showing the storm system and look at how massive this storm is. snow all of the way down into central alabama they're seeing some snow. on the front side of it we're picking up some thunder and some lightning down there and some thunderstorms down toward the carolinas and western carolina, already some thundersnow reported there and yes, we could see thundersnow in our region, too, and that's why this is such a dangerous system and a lot going on and the winds will be a big factor and right now we do have some snow coming in and that reduces visibility and veronica johnson, we're on the storm team 4 patio and we've seen the visibility go up and back down and that's the bands that we continue to see move through. >> exactly. the intensity of the snow changing and the visibility has been down a half mile and it's still about that in much of the area and either a half to a mile and we've got the graphic here for you two inches now and they keep plowing, and the wind speeds and you will hear the

winds hear them crank up overnight because it will get louder and hour and the possibility of some thunderstorms and the wind speeds at 10 to 15 miles per hour and by the time we get to 11:00 p.m. it will be high wind and somewhere between 35 and as much as 50 miles per hour and many locations, east of i-95 could go higher than that to 60, 65 miles per hour and very heavy snow as we take you through the snow intensity and hour by hour at 10:00 this evening and flakes are coming down at rates of two to three inches per hour with the snowfall rates as we head into tomorrow and it's saturday and still heavy and we don't get into tomorrow afternoon and that's when we'll see lighter snow, and plus hours and we have yet to go, doug? it really is amazing. 24 hours more of the snow that we've got and that's why we're calling this a crippling snowstorm and highways closed and power outages and the

impacts from this will last into next week and most likely the middle of next week and again, we'll be on top of it for you and we're not going anywhere, guys? >> crippling and barrelizing and blockbuster, any way you describe it. this has the potential to be an historic storm. right now the government and emergency officials are asking all of you tojust tay home. the roads are covered and it is no longer safe to be out driving. 50 million people have been impacted on the storm and it is deadly on the east coast. >> first responders don't have a choice. they have to be out on the road responding to emergencies. >> david culver tagged on to a local team and just got back from a call with them and joins us now from bailey's crossroads. hi, david. >> reporter: hi there, doreen and vance. we talked about the visibility and i heard doreen and doug talk about that. the first responders it's especially difficult.

as we pull over here, you can see columbia pike and one of the many plows we've seen although it's tough to tell what they're doing on the roads because although they keep scooping things out, i want to show you what the struggle is for the fire and rescue crews. as we go to video, this was a call we made within the hour and we were headed to an ems call right in the middle of the road there was a white minivan blocking the way and it took them a while before they were able to pull out of the way and this was before the lights and sirens were on and not only does the snow slow them down, but also stranded vehicles. when we got to the scene they had to get out in the snow and they were wearing several layers and trying to work to get the gurney out of the ambulance and get it into the building. and they have plows as part of fire and rescue here in fairfax county that they're able to use to help clear some of the surrounding area, but it's still a challenge. they almost come in a convoy of vehicles as you see right there. one of the things i had to ask

one of the captains here, dr. captain barlowe is how were they able to get prepared as veronica says 24 hours more of this? >> all right. one of the things that they're using here are several different types of chains. they've got some to use up to six inches and they're using these cable chains and they have some to use between six inches and feet and then they have the huge chains when it's 12 inches or more. so it looks like they'll have to be pulling those out some time in the next day or so. we'll send it back to you. vance, doreen? >> we want to take a look at the driving conditions and amelia segal is out in the storm team 4 by 4 and on 270 near clarksburg. amelia, what do you see? >> well, vance, it's not good out here. completely snow-covered roads and it's hard to determine where there are lanes at this time. sometimes the rumble strip

helping to determine that. let's take a live look outside and at greatly reduced speeds and we're traveling at 25 miles an hour and that's the only option and completely snow-covered roads and the winds are starting to pick up and we're noticing the wind to blow around and the temperature continues to drop. we are now down to 20 degrees. so we've dropped ten degrees over the course of today. you can see on the side road we have some plows down and not treating the road with any salt and they don't actually even have their plows down at this point as we've been driving around today we noticed groups of plows treating the roads and you can see at this point already only a few hours into the storm and the snow has gotten ahead of the plows as you guys are continuing to try completely snow-covered roads and the wind starting to pick up and the snow intensity a little

