car emergency kit inside of your car. make sure you have flares, one of those orange triangles. those will be so important in case you run into a situation which we know firsthand you can run into. jew >> this is pretty cool. this is the time lapse of the pat collins snow stick. watch this here. you're seeing it grow and grow, the snow building. this started at 11:00 last night. it's been going through the morning. it's only going to get worse. >> this is snow that's been dry snow and wet snow and light snow and heavy snow. we are beginning through all the phases. tom kierein -- actually, chuck bell is tracking how things are transitioning. >> want to encourage everybody when you get a picture to send it to us through our nbc

washington facebook page or on our website or send it to me directly on my twitter handle. my twitter handle i is @chuckbell4. i'll share it out as well. nigel cammack sent this great picture in. sure looks like a foot of snow this morning in frederick. these will be great pictures we get to see once we get the sun up here a little bit. snowfall amounts will be copious. plan on at least a foot across the region. many places are going to get two feet or more. again, this plume of heavy snow coming into the washington area. very close to whiteout conditions already. my drive in this morning, i can see just barely more than a quarter mile. below a quarter mile is when we consider it essentially to be whiteout conditions. what an awful lot of snow we're going to get. the upper level low is still down here across central

virginia. it's energizing the storm along the coastline. we have to get the main push in the upper atmosphere to pull away before we have the ability to start getting thing to slow down. overperforming snow totals across new jersey, long island and new york city, starting to get hit harder than they were expecting to. heaviest snow will be from about charles county and prince william county northbound up into parts of northern maryland. lower amounts. once you go south of fredericksburg, not anywhere near as much snow as we have been seeing. more snow to come, every. wind impacts, winds are already between 30 and 50 miles an hour across much of the area. remain very aware of the fact that it's going to be blowing snow for quite some time. our snow map, haven't had to change it just yet. 10 to 20, southern maryland. honestly with the exception of uptown locations which may fail to make 20 inches, but it's probably going to be 16 to 18.

it will be in the ballpark and blowing and drifting as well. what to expect here, saturday morning, the possibility of another 6 to 12 inches of snow coming on top of what you already have. heavy snow continues, high winds continue. all that goes through at least noon, potentially as long as about 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon. don't mind my spelling there. moderate snow, high winds continuing through the afternoon. during the afternoon, an additional 1 to 6 inches of snow. for your saturday evening, snow and winds relax. wind chills stay in the teen. travel remains all but impossible across the area. this is a storm to stay at home and enjoy to whatever amount you can. high winds expected throughout the remainder of the day. we'll be staying withious all day today in extended coverage. snow coming to an end as we get towards tomorrow.

tom kierein is standing out in the snow on a saturday morning. he'll have a live report with snow totals in your hometown. send us snow totals as well, e-mail them to me at chuck.bell@nbcuni.com. come on to our nbc washington facebook page. are we going to tom or what are we going to next? >> we'll take it here. >> i'll be back in a few minutes. >> everything fluid right here with this show. in fact, we just got some help on the phone. emily al within the state department of emergency management is here joining us now to talk about the conditions on maryland roadways. we were out on them earlyiier ts morning and they were cover. what is the biggest issue your team is finding at this hour?

>> good morning, you guys, thanks for having me. now that the snow is finally here, we're talking high winds. that's going to cause blizzard-like conditions and some power outages. we're monitoring all sorts of different power outages that could be happening throughout the state of maryland. >> people are naturally going to start getting restless and thank god they can venture out. we're still seeing this come down. it's going to come down through the day today. what is your biggest concern as we go through the next several hours? >> we're still encouraging motorists to stay off the roads. enjoy the snowstorm inside the house. in fact, go through nbc 4's facebook page and look at all the pictures that way. you have to give the road crews a chance to get out there and make those roads safe so you can safely travel on them. if you're going to go outside,

