i've been blind since birth. i go through periods where it's hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. learn about non-24 by calling 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. we have an eye on the approaching storm and this is what is coming our way. check it out video from kentucky showing lots of snow, and, poor visibility. and, that is why a blizzard warning is going into effect tonight. snow, wind that poor wrist built means a rough weekend for our area. good afternoon i'm erika von tiehl. i'm jim donovan. some schools are canceling weekend classes and events. we have those at bottom of the screen and we are waiting for philadelphia's mayor jim kenney to update us on city preparations. >> first lets get over to

katie with the the latest in this storm that has been consistent, right. >> very much so in terms of what we have been calling for. things are starting to get more fine tuned a few very minor tweaks in terms of the timing, how much, generally speaking, our expectations remain the same as we said this same time yesterday. lets start off with a look though at the warning, area, we're all in it. we have a winter weather advisory rather than any kind of warnings posted for the pocono region. that goes into effect into the the weekend with this storm but blizzard warning for i-95 corridor, greater philadelphia area, included, and, and winter storm warning. lets take a look at where this system is leading edge is right now and it is moving ever closer, to that maryland border. the in fact it has crossed in the southern del marva peninsula. it is on the move and at that time we have had time to prepare, folks, we expect to start in through delaware and southern new jersey as early as five to 8:00 p.m. perhaps sooner in the southern

most tear of that region. but here in philadelphia and immediate suburbs probably more of the seven to ten window. further are north later it gets here as we take a quick peak here as the the locations and temperatures we're currently finding, it is in the terribly windy yet but cold air sets the stage. this will start off as snow as every where, however, there will be some change in that takes place throughout the event. we will get to all of that throughout the show. but for now this is time to prepare, your hours again started to dwindle to get those preparations out of the way, with the precipitation. more on how much snow, timing it out full details on the scale of this system as it show goes on. now back to you. >> thanks very much. as we wait for the the snow to hit our coverage continues with the look at preparations, happening in our region. >> lets start with justin finch live at philadelphia international airport where all of the flights have been canceled for tomorrow. justin, what is the scene like over there. >> reporter: jim and erika good afternoon. the just the the past 30 or 45 minutes, tsa line has really pick up, travelers are turning

up, i want to show you the flight board here that we are seeing here. so far most flights are departing, on time and, of course, that could change as the the airlines, air travelers, and, of course, airport are racing to beat this blizzard. hours before snowfall airline check in agents are chipping away at lines of travelers, some with last minute changes. with all of philadelphia flights canceled for saturday, many passengers are departing before the the snow arrives. >> it looks brutal. it will be really bad. >> reporter: early and late morning flights were mostly on time, that is how nicholas addas got back home from kentucky where he got a look at the snow that is coming. >> it is starting to come down as we were about to leave, so it was almost perfect timing. >> reporter: earl willer will travelers found fast moving or nearly empty tsa lines but this is proverbial calm before the storm. >> a welcomed sight for the barnetts bound for florida and

were hoping they were going to get there day and on time. i was nerve bus leaving on friday. that weather is very unpredictable. >> reporter: hundreds of pair port staff are braced with that too with plans to pretreat and clear millions of square feet of roadways and runways, the goal, to resume services, swift thely. >> we're expecting that the airport will begin to come back to life on sunday, when the the the airlines hopefully start to resume flights. >> reporter: looking live here one more time at the flight board here again most flights are departing on time, we are seeing a few delays and cancellations, that is to be expect, as this storm moves. we can tell you again that sunday is the goal to get services here up and running again but of course that is also weather dependent. the key now, today and sunday would be if you are trying to reach out to your carrier and confirm your plans. jim and erika back over to you. better stuck at home then stuck at the airport. here's the the scene the the 30th street station. riders are scrambling to get around just before the storm.