higher as well and completely snow-covered roads as we head back into the district. >> amelia segal in the storm people 4 by 4 and it's what you will find in other places. tracee wilkins in capitol heights. >> reporter: we're looking at two inches of snow and let me show you what it's looking like on the roads. richey marlboro road just had a truck come through. as you can see, we have a little bit of a track there, but you take a look at this road here and consider it a secondary and look at how snow covered it is and you can barely see the lanes. let me show you earlier. we were watching vehicles slip and slide on the roads and it's only gotten worse. the good news is we're seeing less traffic on the roadways here in prince george's county and when we were out here starting around noon, gosh, it was just like rush hour. everybody was on the roadways. the gas station completely packed and people trying to get supplies and the rest of it, but

it has definitely come down and it's almost like a ghost town and prince george's county, fire and ems, they had 25 accidents and now they're down to around three. unfortunately, still three accidents and none of them serious, but those are accidents that first responders have to get to. >> we talked to folks who were out here and here's what they had to say. >> those who can't drive, and shouldn't be driving. >> i'm from chicago. i'm okay driving and in d.c. people don't always know how to drive. >> we won't let anybody know that you said that. >> looking for at least three feet. >> you want three feet? >> who will shovel three feet at your house? >> i'll take the job. three feet of snow. i don't want three feet of snow, but we do have it coming down very quickly on capitol heights and as you can see, the gas

station now empty and people are taking heed to the warning in prince george's county and the state of emergency to stay home and stay off the roads and reporting live in capitol heights, i'm tracee wilkins, back to you all in the studio. >> people are following officials' advice and that's a good-looking scene down there and nobody on the road. thank you. >> we are hearing from some folks because of the public transit here in the area. >> chris gordon is live in the metro station with that side of the story. chris? >> reporter: well, doreen, the snow is flying at the metro station in rockville. some passengers are trying to get home and others are trying to get to work, but as it gets later, they're running out of options. at 5:00, metro bus ended service and we introduced you to a woman who was afraid she would aren't make it from rockville to

wheaton. >> i'm just hoping and praying i can get home. >> reporter: she made it on the last metro bus to the silver spring station, but ben isn't so lucky. we met ben on his way to work as a care provider at a nursing home in rockville. his shift will end after metro rail stops running at 11:00 tonight. >> you're going to end up spending the night at work if you have to? >> yeah. >> do they have a place for you to sleep? >> yeah. >> reporter: and are you ready to spend more than one night if this blizzard lasts? >> yeah. yeah. i'm prepared. >> now this is rockville pike and if you look behind me, you will see plow trucks from the sha, the maryland state highway administration. they have been clearing the road. they just started clearing within the last 15 minutes and they're coming through in a convoy. i counted ten trucks at one point coming through and they're trying to keep the main roadways clear, 355 is a state road and

therefore the state highway administration plows are on it now on the job. that's the latest live in rockville, back to you. >> chris, what we're all hoping here is when your shift is up you'll give that guy a ride home. he'll love you forever for that and so will everybody else in town. >> reporter: amen. >> more than 100,000 national guards men will be deployed and they'll be helping police and firefighters get around the city to respond to emergencies. about 30 humvees are being deployed to 16 police and fire stations. >> we train for this every weekend and this is part of what being a guard soldier is all about is to help our community out and every drill period we make sure that our vehicles are ready to go so when something like this does happen that we're prepared for it. >> the guardsmen will be on 12-hour shifts at both stayingeds throughout the weekend. >> now we want to get a check on the situation in downtown d.c. and how the district is responding to the snow. >> reporter: mark segraves has

been all over town all day. right now he's in chinatown, i believe. what's up, partner? >> reporter: we're outside of the verizon center where the caps were supposed to drop the puck right about now. even this morning they were still going to have that game, but after d.c. mayor bowser and her director of homeland security said that the nhl was actually putting lives at risk by going forward with this game they finally decided to postpone the game tonight and the wizards game tomorrow. mayor bowser just had another press conference 30 minutes ago and she complained that residents are still not taking heed to this storm that there are still too many cars out on the streets of d.c. it is a snow emergency. your cars will get ticketed and towed if they're parked on major roads. more than 2,000 cars have been ticketed and about 200 cars have been towed off of the streets. drivers will have to pick those cars up- some time next week. now as you said earlier, the national guard has been deployed

in the district, b the mayor's message this evening is one of a very straightforward message and this will be a life-threatening storm and she wants people off the streets of d.c. right now. here's what she had to say. >> it is critical that we keep our main routes open. >> as i said, and i will repeat again, i want our residents to stay in place during the duration of the storm. we don't want anybody driving during a blizzard. it's dangerous to do so and it also can prevent our first responders and road crews for making the roads safe when this storm passes. it's important to pack your patience tonight. >> d.c. officials say while they do have plow out on the roads, their priority right now are major arteries to make sure that first responders can get around the city and they say it may be until tomorrow or the next day when some of the secondary

