>> strong wind are are gripping the d.c. region. what snow is left behind. you are looking at the weather deck view. good morning and welcome to midday. outside, i should say for barbara harrison. on the weather deck, you can see the snow is brilliant and beautiful sunshine. don't be fooled by that. the 23 degrees does not feel good outside right now. i will tell you this storm is causing a lot of problems around our area. we have been seeing a number of cars spinout and they are now stuck on the roadside in some places. right now virginia state police working to reopen the i-95 hov lanes after a number of

accidents there. thousands of people do not have power. this winter weather made air travel pretty difficult. at one point, one of the biggest airports could not open this morning because of all the snow and the wind. there were blizzard warnings in the northeast this morning. right now we replaced a lot of that falling snow with wind and incredible wind chills around the region. com is picking thaup part of coverage this morning. >> dress like aaron. if you have to be outside, layer up and wear insulated gloves and boots and if you have to get out shoveling, they are dealing with the wind. you can see that wind blowing and the light fluffy dusty snow. it's not that heavy wet snow to shovel, but you do need to take precautions. there is a live view from the storm team 4 sky watch camera. the high-rises, there was a lot

of wind and blowing snow off the roof stops. the wind will continue here as we get into the afternoon. right now the later gusts are around 30 to 35. we had our peak gusts near 50 miles an hour. that was about an hour or so ago. these winds are beginning to diminish and they will be gradually as we get into the afternoon. the wind chills are down into the single digits and experiencing that down on the national mall. right now is amelia segal out there all morning. it has been frigid. she is checking continues with the team coverage. >> i have been out here live with storm team tracking the temperatures and the winds. just when you think the wind is starting to die down, we experienced a strong gust. at latest check, the storm team reported a temperature down hereof 21 degrees. it is still brutally cold outside. we factor in the winds and not

just the wind gusts, but the regular winds feeling about 15. very cold outside. you can see on tocht truck, it is working hard to take down the wind speed and figuring out what the wind chill s. even though the winds will continue to die down, that is still going to be brutal. just because of the sheer fact that the temperature is already so cold outside. when you factor in the wind, it drives that wind chill temperature or how it feels outside into the single digits. for 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., even the evening commute home if you had to go to work today, it will feel brutally cold outside. i have to say sitting in the storm team 4 by 4, we were putting together a story and checking out the latest wind chill factors. that sunshine was deceiving. now that i am out here, it is bitterly cold outside. >> temperatures around 20 degrees in washington. right there on the mall where

amelia is. right by the bay. it is still just in the mid-teens. northern montgomery into frederick county, maryland. much of northern virginia hovering near 20 degrees. fredericksburg up to 25. just in the upper teens. shenandoah valley many locations there in the upper teens. the strongest winds on the eastern seaboard along the eastern shore area. the winds are diminishing. we have the weekend forecast and another cold blast next week. >> i will take your words about the wind diminishing. the storm came through and had an impact on power around our area. we will show you where things stand right now in terms of electricity. reporting about 3700 of its customers in the dark at this hour. many are in arlington. we look at the numbers for you.

about 1700 customers in the dark. most of them in d.c. and prince george's county. on top of that, the roads have been a mess all day long. it's a rough commute for a lot of folks around the area, particularly in maryland. chopper 4 over 95 and howard county this morning. tra tractor-trailer skidded right off the road and we saw scenes like that throughout the morning. megan is live for us in montgomery count we more. megan? >> the snow tapered off hours ago, but look at the conditions we are still seeing on the neighborhood streets. look at this snowpack here. you can't even see the pavement unless i go at it with my heel. slippery conditions and this is off of rockville pike. fortunately major roads like rockville pike are looking good at this point.

