t 00ac d l e emm vi chne f 1ea tgeiocooral 1-8-tfs. special eye on the storm team coverage. white out conditions in most of the tristate area right now as steady snow falls and winds pick up. this is just the beginning of a significant prolonged winter storm. cbs 2 news saturday morning begins right now. >> good morning it is 6:00 on saturday january 32. i'm andrea grymes. >> i'm diane macedo. a massive storm is blowing across the east coast. heavy snow and whipping winds are making it difficult.

>> the park island roadways are icy and conditions are deteriorating. >> when it's over we could have up to a foot of snow. >> we have you covered from long island to the jersey shore keeping an eye on the storm. >> let's get right to john with the latest models and numbers. >> i must stress if you do not need to be out in this, if it's not critical stay home. conditions are just going to continue to deteriorate now. over my shoulder a scene from the city and you get a sense of that wind as well limiting visibility but also leading to some drifting but there's so much liquid available that that's where we are seeing the snow. diving into the radar this is a three hour loop to give you the sense of the motion on the storm. the green on the screen stays well to our south and could see mixing as it exits. it's a slow mover and there's so much available moisture. just an hour worth of data is

rockland parts of westchester and a little bit of break down into bergen and essex. those are the real intense snow bands. we've had snow fall rates of two inches an hour. that is not a con constant or a steady but it's a feature of this storm. brighter colors to the south, we've had thunder snow with this. can't rule it out here but the fact it's affiliated with the storm there's a lot of lift and that is going to also contribute to those higher snow fall rates. jersey shore snow total so far and these numbers are going to go up. newark reporting 4 but 2-inch per hour snow fall rates. adjusted snow projects total. now you see more of the area in one to two to 24-inches. there's such a marked cutoff

of the area including the city to that big drop right there, manhattan into the bronx. potentially more snow and quite a bit more for staten island than you'll see in the bronx. the other big side of the story blizzard warning in the red in effect until sunday morning. blizzard warning means 35 miles per hour winds blowing snow limited visibility. winds right now at 29 miles per hour. just a real quick model projection. we could be dealing with winds between 40 and 60 miles per hour. we are down with the shore and will have more on that in a bit. >> john thanks so much. your best bet is to stay home and stay warm but vanessa murdock is keeping an eye on everything for us. all right a few inches on the ground. >> yeah three to five inches. it's hard to measure because

drifting and that will be a challenge for everybody today but we know there will be a lot. we expect the snow to reach from 18 to 24-inches. as john mentioned it will be on staten island the highest snow fall totals in the city and in addition the strongest winds here as well. winds likely gusting 40 to 50 miles per hour at times and i recently looked at near buoys and gusts are that high already and it still has a ways to go before it gets closer to us and intenseic is also expected. we have snow and winds cranking and coastal flooding here. we are in midland beach near jefferson and if you look off in the distance you will see some sand berms out there. i hope you can see them. it is challenging with the blowing snow as john mentioned

they are meant to keep any flooding out to sea and keep it from the land here. flooding during high tides today this morning roughly speaking for everybody along the coastline between 7 and 8:00 a.m. and 7 and 8:00 p.m. that would be the time to look out for coastal flooding. a concern here but these sands the water is still a distance away and approaching high tide time so keep you posted on how close the high tide gets and noting now the winds are picking up gusting at 35 miles per hour and it hurts so as diane said best for you to just stay indoors as you roll on through the day but none the less some of the most significant impacts on staten island. andrea and diane back to you. >> stay safe out there. coastal flooding is also a

residents are facing volunteer evacuation noticed issued at a number of shoreline communities. meg baker is there live this morning. tough to see you out there, meg. >> good morning andrea and diane and if you think this looks bad we are hearing reports that tom's river is much worse. here there's more than five inches already on the ground win the ultimate what's really powering the storm are the winds. we are hearing reports of 52 miles per hour winds here in this county and creating snow drifts in the area. ed donavon asked his residents to voluntarily evacuate because at this point it's tough to leave. he's also seeing flooding on main street over the bridge and just behind us on the inlet the water is coming up over the bulk head. he wasn't residents to stay inside and not go out on the roads. it's dangerous.