streets will see plows. so if you haven't seen a plow in your neighborhood in the district yet, that's not unusual. they're focusing on the major arteries first and probably that way until tomorrow. they also want you to know that the $15 fee for taxes, taxis, if you can find one will be in place and you should expect power to go out. pepco officials said that residents in the district should be prepared to lose power for as much as two days. they say if the winds get up top 30 miles per hour or more that there are bucket trucks and line crews who do the repairs, it is too dangerous for them to make the repairs and we're expecting up to 50 mile-an-hour winds. jim and doreen, back to you guys in the studio. >> as incentive to get your car out of the way. what's the ticket for that? >> reporter: so if you're ticketed in a snow emergency route. that's $250. if you are dowed, tack $100, on to the $250 fee and then a $20 a

day fine after that. it's pretty easy to get up to $300 and above really, really fast and you know, you've got to go all of the way over to blue plains to pick up your car and of course, that lot will only have limited hours. so you really don't want to be one of those people who has their cars towed over the weekend. >> that's incentive, all right. >> that's incentive. >> thanks, mark. we'll check on conditions in other parts of d.c. meagan fitzgerald is in southeast. >> reporter: jim, i can tell you the wind is starting to pick up and the snow continuing to fall. here's the good news. we haven't seen a lot of people out here and a lot of roads have been cleared and the bad news, take a look at these roads. they're getting worse and one side looks better than the other and that's because the snowplow came through here on this road here, but we want to show you some video we shot earlier. it's not just cars having a tough time out here. it's also motor scooters that we've seen, but this guy here was having a hard time maneuvering his electric

wheelchair in the snow and he was able to get help by a good samaritan who pushed him along across the street. metro officials are shoveling the walkway for riders trying to get home and metro will shut down service at 11:00 tonight. they'll be done for the rest of the weekend. we caught up with some guys who are out here looking for something to eat. needless to say, they were not prepared. >> i didn't really think it was going to be this much snow, honestly. they said two to four feet. i'm originally from texas so for me this is different weather. >> those dguys didn't have much luck, many of the shops behind me are closed and we are told there are a few shots in the capitol hill area that will remain open and as the city has been saying, if you can avoid getting on the roads, you should and if it's not within walking distance it's probably not a good idea to venture out. back to you. >> meagan fitzgerald.

>> metro will stop running trains at 11:00 p.m. tonight. metro busses stopped running an hour ago. both trains and busses are going to shut down for the entire weekend. capitol bike share is also going to shut down this weekend at 7:00. it will stay closed on saturday. you can still return a bike to the nearest station. it will be hard to pedal it though, i think. >> but usage fees still apply for those that continue after they close. the storm is having an impact on east coast air travel. 2800 flights canceled and most of them in charlotte and raleigh, north carolina according to flight tracking service flight aware and our area is next and another 3200 flights have been canceled for tomorrow mostly in washington and philadelphia. major airlines say they hope to have their schedules back on track by sunday afternoon. as doug and veronica have reported. this storm is coming from the south and this is what it looked like when it came through

southern virginia earlier today. folks in roanoke are dealing with freezing rain, sleet and snow. road crews out and they're trying to keep the roads clear out there. that snow is expected to continue falling down there as it is here through tomorrow. >> a state of emergency in tennessee as the winter storm dumps ice and snow there. this is a look at the scene in nashville and officials urging people there to stay off the roads and these people didn't heed the warning. car after car, slipping and sliding as they made their way up this incline. >> check this out in north carolina. a drone captured this scene. it's almost spooky. very few cars on the roads as the storm started to come in earlier today. charlotte is expected to see more ice than snow from this storm as they await their chance to go to the super bowl. >> let's get another check on the storm as it moves into our region. doug, that's a beautiful scene out there, but i don't know -- i

don't think it will be so beautiful a few hours from now. >> coming back us to, it will be a completely different scene and at least this is coming during the weekend although most of us would like to get a couple of school days and an extra day off of work. anyway, storm team 4 radar, you can see the bands of snow coming in and most areas seeing the light snow and some on the moderate side. look at the windchills and our reporters have been talking about the winds increasing just a bit and we're starting to see winds gusting and look at the windchill, 7 in martinsburg and the pawtuxet river coming in with a windchill of ten and very cold out there, too and this evening, several inches already and roads completely covered and winds beginning to pick up and that's what's been happening tonight. tomorrow morning and the heavy snow and the high wind. tomorrow morning will be where this blizzard really ramps up and a foot of snow and some locations up to 18 inches by tomorrow morning and all roads

