gusts 35 miles an hour or greater over a three-hour period or more and the low visibility for three hours or more. this is the area of the blizzard watch in the dark purple here, as you can see, through the philadelphia area, northern half of delaware, much of south jersey, with the exception of cape may county. the areas north and west that normally get hit the hardest have a winter storm watch. you're going to get significant snow, but probably not as much snow as the area philadelphia southward. there's the watch for sussex county, delaware, cape may county, new jersey, followed by rain and strong winds and the coastal flooding, of course. the storm in two pieces, one in the middle of the country, one in east texas, they are going to combine to produce this major storm. after 8:00 generally the snow

starts, spreads south to north from delaware, that's when we get the heaviest now and winds increase, may see mixing towards the shore and wind increases to perhaps blizzard conditions then tapers off after 8:00 p.m. on saturday. how much snow are we expecting? meteorologist sheena parveen has more on that. >> we have increased some of the snow totals here because of the timing of the storm, some could be heavy wet snow leading to power outages. take a look at the snowfall forecast, we have increased the heavier sections, interior new jersey, areas like salem county and northern delaware, like new castle county we could see anywhere from four to 18 inches. we're going to put a plus on that, because keep in mind with any heavy wet bursts of snow that's when we could see higher amounts there, as well. this is one section where we

expect quite heavy snowfall around the philadelphia area, ten to 14 inches here, that goes up to parts of trenton and mercer county and other areas in interior new jersey. along the lehigh valley we could see anywhere from six to ten inches. lesser amounts for the poconos. we expect that to have a cap on it with the edge of the snow near the poconos and along the shore and in delaware keep in mind you'll see the snow starting first, so we could have quite a bit of snowfall along the shore, then we'll be watching for any changeover to rain. these are the numbers right now. we'll have more updates later this afternoon, also later tonight, so we'll be watching the totals closely. glenn will have a closer look at neighborhood, that's straight ahead. >> everyone is going to be impacted by the storm, wherever you live, we're going to show you how people are getting ready for this storm. >> we start with nbc 10's deanna

durante live in montgomery county. deanna, i know you got an inside look at what road crews are doing to keep people safe across pennsylvania. >> reporter: many of them have been hitting the roads for the last couple of days. we caught up with the public works department, they have been brining township streets for the a barrier between the streets and any snow that begins to fall. >> hopefully not. i don't want to drive in the snow. >> reporter: not many people say they are looking forward to driving during the storm. >> worst part is worrying about sliding around and other people and everything else that's out there on the road. >> reporter: from professional drivers to us amateurs, many are happy this is happening on a day you don't have to be out. unless you're these guys. >> a lot of snow and hours. >> reporter: crews have been brining roads for days. dozens of miles have been covered and sprayed and resprayed in the hopes of getting a jump on whatever falls

to the ground. >> i think it's the not knowing part. that's the perfect analogy, we don't know what mother nature is going to give us and we try to gear up for everything possible. sometimes she gives us a little, sometimes a lot. we just have to make difference of that. >> reporter: crews say brining will help melt the first layer of snow before they need to plow. if you're thinking of going out -- >> definitely make our job a lot easier if everyone would just stay home. >> reporter: you're going to hear that a lot, from the governor's office, to your local officials. many townships waiting to see exactly what will hit them, but we can tell you penndot, as well as local public works departments have been out treating today and are saying if you don't have to go out during the storms, then don't. reporting live, deanna durante, nbc 10 news. >> pennsylvania governor tom wolf and other officials held a news conference today urging residents to stay at home this weekend and out of the winter storm. nbc 10 brought you that news conference live this afternoon

from harrisburg. governor wolf spoke alongside the pennsylvania emergency management agency. the governor declared a state of emergency ahead of this weekend's storm. fema is urging if you haven't already prepared to be stuck in the house, do so now. >> we're emphasizing be prepared. we've always said be prepared for a 72-hour period of time, meaning that you have the necessary food, the medications, those things that your family needs to do without having traveling outside. >> they also warned of the potential for power outages due to strong winds and heavy snow, causing downed trees and power lines. in about one hour, philadelphia mayor jim kenney will hold a news conference about the impending winter storm. this is a live look at the podium, we'll bring that live to you here on nbc 10. and with the threat of being shut in this weekend, people are stocking up on groceries and anything they may need to get by for a day or two inside. nbc 10 delaware bureau reporter tim furlong live to see how