voluntarily leave their homes.

basically he told us he can't drag us out of our own house. we have a generator, heat. we have enough water. >> these powerful winds have jersey central power and light in emergency mode with extra crews and protect at substations but no garrett there won't be power outages. >> we cannot put our line men in a bucket when winds are sustained over 40 miles per hour. >> already concerns about tide. high tide will come at 6:48 this morning and again after 7:00 p.m. this evening and that will be the true test for the communities here and the strength of the storm. live meg baker cbs 2 news. let's head to new jersey with an update on conditions there. >> hazel sanchez joins us with a look at road conditions on the garden state parkway. hazel?

towards the jersey shore and trust me on this one, do not hit the roads if you don't have to. because right now as you can see from our cameras here on mobile 2 the road conditions are treacherous. the winds are blowing the snow sideways so visibility is very poor on the this hour and the snow conditions on the roadway the snow is packed very heavily on the roadway. there aren't a lot of people on the road but it's very slick and slippery. despite the fact we can tell that snow plows have made at least one round on these roads but again the snow is coming down so fast that it may be hard for them to keep up. but again the snow conditions, slippery road conditions, stay off the road if you can. that's the latest live from mobile 2 hazel sanchez cbs 2 news. >> those conditions look horrible. be careful out there. continuing coverage of our eye on the storm.

d.c. which are expected to take the brunt of the storm. >> oh man that is a shot from the city where you can see the wind really starting to take more of a role. we are going to be following it all. we've got model driven projections and take a look at how much more snow you can anticipate and have a look at your seven day forecast so stick around. but first let's take a look at

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all right 6:12. 24 degrees. this is a live look what you can see from our camera on the jersey shore. the winds are whipping out there. meg baker is out there. could barely see her a few minutes ago. welcome back this is cbs 2 news this morning. >> we have a clear look at john elliot who is keeping us updated and tracking this storm. >> it's brutal out there. reporters on the scene are at work because they have to be. if you don't have to be out i hope you stay in your nice warm bed. this is a scene from the city. you have to focus at it. we'll take it full to make it

the snow is almost horizontal. even harder to maneuver around and through it. snow on 12 had winds gusting to 129 miles per hour. wind out of the northeast at 7. temperatures varying from 21 to 30. obviously it is cold enough to support snow. wind chills right now at 11 degrees because of those gusty winds. i'll tell you, earlier this morning already some gusts one reported out of sussex county closer to 50 miles per hour. we'll see more of that fill in for staten island and along the jersey shore. this is a three hour radar loop. the brighter white indicating more intense snow fall rates and this is the rain snow line. now a band of snow through rockland, westchester over to fairfield county and the sound north shore as well right down into the south shore. a little bit of a break as far as intensity.

fall rates into essex and summer set and morris county. further to the south closer to the center of this we've had thunder snow lightning and a change over to sleet. the impact around the country particularly to the east and down to the south millions of people under some kind of advisory and thousands without power. this is a future cast how the models are handling this. there's the time stamp right there. we make a few pops along the way. into the afternoon hour the brighter blue we are going to see more of the banding snow where snow fall rates exceed one inch an hour. so you are doing the math right now when should i shovel because if i'm going to get an inch an hour later. you are dealing with more intense snow this afternoon. a little bit of dry air for a bit of a reprieve but not much. this is still 9:00 at night. i know you are thinking what am

it's all day and all night but by tomorrow morning there's a rapid departure so by mid morning will will be sun and glare. two different model runs. the euro has it in the city. i believe that's too low as we look at the rainfall rates. rpm is too high. so you are still in that foot and a half range for the city and in fact you look at that line right there, parts of nasa county a good part of it in line for possibly a foot but that 18 to 24 is city south and west. even parts of the city could see well in excess of a foot of snow and numbers go down to the north. hopefully you are not going anywhere. we want you to stay right here because this is going to last all day. the good news is it's out of here. sunday we see the sun in the afternoon. you are sore from shoveling. monday it's warmer.