simply impassable no matter what they do to keep up and they won't do it with the blowing snow and tomorrow night, snow and the wind start to relax a little bit and the windchill still in the teens and dropping to potentially the single digits and travel almost impossible and stay home tonight and expect not to even get out of your house until sunday and sunday is the day i know for sure is when i'll be out there doing some sledding. guys, i already told my kids that they're building the biggest snow fort ever on sunday. >> that means it will -- it will be good snow for fort building and noman building? >> it will be good snow. there will be layers to it, but yes, there will be good snow for that. >> you really think you're going to go home, huh? >> sunday. i'm going home sunday. >> he promised his kids. >> i guess he better get home then, huh? >> our coverage continues now with scott macfarlane. he just filed this report from germantown. >> reporter: here we are along

germantown road in germantown about a mile from i-270. you can see the condition of the road and maybe you can see the speed of those cars. i would aren't feel comfortable out here without a four-wheel drive vehicle. it's dandy when you're going straight, but when you get a red light it is so difficult to get your traction. you are about to see the last ride-on bus leaving the transit center to getting to germantown road and you truly see the difference on the roads. without a four-wheel drive it's tough sledding and i-270 we're seeing cars going 2 miles an hour and still some vehicles going in and out, but at this point, mostly plow vehicles. in germantown, scott macfarlane, news 4. scott's been out driving around and sending back reports and good to see that he will be over before reporting and we'll

be on the air very early tomorrow morning starting at 5:00 a.m. you are looking at a live picture of the scene in college park, maryland. >> it does. want a whole lot of bar hopping tonight. >> that's a good thing. >> yes, it is. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪

[mother] yeah but this neighborhood,i feel like it's got a lot of what we were kinda talking about. we should definitely go see it. [agent] hi. melanie. maggie. living room. [dad]what about this? this looks good. [brendan] no. [mother] isn't it great? [agent] hey brendan,you might like this room. [announcer]redfin pays its agents based on your happiness... that's real estate, redefined.

we're taking a look at the radar. the blizzard of 2016. i've called it snow nino. this is a big-time el nino year and it will help to enhance the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and because of that we'll get the snow. storm team 4 radar tracking the snow and we have brighter bands and that's the heavier snow continues to move on here and as we do get through this we'll see a transition here and it's already happening. take a look around the atlanta area and we saw moisture earlier and now all of it is being transferred off the coast. you can see what's happening down here toward the carolinas and that's the moisture moving up and the storm is starting to develop here and that's why we'll see the blizzard become full-fledged here over the next few hours and especially into tomorrow morning and the winter

storm warning in the pink and it's all because of the wind. we'll see winds upward of 50 to 65 miles per hour along the chesapeake bay. head's up there, there will also be some coastal flooding along the bay, too. 20 to 30 inches or more in some looks. ten to 20 down to the south, and over toward ocean city a little bit less as you will definitely see mixing down there with some rain. out on the roads right now. amelia segal has been out just about all afternoon and amelia, you got out at 11:00 and you've seen things go downhill from there. absolutely doug, we head back toward the district and approaching the spur right now. what's interesting, heading southbound and barely any cars on the road. a lot of cars heading northbound and we did see one accident that had closed down a portion of 270 north and so few cars are on the road it didn't have as big of a

backup as you would expect any other time and further down the road there say convoy of plows cleaning up the road and that did have volume behind it, as well. a live look outside you can see with the storm team 4 by 4 with completely snow-covered roads at this point and the visibility is not too bad right now and i would say around a half of a mile or more and the snow right now is pretty light and the temperature continues to hold in the low 20s right now, at 21 degrees, vance and doreen? >> all right. thank you, amelia. >> people are talking about canceled parties and other events on our facebook page. i hope it didn't happen to you. >> that's a shame, but imagine if this was the most important weekend of your life. i'm talking about your wedding weekend. bureau chief julie carey is up near hay market virginia now with that sad tale. julie? >> reporter: this is a great story.

when i got dressed this morning it was for snow coverage, not to go to a wedding and we ended up being wedding crashers today. we heard about a mclean couple that abruptly rescheduled their wedding to beat this blizzard. [ applause ] >> this life-changing moment was supposed to take place at 4:30 tomorrow. that's when brian clof and jessica candelaria planned to get married and along came the blizzard of 2016. >> we started all over and we had to figure out how to move everything from 4:30 tomorrow to 1:00 today. it required moving everybody including changing all of the flights. >> reporter: it meant scrambling, too, for wedding planner whitney frost. yes, her last name is frost. just minutes before the couple walked down the aisle she was still scattering the petals. >> the snow was falling by the time shivering, harried wedding guests from new jersey tomas maas stepped through the doors.

