>> the snow has been coming down just before midnight. not quitting any time soon. >> i see a little bit of visibility issues out there. >> little bit. good morning, i'm jim donovan. >> i'm rahel solomon. let's get right over to meteorologist, katie fehlinger. the storm really coming in as expected. >> it is, and we do have upgrades to tell but when it comes to some of the warnings that have been posted by the national weather service, even upgrades expectations for totals across some of the northern most counties. so here another look for you at the winter storm alerts. what you may notice is that down right now, southeastern burlington, atlantic counties, no long area winter storm warning. actually seen too much rain building in, so that's actually been since removed and turned into a winter weather advisory regardless though this is still very powerful storm. in one way shape or form for

everyone. but in the dark red area, that is the blizzards warning. blizzard conditions expected potentially for multiple hours here. that warning, remains in effect until 6:00 tonight. so, many hours left of this. look at this bad boy. it is huge. it extends all the way from the canadian border right down to the gulf of mexico. so, not only massive in the real estate that it covers, but, certainly when it comes to its intensity. let's zero in. take a look. heaviest moisture actually over our area. look at that. you're got heavy bands of snow. radar 101, the darker the shade of purple the more intense the snowfall rates. because of the kind of intensity we're looking at, there are some spots that could pick up anything from two to 4 inches an hour. that's out of the heaviest bands, so that's intense. that said i don't want you to go out in this if you don't have to. granted there are some folks that absolutely must go out in this kind of weather f you're not one every them take a break, stay at home, drink cup of coffee and watch us. right now 30-mile per hour

gusts reported at philadelphia international airport. and very poor visibility. the sustained winds speeds no picnic, seeing them blow out of the northeast as strong as 27 miles per hour. northeast winds, meisha, nor'easter, classic pattern for us, and what a mess that makes. >> i'll piggyback right off what you said, say it again: if you do not need to get in your vehicles, do not even chance t i came in with a four wheel truck, went right through it. jim went right through a stop light, since then i've seen accident after accident with snack knife tractor-trailer. this is a picturesque look of what we're looking at outside right now. >> this might just look sort of pretty. but i can tell you when you're driving in this, this will cause some major problems for us, we have an accident, 422 eastbound the ramp to 22 -- 202 southbound. i want you to know it is out there. also talk about mass transit. that is lot for you guys to know. septa running modified schedule, 24 hours service

every 20 minutes. regional rails running saturday schedules, kin wide line is suspended, i'll be tweeting out this information because it is a l buses, several detours, norristown high-speed line every 20 minute. trolleys you can expect delays and concellations, cct, limited service. heads up on this, talking a lot more coming up in the next 15 minutes. >> meisha, thank you. also philadelphia public and parochial schools are closed today. and classes at penn, drexel, temple are all canceled. more than six of hundred other close cents have been announced and are scrolling across the bottom of your screen. also post it on our website at cbsphilly.com and cbs local app. >> west reading berks county the area currently under blizzard warning, the rest, could be more than a foot of snow. >> let's check in with alycia live in west reading. how are you doing out there? >> reporter: doing okay, the

snow pretty hard on my face right now. been out here for two hours, i have to say probably within the last 45 minutes or so, when we really start to feel lick this is a snowstorm and dairy say blizzard like conditions. right now, on the ground, we have maybe 5 inches of snow or so. far from that foot we're expecting, probably accumulating about an inch, maybe inch and a half of snow in our hour. we do have the roads pretty clear out. seen a bunch of plows out and about, schools are closed for today, obviously, because of these road conditions. notice, there aren't until many cars on the roads and not many cars parked on the side of the road, that's because here in reading the city opened up their garages to people so they can park their cars in the garages to make it easier for the plows to be out and about. so far, we know, the city says, they've something like 30 plows trucks, salt trucks, out on the roads today. and we have been out here this morning for probably around two hours, but we've been in reading since yesterday.

and many people have compared this to their prepares for this snowstorm to that of the 1993 blizzards, obviously not like that right now, probably won't get that bad as far as it seems at this point. but we did speak to someone who lives here in reading who was on the road earlier today. and warned us, and had really good warning people the conditions even now are deceptively dangerous. gave us some incites into what it is like out here. >> what's your plan? >> stay in the house, stay safe. too dangerous out here to be out here driving around. >> talk about. that will what's the driving conditions now? >> it is slippery, and the ice is packing real tight. so you got four wheel drive, whatever, take your time, be safe. don't be in a hurry. >> so i got some people out here enjoying the snow. they were at the diner. this is probably one of the only places open right now, and was a good spot for us to pick, maybe we'll get a bite for us to eat. really the only people we've