that will be messy but mild. numbers above normal all next week. >> and good news is it is a saturday so most people are home today. >> it's a blessing on people's lives. deal with the kids. they are loving it. >> tomorrow especially when the sun is out and they can go sleigh riding. john thank you. our viewers are snapping away as the storm moves through our area. >> this picture on instagram is a view of columbus circle. plenty of snow on the ground. >> here's another shot of columbus circle. this time it's someone cleaning off their car. this is a scene many times over the weekend. >> this puppy is braving the weather. >> he's all decked out ready to go. >> and here's a shot from staten island the roads already heavily blanketed by snow and

three to five inches so far and counting. now we want to see what you are doing during this storm. send us your pictures at facebook.com/cbs new york and tweet us at cbs new york. we love hearing from you. the storm is impacting travel along the east coast with flight cancellations shutting down most area airports. 72% of the flights leaving out of jfk have been canceled. 83% of newark liberty airport won't be taking off and laguardia is getting hit the hardest with 90% of flights grounded. if you were planning on flying check with your carrier before heading out. chris cristie was back in new jersey this morning after being in new hampshire. he said he wasn't coming home for the storm but he did. cristie announced a state of emergency which means stay off the roads and don't interfere with police and emergency responders. new jersey transit shut down at

service will resume as weather permits. >> they will make an assessment and use the plows on the tracks and get snow cleared and will make an assessment themselves tomorrow as the storm moves through when they will resume service. >> the smartest thing to do today is stay home he says. >> in the city if you have to get somewhere the subway is the way to go. >> a lot of the subway system will be uneffected or at least continue going on and there's a high level of communication and coordination. mta and the state will make the ultimate decision but we will be in close consultation. >> the mayor says the best thick to do is stay home. governor cuomo tweeted they are maybing subway operating during the storm. students can relax for a few more weeks. the exam has been canceled due

dozens of test centers have rescheduled the test for february 20 but some have not announced. my cousin was one of memo so he gets a few more weeks to study. >> there's perks to this weather. washington d.c. is getting pummeled. they are expected to take the brunt of the storm. >> officials have called in the national guard to help deal with the three feet of snow. don champion joins us live this morning from washington. how is it out there don? >> yeah good morning andrea and diane. i must say that this storm is definitely living up to expectations. we are here on capitol hill. this is north capital street and snow blankets the roadway here. in the distance is one of the plow trucks that's been out but i got to tell you as fast as they move in the snow continues to accumulate on the roadway right when they move out. the worst of the storm we are told is hitting the washington

and i got to tell you the snow has been falling at an incredible clip stronger than what was thought. it's falling at a rate of about two to three inches an hour. over. before the first flakes started falling here officials really offered up warnings and told people to stay home and the have been listening. expected dangerous winds. >> our first concern really is the residents and make sure we don't lose anybody. that's first and foremost. >> and back out here live now at reagan national airport the last official reading was just over 13-inches of snow and we still have many, many more hours of snow to go and here you can see this mound of snow on the side of the roadway here. people who have ventured out in this area have gotten into a bit of trouble.

state police report responding to at least 1,000 accidents on roadways. they also helped about 800 stranded drivers. definitely people need to stay home. it's getting bad out here. andrea and diane? >> better day for the sled than the car today right don? [laughter] >> yeah. >> all right don thank you. and time now is 6:22. taking a live look right notch from the roads and the garden state parkway can barely see them. >> hazel sanchez is in mobile 2. we'll be checking in with her in a few minutes.

we'll be right back. huge concern. >> if you saw john elliot just a minute ago the screens we are looking at here in the area the winds are whipping. please tell us what is going on. >> you have snow, wind and waves so those are the three big ones. brighter white indicating the heavier snow bands into bergen and the bronx and the north shore. there is a break like you mentioned for don into baltimore a little bit of dry air for delaware but as this thing continues to head to the north and intensify worried about blizzard conditions those gusty winds sustained for at least a three hour period.

and coastal flood warnings for much of the area. a real quick round up. high tide right now jersey shore another round right after 7. so be mindful of these times because coastal flooding is going to be a big concern. right now we'll send it right back to the desk. >> john thank you. right now time is 6:26. coming up from long island to the jersey shore we keep you updated on this massive storm hitting our area.

