on this sunday night, one for the record books. the east coast braces for a potentially historic blizzard. snow measured in feet high winds and 60 million in the storm's past. informant the west blown away. winds more than 60 miles per hour wipe out power to tens of thousands and fuel a massive blaze. on demand netflix and amazon go to war over viewers, lining up big stars, and hours of new programming. the big winner might be you. and, your ad here. the contest that's giving your average joe a shot at super poll

stardom. stardom. from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. the national weather service tonight is using exceptionally strong terms like potentially historic to describe a snowstorm that will cripple, grind cities like philadelphia, boston and new york to a halt tomorrow. in new york city two and a half feet of snow and wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour are forecast. the mayor warns it could be one of the biggest storms in the city's history. tonight warnings and watches are posted across a dozen states from ohio valley maryland and as far north as maine. 60 million people could be affected.roker is standing by.

first we have kristin standing by. >> this is nothing new and new englanders don't scare easy. don't they're hear the words crippling. >> tonight it's a race against time. i remember the blizzard of '78 around this area. >> bracing for what could be an unforgettable blast. up to two feet of snow or more in boston. >> making sure there's gas this the car in case there's an emergency and grabbing an extra shovel. >> reporter: keep in mind this area was blanketed with six inches of snow saturday. these piles are what's left. these are about to get a whole lot bigger. stores were filled with people stocking up on supplies and food. >> extra a batteries and food to eat. >> when it hits travel could be possible with visibility less than a quarter mile. >> the main streets are pretty clear, but look at this.

secondary streets are still covered in snow. they have less than 24 hours now to get this cleared off before they're covered again. around massachusetts, more than 4,000 plows, spreaders and loaders are on stand by with 300,000 tons of salt. in new york city 2400 workers will be on 12 hour shifts around the clock to clear the roads. from the mayor, a warning to prepare for the worst. >> early projections for this storm are that it would be easily as much as two feet of snow potentially pushing on closer to three feet of snow. >> the impact of the storm is likely to be felt across the country. many airlines are already waving flight change fees for travelers in anticipation of massive cancellations n. massachusetts, an hour from boston, some residents are hoping they're avoid a repeat of the 2013

nor'easter when some lost their homes to the ferocious sea. >> we're a little anxious, but i think we have built up the wall retaining wall recently. i think we'll be safe from that. >> reporter: so preparations continue and tonight lester hospitals are on high alert making sure plans and staff are all in place before this storm. >> chriskristin, thanks. al roker is over in studio 1a for us. >> lester good evening. already over 300 flights cancelled for the new york area. the first flakes haven't flown yet. indiana to western pennsylvania the storm in the mid atlantic states now. it's going to push east and exit the mid atlantic by tomorrow afternoon. light snow beginning in new york city, philly and d.c. maybe one to three inches on your evening commute. then it starts to get cranked up. blizzard like conditions start firing up around midnight

tuesday night. wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour. looking at snowfall rates of 2-4 inches per hour with coastal flooding likely. tuesday into boston two to feet feet possible. low visible. coastal flooding will be a problem. late tuesday night, early wednesday, down east maine you're dealing with hurricane force winds, five foot snow drifts. the storm moving away by wednesday. we're looking at right now generally anywhere from two to three feet of snow from coastal new jersey on into long island parts of new england and down east maine. all sorts of transportation will be brought to a stand still lester. this is going to be a record setting system. of course we're going to have complete details starting at 5:00 a.m. on "wake up with al" on the weather channel and today

show. >> all platforms, on air, cable, online blizzard of '15. in southern california high winds caused havoc this weekend. santa ana winds are typical this time of year but yesterday's gusts were far from ordinary leaving tens of thousands without power. jacob rascon has the report. >> reporter: this isn't how dan wanted to spend his first day of retirement. >> this is just a disaster. >> reporter: powerful wind gusts uprooted dan's a 80 foot pine tree sending it crashing through the roof into his kitchen. >> this was the kitchen, neat clean, little kitchen. it's ankle deep in insulation and trash. >> reporter: fierce winds are typical this time of year but gusts of more than 60 miles per hour are not. the wind blamed for fanning a mulch fire pushing it close to homes. elsewhere, driving became nearly