understandably, quite a few didn't make it, but jessica and brian did make it down the aisle, determined not to let a blizzard keep them from getting marrie married. >> there were so many tears. i cried all of wednesday, but we have a wedding and that's what matters. we're here. >> reporter: they'll have quite a tore to tell on anniversaries to come. >> after it was all said and done it just looks amazing and all of the stories of the stress will fall away and we'll have only good stories to tell. >> reporter: i think if they got through this week they are off to a very good start. we wish them the best of luck and on monday they're headed to warm, sunny mexico. one more footnote, that wedding planner, whitney frost, her dad, his name, very fittingly, jack frost. back to you in the studio. >> good for them and wouldn't it be delightful if they invited you to go to mexico with them.

>> she probably wouldn't be on the air right now. >> i'll pack my bags! prince george's county is under a state of emergency right now. county leaders there made the declaration right before the snow started falling today. their emergency command center is up and running. county officials say they are prepared. >> over the next few days we will be tested in this county and this region. i am confident that we will see this storm through. >> county executive says to check on your neighbors, if you would, the elderly and your friends over the next 72 hours and if possible, move vehicles out of the way so that the snowplows and other vehicles can get through. >> prince george's county officials say they have 40,000 tons of salt available. >> it sounds like a lot. they may need all of that and derrick ward joins us from college park with more on the conditions there. >> hi again. you can take a look at route 1

through college park and not much traffic at all. people are, indeed, heeding the warnings and observing that state of emergency declared here, but some people do indeed have to work and for some folks, folks who drive those plows and not just the big ones, but the small ones, this is indeed the busy season. we caught up with a crew of people who are in one of those plows who are hooked up to a pickup truck and you might find them in an apartment complex parking lot or a shopping center parking lot and indeed that's where these guys were headed and for them the snowfall amounts to christmas in january. >> it's money falling from the sky is really what it is. >> how many parking lots do you do on a day like this? >> it depends on how big the parking lot is and how much of the work they really need out there, but usually it becomes a lot of work for us, especially these cars out here. they definitely need to get to their work and a lot of people need to get to their jobs and we

try to get them in there as fast as possible. >> reporter: indeed, they're cleaning out some parking lots and places where people will indeed have to go to work. some of those essential personnel and things like that, but one thing, they're out on the roads and they see people that are out there and going faster than they should and it's mainly the expensive cars that they see going off the road in the ramps. we are live in college park, derrick ward, news 4. >> all right. thank you, derrick. all of the smithsonian museums are closed because of the blizzard and they will stay closed through the weekend and that includes the national zoo. and all of the national park sites in d.c. are closed and there will be no access to facilities at the washington monument and lincoln memorial and all of the war memorials and the national park hopes to be able to reopen on monday. the threat of the storm did not stop a large group of anti-abortion rights activists from marching down to the supreme court. today marks the 43rd anniversary of the high court's landmark roe v. wade decision that

established the constitutional right to an abortion. another group of pro-abortion rights activists also gathered outside the supreme court to have their voices heard, as well. now we want to get more on the conditions right now in d.c. let's go to news 4's jackie bensen at the national mall. jackie? >> reporter: well, doreen, the conditions are getting rougher and you can see the wind blowing right past me and the snow blowing sideways. it's a little colder and it was not like it was a little -- a short time ago when it was much more picturesque here and we have some images to show you of people enjoying the last little bits of daylight hours to see the nation's capitol, in some cases exercise down here and jogging, cross-country skiing and we also ran into a really lovely group of schoolchildren from china. they had never seen snow before and with nothing else really to do here, with as you said the monuments and things were closed they got to enjoy the snow and have a good time and the tour

guide that they were with told me they will be stuck here in the nation's capitol for another couple of days because of the blizzard, but again, conditions dropping out here right now. it's getting colder. you can't see as far. people are going back inside and tucking in for the night which is really as things get more difficult out here that's where they should stay. jackie bensen, news 4. >> it's nice to see the kids playing out in the snow and not doing this. >> now that the snow is falling you need to keep an eye on things in and around your house. >> news 4 consumer reporter susan hogan joins us with now with what we need to look for. >> hi, guys. there are so many things that can go wrong if you don't take the four simple steps throughout the blizzard. if you want to think about first and foremost. you want to clear your dryer vents if your dryer vent is low to the ground, make sure you clear the snow away from it.

