. a massive winter storm that could affect nearly one out of every four americans is headed toward the east coast. it's already created problems in parts of the south. 9news reporter maya rodriguez has more on what many believe will be a record-breaking snowstorm. >> reporter: the national weather service says the major winter storm has the potential to be one of historic proportions. more than 2 feet of snow blinding winds. >> i definitely trust my legs this point. i'll just walk. >> reporter: one of the cities that could be hit the hardest? washington, dc. >> forecast that i don't think we've had in 90 years. >> reporter: an inch of snow paralyzed the city earlier this week. city officials are trying to reassure residents they are better prepared for this, while urging them to stay inside. >> we see this as a major

it has life and death implications and all the residents of the district of columbia should treat it that way. >> reporter: in states impacted by the storm, 3000 flights were canceled today. another 3000 were expected to be canceled tomorrow. people living in states up and down the eastern seaboard were urged to prepare for the storm. >> not much to do. we've already went grocery shopping for the rest of the week. >> reporter: and a week of supplies is what emergency managers say those on the east coast will need on hand to weather this storm. maya rodriguez, 9news. at dia, several dozen flights have been canceled because of the storm. if your plans include traveling to the eastern seaboard or parts of the south, first check with your airline. it is colorado's first avalanche death of the season. a slide on cebler pass killed a snowmobiler on thursday. heavy snow, high winds and warming temperatures have created very dangerous avalanche conditions. 9news mountain newsroom reporter matt renoux joins us

matt, these avalanches haven't just been in the backcountry. >> reporter: no. conditions are moderate to considerable, but with temperatures warming up, forecasters with the colorado avalanche information center pretty busy. as the weekend traffic builds with people heading up to play in the mountains-- >> reporter: brian lazar expects his weekend might be full of work. >> a little cycle of both human and naturally running avalanches. >> reporter: he and other forecasters with the colorado avalanche information center not only check conditions in the backcountry-- >> modest snowfall, lot of wind. >> reporter: -- but also work with cdot on hundreds of missions mitigating avalanche danger by roads, either by blasting or using the new gas x system. >> here on berthoud pass and the stanley slide pass and loveland pass. >> reporter: work that's

>> if is a big job for us. we have a lot of stretches of roadway. >> reporter: and with the recent combination of snow, wind and warm temperatures-- >> we do have our first warmup in quite sometime. >> reporter: -- means this weekend's moderate to considerable avalanche danger is expected to be on the rise. >> we still have dangerous snow pack conditions. >> reporter: yesterday near crested butte, colorado had its first avalanche fatality of the season. and near berthoud pass, two small slides reached highway 40 near berthoud pass. lane of the road there. >> reporter: then today with rising temps, the snow started sliding near i-70 and the eisenhower/johnson tunnels with the most active weeks for avalanches yet to come. >> we see most of our february. >> reporter: meaning for brian, the avalanche work in colorado may have only just begun. >> avalanches for us continue well through march. like last year, it was a great example.

cycle into late may even. >> reporter: on average, about six people every year die in colorado from avalanches. as far as mitigation work goes on colorado roads, it's rare when an avalanche actually does reach the road unexpectedly. cdot installed the new gas x system at loveland pass and berthoud pass, allowing them to pump gas into the snow and send avalanches down. this way, they can do more avalanches and have a smaller impact to traffic. hopefully we'll see that this weekend if they do any mitigation work in the highcountry. >> well, a good reminder, matt, that you have to pay attention to your surroundings when you're in the backcountry, because even if you've got a big motor below you, it's not avalanches. right. you got to be aware of your avalanche conditions are like, and especially after all of the events we saw as far as weather goes in the past few days, stay off the steep slopes because they will likely slide. >> matt renoux in the mountains, thanks so much.