people are stocking up out there. tim? >> reporter: yeah, they are taking it pretty seriously, jim. i want to show you something, you see sunny skies, traffic moving nicely along i-95, but just started hitting me come saturday it's going to look very, very different. meteorologists say this is going to be one of the hardest hits part of the viewing area and delawareans are taking the storm seriously. the checkout lines are slamming as folks get ready for the storm. shoppers getting their last minute snow day essentials. >> cheetos and rock salt? >> yeah. >> what's more important? >> cheetos. >> reporter: joke all you want about snow height, but this is what we found left in the egg department and the pepperidge farm guy couldn't stock fast enough. >> panic city, probably going to end up in the freezer because there's no way they are going to eat all the bread they are taking home. >> reporter: delldot crews brining the roads up and down

the state, 450 pieces of equipment ready to get rid of whatever falls on delaware roads. delldot will also debut its new plow tracker app tomorrow night. before you complain about not seeing plows, check your phone or tablet to see where they are and headed. >> know it's going to be a long event. we may not get to your road or area right away, we have to focus on the interstates, primaries, then out to the secondaries. >> reporter: seems many people secretly like the idea of a snowstorm. i suppose that depends on your circumstances. >> well, we live in a high-rise condo, so we're okay. >> reporter: no shoveling for you, my friend. >> and i'm parking inside. >> reporter: lucky man. lucky, indeed, i'll be shoveling and using my repaired snow blower. delaware's governor is in a snow briefing this second, i got in contact with his office, should have new information out pretty shortly. of course, the snow we are going to get is already affecting businesses, some in a good way, some in a bad way. we'll look at both sides coming

up at 5:00. for now, tim furlong, nbc 10 news. new jersey could also get several inches of snow, but coastal flooding along the shoreline could match what we got during superstorm sandy. this is a look from high above the coast earlier today. the real concern here are high winds and storm surge. >> first alert chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz back now with that part of the winter storm story. another big concern, glenn. >> yeah, because we have multiple high tides that are coming and the full moon this weekend, so that would raise the water level anyway. so we'd be having high water even without the storm. right now we have offshore winds, okay, that's not a problem, but as we go into tomorrow, the wind direction is going to change. it's going to start coming onshore. and it's going to increase, 40, 50, maybe 60 mile an hour winds here at the peak of the storm saturday morning. as long as those winds stay

onshore, the water just keeps rising. and causing flooding. what we need is for it to change back. back to the northwest wind sunday morning before that last high tide. that's going to be the critical point as to how bad it's going to be. we have the high tide, for example, in south jersey, sunday one would be the worst one if the wind continues to be blowing onshore. that's part of the question that depends on the speed of the storm moving out. atlantic city, long beach island, again, saturday morning, one high tide with some flooding. p.m., some high tide, and on sunday, that would be the highest and the most damaging. the latest on the timing of the storm and how much snow to expect where you live with the seven day in a few minutes.

>> our first alert team coverage continues with what people at the jersey shore are doing to prepare for the surge of water. nbc 10 jersey shore bureau reporter ted greenberg is live in ocean city with that, and with this possibly rivaling superstorm sandy, i'm sure they are taking all precautions, ted. >> reporter: they certainly are, jackie, and most of the water that's expected to flood communities here at the shore will come spilling out of the back bay, and as you've been hearing, the storm could bring some of the worst flooding since hurricane sandy. they are building barriers to help hold back the mighty atlantic on beaches in ocean city and all along the jersey coast, makeshift dunes are going up before the storm moves in. >> better safe than sorry. >> reporter: brendan mcbride is building this house on yacht avenue in cape may and today moved his tools and materials to the second floor to keep them away from high water. >> everything that was of any

value, we're worried about the flooding coming. >> reporter: moderate to major coastal flooding, potentially the worst since hurricane sandy that could last for three high tide cycles starting saturday morning, along with high winds. >> we are raising everything up. >> reporter: equipment's also been coming off the floor at the popular lobster house restaurant and fish market just outside cape may in a flood prone section of lower township. >> i think we'll be open friday. i think we'll be closed saturday, then i think we'll open up on sunday. >> reporter: and the constant onshore winds are expected to be a major factor here because they'll basically trap a lot of that water, making it very difficult for the back bays to drain in between the high tides. live in ocean city, ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. >> while many people are worried about stocking that fridge, pulling out the shovels and boots and changing weekend plans, others in our area face a different challenge. >> nbc 10's doug shimell found