dangerous levels of carbon monoxide can build up inside your home so constantly check that vent. clear a path to the gas meter or if you have oil and also clear a path for your delivery man. if you don't, there is a good chance to get your oil delivery. if they can't see it they can't fill it. make sure the downspouts are clear and ice can build up around the drains and it can keep melting snow from draining properly, leading to water damage and don't forget the water pipes and if you don't have time to insulate them properly and help keep them warm so they don't freeze up. >> susan, good advice. thank you very much. our coverage continues with angie goff and she's in the studio and she's been keeping track of -- oh, we're not going to angie goff? >> why not? >> i'm looking at her right now. >> are you ready? >> i see what you're talking about. >> can you -- she's getting the computer all set up over there and ready to go.

>> we know how to handle situations like this. >> i'm ready. >> you're not allowed yet. >> i wasn't sure if it was my turn yet. >> no, i'll tell you about somebody whose turn it might be. you might have noticed something missing from our coverage. it's pat collins. did you notice that? >> with the snow stick and the hat and all of the other stuff and the people doing foolish things that only pat can get them to do? >> pat is resting up because he needs a lot more rest these days than he used to need back in the day. that's him there in his house getting ready for a long day tomorrow. when he hits the streets of d.c. he's going to have a new snow stick challenge for you. in the past we have asked for pictures of your best snowmen, your pets and even your frustrated faces. we've welcomed them all and we've laughed at a lot of them. >> and only pat knows what tomorrow's challenge will hold. he won't tell us what it's going to be. and he's got that kind of juice around here.

he can do whatever he wants to do. >> that's true. >> pat will be here tomorrow, get ready for some fun and we'll find out what this year's challenge will be. >> now it's your turn, doug. it's coming down pretty much the same timeframe and the same amount as you've been telling us. >> the amazing thing about this is it's starting to come down now across the area and this forecast has been one that we've been looking at for almost a week now. we've been watching this forecast for sure, tracking it day by day and we gave you the snowfall totals and the first time was a few days ago and we've only changed that once going from 20 to 30 inches or more and that's what we will continue to see and this could be one of the most historic storms in our area and snowmageddon, february 5th, 6th of 2010 and that was 17.8 inches and everybody remembers snowmageddon and we'll be surpassing that as we move on across the gion. i was not here in 2010 and i was in philadelphia covering that

storm and i was only here for 19 hour, and i know somebody who was here in 2010. >> we are glad to have you here keeping us posted on this blizzard and weir glad you still have a voice after all of the talking you've been doing, right? >> we'll see how long that lasts. we have another guy on the phone right now that makes a stink, another old friend of ours and needs more rest than he used to back in the day. bob ryan is sitting at home in front of his fireplace. >> you betcha. >> you're loving every minute of it, too, are aren't you, bob? >> you know what? doug needs his own history. >> true, thank you. >> he's about to get some history. >> and there's some history, as a matter of fact that we have to show. do you remember those days, bob? when you could actually pick up a shovel full of snow? remember, bob? remember you could do this? that's when you had the old nbc 4 golden shovel. >> the golden snow shovel and

how much we would wish for the person with the longest, biggest driveway to win? >> it's what? >> it's retired. >> doreen is wishing because she's like that, she was wishing that you could have had a storm like this one. >> yes. >> to go get instead of those little four-inch, rinky dink things you used to deal with, we'd like to see you with the 30-inch plow snow. >> you were always on me, bring it on, bring it on, bring it on. >> yes! >> you know what? you get the upper bunk today at the studio. [ laughter ] you got it, man! you got it! i'm home with a beverage and a fire. you know what? -- >> i also know that you've been on the phone with doug, and i know you meteorologists are pretty geeked out over this kind of a snowstorm. were you headed to that same meteorology conference that doug and a bunch of the others were

planning -- had to cancel their plans for? >> well, you know, it was a geek special -- a geek airplane ride. >> true. that's so true. >> you were right in your home place, right? >> for all of the times that you're born loving snowstorm, i don't know why, and vance, you grew up in philadelphia and you like snowstorms. >> we had one or two up there. yeah. but for all of that there are a lot of folks out there that really, i have to make plans and have to be very careful tonight and not everybody is a snow lover. i can -- you know, i always understood that and i know doug understands that, too. there's a mix of joy and apprehension. >> what we know bob and what we remember and one of the things