in the neighborhood, snow covered streets meant a day off of school for kids in montgomery county. no complaints here. >> i would make snow angels and do a snowball fight. >> what are you going to do? >> help my dad shovel the snow and stay inside and keep warm. >> keeping warm, not ithe cards for many adults. they spent the morning digging out cars in the freezing cold. >> it's really cold. it's really freezing. i hate it. i wish it was gone already. >> driveway ways shovelled, the trek to the office began. >> i have to go to work. >> for those who had to drive, the neighborhood streets proved difficult. major roads like 270 were in good shape. perhaps the biggest challenge proved to be the wind. the blowing snow creating white out conditions at times.

the strong gusts have also brought down power lines, keeping pep coe crews very busy. and one thing to keep in mind, the cold temperatures we have been talking about, that could be a problem overnight. you can see the slush that is down here. slush right now, but as the temperatures continue to hover around below freezing and as we go in overnight and the sun goes away and it gets really, really cold overnight, we could see a refreeze. there is always the possibility of black ice out there. folks are really going to want to keep speed down even though the roads look in great shape, you never know when you might happen upon a slippery spot. live in kensington. back to you. >> good point. thank you for that. the commute proved to be pretty challenging for a lot of drivers. melissa continues team coverage and she is live for the live drive cam near falls church.

melissa? >> right now we turned on lyle avenue. we showed you how a neighborhood looks. this is typical for neighborhoods. they are untreated and ice and snow on the roads that you can see on the lawns. they are excited to be out of school and others are hoping for a little bit of warmth and melting and slush. >> i shouldn't be out here. >> neither should i. >> a brutal bitter cold looking through the air this morning, sweeping up and scattering snow. with the sun on the rise, no real warming. many park lots looking like this in sterling with a thick and dangerous icy coating. a few mile away on seed an green road, the ice and snow too heavy for this tree. >> 18 out here. geez. >> heading out of washington around 4:00 a.m., the main roads like river well treat and mostly just wet. as we head down 495 issue we find ourselves in more slippery conditions behind a line of

plous. many back roads and parking lots are untreated early. kimberly drove from her house to work in tyson's corner. >> it takes an hour 1/2 to get to work on days like this especially. >> blowing snow causing white out conditions in some spots. >> a lot of snow blowing over what they cleared. >> this crash at fairfax parkway and sunrise valley drive. >> now we are headed back out on route 7 and getting it back on 495 north to see how that is looking compared to how the southbound lanes were looking earlier. a messy morning all-around. as we warm up a little bit, that will help a whole lot. driving for you with your drive cam, news 4, back to you. >> all right, melissa back to you. >> jfk back open. it closed after 6:00 this morning and just reopened around 10:15.

la guardia and newark open as well. more than 1800 flights have been canceled today. that includes all southwest and air tran flights in the midwest and northeast. the airlines say it grounded the flights until noon today. newark airport has the most cancellations on the board. chicago o'hare airport has the most delays at this hour. we are keeping an eye on things here in the dmv area as well. as far as the skies go, we checked for you. according to flight aware.com, reagan national canceled 34 flights and bwi has 32 cancel and dulles has 43 flights canceled this morning. those numbers could go up. if you are planning to fly out of town, check your flight status before you leave home. we will keep you up to date on the winter storm and the impact. our web team will make sure you know everything as you head out the door. logon to nbcwashington.com to see where the storm is and what

the impact is and what the roads are look and what schools and governments may be closed through the day today. any impact they might have any the weekend. the winter storm is impacting more than just our area. some places see it a lot worse. hey snow to blame for power outages and near white out conditions. we will check it out in other areas and the wind knocking out electricity in our area. [ male announcer ] when your small business has verizon fios,

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>> welcome become parts of the northeast trying to get back on the east. live pictures from sometimes square and a lot of people stayed home after several inches of snow fell in the area with conditions so severe, new york city canceled school. six inches of snow.

north of d.c., scott farland from the live desk. >> the clean up is more difficult. you go to massachusetts and boston where a reported 13 inches of snow has fallen. live pictures with one of the sister stations in boston. in massachusetts alone. we are getting reports of power outages. minimal, but there issues hitting the transitd sthss. you are looking 5993 through the city. it's moving now, but it wasn't earlier today. in part because of wind damage and reported 65 mile per hour gusts hitting the area near that road and that's where the power outages and the tree damage is coming from. they are digging out slowly. slower than us in boston.

