we told you it was coming. now it is here. >> it has been going nonstop. >> there are closings along the bottom of the screen. disney on ice has been

canceled. >> i hear the malls may be closing. >> that's good. you don't need to be driving to the mall. you can do it next week or some time. let's get the latest on the storm in the storm certain. sent -- certain. >> number one you can get your latest weather information at abc2news.com. we have detailed aspects of the history of this storm and how it fits into maryland weather history. right now we want to show you radar. this is heavy banding snowfall coming through now. one of the things that's changing is temperatures falling. snow doing a much better job of sticking out there. next thing you'll notice later into the night is the winds picking up. that's why there is now a blizzard warning in effect at 10:00 p.m. for ann arundel county extending into deep south maryland then into delaware and

new jersey along the ocean's edge. we think winds will pick up enough to merit blizzard conditions. most of us will be at near-blizzard conditions. quick check of the inner harbor showing snow sticking to the dock. sunset 5:32. we are 31 at bwi marshall. snow doing a better job of sticking. 30 in easton on the eastern shore. it only goes down to the 20s. as the snow intensifies the wind picks up and we get into a near blizzard situation. with that in mind we want to get the lathes on what the storm is doing outside. >> it is almost like clock work within the hour before sunset if it hasn't been sticking all day, that was the only benefit

we got today. as it came in the roads stayed wet. got pictures in. we got one from my old friend george jackson on the eastern shore in care line county.

there is a higher water content which means we may not get one inch of snow like most storm. we may mix sleet with warmer temperatures at cloud lever. tomorrow temperatures take a nose dive. then we get lighter fluffier flakes. that comes with wind-driven snowfall. more on that let's go back in the studio and get the rest of the updates. >> heavy wet snow that will be something to deal with in terms of power lines and everything

else, too. thank you so much. we'll see you again in a few minutes. we want to see what it is looking like out there. snow beginning to stick. >> i'm seeing a lot of stick conditions. some injury accidents beginning to come in as we heard earlier. paradise road shut down both directions at 95 because of the serious injury accident. churchville road should be able to get you around that. reports of an accident in the northbound lanes of forth ml1 cí henry tunnel. debris in the roadways at owens mills boulevard. in towsend accident at putty hill avenue. perry hall southbound chapel road. pikesville injury crash

involving pedestrian or bicycle bicyclist at seven-mile lane. be careful and stay out of the way of the plows as the governor mentioned earlier. you may have a tough time if you are flying out of bwi marshall. airlines are delaying and canceling flights tonight. team coverage continues with jeff. he is live in hanover in ann arundel county. you are disappearing with the snow. >> reporter: yeah. sometimes you think there is more on me than there is on the roads. it is certainly intensifying here. visibilities going down. whether you are talking at planes, train or automobiles we saw this coming. it is getting more difficult to move people around. we found them scurrying around earlier today trying to get ahead of this. after southwest airlines announced it would stop flights after 2:00 today many airlines followed suit. you can see planes taking off one after another trying to get

ahead of the cutoff. amtrak and light rail tried to handle passengers fearful that the longer they waited to climb aboard the less chance they'd have of getting out. >> we are going to new york. we were worried. we called in. then we made an earlier train. >> reporter: you don't seem disappointed that you'll get out before this hits. >> not at all. i have six acres and a long drive way. >> reporter: so you hope it moments before you get back? >> it won't. i know that. hopefully sunday. i'm crossing my fingers. >> reporter: we are told many trains can keep running when the snow gets as deep as six to eight inches. the mart system used bigger trains today pushing up the pushing up the rush hour schedule by three hours. i overheard someone boarding saying every seat on the train

was sold out. that was the case with many trains today. certainly a lot of people moved around earlier. not so good an idea of moving around. you'll only get in the way of the emergency operations. >> thank you. stay dry. stay with us for complete coverage of this wintry blast. [ male announcer ] mark your calendar.

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misery loves company. along the east coast people have been bracing for the massive winter storm. >> people are rushing to stock up on supplies before it gets too bad. john is keeping watch in washington, d.c. >> reporter: it could be the storm of the century. >> i hate snow. the older i get the more i hate it. >> reporter: in the nation's

capital forecasters are calling it a monster. if the district of columbia nets 20 inches it will be the biggest snow storm in 100 years. >> going out friday night and saturday. >> reporter: a winter weather warning today and tomorrow is in a massive triangle stretching from indiana, new york and the carolinas. >> i'm not concerned. i don't expect to come out. >> reporter: storm canceled flights turning the region's airports into refugee camps canceling most amtrak trains from washington, d.c. and leading to a run on crowded grocery stores. >> the floor in front of this was full of salt. now all the salt we have left is by the front door. >> reporter: football fans stocked up for the big game. >> we have superbowl parties that we are planning on attending. >> reporter: previous snow storms busted budgets in virginia, maryland and delaware. >> we are slightly over $50 on a $26 million budget.

>> reporter: still some insist they'll brave the storm. >> i would not hesitate to shovel my driveway clear and get a slice of pizza. >> slice of pizza. that sounds good. that's one way to keep warm. stay with us. we have complete coverage of the storm. ok, s.

