we are just an hour from the start of the blizzard warning which will remain in effect until sunday morning. agencies in pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware are gearing up to begin plowing operations on major roadways. and thi this scene at the giantn havertown is being repeated throughout the region. this is not an overreaction. we are indeed expecting a foot and a half to 2 feet of snow so stocking up with milk, foodstuffs and other essentials is not a bad idea. we've got dann cuellar in newark tonight. chad pradelli in south philadelphia. gray hall in havertown and jeff chirico in atlantic city but first let's go to meteorologist cecily tynan and adam joseph with the latest information from accuweather. cecily is live at the big board. >> and jim, new developments today. we have upped our totals because the storm system for one is moving faster, it's encountering colder air making a bit of a jog to the northwest. double scan live showing it's

not snowing in philadelphia yet but it is getting really close. wilmington through atlantic city actually already coating the ground in cape may and kent county. i'm seeing moderate snow developing in parts of lancaster and chester county and this is just the beginning. wide are view double scan live the beast from the east is starting to form. we've got that low pressure off the carolina coast. that is what will explode, will bomb out and move up the eastern seaboard and that is going to bring us hours and hours of heavy snow and high winds. so, because of that, that blizzard warning goes into effect at 7 o'clock tonight for almost our entire viewing area. not berks county and the lehigh county because the winds won't be quite that strong there and not cape may county because the mixing means that the snow won't be blowing around much but we're talking about fierce winds. i-95 into south jersey 45 to 55 miles an hour wind gusts late tonight through saturday, 35 to 45 miles an hour wind gusts in the northwest suburbs

and then along the coast, this is where the winds will be the strongest. you don't get any friction from land so winds up to 65 miles per hour and we're looking at a top 10 high tide for atlantic city. could be a top five for cape may. moderate to major flooding. low lying areas getting evacuated. that is a good move. waves up to 20 feet and we will get a battering of the beach significant erosion. what you get with this storm really depends on your location. details on that with adam. >> yeah, and let's start at the shore because that will have the biggest impact when you talk about erosion. talking about the flooding in the back bays as well as the ocean side. so coastal flood warning in effect through the weekend. it will start as snow, change to rain for the majority of the storm. then back to snow right before it ends on saturday night. extensive erosion is expected in that first round of high tide of concern is 6:43 tomorrow morning and as cecily mentioned, those winds and tropical storm force. as we look closer inland to the philadelphia metro area

and much of the region that blizzard warning will be in effect. that will be the hardest hit area when you're talking about whiteout conditions and also snowfall rates between one and 3-inches per hour. if you start to hear the rumble of thunder or see lightning, then you're going to see those rates two to 3 inches and that will really reduce the visibility and really cause almost impassable conditions on the roadways even winds here 45 to 55 miles an hour. farther away from the storm to the north and west in the lehigh valley it is not a blizzard warning because the winds are much less there despite they're still strong, 35 to 45. winter storm warning. it's a dry fluffy snow in the lehigh valley. as you head to the north of the lehigh tunnel through the poconos you'll see a quick drop-off on those snow totals so a big range in our viewing area. as we take a look at the numbers which they have increased some, we're looking at philadelphia 18 to 24-inches around wilmington the same. trenton between a foot and a foot and a half. allentown lehigh valley six to 12-inches and atlantic city

between three and 6-inches of snow and jim, when meteorologist cecily tynan comes back she'll break things down for you on future tracker and show you a detailed map of these totals in that full accuweather forecast. >> all right adam. delaware has declared a state of emergency for all three counties. "action news" reporter dann cuellar is at a deldot yard in newark. and dann northern delaware is going to get hit and hit hard are. >> reporter: they're expecting it jim. the first snowflakes began to fall here about a half hour ago. deldot says it's all systems go. as you can see they put a big dent in that mountain of salt you see lined me a few moments ago they began salting i-95. >> we just got upgraded to 18 to 24-inches in our area and so right now as you can see it's lightly flurrying so we are now starting to mobilize to get our guys into their plow positions. >> reporter: last minute inspections were under way here at the deldot yard

assault trucks loaded up. officials say they have over 45,000 tons of salt so there's no worries about shortage or anything like that. they're also urging people to stay off the roads as the storm moves in because they anticipate blizzard-like conditions which will make their job a lot more difficult. >> you can stay at home, we'd urge the public to do that. we have over 80 operators in our district alone and so we have a big job to do with all the snow coming and we just hope that everyone just is mindful of our people as they do their job and stay away from the plow trucks. >> reporter: city of wilmington officials say they're also ready to go, a quiet winter has left them with an abundance of salt and sand supplies. by the way, there will be no dart buses running on the roadways tomorrow. service has been suspended as the state of delaware tries to get through this blizzard. we're live here in newark, delaware, i'm dann cuellar channel6 "action news.