>> scott, thank you. these pictures from massachusetts. plows having a difficult time keep g up keeping up with this is forcing the plows to double back over areas they cleaned. people are doing their best to keep sidewalks. even the plows had to slow down for all of that. and that's a fresh coat all the way on the ground. chekted to improve on why we should watch out for dangerous scenes. this one, the weather is to blame for a road closure in arlington. you are looking at the live picture near south kent not far from kent gon city mall. a tree fell over and knocked down power lines.

>> storm team 4 joining us now. they did a great job for the rest of the day. >> they are getting better on 50 miles per hour. a few of those trees did come down. for the most part and things have begun to improve. our feathered friends and indeed these are birds and don't forget to till it up. they are happy to be getting fed. we take a look at the view outside yesterday evening. i took this picture before sunset transforming the landscape into a winter

wonderland. post your pictures to nbcwashington.com. this is a view overlooking one of the valleys there in frederick county. they picked up three inches or so there. look at the evergreens covered in the new snow. it was powdery too. and we have great photos from the viewers. overlooking the presbyterian centers. they are really pretty much drying out and wet and salted and sanded. temperatures are well below freezing. anything that looks wet, treat it like it might be icy. even with the temperatures, the salt has a tough time maintaining and keeping it

melted. north eastern shore and the current wind gusts and they have been around 30 to 35. feels like 3 degrees. down the mall, and embracing the gusty winds and the cold temperatures. >> here with our weather station, you can see the temperature is 20 degrees. the winds add around 5 miles per hour, what that does is puts it down to the wind chill. i have to say 100% the issue with the winds are the gusts.

it's just gusting at times. it feels bitterly cold outside. now that the sun is up and we are looking at plain skies. they all have on gloves and hats and scarves. they were prepared for what the weather would bring. the roads also a major improvement from when we were out here. on third street, we are down to wet of ament. further off in the distance and tourists are taking pictures. coming down to the capital and providing inspiration. there a lot of great pictures online. we are looking at warming temperatures. >> we certainly are. later this afternoon, it's not going to be above freezing. highs reaching mid 20s in washington and only near 20 in the northern western suburbs.

just in the low to mid 20s during the afternoon. if you are going out, cold again. back into the teens and all the way down to near 10 degrees by dawn on saturday. lots of sunshine and a light wind. highs reaching the low 30s and on sunday. we will get rain and i don't anticipate problems. it turns bitterly cold on tuesday. colder than today. highs may make it into the upper teens to near 20 degrees. below freezing wednesday and in. it's a rler coastid you can mak heard to raise fares. another delay to get home for the passengers who spent more than a week stuck on a ship off antarctica. a look at what's hot on

nbcwashington.com.

a live look from chopper 4. check out the winter wonderland in the silver spring area. the kids are out and on the hills. making the best of this snow. the best way to deal with these conditions around here. good for them. >> if you are taking metro, plan ahead for delays. expecting to work on all five lines. all the metro stations will remain open. beginning tonight, blue, orange, yellow and grown line trains will run every 20 minutes. rhett line every 20 minutes. service expected to be back to normal if time for monday morning's commute. we want to know what you think about the fare increases and working on the 2015 budget. metro will host hearings and

announcements and signage. you can go for more information on that. a chinese helicopter rescued 52 scientists and tourists from the russian ship yesterday and the passengers were taken to an australian ice breaker and the ship has been told to stop their journey to tasmania. they are concerned the australian ship might get stuck. they will stay put as a precaution. it is the first week on the job for the man running the biggest city in america. how new york's new mayor is handling the pressure now that hay major winter storm moved in. plus, how the same system is having a major impact on our travel today and what to expect for the weekend.