amtrak trains on the northeast corridor are operating on a maryland fight schedule. while some national trains have been canceled, amtrak, passengers hoff reservations on affect trains are being contacted, to reschedule their train. other communities are also making preparations making sure they are ready for any problems. >> montgomery county officials are maintaining roads to make sure they are cleared and power stays on. >> often times you get trees and limbs coming down and we will get down power lines. we have put in place, several different protocols, procedures, operations, to part with our power providers, peco and ppl in montgomery county so that should power go out in various locations, we can get road cleared as quickly as possible, get power lines up as quickly as possible. >> reporter: just in case it does go out stores in montgomery county and elsewhere report big business for generators. philadelphia mayor jim kenney business to update us on the city's preparation for upcoming storm. they are taking every precaution they can knowing

for days in advance that would be a major event really a affecting everyone in the viewer ship a lot of times, brand new mayor so he has to step it up to make sure that this isn't like a bad situation. >> absolutely good his team is pulling together, so he will be come out shortly, as he is stepping over to the podium, right now. >> we are talking about the the airport preparations right the now we heard from justin in flight in or out of all on saturday hoping to get things back up and running on sunday. he will update us on septa as they are trying to get to work. >> good have afternoon everyone. >> i'm mike debernardinis, managing director for city of philadelphia and want to thank everyone for coming to this briefing. today we will be hearing from our leaders of our city emergency services, and, infrastructure and transportation agencies, of how we are preparing for this weekend's winter storm. i would also like to recognize representatives from the fire department, salvation army, red cross, our water

department, and philadelphia parking authority, and the airport who are all here today, and who all have been working together to prepare for this snow event. as managing director i will be declaring a snow emergency for the city of philadelphia, effective at 9:00 p.m. tonight. for citizens, this means all parked cars must now be moved off snow emergency routes. if you have move your car off the snow emergency route, please park your car as far from the corner, from the corner as possible. vehicles parked too close to the corner, impede the turning radius of salting and plowing equipment. snow emergency routes can be found on www dot philadelphia

streets.com and they are also mark by signs on the streets. cars left on snow emergency routes will be relocated, to accommodate plowing operations. if your car is relocated, please call 215-686-snow. and you will find it there. additionally, as a result of the snow emergency all libraries and recreation centers will be closed this weekend. also, hearings scheduled for parking tickets and citations are also canceled. the payment center a at 913 filbert street will be closed. all prison visits the are also canceled, due to the the snow event. we will be extending 311 hours. they will be tonight until 10:00 p.m. saturday 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

sunday, 8:00 a.m. to midnight. and then monday, 8:00 a.m., i mean 6:00 a.m. excuse me to 8:00 p.m. once the the snow emergency is declared, we will also ask philadelphians to stay indoors, and off of the road whenever possible. we also ask you to exercise common sense when being out in the elements and during what we think will be blizzard conditions. please also check on older friend and neighbors before today's snowstorm to ensure that they have heat, and to offer transportation or help, with running errand, such as grocery shopping. citizens should contact project home outreach hot line, at (215)232-1984 if they see a home less person in need of assistance during this

storm. the city requires that dog owners bring their pets, indoors, in the event of the extreme cold. ignoring this could result in a fine up to $500. if you see a dog or other pet outside, please call act philly at (267)385-3800. now, i will turn the the mike over to our director of emergency management sam phillips. >> good after afternoon, thank you. i'd like to give you an update on the current weather forecast that we're using for our planning and response postures throughout the weekend and talk about the the activation of the cities emergency operation center. when i was here yesterday we were still under a blizzard watch. that has been upgraded to a blizzard warning. so beginning tonight and extending through sunday

morning we are in a blizzard warning. we also are preparing for high winds as well. the the the national weather service has forecast ted that we're likely to receive between 12 to 18 inches of snow, however, it is not unlikely that could range closer to 20 inches and that is what we're preparing for. we will likely see high wind with gusts between 25 and 45 miles an hour. that is concerning because tomorrow the snow, while it will begin a light fluffy, mixture it will begin to become heavy ape wet snow at times and with heavy wind we're concerned about the possibility of down trees and activity to take upon our power infrastructure. we will be activating the cities emergency operations center at 8:00 p.m. tonight. that will begin as a partial activation, and will focus on our transportation agencies, certainly the the police department and their operations, public safety, and