farmers in our area worried they are going to run out of food for their animals. doug is live in trenton with that story. doug? >> reporter: exactly, the food here is not the only place people are lining up before a snowstorm. >> got to have the hay there for the animals when they need it. don't want nobody to starve. >> reporter: this is the snowstorm panic at the supermarket for farm animals. many bucks county farmers are swamping the farm in milford township with orders for hay. in a fragile farming economy, they cannot afford to lose animals in a snowstorm. >> they want to make sure they have the hay in the barns so they don't run out when the snow comes. big panic, they are always worried about that. >> reporter: this family is also splitting firewood and making corn feed to help their neighbors. >> we have a lot of crop in the barn we put away in the summer to support these farmers that don't have hay and horse farms that need hay to survive.

>> reporter: not far away, the milford township public works guys broke out the big stuff. >> getting the chains on our grater and getting the big equipment because of the wind coming behind it. that's going to be one of the toughest things we have to fight. >> reporter: new 4,000-ton salt shed will keep them from running out like they did the last two winters. >> we've had a hard time just getting the salt, and this just changed everything for us, so it's one big relief. you know, if this storm comes, one less thing that i've got to worry about. >> reporter: in bucks county and lower southampton township, they've declared a snow emergency friday to sunday, which means cars have to be off all the public streets and here in trenton the police department announcing they are doing essentially the same thing in order to get the snow plows through. live in trenton, doug shimell, nbc 10 news. brine trucks are out in force today. our nbc 10 cameras saw penndot

crews out. trucks were filling the streets, taking their time to make sure roads were ready for the snow. in one hour from now, jim kenney will give us an update about the storm. we'll bring that live when it happens. among the questions we will ask, do they have a better plan to clear snow from the city's neighborhoods with all of those narrow streets? this is video following a snowstorm in march of last year. every year streets like these are among the last to be cleared. nbc 10's lauren mayk is on top of those preparations, joining us live in center city. lauren, this is the first big snowstorm for the new administration. all eyes on them. >> reporter: yeah, good afternoon, jacqueline. this is the first big weather event for the kenney administration. as you said, we're going to hear from the mayor in just about an hour. the new streets commissioner has been part of the streets department for years and i got a chance to speak with him and the emergency management director and they have been preparing for

this for days. of course, when this snow does come, there are several big challenges here. one of them is where to put all of this snow. the streets commissioner telling me that is a decision made on a case by case basis and really depends on where the track of the snow is. the other big challenge you just mentioned, jacqueline, that is those narrow streets. some of the plows can't get through those streets. i visited a neighborhood in fishtown where they tell me it is tough for plows to get through sometimes. it's okay maybe during the day but at night when cars are parked in there, it's really tough to get through. they have a pretty good attitude about it, though. >> i love it. i could care less how much we get. send it. >> reporter: if you wake up on saturday and there's snow out here, how are you going to get out? >> i'm going to be in trouble. i'm going to be probably at 5:30 digging the car out. that's okay. >> reporter: you know, both of those neighbors, they work in

health care and they have to work on saturday, so they are really counting on the streets being cleared and being able to get to work. so in just about an hour, again, we're going to hear from the mayor, that news conference starts at 5:15, i'm going to head upstairs in city hall and we'll hear from him at 5:15. for now, live in center city, lauren mayk, nbc 10 news. >> you can watch that news conference on the nbc 10 app, as well, it will be streaming live as soon as it starts. officials have had plenty of warning about this coming storm. >> chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is back now with the latest on this winter storm. glenn? >> that's right. we've been talking about it for more than a week. it's been in our seven-day forecast for that long, and it certainly looks like we're going to be getting this storm. just a question of some of the details. blizzard watch in effect for parts of the area, many parts of our area with ten-plus, that's why we have a first alert for overnight friday night, into

early sunday morning. it's a period of about 30 hours or maybe a little more, and possibility for some major coastal flooding. what is a blizzard watch, it means heavy snow, 35 miles an hour winds, either sustained or frequent gusts for three hours or more, and low visibility. a quarter mile visibility for three miles or more. that's the official definition of a blizzard. even the blizzard of '96, technically, wasn't a blizzard. 22 in mount pocono right now, low to mid 30s across the rest of the area, kind of balmy compared to what we've seen. the snow starts friday evening, heaviest snow 4:00 a.m. to noon on saturday. we could see some mixing in the afternoon, but that's becoming a little bit less likely, at least less significant. the blizzard conditions most likely closer to the shore, and the snow tapers after 8:00 on saturday. here's the blizzard watch.