seen out here, and kind of like katie said, if you don't have to be out here you probably shouldn't be like these guys? probably should be home and they should be getting there, too. for now reporting live in west reading, cbs-3, "eyewitness news." >> hey, alicia, so we know that you're a new err member to the "eyewitness news" team, but i want to say you are officially part of the team now. this is your sort of initiation, yes, once you've done your winter storm coverage. >> sure is. >> girl! >> i don't know, but eventually as we get into our 8:00 and 9:00 we'll have you doing snow angels, building snowmen, you never know what we will have you do. >> oh, i'm be a popsicle by then. >> and once do you that, you're family, so welcome to the team, welcome to the family. >> thank you so much, guys. >> our coverage we move to port richmond. >> roads are knowingly, too. our pat gallen live, and pat, what's the situation there? >> reporter: hi, guys, yes, i'm getting pilt dollars out here. we are live on aramingo avenue

in the port richmond section of philadelphia, we kinds of make our way up toward the northeast, for bucks county, myself, my photographer, trying to get our way up to bucks county by the end of the morning. but the roadways making that a little bit hazardous, because it is slick. we were sliding around just little bit. it is not terrible, as you can see, cars with four wheel drive having no trouble running that red light right there. if you are out, as we heards from katie and you've heard from meisha, take it slow, some people are heeding that advice. some are not. really, we're in this middle territory here in port richmond. because i talked to some people on twitter down in south jersey, washington township area, who said well it is all rain right here. we heard from alicia out in west reading. she said it is all snow there. we're in this middle grounds where it is this icy mess of snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, and it is changing by the minute here. and my face can feel it. it is changing because i'm getting snacked in the face with it, it is awful.

that being said, like i told you guys earlier, what i'm most looking forward to is going around northeast philly, finding some people, once everyone gets out, starts shoveling, and really eat it, like eating, because that's my thing. i like get out there. i like to test the diners. i like to test the travel with different kind of breakfast treats, that's my goal for today. we have trang up in allentown, we've got alicia who is in west reading. they'll dot real reporting. i'm just going to eat and probably drink a lot of coffee. you guys have a problem with that? >> how selfish of you, pat, that's so kind of you. >> we should point out, we'll have waffles later on, so we had to balance it out. >> ya. >> thanks, pat. >> you guys are fine, you're fine. >> thanks, patrick. >> well, triple a is offering us some safe tips to keep drivers in minds during the snowstorm. your best bet is to wait for the roads to be plowed obviously and treated before venturing out. if you have to go somewhere make sure you clean your car off before you leave. that will drivers me crazy

when stuff hit me from other cars. drive and brake slowly as we mentioned, meisha and have i gone through lights and stop signs this morning on the way to work, and the roads are this easy and as snowy as they are, increase your following distances, and do your best to avoid snow plows and snow trucks. with more than a foot of heavy wet snow and high wind forecasted for our area, peco is ready to handle any power outages that should a rise. more than 3,000 peco employees are on stand by ready to respond to customer needs and repair potential storm damage, should you lose your power, peco urges resident to stay away from downed wires, tree limbs, touching electrical equipment, you can also report a pre flight outage to 311 here in city of philadelphia, the non-emergency number. >> good to know. consumers should be on the look-out for snow related scams during the storm, people keep warning signs in mind, if door-to-door solicitors show up at your house, contractors are required to provide their registration number as well as written contract. be wary of requests for large

up front payments or offers for them to use left over materials from previous jobs. contractors are also not allowed to ask for a deposit of more than one third of the total price. >> when a kid shows up and wants to shovel your walk, give them 20 bucks and call it a day and stay inside and just watch us, yes. >> watch us, also, send us your pictures. cbs-3 snow hashtag. we'll stay inside. hopefully if you get outside and play. >> indeed. live look right now from allentown. >> this would be our -- >> the home of trang do, you know, she spends so much time up there. >> it is her bureau, trang do, and thanks for providing this shot for us this morning, where you can see even the roads there, absolutely. >> stay with us. we will be right back.