has identified the man shot and killed this morning in aurora as 33-year-old stephen slack. he was shot several times and died of a gunshot wound to the chest. police were called to a home on south espana way. police found a man shot inside a car, who had crashed into a tree. he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. while police were investigating at the scene, another man approached and said he had also been shot during the same incident. his arm was hurt. investigators believe the shooting happened a block east east navarro place. >> every investigation can be complex, but of course this investigation is complex crime scenes. we're fortunate, or we're confident we'll be able to get enough information to determine exactly what happened. >> detectives say they are not have been involved. the name of the man killed has just been released by the coroner's office. we have seen state lawmakers battle over whether

colorado. this year, they will debate whether to make it easier for juries to give a death sentence to convicted murderers. >> we saw in a couple of cases this last year, particularly the holmes case, that cold blooded, premeditated murder of many people still doesn't yield a death penalty. >> the solution isn't making it easier to get a conviction. the solution is getting rid of it. we're talking about the highest of high punishments in colorado. that should have the highest bar. >> go in depth and get more of this debate on "balance of power" sunday morning at 8:45 here on 9news, followed by "meet the press" on channel 20. if you're counting the broncos will play the new england patriots in less than 48 hours. all week, we've been asking for photos showing off your bronco pride. one in particular caught our eye. a broncos cave in the basement of a home in aurora. 9news reporter jessica oh was intrigued. jessica? [ laughter ]

here, you would be intrigued too. guess what, miles gives his nod of approval, because this place is amazing. you won't believe the things we have found in here. they have everything from broncos gear, teddy bears, bobble heads, even a breathalyzer, although broncos. safe. this is the man who created it all, brian loomen and his family. hello. >> hello. >> reporter: this place is amazing. >> thank you. >> reporter: what is one of your most cherished possessions? >> i would say my champ bailey, signed champ bailey jersey that my lovely daughter got for me. >> reporter: yes, it's a very, very good jersey. and she got it for you for a special occasion too, right? >> yeah. well, we had to trade her for packer tickets. i had to give her my packer tickets. but it was worth it. >> reporter: totally worth it. it's so incredible to see everything that's in here. how long did it take you and your family to get this all together? >> well, we've been collecting since '95. >> reporter: that's a lot of collecting. >> long, long time.

love about this collection, they got some broncos, 9news broncos stuff, as well as the yard signs and the clings, too. cave. they are going to watch the game at the stadium on sunday, which means it's free for some 9newsers, adele! >> i was wondering, i think i would be more inclined to sit there and watch the game in the that say bronco! thanks, jessica. >> reporter: on commercial breaks, there's plenty to do. they have games and everything. >> i'm sure, i'm sure. like the hat, jessica. see you back in a bit. we have more of those magnets, by the way. we're giving them away before sunday's afc championship game against the patriots. in orange." stick them to your car, your fridge, whatever. hope to see a few around town this weekend. 9news reporter christine noelle

>> reporter: we're here hov of hamden and tower. this line has been going on for about the past hour. we started to give the free broncos magnets and all of these people are out here for one reason, and one reason alone. broncos! [ cheering ] >> reporter: they say the best things in life are free? yeah, right now we're handing out free broncos magnets until they are gone. still have several hundred left. broncos magnet. i want to introduce you guys to 7-year-old twins. you guys have-- >> triplets. >> reporter: yeah, you guys have a cheer for us? >> hey, guys! >> hey, what! >> hey, guys! >> hey, what! >> go broncos! [ cheering ] >> reporter: way to go, you guys! they got their free broncos magnets. we'll be here until they are gone. the king soopers in aurora, come on out! >> christine noelle, thanks. if you want to play arm chair quarterback to a larger

in your living room, you're in luck, broncos fans. we've got a live call-in tv show and all you need is a skype account to take part. broncos tonight, you make the call airs saturday night, tomorrow, 7:00 p.m., channel 20. show your support, share your thoughts or just ask questions of our sports team. for more details and how to call in, you can read all about it on 9news.com. and we're still looking at a chance of snow during sunday's broncos game. >> also ahead, an ordinary drug that produced extraordinary results for a local cancer patient. >> and the national western stock show, a preview of

. a new treatment for patients who have a blood cancer and another disease called heart light chain amyloid osis increases their five-year survival rate to 95% over the previous 5%. the new treatment is a common antibiotic. 59-year-old robin schrader had both diseases and she says she was reluctant to plan for her future, just living day-to-day. since taking the antibiotic, she is now living a relatively normal life. >> for her to be able to not only live longer and survive this amyloidosis, but to have that translate into doing the things she wants to do, that's the success. >> i just feel i have the opportunity to make a decision like that. >> we can make plans now.