>> thank you dann. philadelphia city officials have declared a snow emergency effective at 9 o'clock tonight. that means that all parked cars must be off snow emergency routes or they will be towed. philadelphia parking authority garages will be open to drivers for five dollars a day until monday morning and the streets department has 400 pieces of equipment and 600 employees standing by ready to deploy. mayor jim kenney is urging everybody to stay home. >> make sure you're all stocked up. enjoy being home and don't go out until it's really safe to go out and we'll give you the all clear. >> city officials are reminding residents to shovel their sidewalks and bring their pets inside. we have a complete list of all the snow emergency routes at 6abc.com. motorists are taking no chances with almost empty gas tanks. lines were long at area gas stations this afternoon and with prices so low, there was little hesitation to fill her up in advance of the storm.

"action news" reporter chad pradelli is live at the penndot yard at front and oregon in south philadelphia. chad, what's the situation there? >> reporter: jim, activity has really picked up here over the last 20 to 30 minutes. you can see the trucks are lined up, ready to get their salt and they're ready to hit the roadways. the brine is done, the trucks are loaded and it's go time for penndot. >> we'll bring our crews in approximately two hours in advance of when the snow is depicted to start. >> reporter: penndot says plowing will probably last until monday. fatigue is a concern for crews. >> we work shifts. they'll go off the clock and go down for four hours, go to sleep. come back on. >> reporter: penndot wants people to stay off the roads, if possible the weekend arrival helps because not as many people have to be on the roads. if you do need to drive officials say stay 10 car lengths behind the plows. >> it's going to be a very challenging storm. not only heavy accumulating

snow but strong wind. that means blowing snow, poor visibility and possible drifting of snow. >> reporter: and as you can see a challenging weekend for the crews. they are ready to go. they're getting their salt and they're getting on the highways. live in south philadelphia, chad pradelli, channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you, chad. the winter weather is already having a major impact on air travel. you're taking a look live at terminal d at philadelphia international airport. officials have already canceled all flights scheduled for tomorrow. amtrak says it will reduce service up and down the northeast corridor. its trains will continue to run from washington, d.c. through philadelphia up -- or up into new york and boston. officials hope to restore full service by sunday morning. septa plans to suspend almost all of its services starting tomorrow morning at

4:00. for a period of 24 hours. the exceptions are the broad street and market frankford lines which will run on a weekends schedule. cct for dialysis patients will also be in operation. new jersey governor chris christie has left the campaign trail to follow the road back to new jersey. christie was planning to stay in new hampshire over the weekend but he's been taking a lot of heat for appearing to put presidential politics ahead of his day job as governor at a time when new jersey's going to get clobbered by the storm. christie is scheduled to address the media in new jersey at 8 o'clock tonight. "action news" reporter jeff chirico is live on the atlantic avenue beach in atlantic city. jeff, the big concern at the shore, flooding. >> that's right, jim. all eyes on the ocean right now. city leaders are expecting some flooding in low lying areas but they have not ordered any evacuations yet and in fact, at a news conference today, the mayor invited people to spend the

weekend here. >> we're still opened for business but you know like our a good boy scout we're being prepared. don guardian isn't panicking but says city leaders are gearing up for the storm that's expected to drop up to a foot of snow here. roads have been pretreated and will be cleared by a fleet of more than 30 plow and salt trucks. officials say their main concerns are coastal flooding and high winds. >> we're looking at about a half foot more than what we had in the october storm joaquin. we like to see that naturally. >> reporter:. >> we brought in our high water vehicles, the military style type vehicles and we've brought in the additional boats in the event we have to do evacuations. >> reporter: these residents have headed inland. neighboring buildings were destroyed by superstorm sandy. >> i'm like terrified it's going to happen so i'm out of here. >> reporter: the mayor says the city will open warming stations and emergency shelter if needed but right now he