we love here, doreen and i is the same enthusiasm and utter joyous passion that you used to bring to a storm. it's the same thing that doug does now. it's like a continuous stream of high-energy geekdom going on in our weather center. bob, it's good talking to to you. >> couldn't do it without the folks at the weather service and we're going to go out sledding. >> no, we're not ever doing that. >> he told me that story. i'm ready to go. >> we are glad you're warm and safe and watching this unfold in front of your fireplace. good to talk to you, bob. >> talk to you soon, buddy. >> we'll go to commercial, bob. you know how that rolls. stay tuned. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪

doug, veronica and the others have been telling you about this storm all week long and folks, here it is. >> is it ever. a storm is moving through the region now and doug and v.j. join us now with the very latest. >> we've been talking about the

storm moving in and the changes that this storm is bringing in. we're seeing the snow coming in across the area and soon it will be a different type of storm. exactly, the wind is going to pick up and the snowflakes will be bigger and the intensity of the snow will pick up and we've seen the visibility stop and also the wind will be picking up and that wind could be gusting upward of 50 to 60 miles an hour and it is snowing everywhere and already we have numerous inches and upward of five inches in some of the area right now and here is the storm system itself and a big storm system is starting to transition and the energy off the coast and you can start to see it out here and look at the moisture in through north carolina and that's what will be brought right into the area as we move on through the night tonight and i want to take you through skycast 4 and show you when this is going to evolve as well as the heavy snow. we have the snow by around the 9:00, 10:00 hour and it really starts and overnight tonight it gets very, very heavy and by 5:00 a.m. we're on the heavy side and we're seeing

thundersnow and maybe even lightning out there and that's something that we'll be watching for. do not be surprised if you're woken up early tomorrow morning by some of the thunder and lightning across our region. it doesn't happen very often and when it does, you know we're talking about a big storm. by tomorrow morning we could have a foot of snow on the ground. v. chlt j, the other aspect of this will be the wind and we're starting to see that increase. >> by tomorrow morning, yes, the wind will be around 50 or 60 miles per hour along east of i-95 and we're tracking the wind right now. i can tell it's getting breezy out there and it is especially in the areas that will be impacted the most and the greatest, pax river and ocean city and 50 miles per hour gusts right now and we're seeing the gusts pick up throughout the entire area and the gusts coming in higher in those same locations. so by early tomorrow morning, the winds, 50 miles per hour, by lunchtime and it's down to 40 and by 5:00 p.m. 30 mile per hour winds and your strongest

winds in the early part of the day, this zone in orange, if you live anywhere in or near here. d.c., annapolis, camp springs and huntington down toward leonardtown and this will be impacting the greatest and numerous power outages and we're talking in the hundreds of thousands. doug, you mentioned the storm in 2010. a lot of folks, the baby boomers remember this one. 1979 with 18.7 inches of snow and of course, we're talking about getting just that right in d.c. >> i was 4 years old, veronica. i remember it well. i remember it well. morrow afternoon around 11:00, tomorrow night around 11, still snowing and the snow will be lighter and starting to come to an end and again, it's not until tomorrow night at 11:00 and much more on this and into next week coming up. >> thanks, doug and veronica. >> if you're looking to get somewhere before the blizzard you are running out of options quickly. metro bus service suspended at 5:00 tonight.

>> metro rail will shut down later tonight. news 4's tisha thompson is at the metro station in montgomery county. are there many people or cars around at this hour or has it gotten really quiet? >> we are now at ghosttown status because the ride-on bus service is about to end at 7:00. so we've got about ten minutes and we have one or two people every so often run on by through the live shot. i want to show you this. this is wayne avenue and this would normally be packed with cars on a friday night. right now, this is what the road looks like. i'm calling it slurpee snow and it's the gunky stuff that you would get at 7-eleven that doesn't taste nearly as good. >> it's 2 1/2, 3 inches in silver spring. we are seeing people coming because the metro rail is still running. the busses have been empty for the last two hours. people say that restaurants here and there are still open, but most of coatsville road which is

stretching along over here, the businesses are closed. only the 7-eleven is still open here in our neck of the woods, but it is definitely, people are getting the joke. they are finally going inside and everyone's telling me that they are hunkering down for the next couple of days. >> tisha, do you have sneakers on? did i see you with sneakers? >> no. i have serious snow boots. i've got the real deal on, are you kidding me? >> that's what i said, tisha. >> i've been doing this for enough years where i have two pairs of socks and real boots. >> you're still young and tough. it could be sneake ersneakers. >> a road is practically abandoned. darcy spencer is live checking conditions. >> i feel for my colleagues who have been out in this all afternoon and all evening.