. we are back with a look at the icy roads. we want to show you the hov lanes in virginia. they cleared an earlier accident after a number of cars were sliding on the roadway. the hov lanes were closed at this time. it's normal for this time of day. the frigid temperatures didn't help firefighters battle a four-alarm fire. it took them about four hours to put out the names in this building. the cold temperatures had an effect on the water supply. the fire surround investigation. the storm has been dangerous for men and women trying to keep you on the roads. it collapsed and rushed a worker at a storage facility yesterday. he died. the pile of salt was 100 hundred feet tall. we don't know what caused that accident. the long island expressway is

open and closeed from about midnight. we know the long e land expressway is closed until -- as i said, it was closed. the governor wanted to avoid another traffic disaster on the long island expressway. a state of emergency in effect in new york and new jersey. the winder storm is the test and the press conference is about an hour ago. they are clearing the roads and new yorkers should stay home and avoid driving. storms have complicated the political lives of new york city mayors. in 2010, michael bloomberg came under fire for those that shut down the subways. massachusetts may have been hit hardest by the storm. parts of the area saw 21 inches

of snow. >> the roads are terrible and people are driving like bad drivers. >> the season's first major storm were from the weather warriors who didn't expect snow after the new year. >> i didn't think they were going to come and i was like you have to be kidding me. >> truck drivers decided to ride out the storm instead of getting stuck on it. >> i would rather be on the side of the road. >> flooding while they were the lowest in 18 years. >> it is very cold. tough to pump your gas in. >> in new york city, for residents and visitors, the snow slowed down the pace. just three days after millions watched the ball drop, times square looking like a ghost town. viewers tweeted their views,

sending pictures of how they wlrd the storm. in the boston area, the storm is leaving many wondering what kind of winder is in store. >> it's new england and it's snowing. who thought that would happen. parrot corner of main street and carson where as you can see, folks woke up to a white, cold, and a chilly morning. last night's storm dropped several inches of snow in the area. it's quite chilly. an amazing sight for some and a headache for anothers. >> they were sliding all over the place. the off-ramps and the on ramps. it's bad. really bad. >> you don't like the snow? >> no. don't like it at all. >> why not? >> gets your floor and your car and your chews dirty. it's a mess. >> it stays there forever. you are into driving over a pile of snow for a month.

there is not really anywhere else to put it. i am going to designate a corner. >> plenty of shoflg going on here. this is also a real test of your skills. it makes it difficult for us. a piece of cake coming down. a challenge to drive up for those who don't have the proper vehicle. news 4, midday. >> here is a live look at union station. if you are catching a train there, you need to make sure it's running on time. amtrak announced they are running a modified snow schedule all day. the change came after a flurry of delays and cancellations yesterday. a lot of travelers in places like this. philadelphia was stranded at the train station overnight. if you are traveling by train today, check to see if the train is running on schedule. today charles county opening up several warping centers. at least five will open across the county and all charles county public libraries are open. we will post the locations and

hours on our website. head over to nbcwashington.com. a lot of information about the storm. we have a heads up for you. only three of the locations are open. the southwest service center is open. services on c street northwest is open as well. the inspection station on half street is open. search dmv. on the storm team 4 and some covering your head out there. >> not any warmer and storm team 4 weather deck. under a blue sky and a brilliant white snow on the ground. there is the live picture overlooking the potomac river this morning. it's pret tow look and it's near

in the upper teens. in the low 20s to mid 20s across parts of northern virginia from cull pepper to fredericksburg and much of southern maryland is down to near 20 degrees in the upper teens to mid-teens and much of west virginia. these are the latest wind gusts. they have diminished and gusting to around 30 miles per hour. the wind chills feel like single digits and the wind will diminish through the afternoon and the wind will go calm tonight. under that clear, cold, calm sky, temperatures will plummet down to single digits in the rural areas. just the low teens in washington and much of the area down to near 10 degrees. afternoon highs on saturday in the low 30s. lots of sun. winds into the south and warm into the low 40s. might get rain on sunday night. that's a front coming in.