handy chaired a state of emergency and says guests are still welcome. >> we're still a party town we're saying come in now while it's safe and enjoy the weekend and we'll make sure the roads are cleared when you need to get back on sunday afternoon. >> reporter: mayor guardian says his team continues to monitor this situation and will declare a state of emergency if it is warranted. we are live in atlantic city, jeff chirico, channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you, jeff. and we suggest you there get prepared for the approaching storm with 6abc.com. we have a street level weather map complete with weather warnings posted for your area. we're also updating our lists of mass transit changes and community closing. and sure to check out the list of snow emergencies posted across the region. we want you to join the action. we're asking you to send your videos and pictures of current conditions where you live along with your family, friends and pets enjoying the

winter weather. just use the #6abcaction on social media or e-mail join the action at 6abc.com. still to come on "action news" tonight people were busy today getting last minute items ahead of the blizzard. we will show you the chaos. and the philadelphia police officer who was ambushed two weeks ago is out of the hospital tonight. ducis rodgers with information about the sixers game postponed because of the weather and of course cecily tynan returns with the late word from accuweather when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪

>> this is a live picture of the white house tonight. washington has been getting snow at a rate of at least an inch an hour. it began two or three hours ago. this is the way it's going to be in this area in a couple of hours from now. but a beautiful picture of the white house amid the snow in washington. in the philadelphia suburbs it is a prestorm ritual flocking to stores to make sure that we're prepared. "action news" reporter gray hall has that story in havertown. >> reporter: it's been a mad scramble to stores like this giant behind me many people flocking to grocery stores they say when the snow arrives they want to be ready. >> trying get it while i can before the big one comes. >> reporter: it's been the theme for the past couple of days, everyone is headed to stores stocking up on groceries, shovels, snow melt and filling up their cars with gas. >> isles have been filled shopping carts have been filled and they're buying everything. >> reporter: when the storm hits no one wants to be caught unprepared. >> i got beer in the house.

i got my new blower. i've got salt melt. so i'm okay. >> reporter: shoppers like lindsey wilkinson made it a priority to make sure the snowblowers were working properly. >> i needed to pick up a couple screws to make sure that my snowblower's going to work. >> reporter: most people say they are stocked up and ready for whatever mother nature brings. so far the manager at this giant tells me that they have not run out of anything and if they do, it's okay because a new shipment will will arrive tonight they also tell me they'll be open for business tomorrow. in havertown, gray hall, channel6 "action news. >> there is other news tonight. more than two weeks after being ambushed in west philadelphia, police officer jesse hartnett is back home tonight. dozens of philadelphia police officers were there when officer hartnett was released from the hospital today. hartnett was shot three times on january 7th while sitting in his patrol car. police say the suspect, edward archer, claimed allegiance to

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>> the snow is causing havoc with sports schedules. >> sixers making a wise decision. sixers celtics game moved from saturday flight to sunday night at 7:00 at the wells fargo center. sixers taking a cue from local college basketball teams who yesterday announced they were postponing games. the bad weather is still bringing out the kid in coach brett brown. >> i love the four seasons i really like the delineation of four defined seasons and so the fact that we got snow coming both of my parents were school teachers, you used to huddle around the radio to see what school district was canceled you'd go right to gilligan's island and bee witched and watch tv. >> dating himself. philadelphia rap are meek mill was there. he says he's a huge sixers fan. >> the flyers slated to face the islanders in new york saturday night as of now that

game is still scheduled. another heartbreaker last night for the flyers. they blew a two-nothing lead to the penguins. pittsburgh scored four straight goals. flyers had a chance to tie the game late but brayden schenn and shayne gostisbehere blue chances as time expired. flyers lost four to three. that's look at sports. >> empty net. >> it was wide opened. >> cecily tynan with the accuweather forecast when we continue in just a moment.