here in tysons we've been here for a couple of hours and i can tell you the snow is coming down heavier and you can see it blowing in your face and that's the part that's uncomfortable if you're out in this. let's take a look at what the road conditions are like in here and you can see a plow over there at the corner and leesville pike around 7 here and there are cars out here on the roadways and just regular cars and mostly, we're seeing plow trucks coming up the roadway right now. you can see the roads are still snow covered, so i would consider this still to be treacherous conditions and as far as earn in measuring the snow, it's definitely snow that you can shovel and it's very powdery and i heard doug making a big snow fort and the snow is too powdery, but pretty soon we'll get those layers. >> let's go to video we shot on

the dulles toll road. you can't even see the lanes there. you are basically making up your own rules on the road when it is so snow covered like that, but there was very little traffic out there. that was the good news and we saw plows out there and a couple of emergency vehicles and pretty desolate and that's good and that means people are heeding the warning and let's hear from one woman that we caught up with getting some gas and the road conditions are pretty bad. >> reporter: what are you doing in this blizzard? >> i'm coming back from a friend's place and going home. >> reporter: what are the roads like? >> terrible. they're absolutely terrible and horrendous outside. yeah. it's really, really bad. i just really hope that everybody stays safe. >> reporter: and that's the hope that we all have that everyone stays safe and heeds the warning to stay home unless you absolutely have to go out and like you guys have to go out being prepared and we all have the hats, boots and everything on and we are trying to stay warm out here and warm as

possible. >> if i were facing this way, it would be very hard to talk to you. >> that's what 7-elevens are for. >> i brought my own coffee, vance. >> good for you. >> strategic positioning. >> that's prepared. >> all right. thanks, darcy. we want to check in on conditions in maryland. shomari stone up in upper marlboro. what's it look like there? >> reporter: well, jim, right now i'm here on central avenue near upper marlboro and the snow is intensifying. at times it is blowing horizontally and at first it was soft, fluffy snow and now you can actually feel it. it looks to be icy. speaking of ice, there is a driver and he had to stop at this gas station. he told me he had to put more de-icer and windshield wiper fluid here, as you can see, jim because he's trying to get home and it was really unsafe and let's show you video to show you what it was like when we drove here to prince george's county to college park. on 495 we did see drivers as we

drove up here and the road conditions are dangerous, icy, slippery in some spots. worth mentioning that police are recommending that people stay off the roadways and also it's important to point out that the bridges and ramps freeze before road services, so when you're coming across those bridges and ramps make sure you slow down even more. crews appear to have done a relatively good job pretreating the roads and we did see a couple of accidents and a couple of driver his spinouts and it's important to tell you guys, don't drive with your hazard lights on. one guy told me he saw a driver with hazard lights on and that led him to think that car was not moving and it turns out it was moving. there was a driver out tonight and let's hear what his reaction is. >> reporter: what's been your reaction being out on the road. >> >> it's been very treacherous and dangerous. >> reporter: why are you out here? we thought we would get ahead of the storm and it started snowing in williamsburg before we really left and it's just been slow all

of the way up here. >> reporter: you're now looking at a live picture. tisha thompson was talking about her boots and a couple of folks are teasing me about these, but they're keeping my feet warm and some people call them the duck dynasty boots and some hunters wear them and they know what they're doing because these things are keeping my feet warm. >> if you grow one of the duck dynasty beards then we have to talk, shomari. >> thanks, anyhow. our coverage continues now with angie goff who is quite ready this time. she's in the studio. she's been keeping an eye on images of this blizzard on social media. hi, angie. >> hi, doreen and shomari stone wearing a duck dynasty beard, that is social gold. go ahead and do it. some great things going down online right now starting with cross-country skiers on the national mall. take a look at this shot right here. our jackie bensen sharing that

great picture. we do want to take it to the national harbor where sandra posted this photo of a very snowy capitol wheel. obviously people won't be take anything rides any time soon, but it definitely is a good shot. >> the old guard, a soldier doing his duty at the tomb of the unknown soldier. hundreds of shares on our facebook page. also working during the big storm, who would have thunk it? car dealerships and many of them like land rover and chantilly over there doing everything they can to make sure that everything is stuffed inside. they moved everything inside. please keep sending us your photos and videos to share, email us at isee @nbcwashington. >> we're not the only ones working. >> the soldiers and the guard are always there no matter the weather and the condition. they are spectacular. thanks, angie.

>> we'll come back in just a couple of minutes. the snow is falling. >> looks like the verizon center. >> stay tuned. ♪ ♪ ♪

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we want to thank you for joining us tonight and we also want to ask, chill out, be comfortable, settle down. together, we're going to get through this. >> make the most of a situation and keep it right here and we'll be back on the air at ♪

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