the the towing operation that is will go into effect with the snow emergency declaration at 9:00. we will transition to a full activation at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and that will last until the duration of the storm, and through much of the clean up. thank you. >> good afternoon. the plowing operation for our impending storm will require full deployment of resources across city agencies. both 400 plows and six her hundred personnel will be on the street as announced yesterday. we ask that our citizens use extreme caution if they must travel, on the roadway, and limit that travel if it is possible. so that they can stay off of the roads as much as possible between friday night and then sunday morning, it will be most helpful for the work that must be done and given the conditions that we are expecting. when people are at home, they

should be shoveling their sidewalks, certainly after the the snow has stopped and expected that a 3-foot wide walkway be created for pedestrians on the sidewalks, and that will also include the ramp at the the curb. we will also encourage people to maybe dig up shoveling multiple times during the storm because it will be a fairly long storm. so, that you do not have to worry about dehydration, or other physical conditions that may occur from over exertion. be sure to dress properly if you are in the the elements. with regard to transportation we have been add rised that the airlines a at philadelphia international airport have cancel all flights on saturday, and we encourage everyone to check their flight status before leaving for the airport even today. certainly on sunday to check for their flight status. call their airline or you can

get updates at 800-phl gate. or, look on the airport web site, phl.org. i will now introduce for you, the vince finnerty who is executive director of the philadelphia parking authority. >> thank you, i only have a few things to say. starting at 5:00 o'clock this this afternoon all of the philadelphia parking authority garages will be available for parking throughout the snowstorm for $5, at night. and that will be, excuse me, until 7:00 a.m. monday morning or longer, as direct by the mayor. as far as snow emergency routes parking authority will be doing clearing of the snow emergency routes. there are fines associated totaling $125 fur vehicle is ticketed and towed. please try to avoid that. we are starting at precisely

9:00 o'clock so the plowing operation can commence when it is call for. please do not park on the snow emergency routes. we don't want to tow but in the interest of keeping this city opened, we have to to do our job and we would like everyone's cooperation. thank you. >> i forgot my transcript, i would like to introduce septa 's general manager jeff. >> thank you. >> this is no normal winter storm. strong wind will lead to near zero visibility ape cause trees to fall on overhead power lines, along our railroads. these extreme weather conditions are caused septa to suspend most operations for a 24 hour period starting saturday morning at 4:00 a.m. the actual end point of this

suspension is subject to change as conditions improve or worsen. the exceptions will be the broad street and market frankford lines. we plan to keep both of these key routes running continuously. the broad street and market frankford lines are important to carry emergency personnel, hospital employees, and other essential workers during the storm. please be aware that trains and trolleys may still be seen running, during this service suspension. these vehicles will be operated as pilot vehicles to help with our efforts to keep snow and ice from building up on the rails and overhead wires. customers who use cct connect services are encouraged to move up critical medical appointments to today. service on at day and sunday will be limited to dialysis patients only. some 1500 in house, workers, supplemented by 500 contractors on the railroad will be deployed throughout

the system to battle the elements. we hope to be able to restore much of our services early sunday morning, but down tree, and road conditions will dictate which services he will be able to run. in the meantime we will continue to provide updates on our service status. all travel notices will be posted with simultaneous alerts and local news media and announcements that will be made at transit stations. septa's twitter feeds are a great resource for surface alerts if you are not already following us now is a good time to start. >> septa will suspend all services except broad street and market frankford lines and cct services for dialysis patients, for an estimated 24 hour period, beginning at 4:00 . we are urging everyone who does not need to travel, to

stay home, during this severe winter storm event. it is now my pleasure to announce mayor kenney for his closing market. >> prior to that we have to do some trash and water stuff. >> we have operational services issues. donald carlton mentioned yesterday because of the martin luther king holiday that we have been served, and those with normal collections, for friday would be pick up, tomorrow and saturday. because tracks are being converted to snow removal plows, we will not have trash or recycling collection on tomorrow, saturday. those who normally have friday, trash and recycling services will not have those services, this week, and we ask people to retain their trash and recycling until next week. we will certainly regret that inconvenience but equipment will be converted to snowplow is a as opposed to collection