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t os nassau. we have special eye on the storm team coverage this morning. >> white out conditions in our area driving down right dangerous as snow falls and winds whip across the tristate area. >> it's coming up on 6:30 on saturday january 23. i'm diane macedo. >> i'm andrea grymes. take a look at this. a time laps of the snow coming in overnight in the city if you can see it. >> live on the jersey shore where the big concern is coastal flooding. snow is also falling there and blowing in just about every direction. >> and on the garden state parkway cars are already stuck this one spinning it's wheels another reminder to stay off the roads. meteorologist john elliot is tracking the latest on this

evidence if you don't really have to go please don't. you get a sense of that. you can see the wind whipping. it's going to intensify. we have a projected wind for the area coming up in just a minute. in the city we have the snow and wind. you can see it. that is just an intensifying storm. it was bad in new jersey, worse in the city this morning. you've got to manage the snow and deal with the environment and so much of that being dictated by gusty winds to 30 plus miles per hour. 24 degrees in the city feels colder than that. clearly cold enough for snow. numbers in the low to mid 3020s but with the wind chill firmly in the low teens get ready to do the chores you feel you need to do around the house it is going to be a cold one. brighter white through summerset and warren county and parts of bergen. more snow than you were anticipating in rockland and

that line will wobble a bit and pretty good coverage into long island as well. monmouth and ocean it's not just the snow it's the wind. south of philly dry air then a break for delaware and a change over to rain. major issues with sleet in the system as well. 1 to 18. let's zoom in on that. that bisects the city. parts of the city just a foot and other parts well? excess. middlesex, union, south essex, summerset and further to the south. want to jump ahead to 9:30. by they be we could see 60 miles per hour wind gusts along the jersey shore close to 54 in long island and in the city

hour. hope you got all of the gear and are ready for it. we'll cover it for you but please exercise caution today. >> and fingers crossed the lights stay on. thank you john. in new jersey coastal flooding is the issue this morning. >> voluntary evacuation noticed were issued. meg baker is live there. >> this blizzard has hit hard. the story is the strong winds hearing reports of 52 miles per hour gusts here in monmouth county and seeing about six inches of snow here and the wind is creating large snow drifts on the houses here all along the coast. we are standing by the inlet and i spoke to the mayor warning residents there is already flooding on main street. it will be tough to leave now but again flooding on main street also behind me in the inlet the water is coming up

had to say. >> water right now is coming up on the sidewalk so almost to the top of the inlet. probably get up another foot before high tide and then maybe two to three feet when the real high tides come in saturday night and sunday morning. stay off the roads if you possibly can. we have emergency vehicles available if you have an emergency call 9 911 and we'll be able to bet you out but we would rather you stay off the roads because you are making it more difficult for us to do our job. >> now it isn't even high tide and we are seeing flooding here. high tide expected around 6:48 this morning and expect to see more water come over this here. again on main street breeel road is often known to flood. if residents do need to be evacuated police will be going around with a loud speaker to

door if they have to. meg baker cbs 2 news. >> meg thank you. staten island is expected to get hit. midland beach where the wind is blowing hard and they have several inches on the ground. >> well yes. i apologize it's challenging to look directly at the camera because i'm being pelted in the face by snow. winds gusting 40 miles per hour. we are sustaining blizzard conditions and the snow is coming down very quickly. keep in mind we are early in the storm and yes you can joke about our handy dandy yard stick but in these types of storms they are a meteorologist best tool. take a look. measurement here about five inches but if we take you to the drifts meg was talking about drifts up to a foot already maybe even higher than that so this is what's going to be happening today on staten island across the region. drifting snow, powerful winds, coastal flooding also a concern