it's a lot of our area, and generally areas that don't see as much snow. much of delaware, philadelphia corridor, up towards trenton and south jersey, other than cape may county. all right, it's dry right now, few snow flurries up towards the poconos. we have two areas that are coming together. this area is weakening. this one, this other one, taking over. a lot of moisture already, hasn't even brought in atlantic moisture yet. so now as we go through the next couple of days, there's 10:00 p.m. on friday, snow is just getting started in philadelphia, but it's already getting fairly heavy in delaware. and as we go through saturday morning, it is snowing everywhere, and some of that, the darker blue, heavier snow. we may see it break up a little bit from time to time, but it's pretty much a steady snow through saturday night, and look at that, even overnight saturday night, going to take a while.

early sunday morning before it finally moves out. so how much snow? greatest amount of snow as you head towards baltimore and washington. again, that's kind of unusual. lesser amounts of snow as you head towards the poconos. so there's your 14 to 18 inches, generally delaware county, southern chester county, northern delaware. 14 to 18 inches. 10 to 14 inches up towards the philadelphia area and towards the trenton area and northern burlington county. mostly clear overnight tonight, cold, 22 for the low in philadelphia, 15 north and west. during the day tomorrow, the clouds increase. the snow does not come until well after 6:00. the afternoon rush will not be affected by snow. in the evening it starts in delaware, and then it will stick immediately on untreated surfaces, but i assume

everybody's out there treating those surfaces right now. so the first of the snow will be tolerated. so the first alert goes through saturday, saturday night, then on sunday the snow ends early. then it becomes windy. monday is a windy and cold day. look at that, down into the teens in the morning. so the snow's not going to immediately melt. we'll have some warmer weather later on during next week to melt some of it, but if you get that amount of snow, it's going to hang around for a while. >> the closer to the storm, better idea of the timing and snow totals. what is the likelihood of what's being predicted now changing? >> well, it's likely to change somewhat, but i don't think we're going to see dramatic changes in the amount of snow like a change in the storm track of the 50 miles, which would drastically change everything. the storm track is a little bit farther south than the classic

big philadelphia storm track, and that's why the northern areas are getting less. >> all right, good to know. watching it constantly. glenn, thank you. while you're preparing your home and family for the snow, keep in mind the nbc 10 app is a prime tool. you can get the latest forecast hour by hour, live radar, blogs from our meteorologists, access to live cameras in our nbc 10 sky cam network, weather alerts, as well as notifications about school closures and delays. our continuing coverage continues next with how to handle your car in the snow. >> what you should and should not do if you have to get your car out this weekend straight ahead. plus, the travel impact has already begun. we're going to tell you which airline is cancelling flights and what others are saying if you have a flight booked. and later, the problem the nbc 10 investigators uncovered at the camden county police department that's wasting taxpayer money.

you're watching nbc 10 first alert winter weather coverage. >> and the nbc 10 first alert radar tracking a winter storm that could bring ten-plus inches of snow to much of the area, which means you're probably going to want to stay around the house this weekend and not hit the road, but if you absolutely have to take the car out, here's what you need to do to keep it safe and also keep it running. we have good tips for you here. never attempt to charge or jump start a car battery that's frozen because it could rupture or explode. this is important if your battery is three years old or older. also never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area like a garage. that seems obvious. very, very dangerous. make sure also that you have enough air in your tires, because that can affect how your car handles in these kind of wintery conditions. also keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line

freezing up. that's important in these cold temperatures. avoid using your parking brake if at all possible in cold and snowy weather, and replace your westchester at ace hardware. pay attention, shoppers are looking for, what retailers have and what you need to do before you head out to get your snow

preps.