at air wick we know the power of that first whiff of your favorite scent. ♪ air wick freshmatic releases timed bursts of the fragrances you love. so that first whiff feeling never fades. air wick freshmatic. ♪ >> last friday the lehigh valley got a taste every winter. >> this morning the people are

getting the main course. trang do, in allentown last week, and back there now with much more snow. i feel like maybe you're pulling some strings to make sure you get back to allentown? >> reporter: oh, oh, guilty as charged, rahel. actually live at the allentown bureau, ie the starbucks on seventh street. unfortunately it is not open at this hour, but take a look here. people really heeding the warnings. i mean, it is the middle of the night. but not whole lot of people out here. i'm real jealous, at least ya sounded like she had a ton people in her live shot. i'm all by myself with my photograph nerve downtown allen ton, right on cue, you can see them coming up seventh . the snow plow bringing adder actually tweeted some video of it earlier today, just about two minutes ago and here they are back again really working hard, the city of allentown has about 50 snow plows out and about this morning. and they really take cleaning

up very seriously. we have some folks outside of the ppl center here, and they've been working, they said, since 10:00 p.m. and at that point, we just had pretty light flakes coming down. these work remembers telling me it really started ramming up in this area around 2:00 a.m. and going, going, said they'll be going until 8:00 a.m. when the next system comes in. lots of people working very hard, and people are really heeding those warnings at this point, to stay in. great day for snow day truly. this is like i said earlier, really fun snow that you can just make a lot of snowballs with, and snowmen, so i'm really jealous of all of these people who will get to do that today. but i send it back to you guys in the studio. >> trang, don't be modest. you just saw a lot of people out there working very hard including you. >> ya. >> your eyelashes haven't frozen yet have he? that's when i know it is a big storm, when trang's eyelashes start to freeze.

(laughing). >> no, they're holding on for dear life. >> as are all of we. >> love you, trang. my favorite. >> she like array of sunshine. >> for those of you at home, when she walks into the news room the whole news room lights up. >> she has a beautiful smile indeed. >> love her. well, it is only 4:45. >> and let's get another check of the forecast, katie, already apparently? >> are there special lights in here? >> just the ray of sunshine that trang sent our way. >> having a seizure? >> everybody saying that, that's what you're wearing, jim, that vest. >> storm scan, nice showing this storm in its entirety, monster, essentially at this point, frank end stein's monster has woken up here. we are are dealing with a entire day essentially of very treacherous conditions. so, you know, all kidding aside, folks, if you can sit this one out, and just take a smoke day -- snow day, put

your feet up, have hot cup of cocoa, watch us from the comfort of your own home, really want you to do. that will we will talk about the reasons why. let's zoom in though first and for most. take a look, more of snapshot view of the local area, which has bit of variety pack going for us. very heavy rain currently falling through southern delaware, most of southern new jersey, more mixing beginning to take place though around philadelphia, we saw some sleet in philly over the last hour or so, along i-95. so not just sleet but also heavy snow falling here along i-95, really going to slow you down, then you get the darker shades of purple indicating heavier rainfall or snowfall intensity, that's going to lead to poor visibility. in addition to that, as we had mentioned earlier in the show, anything from chester to montgomery to bucks counties and points north you're now in a blizzard warning, folks, and the blizzard has a very specific definition for us to call it that. got to meet certain cry tear y got to have some snow, whether it is actually falling from a storm, or blowing around, you don't actually have to have a storm overhead as long as the snow is blowing, that is part

of the criteria. wind gusts of at least 35 miles per hour. and your visibility under quarter of a mile. all of that for at least three hours. at least three hours. and it looks lick we will have that possibility here over time. already getting the wrap. did i want to show you our updated forecast map, folks you can see to up 2 feet right now in the lehigh valley and poconos, still as much as 18 inches through chester montgomery and bucks counties and still keeping that expectation of six to 12 in fill at this self. >> meisha? >> all makes for extremely dangerous driving conditions. i know earlier this morning, at around 2:00, 2:30, trouble coming in, and seeing trouble on the roadways, and looks like it will be that way all morning long. snapshot of what you are looking at outside. george us to look at, yes, that's it. just look at it, don't want to drive in it. 422 near oaks, very slippery around here. we did have an accident 422 eastbound, ramp to 22, now since cleared. good news is all of the jackknife tractor trail that's we've been seeing a lot of them, disable tractor-trailers, the car

accidents, the spin outs that we've been seeing this morning, a lot of those are actually getting remedy and moved out of the way fairly quickly. that said it tells the story what you are seeing out there. 295 northbound, ramps 656 cleared. worlds in of mass tran it lots to talk b patco running modified schedule, rush hour every ten minutes, daytime every 15, evening every 15 to 24. then new jersey transit also running modified schedule, bosses and access link suspended, most rail lines running weekend schedule, ac rail lines regular weekday schedule, and system-wide cross honoring is work. i'll be tweeting this out, as well. so much more to cover. coming up in the next tents minutes. >> our winter weather continues. >> plus looking outside the walt whitman bridge provided by photo journalist jim spearing. see for the most part there roads are slick right now. >> looks like it is more raining right now. >> a wintery mix maybe. >> a mix. >> we will be right back.