nearly as significant effects expected as they are down along the jersey shore. i want to mention one of the reasons we are here on staten island is because we are expecting some of the highest snow fall totals within the city limits right here in midland beach. we have six inches now. 18-inches to as much as two feet in spots so a long way to go. as you can see the plows are out right now plowing the boardwalk behind me. i suspect they are expecting people lob walking along it today and plenty of crews on the roads as well. it's not pleasant to stand out here by any stretch but we'll keep you updated on the conditions throughout the morning. andrea and diane back to you. >> get warmed up in the truck vanessa thank you. long island is also bracing for the weather. >> ilana gold has white out conditions there. >> good morning. we are dealing with a lot of blowing snow here on long beach.

and this wind is so intense. we are just getting pelted in the face with snow right now. right now we are standing on the boardwalk. take a look snow is flying everywhere. right now there's not too much accumulation on the actual boardwalk but on the ground we are already seeing four inches of snow. the biggest concern out here is flooding so the town built these giant sand barriers by the water and could be big issues during high tide. want to show you the video from our drive here on beach street and we ran into poor visibility. roads were packed with snow and even though plows have been out conditions are very slick. people have been gearing up for the storm moving to higher ground and securing the property. they have been hitting the grocery store stocking up on food. power outages a big thing with all of the wind and prepared to deal with wide shved outages. >> we also have an enhanced

enhanced call center. all of that stuff is working to improve communications to our customers and making things better for us. >> pseg warning everyone to be patient. if there are outages it might be tough to respond immediately with these conditions. back live on the boardwalk where conditions are less than ideal. so much blowing snow and conditions could get much worse throughout the morning so my advice to you is to stay indoors. ilana gold cbs 2 news. >> ilana stay warm out there. time now 6:37. the garden state parkway is already a mess, cars stuck so please stay off the road. these are the driving conditions on the garden state parkway. as you can see there's not much to see. >> and it's not just what is facing you in the wind shield. it's what your tires are dealing with. it's brutal out there.

time with the cbs new york weather map. what an ally and send us your weather and video. it's free. coming up vital safety measures

we are back after this.

live look at part of new york city. it's hard to tell which part because of the notch and wind whipping by. let's check in with john elliot who is tracking the storm for us. john? >> tell you what we are looking at the wind, the snow, the potential for coastal flooding. and then what does it mean for you at the house? one of my key concerns and worries is the potential for power outages so we are going to walk through some of the possibilities and probabilities and ways we can all work together through this storm in just a bit. first off the stats 25 winds gusting to 30 miles per hour. when you factor in the wind it's real cold. wind chills single digits north and west. you don't have the snow fall rates through there yet. you are going to tap into some of that later but you've got the cold air to deal with and the real feel in the city is 12. this is what i'm talking about. right now it's quiet but the

putna m, heavier snow in rockland and westchester counties. look at that coverage there. brighter white is the snow fall rate approaching an inch an hour. and we are going to see more of that. it's on and off. pretty steady through central south jersey. bit of a break down south of philly into delaware but it's starting to fill in again. we've had reports of thunder snow, lightning, convection and lift in the atmosphere. that serves to intensify those snow fall rates. it's a blizzard warning until 4:00 a.m. blizzard warning, coastal areas, long island into central and south jersey. blizzard warning means three hours of at least 35 miles per hour winds. i think we can do it. not that i want to but want to make sure you know about it. you've got to anticipate winter driving conditions and blowing and drifting in the pink shaded area.