this is nbc 10 news first alert weather. >> a winter storm that could bring us blizzard conditions and more than a foot of snow in some areas. it's on its way. you can see the ingredients of the storm stretch across the southeast. we have live team coverage in the nbc 10 first alert weather center tracking the snow and potential flooding we could see. >> we begin with meteorologist sheena parveen with more on when the snow will begin. sheena? >> yes, we're talking about the snow timing and totals. it's going to begin late friday, friday night, into saturday, so the question a lot of people have is how much snow are we going to get. the snow forecast for the area right now we have the largest amounts through parts of northern delaware, into chester county, but notice how the poconos, lehigh valley, you're

going to see the lower amounts. this is subject to change once we have more model updates coming in, but closer to the lehigh valley, six to ten inches here, less if you get closer to the poconos. philadelphia area less than 14 inches and along the shore we do expect a lot of snowfall here. we'll have to watch that rain/snow line closely, too. here is the spots we're expecting some of the highest amounts, chester county, parts of salem county, as well, new castle county and delaware, maybe 14 to 18 inches. most of this area also is under a blizzard watch as we go into this time frame. we expect heavy snow, low visibility, and all this will be occurring late friday night, into saturday evening. coming up we'll talk more about this as far as timing is concerned, too, but right now let's head over to glenn "hurricane" schwartz to talk about flooding along the shore, glenn? >> a lot is going to depend on how long this storm lasts.

the longer it lasts, more damage that's going to occur at the shore and it's the final high tide that's a critical one. winds right now blowing offshore, so that doesn't make the ocean go up, it's when it changes and starts blowing towards the shore. it's a nor'easter. the wind comes from the northeast. the stronger it is, the longer it lasts, the higher the water gets. we also have a full moon coming this weekend, which means the tides would be high anyway. then you add a storm like this, these winds could be 40 to 60 miles an hour at times. there's saturday morning when the strongest wind is likely to be occurring. if we can get the wind to be offshore friday morning, that could save us, because if it

stays onshore, the third high tide that sunday morning high tide would cause the worst of the flooding. if we manage to get this wind shift, then we'll have two huge high tides and flooding, but maybe only moderate compared to major. it's all about the wind direction. i'll be back to talk about specific snow totals and the rest of the seven day in a few minutes. >> we're taking you state to state, county from county. >> harry hairston continues our team coverage where he found people getting everything they need for the storm. harry? >> reporter: yeah, people all over chester county are looking for what they need, trying to grab these things, that's right, these shovels, folks coming out to the ace hardware, lines are getting huge, then they go down, then huge again. folks know, we have a big one coming. here at the home depot we found

folks making a last minute rush for some of the most sought after items. >> got my snow shovel so my kids can help me. weather stripping so i can get the extension cords in from the generator. >> reporter: part of the stress also called for putting his young kids to work tonight, as well. what are you going to have them do? >> just check their flashlights, make sure everything's ready to go. hopefully we don't get hit too bad, though. >> reporter: no grocery stores? >> i have to do that, too, that's the other list. >> reporter: that's right, best not forget to get the food to the house. one thing you need plenty of, flashlights. folks say they could not find salt, well, a lot of ice melt and salt still out here. one thing you want to do, make phone calls to check stores before you head to them. reporting live in westchester,

harry hairston, back to you guys. >> always love it when harry reminds us what we need and what we forget. download the nbc 10 app, a long list of tools available, including the latest forecasts, hour by hour radar, blogs from glenn "hurricane" schwartz, a lot of good information there, live cameras, weather alerts, as well as notifications about school closings and delays. you can also see a list of locations where you can plug in and power up your devices if your power goes out. this is a free service offered by comcast, nbc 10's parent company. back with the storm's impact on travel in our area.

you're watching nbc 10 first alert winter weather coverage. >> nbc 10 first alert weather team tracking a winter storm heading our way this weekend. a blizzard watch has been issued for much of our area as you see that storm moving closer toward us. if you have travel plans this weekend, you're probably going

to want to rethink them. >> nbc 10's keith jones is live in the digital operations center with more on that. keith? >> airlines are predicting delays and cancellations for the days impacted by this weather. american airlines announced they'll be reducing operations tomorrow night and cancelled all flights saturday in philly. some airlines waived change fees so you can switch your flight for free. there are restrictions, though, so best to check with your airline. as for philadelphia international, officials tell us they are prepared to meet the challenges of clearing ice and snow from the planes, runways, walkways, too, as for septa, they haven't announced what changes they'll make this weekend. septa officials will hold a news conference tomorrow morning at 9:30 to reveal what they plan to do. we'll bring you that news conference live when it happens tomorrow. count on the nbc 10 team for first alert traffic updates before, during, and after the storm. live in the digital operations center, keith jones, nbc 10 news.

glenn? >> yeah, going to be a lot of problems around here. as the storm gets closer, i'm tweaking the forecast for when the snow is going to arrive and how much you're going to get. what the latest models are showing next in my forecast.

