> reporter: hi, robyn. well, again on the ground in yang gong there are large crowds. you can see protesters raising their hands in three finger salutes in defiance. and there are motorbike protests

under way. these protests are not backing down despite the increasing violence. in saturday police opened fire on protesters leaving at least two dead and 20 injured. this is according to afp and reuters citing emergency workers on the ground. cnn has confirmed that live rounds as well as tear gas were used to disperse the protesters. we've obtained video where you can see protesters running away from the police, taking shelter wherever they can find space. in another video you can see a person being taken away by medics. and this violence is happening after a young woman died on friday. the first known casualty since these protests began. and she has really become a symbol of this movement galvanizing protesters who are risking arrest every day by their actions. robyn? >> they're risking arrest. they're getting hit harder and harder back by military forces on the ground. how long do you think they can sustain this, keep this momentum

up? >> reporter: robyn, absolutely. today marks the 16th straight day of protests, but they are not backing down despite this growing fear. we've spoken to many protesters who say that by day they are fearlessly protesting. but by night they are hiding, moving from house to house to avoid any arrest. and many citizens have told cnn as well that they are terrified of being dragged from their beds late at night or during these early morning raids that are becoming more frequent since this military take over. a burmese human rights organization says that more than 500 people have been arrested since february 1st and this includes civilians, activists, journalists even monks, students as well as politicians. take a listen to what a p protester had to say. >> we protested peacefully but people had to die. they want to stop us from coming

out onto the streets so they respond strong to us. >> robyn, many people protesting feel they are fighting for their future even those these protests are largely dominated by young people. there are still many who are remember the days of brutal military rule, and they are not willing to give up this taste of democracy that they've already had. robyn? >> well, that update we'll continue to monitor the story. thank you. still to come on cnn, the deep freeze paralyzing texas is beginning to thaw, but the crisis is not yet over.

so we talk a lot these days about political division in the united states, but president joe biden is demonstrating that bipartisan friendships do exist. as arlette saenz now explains. >> reporter: president biden made a surprise stop on saturday to visit a long time friend, former senator bob dole. the former senator announced earlier this week he was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and he will begin

treatment for that on monday. the president spends a little over an hour visiting with dole over at the watergate. the two men have a long time rel relationship after serving decades together up on capitol hill. bob dole is a republican and joe biden a democrat, so the two forged this bipartisan relationship sometimes being at odds with one another, but still forging that friendship during their time in the senate. now, the president was asked how bob dole was doing and the president said he is doing well. arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >> last weekend's bitter cold is easing in texas. i want to go straight to derek van dam to tell us more. hi, derek. so as things begin to thaw what should folks in texas expect next? >> they can expect improving temperatures from here. the worst is behind us. that's the good news. check out the current temperatures right now. we are for the most part across the lone star state above freezing.

you can see to shreveport, louisiana, little rock, arkansas, that's where the snow pack and storms continues to allow for temperatures to be very, very chilly throughout that area. but even temperatures there will continue to improve. i want to show you this map because when we talk about an improving air mass we have to look to the origins of that air mass. where it was coming from last week at this time is known as a continental air mass. that is a cold arctic air mass coming directly from canada, further north and that was driving across the continent and into texas as well as the deep south. and now ow you look at the upper jetstream and it's originating from the pacific ocean. so it has a lot of moisture and warmth to as well. so warm to mild temperatures are going to continue to filter into the region. even if you look at the surface winds those are coming in from the south, so that will allow our warmer temperatures to continue from the coasting regions inland. there is a weak cold front

pressing across the state today. that will have very little to do with the temperatures. so it's not really going to nudge down the mercury on the thermometer that much. certainly nothing like what we've experienced. we'll see that cold front move by and enjoy our warmer temperatures and welcome them with open arms because we want to say good-bye and good riddance to that extremely, extr extremely difficult week we've had across the deep south. we're going to stay above freezing through the course of the day, so this is going to allow the pipes to thaw out. we're going to allow for the roadways to completely clear out especially some of the untreated roadways in rural parts of texas. you can see the temperatures here stay above freezing for austin and dallas city, and evening hours looking very pleasant. maybe we'll reach the 70 degree mark for houston this week. >> that's a good thing. folks need as much good news as they can get. lovely to see you. thanks for that update.

so the weather disaster in texas brought hardship of course to this lone star state but also revealed the kindness of strangers. take for instance, a grocery delivery driver. her truck slid on ice in texas and got stuck. so two home owners offered her shelter while she waited for a tow truck. that turned into a five day wait. chelsea baked the couple a cake when they insisted she stay at their home. chelsea said that's not how i expected to spend valentine's day. we had a great dinner and i sat and i was fed and i thought it was going to be for just one night. but here i am day five. so for more information about how you can help winter storm victims in texas please do go to cnn.com/impact. so that wraps up this hour of cnn. thanks so much for joining me. i'm robyn curnow. you can follow me on twitter and

instagram @robyncurnow, cnn.

well kwom to all of you watching here in the united states, canada and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom." and joining me now is the executive director for the coalition for humane immigrant rights of los angeles. a fiery engine failure on a boeing 777 with more than 200 people on board, the plane dropping debris for a mile before somehow landing safely. the bitter cold temperatures over texas, bu