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we have been talking about hundreds of flights at bwi marshall have been canceled. other airports along the east coast are in the same boat. travelers scrambling to find a flight before the storm hits. here's courtney robinson. >> reporter: long lines, lots of headaches here at reagan

national. >> it was mad. we were on told for 35 minutes. got here. >> reporter: many are changing flights or hoping to get out of the region before this. >> i don't want to be stuck here for four more days. >> reporter: airlines waved fees to allow those lucky enough to get on board. >> there was no charge what so ever. united was fabulous. they switched us to u.s. airways to get us out quickly. >> reporter: others not to fortunate. chopper 7 captured the chaos at dulles international. hundreds of flights canceled today through sunday. it is not just taking off and landing that poses problems. it is getting around in general. the virginia department of transportation has 1800 trucks on the roads with a foot or two expected to blanket the metro. they are working 24/7 hoping

you stay off the roads. >> we have a good mix of air one trying to get home. we are trying to get our job done on the roadway. hopefully the timing will work out. you never know with these storm events. >> reporter: roads frozen it could mean the same for metro. once eight inches cover above ground rail like these they'll shut down. as much as two feet of snow could fall in the nation's capital. mayor fenty announce had the the city is under a snow emergency. >> our records show that the largest snowfall in washington, d.c. is about 28 inches. we are going to be right up against the most snow that this city has ever seen. >> it looks like people are listening to the warning. check out the grocery stores. people are stocking up on food and supplies preparing for a

long weekend indoors. one report says some folks leaving the district for the weekend heading to areas other than the northeast corner that are not affected. >> where's that? >> i was going to say can i go too? wild weather continues to pummel baltimore. we are down to 31 degrees. cold enough for the snow to stick. as the sunsets we loose the insulation from the sun. it will all stick from this point on. pressure dropping rapidly drown to 30.06. barometer has dropped sharply over the last couple of hours. parkville watch as the snow moves in. it comes down heavily once it picks up late in the day. i want to show you temperatures today. this is why we didn't have a lot of sticking early on.

watch ellicott city. it makes the pavement wet. then the changeover. drop below freezing and you have good sticking going on. that's exactly what all of baltimore is facing now. over 12 inches we think that's a safe bet. possibly as much as 20 or more. that would make it the first time on record we have had two one foot-plus storms in a single winter and separately the first time ever of two 20- inch plus storms. take a look at the size of this thing. there are two areas of low pressure involved. the worse is still very much yet to come with this storm. totals we think 16 to 26 inches. this is going to be a heavier, denser snow with the possibility of sleet mixing in. certainly a threat of sleet and

cold rain toward the eastern shore. lower totals there. highier totals across baltimore and washington. our blizzard warning for much of southern maryland now extending back into washington now. blizzard warning kicking in at 10:00 p.m. eastern shore counties wind criteria is the key. we'll all be getting a tremendous amount of snow. winds highier in southern maryland. two areas of low pressure. let's break this down. main low toward atlanta, gas. that's moving eastward pushing out to sea and spiraling in atlantic moisture. secondary low comes in saturday. this will will have more cold air.

you can see cold rain in norfolk, virginia. sleet mixing in. that can hold accumulations down a little bit. none the less a tremendous amount of winter weather coming in tomorrow morning. finally as we work into saturday afternoon this thing moves out to sea. we'll bring in colder and windier conditions. finally the snow tapering off tomorrow morning. we think a foot and a half minimum a good bet. friday night 27. we'll see heavy snow and wind all night long. blizzard to near blizzard conditions across the baltimore- washington area. 28 saturday. snow continuing. heaviest early in the day on saturday. i think you'll see the snow lighten up late in the day. take a look at the temperature. we'll be down to 15 degrees tomorrow night. that's going to freeze up and lock in place everything's that fallen. a lot of shovel work to be done sunday and into monday. it will take a couple days to

dig out. now, checking out the seven-day forecast. this system ending late saturday evening. heaviest snow overnight into torch. on sunday we get the sunshine back. cold conditions superbowl sunday starting at 15. only up to 30. things stay below freezing into the day on monday. we'll get a reenforcing shot of wintry precipitation as we work into the day on tuesday. this next storm looks more like the one we had earlier. three to five inch total maybe. we'll worry about that one later. let's get through this one first. >> we'll be back after a short break.

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while many of us would rather avoid the snow some people enjoy it. >> like justin burke. he is outside. take a look at the snow we have been seeing thicker than some of the once so far this winter. >> reporter: is it that obvious? i have been trying to hide that for years. here we are. this is going to be a big storm. this could rank in the top five, if not among the top storms we have seen in baltimore. remember 20-inch storm we had back in december ranked number

seven all-time. gave us the snowest december on record. right now 35.6 inches for the season. ranks us number 14 for all seasons dating back to 1883. that is just over the one inch mark. we have ourselves a solid one inch of snow in the past full hour here in the towsend area. i know there is over two inches in ellicott city and the bands are coming from the southwest to northeast. a heavy packing snow. go up towards the light. this is eased up. it looks pretty coming down. from my perspective, and the camera may not be doing it justice. not as heavy as it was 15 minutes ago.

there will be waves and pulses of intense snow. when the storm gets cranking up it will be after midnight and day break tomorrow. i wouldn't be surprised if we hear a rumble of thunder. snowfall rates could be two to three inches per hour. a lot of us waking up with more than a foot of snow on the ground. we'll be dealing with the potential sleet and freezing rain mixed in on the eastern shore. then a colder, righter snow wind-driven during the day tomorrow. details coming up in the next half hour. now back to you. >> thank you for putting in double duty for us today. if you see a neat picture of the snow or you head outside to have fun snap a picture. we'll put it on the air. look for it on abc2news.com. all you have to do is send that picture to pix at wmar