power problems it's a heavy snow, gusty winds, reports out of ocean county 60 miles per hour wind gusts. those were creep up the coast and between the combination of the snow and wind weighs down those power lines and again a projection of potential power outages. none right now. there's that risk through these very crowded corridors in our area and obviously along the coast. so i would advise you right now know where the batteries are. know where the water is and medicine and a lot of folks and i like this part of the storm they've got the fire wood ready to go. they are ready to hunker down with maybe a blanket or a movie or channel 2 but if you are heating your home with a fireplace please do it safely and never heat anything with candles in the city. you've got to make sure you are heating your apartment safely as well. it's brutal weather to fight a fire in and you just don't want

this is in effect until sunday morning. again as meg is pointing out and vanessa too at the shore, it's based on the high tide cycles right notch for parts of monmouth, ocean and middlesex county. that's in 20 minutes south shore in nassau and sussex and works it's way out so the morning high tide cycle within the next hour clearly problematic and just as busy this afternoon. early afternoon hours we see more banding so visibility again is going to be impacted because the wind is not at bay and by saturday night we see a break here and there but look at this line as early as 9:30 it starts to pin wheel out of here by 5, 6 and 7 clearing this thing out. until then make sure you are prepared, ready and constantly smart. i know the kids want to get out there and play. they need to take breaks and be hydrated and you got to watch them because this is a cold, cold storm.

and 20s so watch out for frostbite and lots of hot cocoa. >> one of the main factors with the blizzard are the winds right? >> and the other thing about kids and playing and blizzard conditions it impacted visibility so they may want to drive to their favorite hill. really just stay close to home and watch out. visibility is impacted even around the house. >> tell them to build the hill in the back yard first to knock off a few hours of entertaining. >> this is not snow man snow- -bad snowman snow. it will be consistency for that. governor chris christie was in new hampshire campaigning for president. he announced a state of emergency. stay off the roads and do not interfere with police. nj transit shut down at 2:00 a.m. service will resume as weather permits. >> service will halt at 2:00 a.m.

and allow them to use the plows on the tracks to get the snow cleared and they'll make an assessment tomorrow when the storm moves through when to resume service. >> the governor says the smartest thing to do today is stay home. washington d.c. has been shut down by this storm. >> officials have called in the national guard to help deal with the projected three feet of snow. cbs 2's don champion joins us live from washington where it appears the winds have picked up since the last time we spoke with you don. >> yeah the wind is definitely picking up and meteorologists have warned there could be white out conditions as the day goes on. we are experiencing the worst of the storm right now between washington d.c. now and 1:00. we are on capitol hill. look how beautiful the capital looks in the snow. you can see one of the plow truck drivers over here. for the most part crews are trying to stay ahead of the storm and doing a pretty good job. again the storm intensity is on the rise here.

falling at a rate of two to three inches an hour. all right at reagan international airport there's at least 13-inches of snow on the ground and as fast as crews come through here the snow piles up on the roadways again. before the storm moved in officials here in washington d.c. urged people to stay home and for the most part it appears people listened. >> this is a 36 hour storm with expected dangerous winds. >> our first concern really is the residents, make sure we don't lose anybody. that's first and foremost. >> and again power outages are a big concern moving forward here. i did just check and about a few hundred outages reported here right now. nothing on the major scale here in this area thankfully just yet. people who did try to venture out yesterday as the storm started moving through did get into a lot of trouble.

responded to at least 1,000 accidents and helped get at least 800 stranded drivers out. so many more hours of snow ahead here in washington d.c. and it's definitely picking up andrea and diane. >> don hopefully the lights continue to stay on around you. thanks so much. back here at home we have kevin israel from the new jersey department of transportation. kevin good morning and thank you for being with us. what is your biggest concern right now? >> good morning. our biggest concern right now is that folks stay off the road throughout the state. we are experiencing heavy snow fall in the southern and central#s of the state and northern areas that is obviously a little bit lighter but there's snow on the roads. our crews are out there loching and salting but with--plowing and salting but with a state of emergency in effect we ask drivers to please stay off the roads and allow our crews to