now your nbc 10 first alert weather with chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz. >> it's amazing how many of these big snowstorms in philadelphia history occur on the weekend, and here's another one. and it makes it kind of simple. we've got a blizzard watch in effect for much of the area, many areas are going to get more than ten inches of snow and major coastal flooding is possible. so it's kind of simple, stay home on saturday, go play in the snow on sunday. then a lot of us can go back to work monday. so we've got heavy snow. that's not the only requirement for a blizzard. the wind has to be 35 miles an

hour or greater for three hours in a row, or frequent gusts over 35. and the low visibility, quarter mile or less for three hours or more in a row. doesn't happen a whole lot around here. the main thing that is lacking generally is the wind, and that may be the thing lacking in philadelphia here. as you go close to the coast, wind may be stronger, and if we're going to have blizzard conditions, may be more likely in this area down towards the coastline. there's the blizzard watch until 10:00 a.m., includes a good bit of delaware, south jersey, philadelphia, i-95 corridor. two pieces of moisture and energy here coming together. there's a lot of moisture building up along the gulf coast, gulf of mexico, getting involved as we say, and the atlantic is going to put some moisture in there. warm ocean out there, that adds to the moisture, as well. so here we are 10:00 on friday, the snow just starting in the philadelphia area, but it's

already getting heavy in delaware and extreme south jersey, so it depends whether you can have your friday evening plans, because in the middle of the night on saturday and by saturday morning, it is going to be snowing everywhere, and probably snowing pretty hard by that time. so the roughest part of the storm is in the morning. then it may taper off, at least toward the shore, in the afternoon. but it's still snowing. all of saturday night just about. and only ending early sunday morning. that's more than 24 hours and that adds up. we have 14 to 18 inches from wilmington, southward. and let's get more specific here, going to get hard new castle county and parts of kent county. all snow expected closer to wilmington. heaviest snow from 6:00 a.m. to noon on saturday, and the strongest winds are going to be in southern delaware where there's less snow. in philadelphia, some mix or

change to rain is possible. that will determine how much snow falls, so the heaviest snow 3:00 a.m. to noon, we're going to have blowing snow, low visibility there. and let's go into south jersey. salem county, gloucester county, 14 to 18 inches, local spots could be 20 plus. 10 to 14 in burlington county, heavy snow 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. strongest winds closer to the shore. of course, any changeover is really going to have an effect on the amounts. as we go north and west, there's less snow farther away from philadelphia. heaviest snow 3:00 a.m. to midnight. now the forecast for tonight, no problems, it's going to be cold. 22 for a low in philadelphia, 15 north and west. then during the day tomorrow, start off with sunshine, clouds increase, the snow comes in at night. afternoon rush, dry. mid 30s for your high

temperature, and then the first alert goes into early sunday morning. most of sunday is dry, it's windy, it's cold. enjoy playing in the snow. then on monday, it's cold, the snow stays there, and it will melt somewhat as we go through the week. even when it doesn't get to freezing, the sunshine helps melt some of the snow. then it gets dirty and refreezes at night, you know, that's kind of the nasty part of the storm as far as i'm concerned. the kids are going to love it. it's happening on a weekend. >> that's right. >> over the years in history you say that's been common. >> i'm telling you, it is so amazing and there's no scientific reason for it, but it just happens. >> there's a long lasting storm. >> seven out of ten of the big storms happen on the weekend. >> which is good, roads won't be filled with commuters. >> worst thing is for people to get caught in it unawares during rush hour. look what happened in washington

yesterday. they got one to two inches of snow and it crippled the whole city because it happened during rush hour and they hadn't pretreated the roads. everybody is out, going to pretreat these roads, so friday evening might be okay and then when it gets heavy like overnight, friday night, saturday morning, then you're not going to be able to get around very well. >> when they are talking about how much snow washington could get. >> it could be close to an all-time record for washington. >> absolutely. >> keep an eye on it for us, glenn, we appreciate it. to another story here, the camden county police department says it is struggling to keep officers in camden. >> the nbc 10 investigators found many leave soon after training. next, how the trouble is costing taxpayers big money and raising safety concerns in the community. for the girl scout meeting...