impossible. the man behind the wheel of this truck walked away unhurt. in north hollywood, a sign barely missed a truck and toppled many cars. dan is one of 50,000 that lost power. >> could have been a lot worse. >> reporter: now dan hopes the home where he grew up can be fixed before the santa ana winds come back. nbc news los angeles. after nearly a week of talking about the air pressure of footballs, fans will have the chance to start talking about the game itself if they'd like. tonight the nfl pro bowl kicks off a week ahead of super bowl sunday. nbc ron mott is outside the stadium in glenndale. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. we have tens of thousands of football fans here. security is in place and it's super tight.

for a lot it's simply time to play football. the defending super bowl champions seattle seahawks kicked off the day with a big hometown rally after a quiet week of preparations unlike upcoming opponents. they landed hours later in the arizona desert and were asked for their take on the deflate gig controversy that has preoccupied the patriots. >> all the distractions about the football have nothing to do with us. >> hey guys. welcome to the pro bowl. >> fans with tickets to tonight's pro bowl all-star game soaked up the sun and festivities. prime to see a the league's best players and ready for a break from the odd week largely about underinflated footballs. >> does it really matter? we're really not concerned about that. >> it's kind of like a soap opera. you want to know what happened. >> reporter: security is increased from normal games where 150-200 officers are

routinely deployed. police are highly visible, some undercover and presence is overhead. eyes and ears everywhere looking for trouble, a trial run for the big one next sunday. as for the game itself nfl has made changes to make it more of a contest that players actually try to win. goalposts are narrow to make it more challenging. kickoffs are gone. ball placed at the 20 yard line two minute quarters to pick up pace of play. meantime patriots a wait their send off tomorrow. coach bill belichick making it clear he's made the last comments about the deflated situation. >> we have a huge challenge for our football team, and that's where our focus will go. >> reporter: player's in tonight's game have something to focus on.

winners $55,000 and losers $28,000. >> ron, thanks. at least 30 are dead and more than 10 jired following a deadly attack by pro russian rebels in eastern ukraine. dash cam video has emerged of a motorists their r rowly avoiding the rocket fire. the attack marks serious escalation of conflict that comes one day after separatists rejected a peace deal. in egypt, 18 were killed and dozens were hurt in protests. the protests were staged to mark the fourth anniversary of the arab spring uprising that toppled the leader from power. security was tightened ahead of the anniversary in the symbolic heart of the revolt which was sealed off by police. president obama began a three day visit in india today, seen as a turning point in relations between the countries. it's a trip making headlines, and not just because of deals being reached.

senior white house correspondent chris jansing is traveling with the president in new delhi. good evening. >> good evening lester. the big surprise is the dramatic turn around in the relationship between the world's two largest democracies. not long ago that relationship was strained. now deals are made between president obama and prime minister modi. >> inside the palace tonight, a formal state dinner for 250 already heavy with warmth. a hug at airport and elaborate welcome. hours of talks between president obama and prime minister modi. they announced progress on climate change in a country with 13 of the 20 most polluted cities and made a break through understanding on a nuclear power deal. overshad doeg this is the talk of a close friendship they say has aided the progress.

>> it's clear from this visit we have a new and unprecedented opportunity. >> relationship stands at a new level today. >> it's a remarkable turn around from a year ago when modi couldn't get a visa to come to the u.s. the two bonded in his visit to d.c. after his election. modi surprised the white house with an unprecedented invitation to the india's biggest celebration, the parade. there's been a three day lock down. there's some of the 50,000 personnel across dell i on parade day. the president is expected to ride to the parade stand in the armored limo known as the beast. >> what he's saying is he wants this relationship to go to the next level. >> obama considered the relationship so important he juggled the state of the union to be here. whether the symbolism turns to more substance will be the real measure of success.