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find new roads at your local chevy dealer. >> 45:00; live look from allentown. >> four year old boy is recovering after struck by school bus in atlantic city happened just before 5:00 yesterday afternoon, the child was crossing with two family members when the bus was turning off harrisburg avenue and hit the boy. the 43 year old bus driver immediately stopped the bus, the victim is currently being treated at cooper university hospital in camden, so far no charges have been filed against that driver. also, police are trying to figure out if attempted kidnapping and robbery in a newark delaware apartment complex are related. both incident happened at the christina mill apartment, located on the 300 block of christina mill drive new castle county. one woman said she was approached in the harking -- parking lot a little after 8:00.

man forced her into her apartment and stole her jewelry. another man implied. >> police are asking to you give a call. >> our coverage of this morning's winter weather continues. >> weaver reporters all across the area right now. let's take live look at bethlehem where here, too, snow covering the roads. so we have reporters spanned all across the area this morning, giving you a look at the roads, the weather conditions, and we'll be right

>> the snow continues to fall at a very good clip. philadelphia proper, some sleet. i want to take you out to berks county, one of the counties included in the blizzard warning. rye now the inches are piling up. i've not seen a car go through here, that's good news, hopefully most of you will be able to stay off the roads, but we get it, there is essential personnel that must go out in this. we want to get you out the

door as saferly as possible, but the snapshot of the most current radar. it is a mess everywhere. the heavy snow and blowing and drifting going on across all of southeastern pa, heavy ran, even sleet elsewhere. so on the roads today we give you the red light all day long. the heavy snow continues to fall up until lunchtime. then it is just blowing and drifting. that becomes the issue. by the time we hit the p.m. rush, meisha. >> yes, and i can tell you right now katie basically what we've been seeing all morning long is accidents, disable tractor-trailers, jackknife tractor-trailers, vehicles that have spun out on the roadways, so what we're looking at outside, basically any camera shot, basically what it will look like. it will either look like it is slick, wet on the roadways, or will look slushy or white stuff on the sides of the roadways, and it will be tell to go get in the vehicles and drive in this stuff. and i can tell you right now that it is very, very dangerous driving conditions out there. you can stay at home. we will be saying it all morning long, do so.

stay at home. listen to the forecast. listen to what's going on on the roadways, we're trying to keep you safe. i can tell you right now until 2:00 in the morning pretty dangerous. looking right now the blue route, headlights moving in the northbound direction, this is near ridge pike. jim was talking about it earlier going through stop light. i went through a stop sign. i was in all wheel drive. it doesn't matter how heavy the vehicle, hence, see some of the trucks, too, doesn't matter how heavy the vehicle, it will still be pre i tough out there. talking about more areas to avoid, also a lot of speed restrictions in play, jim, rahel, back over to you. >> thank you, meisha. storm watch coverage continues in the next hour of cbs-3 "eyewitness news," this is live look at center city from our studios here, our reporters, our team of report zester out across the region monitoring this storm. >> plus, also, take a look at the storm's impact on travel, nationwide. i'll tell you president trump's message to residents on the east coast. we're back at the top of the

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live from the cbs broadcast center in philadelphia. this is cbs-3 "eyewitness news" this morning. well our storm watch coverage continues right now part of the area are under a winter storm warning. other areas are under a blizzard warning. katie is here with what to expect, where you live. >> and the snowfall kept workers very busy overnight at philadelphia city hall where they were clearing the sidewalks, the city has suspended trash and recycling collections today. >> in berks county, go pro video just into our news room from reading. meisha here with the latest on what you can expect if you have to travel today. >> well, today is tuesday, march 14, good morning, i'm jim donovan. >> i'm rahel solomon. snow emergency is in effect here in philadelphia. "eyewitness news" cameras were out overnight as the parking authority towed vehicles off of cross street.

>> now, all philadelphia public and archdioces schools are closed today. we have hundreds of other closures, that will be scrolling across the bottom of your screen, also see them on our website at cbsphilly.com. >> team coverage of the storm we begin with katie, and this is coming in aspect in the. >> definitely coming in in terms of timing as expected but uncle the expectations and the and tee here for the kind of treacherous conditions actually going to fine, notice blizzards warnings, you mentioned, blizzards warnings posted annex tends back to berks, chester county. philly county not included so the city, no picnic, still winter storm warning, most treacherous conditions go to the blizzard conditions in the red. that extends all the way up to the poconos. so the entire stretch of the northeast extension for example really, really difficult travel. and this goes until 6:00 tonight. so we are just getting started, folks. we've got multiple hours of