vehicles. also, next week, due to the conditions that we are expecting, all rear driveway collections will be canceled. trash will be only pick up in the front of home as opposed to the rear in the private driveways. so please put all have of your materials at the curb side, not at the rear if you normally have rear driveway collections. simply with regard to water systems, those who have outdoor lines, that may be uninsulated or unprotect need to do what you can do insulate those lines, because of the the freezing temperatures that we are expecting. additionally you may also want to consider allowing your line to have a small drip on it in order to have water continue to flow through it, so that the pipes do not freeze and it subsequently burst. those who have cracks in windows, consider insulation to your windows, to certainly protect the pipes within your homes to do all that you can

to avoid pipes bursting during the winter season. as we say again, please consider allowing your water to trickle, in order to keep flow, through your lines. thank you. >> i want to thank everyone for their hard work and preparation. i'm very happy with this team and their competency and fact that we will get through this this and one of the reason we went back to a strong managing director system is to break down each cile owe and to work best together. it makes city services together and for philadelphians every day but especially important when events like this happen, as we have seen clearly today that we are all prepared. most importantly too i want to thank our workers. our city employees are out, will be out there doing the hard work in frigid temperatures of clearing our streets and keeping us safe. and i know it can get frustrating during these storms but it really all comes into perspective when you think about those workers working through these conditions, and often putting

themselves in harms way so that we can stay home and warm with our families. so i suggest the the netflix, paper purview, food all stock up, enjoy being home and don't go outside until it is really safe to go out and we will give you all clear. with that i'd like to open up to any questions. >> we were that thorough, good. >> we have not wanting to strike people unnecessarily before it gets to the point where people have to be in. we don't want to call too early we were having cars towed and people for some reason or another, the snow emergency is over, and put it back and toe it again. it is just easier for everyone involved to be as normal will

as possible, commercial and business people until it gets to the point where we need to get indoors and we will let sam elaborate on that a little will bit. >> thanks, i have consulted with deputy managing director, and the the streets commissioner on that timing of that decision, and the national weather service, we won't have, much accumulation until well later in the night, if not or early morning. so, you know, we don't need to declare anything earlier and that is not the -- that is rational based on timing of the accumulation. >> question from the audience. >> we will have equipment for

our most major, most broad streets, our primary routes, as well as our secondary routes and smaller residential streets, all that will commence, once it is significant snow fall on the ground... . >> listening to an update at philadelphia city hall, big head line is that there will be a snow emergency in effect at 9:00 p.m. and that will affect anyone with the car park on the treat that is an emergency route. >> make sure you move those cars or they have been relocated, and find out where they are. a all libraries, recreational centers are closed, all parking, hearings are closed, 311, information center will be opened tomorrow for extended hours as well. >> absolutely. >> right new lets go to philadelphia to the shore because they will be dealing with some possibly flooding and strong wind. >> jan carabao has a look at preparations there, jan. >> good afternoon. south jersey war business snow here on the jersey shore main concern is coastal flooding.

high win gusts are a concern too. for now, everything is calm. we have businesses opened up on the boardwalk but this can change in a matter of hours. >> some roads over the new jersey shore friday morning, ocean city, public works crews were already busy moving along the beach, for days now, they have reenforced the shore as the winter storm barrels up the coast. >> we have public works crews on the beaches, and pushing from sand in front of the dune openings, and, we're fortunate in that two army core of engineers projects just finish this year so all of the beaches are fairly healthy a as well as the dunes. >> reporter: meantime on the boardwalk residents took one last stroll, and one last look to surf that is relatively calm right now. >> it is calm before the storm. >> good day for a run. >> cold doesn't bother you. >> not at all. >> blocks away businesses are taking no chances. crews piled up the sandbags, hoping to keep flood waters at bay, forecast calls for moderate to major tidal

flooding through three high tides cycles, officials want resident to prepare if they have not already. >> we have encourage residents to move their cars from low lying streets, find some high ground or take them off the island. >> reporter: tides are expect between seven and 8:00 feet tall, win gusts up to 60 miles an hour. for many ocean city residents they fear the other shoe is about to drop. >> here we go again. i knew this would do it because we had 70 degrees. >> and now, because this storm coincide with the full moon, officials suggest that you move your car well before high tides, and, of course, with those 60 miles an hour wind gusts, forecast todd they say tie down your objects outside as well. we're reporting live from ocean city jan carabao for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> this is truly the calm before the storm. the road are looking good but very different idea, different picture later today. >> we have people probably leaving work and doing last minute errands, meisha beyond son has latest on the traffic situation ahead of the winter weather, meisha.