as it comes down faster it becomes more challenging and if it's clear one minute it could change at a moment's notice so the driving conditions can be hazardous so our main message is stay home. it's saturday. stay safe and off the roads. >> kevin, we are watching a live shot right notch of hazel- -now of hazel sanchez who is pulled over on the garden state parkway because the conditions are too dangerous. what's the biggest challenge? i know there's plows and salt trucks but still very dangerous conditions. >> the biggest challenge is the rate of the snow fall and the winds as it moves the snow quickly. so our crews can be out there plowing and plowing but a good gust of wind and a quick change in the rate of snow fall. those roads can get covered again. the roads are cold so it's more likely to stick to the road. that's why we applied brine

the freezing situation and make plowing easier. but as the roads get covered and the snow continues to fall it does become more challenging. >> kevin israel we appreciate your time this morning. we'll check with you later today. thank again. let's head out to monmouth county new jersey with an update on conditions there. >> hazel sanchez has a look at the conditions on the garden state parkway. it looks dangerous out there. >> we have been on the road since 3: 30 this morning and the road conditions have gotten progressively worse. as you can see right here we are on northbound garden state parkway about four miles from the cheese quake service area and the winds are whipping so hard the snow is whipping sideways and visibility is near zero to be quite honest with you. we decided to pull over because our truck we are in a huge suv and the truck was swaying side to side and the roads are so slippery that we were getting

pretty dangerous out here. we haven't had a lot of company on the road so far but we are noticing that there are actually more people hitting the road at this hour. there are tons of snow plows that are out here doing the best they can but with the snow coming down this fast i think they are going to have a hard time keeping up. again road conditions extremely slick at this hour. visibility near zero. trust me on this one, if you can, stay home. stay off the roads. that is your best bet today to stay safe. we'll send it back to you in the studio. >> good call pulling over hazel thank you. let's go to kevin ortiz. we've been looking at the roadways and warning drivers to stay off them. what can you tell us about how this is effecting public transportation? >> well right now our plan is to run pus service at about 80% of a typical saturday but that

as the conditions deteriorate as well and the visibility. there's a chance we may curtail service even further. >> what about the subways. >> right now they are in good shape. it's working throughout the entire system. we have deicers and jet blowers doing their job. that being said we still are concerned about some of our out door portions of the system most notably the rockways and monitoring conditions in staten island. >> what would cause the city to shut down the subways? are there any warning signs to look out for? >> monitor our website for service information but what we look at simply is the ability to run service safely. once there's a sense that we are not able to run service

would consider curtailing or suspending service. it's important our customers be very careful on our platforms and staircases. we have 800 station personnel out there trying to clear snow and ice and given the rate of snow fall it's challenging. >> but right now the mta is up and running. kevin or ortiz thank you so much for checking in with us. the storms cancellations shutting down airports. 72% much the flights leaving out of jfk have been canceled. 83% of those scheduled to take off will not be and laguardia is getting hit the hardest with 90% of it's flighted grounded. make sure to check with your carrier before leaving home.

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getting our final check of the forecast for this hour at least looking horrible out there right now. >> that shot from hazel is brutal and folks showing up. chris wragge just showed up. it's hard to get around in the city. the wind is a major menace. this is what's going on. the camera is shaking and the snow is just horizontal. 25 feels like 15 with that wind gusting at 30 miles per hour.

peak time for wind and snow will be now through mid afternoon. right now some heavy snow filling in for much more nassau into brooklyn and queens, sussex as well and up in northern new jersey and to the south there's a break closer to the center of the storm. our neighbors are going to be dealing with sleet as well. so 8 to 12 just north of the city rockland and westchester counties. in the city there will be variations from the bronx down to staten island. they could see 18 or over 18- inches of snow but a foot on average. a pretty good tally to shoot for for many in the city and i'll tell you what it's the rate and the wind that's into the risk of coastal flooding too. >> and we'll be keeping an eye on it thank you. cbs this morning is next.

>> we'll be here all morning long with our reporters around the tristate area. i'm diane macedo. >> i'm andrea grymes.

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