>> hard to put a price on that. dr. gregory says her partner had gone to a blood cancer conference and found out about using the antibiotic and heard about amazing results for some of the patients. presbyterian st. lukes is the first hospital in the denver area to try it the condition. the patient's cancer is also in remission after standard cancer treatment. last year, the stock show's grand champion steer sold for $100,000. some years it's higher, some it's less. it's always fun to see where the bidding goes. the junior livestock auction will also showcase top lambs, hogs and goats raised by the national western. kathy sabine and gregg moss will be your host in our live telecast and they join us with a preview. >> reporter: hi, adele much the money raised tonight, of course, goes to scholarships to help these young people pursue an education and ultimately a career in agriculture. young people out here. bella, brookes and cash have

cash, congratulations. you won the mutton bustin today! are you excited? yeah. it's really all about the kids. we're going to broadcast the national western junior livestock auction tonight at 6:30, live on 9news. look who i found. this is kathy, hanging out with folks from willow, oklahoma. >> this is little hannah. hannah has shown these many herefords. what's this one back here? >> american whiskey. >> what's the secret to getting these animals so beautiful? they are not scary. she's got a brush for you. >> you have a brush? okay. this is very technical. thank you for the lesson. >> reporter: watch us tonight, 6:30, all right, guys? adele, i know you're loving >> i am loving this! >> reporter: i know you're loving this!

end of a hoeffer going north. see you guys in a little bit. we have a live update for you -- that plane happens to be the patriots plane. it just landed at the airport. they were scheduled to land on friday. of course there was concern for all the weather happening back east, whether they would get in okay. but their plan originally was to come in on friday anyway. there was talk about acclimating to the altitude here in denver, having that little extra time before sunday's game. >> absolutely. everyone can just breathe a little easier and know there is an opponent for sunday's game. they made it here a little later than we thought, but this has to feel downright tropical. >> comparatively. it's going to change on sunday. >> there you go. not the kind of weather we're used to this time of year. it could get even warmer tomorrow. >> and they will change just in time for the broncos game.

. meteorologist danielle grant here in the backyard. everyone is counting down the hours, minutes until the big broncos game, and i have been keeping my eyes to the sky. as far as the weather goes, looks like the next storm system is going to move in just in time for that game. we'll have mostly cloudy skies, cooler temperatures for kickoff, in the low 40s. then by 4:30 when hopefully we're walking away with a big

that's when we have a better shot at seeing flurries. a beautiful day out there. we had a mix of sun and clouds. fort collins looking great. 46 degrees out there. 52 for the denver metro area. more 50s across southeastern colorado, a cooler day up in the mountains. degrees. winds out of the south at 8 miles per hour. here in the 9news backyard, 44. looking across the country, what we have going on out there, well, you can see not a lot around here. i'll show you this storm system we're keeping a close eye on across the eastern seaboard. it is still whipping up all kinds of moisture out there, just starting to see the snow pulling into the dc area, baltimore, up through new york, as well as coastal flooding pulling into parts of the carolinas as well, and a lot of ice coming into carolinas, too. a slew of winter storms posted until midnight a sunday. this storm system isn't going anywhere, any time soon. we are tracking blizzard warnings for the dc region into baltimore.