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all new at 4:00, one of the nation's highest crime rate city says it's losing officers at an alarming rate. >> to make matters worse, residents are paying to train the officers. some leave without ever working a beat. investigator harry hairston shows the impact of cops simply walking away from the department. >> reporter: in camden, new jersey, the loss of cops to other departments raises safety concerns and is causing rifts with other police agencies. resident brian mooarton is no stranger to the city's violent crime. >> unfortunately lost, you know, cousins, you know, other relatives to violent crime, you know, to murder. >> reporter: he's had a gun pointed at him.

>> right at my face, based on someone's impression on being offended. >> reporter: camden has been known for high crime. that's one reason the county took over in 2013. since then, camden police say overall crime is down 28%. homicides 52%. but also on the decrease, the number of cops. the nbc 10 investigators learned multiple police cadets hired, trained, certified by camden are taking jobs with other departments, some without ever working a beat in camden. is that a safety challenge for the neighborhood? >> well, we haven't hit critically low at that point yet, but it does put an additional demand and burden on the officers. >> reporter: camden's police chief scott thompson says he needs some cops to work double shifts just to cover the city. >> it's extremely frustrating. i mean, we're essentially losing about seven officers a month, which is a high rate. >> reporter: safety is not the only issue, there's a financial

problem, as well. this list obtained by the nbc 10 investigators showed 30 other departments where camden-trained officers have gone since may of 2013. the chief tells us the county has lost more than 145,000 dollars because it's only reimbursed for what it calls pennies on the dollar. >> we probably had between salary and training close to $60,000, $70,000 invested in them and maybe get $4,000 or $5,000 back. >> reporter: some departments haven't paid up. that's why camden sued seven agencies for reimbursements. five have paid or agreed to pay. >> i can't speak as to why they sued. >> reporter: asbury park police is one who was sued. the chief says he cannot speak specifically about the suit but says camden never billed his department. >> if we ever receive a certified invoice with expenses, we would pay the appropriate

amount. >> reporter: officers have reasons to leave. >> whether it was a promise they'd get a full-time regular position or for another reason, maybe it was closer to their home or they preferred the work there. >> reporter: also deptford township has not paid. no one was willing to talk to us on camera from that department. >> it's unfair and laws need to be changed. >> reporter: law allows police officers to leave any department at any time, regardless who trained them, but law does require that the department reimburses the officer's old department. new jersey free holder said he's working on changing the law. >> we are working right now with governor christie to come up with a pilot program that will allow us to recruit folks from camden city and camden county, because they are more inclined to stay because they live here. >> reporter: meantime, morton says he wants cops committed to keeping his neighborhood safe. >> i think more officers and more of us need to be committed

when we take pledges or we take oaths of service. >> we also talked to the camden police union. its president said more cops would stay if camden's pay was more competitive with towns that pay more and are less dangerous. departments such as philadelphia, pennsylvania, police have residency requirements for their officers. for the investigators, harry hairston, nbc 10 news. nbc 10 news at 5:00 is next. >> here's keith jones. >> jim, jackie, weather team coverage continues next with new information on snow totals and the timing of the storm. sheena? >> that's right, keith, we are tracking this winter storm very closely. by tomorrow afternoon it's going to be to our south about to move in, so coming up we'll show you a look at the timing and updated snowfall totals for your area. that's straight ahead. the jersey shore preparing for a pounding from flooding, snow, rain, and wind. >> can't fight with mother nature. >> reporter: i'm ted greenberg, how the nor'easter is causing

problems even before it actually arrives.

this is nbc 10 news first alert weather. >> it has been a busy day for the brine trucks and the bull dozers. they are getting ready for a winter storm that could dump ten-plus inches of snow and cause severe coastal flooding at the shore. we've also learned the storm could bring blizzard conditions to parts of the area, so officials are urging people to stay at home and off the roads,

as well. in the next 15 minutes the mayor of philadelphia will give us an update on what the city is doing to get ready for the storm. we'll bring you this live as soon as it gets under way. but right now our team of meteorologists are tracking all the components of the storm, the snow, wind, also the flooding. let's get right to glenn "hurricane" schwartz. glenn, the first question everyone wants to know here is when is the snow getting here? >> i would say the first flakes don't start falling until more than 24 hours from now. so we still have plenty of time before the first flakes fly. and in delaware, that's where it's going to start. there's a blizzard watch for parts of the area, many places in our area will be getting ten inches or more and there's a possibility at least of major coastal flooding. what is a blizzard? there's a strict definition for that. not just heavy snow and kind of