>> reporter: still to come both world leaders will meet with ceos of american companies about a billion and quarter people live here so the potential for growth in the business sector is great. lester? >> chris, thank you. indonesian rescuers failed to raise the fuselage of the jetliner. officials were able to bring the wreckage to the surface before a rope sthaped sending it back to the ocean floor. it's a setback. each piece of the plane crash is vital in helping understand what brought it down. joe friar spent time recently in a california lab where they pour over pieces of past accidents to help piece together what happened. >> rows of twisted wreckage from airplane crashes, this is the

accident investigation laboratory at the university of southern california. >> this is not your usual classroom is it? >> it's not but it provides a practical experience for accident investigators to learn by doing. >> not just for usc students investigators from around the world come here. each aircraft tells the story of a different failure. this plane crash into the pacific ocean after a midair collision. >> being able to touch the wreckage and look at it from the inside is very very useful. something that can't be done in the classroom. >> this plane crashed attempting to land and this plane went through a thunderstorm. investigators will look at what roles played in the crash of airasia 8501. >> this is the skin pulled off by the power of the air. >> while this light aircraft at lab is much smaller than a commercial airliner -- >> it's crumpled like a piece of paper almost. >> it offers a glimpse at the power and energy of a storm. look at the right wing.

>> air when compressed can become very very hard and result in this concave deformation. >> thomas anthony, the director warns investigators that come here they should not apply one accident to another. he says crashes are caused by a chain of events not just one thing. >> the lessons that we teach here are to observe and document and collect. >> investigations take discipline he says. planes are complex like a jigsaw puzzle with so many pieces that need to be examined. joe friar, nbc news los angeles. when nbc "nightly news" continues on this sunday is, netflix and amazon go head to head. now they're pulling out all stops. forget the super bowl ads. the ♪ health can change in a minute.

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58 million subscribe to netflix, many in the last month. now amazon is upping the ante. fresh off golden globe wins for "transparent" the company which will now let viewers pick the original pilots they want to see more of is getting into the movie business. >> it seems the landscape has changed more over the last couple years than the last couple decades. >> even in the last couple of weeks. netflix on one side amazon on the other side. we're watching to see who becomes the come than the player. >> the high stakes are drawing high profile stars. tina fey on in march and kevin spacey for his praise in the series "house of cards." >> what's attracting people to watch the shows? >> the gasps. when you watch frank underwood

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a week from tonight, one of the most watched events in the world will take place, the super bowl. it's of course become a viewing obsession that some would argue is as much about the super bowl commercials as the game itself. at least one of those ads will be remarkable because of who have made it. here's nbc's janet shamly. >> bet you can't remember who won the game the past few years, but who can forget the commercials? for eight years degreeoritos has had

the top rated ads all created by amateurs. this year the contest has exploded. 4900 entries from 29 countries, now down to 10 finalists. online voters decide who gets $1 million. a year long job at universal studios, part of nbc universal. >> when that phone rank from doritos letting me know i was a top ten finalist i almost lost it. >> ryan owns a gym in tampa. this commercial is about a spelling bee the finalists are trying to lose to get the second time prize, a lifetime supply of doritos. >> he says he entered on a lark and shot it in eight hours for $500.

>> as soon as i saw it i knew i had something. >> whoever wins the cash the big winner the brand. >> why is it that commercials that involve the public have become the commercials? >> it's about authenticity and also talent. you have very talented people out there with a lot of young people knowing how to put together video and audio. >> a high stakes game far from the field advertising once again hoping to score with viewers. janet, nbc news houston. >> and a reminder coverage of the super bowl xlix begins noon eastern time next sunday here on nbc. that's going to do it for nbc "nightly news" for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting. from all of us here at nbc news good night.

>> i was in my room. it was all dark. and like everything was just spinning away from me into blackness. i was literally sick. it was terrifying. >> reporter: it was a whirlwind romance with mister right that mystery. >> my blood ran cold. >> she was like, "i feel i'm being watched." >> reporter: followed? surveillance? she'd stepped right into "the twilight zone"! hidden codes. government agents. undercover spies. >> i was so scared. >> reporter: who was this man she was about to marry? your brain has got to be saying holy cow! to learn the truth, she would