amounts for the dc area through baltimore, i-95 corridor, 20 to 30 inches of snowfall through sunday. gusty winds out there, about 60 miles per hour for philadelphia. 18 to 24, and into new york, 8 to 16 inches of snowfall coming in. this is going to be a block buster storm, as we watch it move away, high pressure in town, just for a day and then we'll see a switch. a switch in seasons practically on sunday, as the next storm system builds in, bringing us possibly a few flurries. again, the rest of this evening looks quiet and calm. tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., there you go, waking up to a few clouds out there around the i-25 corridor. tomorrow evening looks quiet. by 10:00 tomorrow night, you'll see clouds pushing in from the northwest, as well as a little bit of moisture. tonight, temperature readings, comfortable. lot of folks in the 20s and 30s in eastern colorado. we'll be in the teens just to the west of the divide. 27 tonight here in town, mainly clear skies, and then tomorrow, close to 60. we'll have partly cloudy conditions, but it will feel delightful. more like springtime across

reaching 60 degrees. i don't know. littleton, lakewood, you might actually do it. we'll be in the 40s for many foothills locales. a storm pushes in sunday afternoon. looks like 1 to 3 inches of snow. by monday afternoon in the metro area, that storm system quickly clears out and we're back in business with warmer temperatures. . wall street posted its

points. oil prices reached their lowest

. deflated balls are deplated balls. at the end of the day, we got to go out there and play football. that's what it comes down to. it's just a bunch of guys running into each other at the end of the day. toughest guy usually wins. i can't change it.

going to change the outcome of the super bowl that just happened, right? doesn't really matter. are they going to take it away from them? not going to affect me, not going to put more money in my pocket, not going to give me a ring. i'm more worried about our team getting a ring. that was derek wolfe way back in may talking about deflate-gate. the broncos defensive lineman, obviously not a big fan of the patriots. not then. not now. here's derek today. >> i hate everything about them. they are always in my way. [ laughter ] >> they are always in my way to get what i want. it's naturally going to create a hate. yeah, lot of respect. i got a ton of respect for the whole organization. they got great players. tom brady is a great player. bill belichick's a great coach. they got a great staff over there. i got a ton of respect for them. >> you just hate them. >> i just hate them, yeah. patriots may make derek angry, but not c.j. that last game brings back nothing but good memories for anderson. >> c.j.'s on the loose! c.j., one to beat! down the sideline! c.j.

denver wins it! >> i remember having some fun! [ laughter ] having a little fun. game was over. crowd was crazy. teammates were happy. i was happy. and just got a good win, big win for my teammates. >> reporter: the broncos won their first go-round with the patriots, which is why this game is here, but people are still doubting denver. in fact, the number 1 seed is a three-point underdog. >> you know, we ain't got a chance. if that don't motivate you, then you're in the wrong business. i mean, we're supposed to go out there and get killed this sunday, which is funny to me. going out there, business, that's why you play the game. >> reporter: if the broncos can pull the "upset," then it's off to santa clara for the super bowl by the bay, which for c.j. anderson would be a trip back home. >> i'm not focused on that. >> thought about that at all? >> not at all. but if i'm thinking about it, as many people sitting here, think about the tickets i'll have to go get, you no he what i'm saying? not a good idea.

i'm working on what i can take care of business this sunday. that's our mantra. that's our goal. football to basketball, and it's number 1 versus number 2. tonight, the thunder ridge girls will host highlands ranch in a top-ranked high school showdown. taylor joins us live with more. >> reporter: rod, these two schools are just 5 miles apart from one another, in the same league, play each other every year. for the past couple of seasons, both have been on top of the 5a basketball rankings. no surprise to see a matchup again in the state tournament. highlands ranch, a very young team, just three seniors. the rest are freshmen and sophomores. the falcons, though not short of team chemistry, they are off to a 14-1 start this season. tonight, they say they will set the tempo early on and take control against this very athletic thunder ridge group. [ no audio ] >> i expect our fans to be there, of course, and so i just know that thunder ridge has a lot of fans.

out and just play the game. >> you just want to make sure you're playing up to your standard. you don't want to let other teams come in and, you know, mess with how you play. you just want to come out every game and play like you know you can. that's our focus. >> reporter: rod, we'll hear more from the grizzlies coming up tonight at 6:00. i'll send it back to you. >> very good, taylor. thank you very much. by the way, we watched the patriots' plane land a few moments ago, 5:12 p.m. i was hoping they weren't going to show. >> that would make sunday awful boring. >> last shot we'll leave you with, there they are. >> they are here.