>> so we've got some weather out there. >> and hopefully the five days of preparation we've had will pay off tomorrow. i was here sunday night talk about the storm could be a big

winter storm. >> you were. >> i was. the question how big and now we know. >> really big. >> yeah, this is going to be an historic storm. is it the ninth biggest? is it the third biggest snowstorm? someplace in between? it's going to be big, yeah. we got snow on the way. >> right in the middle. >> could be. storm tracker6 live double scan showing that the snow is moving in pretty quickly. not in philadelphia quite yet. but it should be falling here within about a half an hour. it's falling in wilmington right now, falling in millville, coatesville also a heavier band just beginning to move into lancaster county and this is just the beginning of it and part of the reason why i'm expecting more snow is because the temperatures with the faster speed of the storm system we have the clouds all day, never got the sun to heat things up so temperatures across-the-board are in the 20's. so, this is not going to be a very heavy wet snow. it's going to be lighter and fluffier but it's going to be deeper 'cause we're getting

more of it. it's really going to pile up. satellite6 along with action radar slowing that leading edge now. the actual center of that storm system just beginning to take shape just off the coast of the carolinas. doesn't look like much but by 11 o'clock, this is really going start to explode. we'll start to see that circulation and that nor'easter will be throwing a lot of moisture our way. so future tracker showing by 11 o'clock tonight even the poconos it is snowing. it's snowing everywhere. as we head through the overnight hours don't be surprised if you hear a rumble of thunder, thunder snow and then by 7 o'clock this is when we do see that mixing along the shore. then we get waves of snow on and off through the day. 2 o'clock still some heavy snow. still raining along the shore and then as the system starts to wind down around 7:30, we see that change back over to snow along the shore and then we see things begin to taper off. by sunday morning, it is out of here. still going to be windy on sunday morning but the snow will be gone. so, how much snow are we

expecting? no change for the poconos, three to 6 inches, no change for cape may county, three to 6 inches. allentown into new york city six to 12 and bumping up the totals across our immediate area. south of the turnpike, norristown, philadelphia, mount holly glassboro wilmington 18 to 24-inches, quakertown not quite as much but 12 to 18, trenton chatsworth hammonton millville into dover 12 to 18-inches of snow so this is going to be a major snowfall. another aspect of the storm, the wind. winds are going to be fierce. 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, winds near 40 miles an hour in philadelphia. that's why we have that blizzard warning for reduced visibility along the shore wind gusts up to about 60 miles an hour. so, coastal flooding for three tide cycles. tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon and sunday morning. this could be the fifth highest tide in cape may county's history. so, the exclusive accuweather

7-day forecast, we have a mess tomorrow. the blizzard of 2016. stay off the roads. whiteout conditions. the high only 29 degrees. so, again, that snow is really going to pile up. on sunday it turns sunny. the winds start to die down, 34 degrees. and then we don't have really any big weather troubles next week. the snow will be melting. tuesday and wednesday temperatures in the 40's. then it cools off a bit by friday with a high of 40 degrees, so a lot to go over tonight. i will be going over in it details on my facebook chat again at 6:35 and also stay tuned on world news tonight i will be representing philadelphia again in a few minutes with david muir. >> thank you cecily. finally tonight there was a hoagie showdown in south jersey today to celebrate the grand opening of a knew what. what the mount laurel police department competed against the fire department in a hoagie building contest at the new store on route 38 and marter avenue. the fire department wins. they got a trophy and wawa made a donation to a charity

of their choice. abc's "world news tonight" with david muir is next on channel6. of course "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. join us for "action news at 11:00 here on channel6. for cecily tynan ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team i'm jim gardner. we'll have the latest on the storm from accuweather and from locations throughout the tri-state area. we do hope you will join us. for "action news," i'm jim gardner. we'll see you later. >> ♪

breaking news tonight. the storm, deadly at this hour. 80 million americans. tens of thousands without power. the tornadoes, as well. dangerous conditions from the deep south to new england. blizzard warnings now in effect for several major cities. thousands of flights cancelled. planes off the runway. we have team coverage straight ahead. the race for 2016. the conservative revolt. the list of names saying donald trump is not ready to be president. calling him unmoored, crazy. trump's new message in return. and barbara bush with her own message. is it aimed at trump? flying while drunk. the passenger plane, and the pilot arrested. breaking news, deadly listeria. now linked to lettuce. the new recall this evening. and the major new announcement from the academy. did will smith's wife