behind that is cold air that may change with snow on monday morning. sun back monday and highs in the mid 30s and much colder on tuesday. near 20 and making it a little bit of rain on thursday. can i come back in? >> quickly, my friend. a heads up for drivers who may use the chesapeake bay bridge. they are restricting traffic because of the strong winds this morning. no empty tractor-trailers or high profile vehicles can cross the bridge right now. there wind warnings in place on the nice key bridges as well in the area. if you are headed out, watch for the snow plows looking to clear the streets. it has more than 1200 trucks on the roads this morning. they are focusing on problem spots and the bridges and the hills and the exit ramps.

you can see if it made it through your area to track the trucks. it's v dot plows. that will let you see road conditions before you head out and if you see the trucks on the road, you know the deal. don't try to pass them. they are doing it for you and me. a live look at power crews working in arlington. south 23rd street is closed between south kent and lynn streets not far from pentagon city. the tree knocked out power lines and arlington police say they should have the road closed for much of the day. crews are actively working right now to get the lines back up and get power restored. clear the scene here and they are having to do this in many other places like this across the region at this hour. with the winter season ramping up, now is a good time to make sure the emergency supplies are ready to go as well. baltimore gas and electric put out a suggested list that includes a battery-powered radio

to get weather alerts. fully charge your cell phone in case the power goes out and you can't charge it. a back up corded phone is a good idea. nonperishable food, water, and blankets. make sure your car has a full tank of gas in case of power goes out at the neighborhood gas station. >> many of you sent us photos of what the snow looked like where you live. i want to show you a few examples. this weekend from wood bridge, virginia. a snow-covered neighborhood. another from buoy, maryland. wearing snow for us. this is in the georgetown area. snow covered trees and the ground there. this dog is a newfoundland is lounging in the snow and maybe ate a little bit. having fun of course. we want to see more of your account pictures. send your photos to isee@nbcwashington.com.

we will show them online and on television as well. >> michael schumacher's 45th birthday. praying for his recovery. his wife visited him in the hospital where he is in a medically induced coma. he hit his head on a rock last sunday and underwent two brain operations. doctors are trying to reduce swelling in his brain. pope francis drew 6.6 million people to the vatican since march, nearly three times as many as pope benedict saw in all of 2012. they were based on tickets issued for papal effects and the estimated number of people in st. peter's square like weekly appearances from his window. the average size for a general audience with the pope is about 100,000. >> our big story here, bitter cold and slick roads right now. another look at the suv that almost spun out in the hov lanes in virginia. we saw a car after car trying to

avoid the mess. state police looking to reopen the stretch. the hov lane is still closed. amelia segal is out talking to folks about this bitter cold we

. >> it's bitter cold, but they will have fun and i will shovel and go to work. >> i was happy we got three or four inches because i hate snow. bitter cold and strong winds. amelia segal is live on that. how cold is it right now and how cold does it feel? >> 12 outside. the winds are 50 miles an hour

of the areas. now the winds are diminishing as we approach the noon hour. 22 at reagan national. low to mid 20s. not near 50 like it was a couple of hours ago. wind chills with the 25 to 30 mile an hour winds down into the single digits now. the winds go calm by sunset and overnight tonight, clear and cold after we hold steady to year 10. tomorrow morning with a light wind and sunno saturday and highs above freezing and then right back down below freezing. not as cold on sunday. increasing clouds and low 40s. might get rain and might end as a little wet snow and frigid again mid-week next week. have a great weekend and see you monday morning. >> have a good weekend and thank you. that is news 4 midday. thanks for joining us. tune in this aft