>> we are seeing people getting their last minute errand down. because tonight you certainly do not want to be on the roads if you can avoid it. the here's i-95 headlights moving in the southbound direction at the aramingo. here's i-95 south at the airport. remember any of our commuters traveling by air, all saturday flights are canceled and also in the world of mass transit take a look at this, patco running a special schedule saturday and sunday, all septa services with the exception of the market frankford or broad street lines are suspended at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow. also, new jersey transit, check your schedules on line and amtrak is also running a modified schedule both saturday and sunday a lot of changes going in place. check all that on line and stay off the road if you can, back to you. >> thank you. we will talk about people running out last minute errand, and getting home from work how are we looking right now. >> right now not bad. the best time to prairies dwindling, quickly, so would i say about seven or 10:00 p.m. as we mentioned earlier in the the show. that is when we will see

things get underway in the city. sooner further south we will reside. we will walk you through timing and give you a sense how much we will end up w other thing we have to got to talk about is the the win. the that is where blizzard definition comes into play. the term itself has nothing to do with storm fall totals. it is talking about high wind and poor visibility. lets get out there. we will show you storm scan three. we have good old storm brewing out there. it is starting to lift north, in fact, it has been all morning long. it is over spreading in the del marva peninsula as well as maryland. but here it is, all of this continues its trek north and we will start to see, these cloud, bilo in with the snow flakes beginning to fly. so earlier, the earliest that you will see the snow is obviously, across the southern most counties. meanwhile, how much are we talking here, we're still stick to go our guns at 12 to 16 inches generally speak nothing a swath of the greater philadelphia area outlines community six to 12. three to 6 inches down near shore towns where we will see mixing taking place.

wind gusts at their worst as jan mentioned definitely down at the shore. we will see, experience, maybe gusts as high as 60 miles an hour but not much better further inland. that is why we're saying blizzard conditions out of this because we will meet definition with very poor visibility and blowing and drifting takes place as well as sustained wind speeds of 35 . and that could bring down power lines, folks, combining that with the heavy wet snow, that will stick to the tree limbs, and power lines and can easily weigh it down and bring down your power. keep that in mind and please be smart. i tweeted out a link using generators in this kind of situation. looking ahead here here we go, 5:00 p.m. notice your time frame. things lifting in. we will start to see things accumulate through the overnight. we have darker shade of purple showing up here. i think we will be in the brunt of this storm, through the mid to late morning, as we start to see heavier banding get underway. there is that cut off line we have just talk about for the shore towns, helping to limit, totals down that way.

but it just keeps going. look at that, until 5:00 a.m. next morning on sunday, that is how long we are dealing with this storm. the it is a monster system and again, we're right in it cross hairs. lets look at what the rest of the forecast has up its sleeves. thankfully it is looking quieter at this point. so main action, happening as early as this evening. especially tomorrow, and, please keep in mind, you you know this is not the kind of situation you will want to go out in if you don't have to. >> better safe than sorry. that is "eyewitness news" at noon i'm erika von tiehl. for jim, katie meisha all of us here thanks for watching. >> "eyewitness news" continues at 4:00 we are always on line cbs philly.com. >> we will be back on the air in a half an hour and throughout the day up to date you on the winter storm. >> young and restless is coming up next.

>> victor: thank you. i trust the accommodations are to your liking. >> natalie: [ scoffs ] which part -- the part where i didn't get my laptop as requested so i couldn't work on the prototype, or the part where there was no phone so i couldn't reach kevin, or the part where the door was locked from the outside? >> victor: i am so sorry that you were inconvenienced, okay? >> natalie: i'm surprised you didn't throw in handcuffs and a blindfold. >> victor: you're funny, aren't you? >> natalie: well, that's what i am, right -- a prisoner? >> victor: you're my guest. >> natalie: and you're making a deal with the kidnappers -- my life for your sons, which wasn't the deal. >> paul: victor's not running the exchange. we are.