this is a wet and heavy snow we're experiencing. take frequent breaks and stay hydrated before you go out. >> you talked about this wave of wind being a main concern for the people, obviously, who are staying in their homes right now with the threat of power outages and downed trees around their house. what is the best way for them to report them and what is the best action to take? are there things they should not do? >> so one of of the things they need to do is make sure they keep their electronic devices, cell phones and laptops charged and also make sure they go and check on friends and neighbors before, during and after a power outage. a lot of times people won't have the necessary clothing, things like that when the power does go out. they want to stay warm, things along those lines. >> emily, when we were out this morning, angie mentioned, we came in from bethesda. when folks are not able to drive, they're beginning to

walk. with the sidewalks covered they're going to the streets as their second option. is there going to be a point in next sever hours that sidewalks will be attempted to be cleared. >> i think so. one of the things we're telling people is, it's okay to go out and it's okay to shovel. but you really have to be careful. overexertion when shoveling can bring on a heart attack which is a major cause of death in the winter. that's what we're kind of stressing to people. if you do go outside and enjoy the snow, limit your time outdoors and use common sense. >> emily allen checking in with us, giving us an update on maryland roadways. thanks so much. hopefully we'll be able to talk to you later this morning. we want to continue our roadway coverage. >> how's it looking and where are you now? >> you guys, it is rough out here. we are on 9th street northwest right by g street down by the verizon center, the mlk library.

take a look at what we have on the road. 9th street is a big road in d.c. and it is absolutely covered. 6, 7 inches easily right here on the road. take a look at this big truck out here that's having a little bit of trouble. i think he's a metro truck trying to deliver something. we saw him coming done the road and he was wobbling. even a big truck like this having a hard time out here. if your car isn't prepared for the conditions out here, you're going to get stuck. there's absolutely no point in coming out here and testing it. it's not not going to work for you. we're checking out conditions in the district. we saw some people walking around the street. that is a little bit dangerous because you've got some people out here trying to make their way back and forth. the sidewalks aren't plowed yet. they're not involved so people are trying to take to the street to get any sort of traction that they can. it's dangerous out here. there's absolutely no reason for you to be out right now before

crews come out here and start to get to work and do what they can. we'll keep peeling off on to the side streets here. there's a lot of plowing that needs to be done. with us witness avenue, massachusetts avenue, those are getting hit three or four times by the plows. even then, after their shoveled and plow for a little bit, it will still take more. the snow is coming down at a solid clip. it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. we'll make our way all over the region today. we'll be all over. tweet me, tell me where you're see something of the big issues and we'll come out and try to get you fixed. try to get you out of the situation. back to you. >> helping out in the storm team 4 by 4. they're making fresh tracks because it's coming down so quickly. >> we want to take take it outside our studio.

tom kierein, what about the ice that will be developing later on? >> i don't think we'll have icing here. we've got fluffy, dry snow. it's like powder and it's blowing sideways occasionally. the winds keep gusting. i've only been out here for a couple of mountains. i'm getting it piling up already. it's a powdery, light, fluffy type snow that we have almost a foot here. about 11 1/2 inches on the storm team 4 deck. look at the snow totals so far. about a foot right in northwest washington. north and western suburbs have had anywhere from 10 to 13 inches. [ no audio ] >> all right. obviously the conditions out there, even freezing up the mike. it's so windy, the audio going out on us. all right. >> right now we want to go to the phones again. we have charlie gishler with

maryland highways joining us. i snow we just smoke with emi-- spoke with emily allen. are you seeing any major incidents or accidents out there. >> we have a lot of disabled vehicles out there. most people did a great job of listening to our warnings of not trying to drive. unfortunately there are still people venturing out and they're becoming stuck. we're dealing with that on the capital beltway near the u.s. 50 interchange. several ramps are blocked. our crews are trying to get them out of there. unfortunately what happens, we can't treat the ramps then, we can plow them. also some of the tractor-trailers moving through the state are becoming disabled. basically we staged the big wreckers, the heavy-duty wreckers that are designed for towing tractor-trailers. they've been active in key locations.

we're dealing with one that is closing eastbound route 50, maryland 2 in the perality section. >> you mentioned the disabled vehicles there on the interstate. generally the first places that are clear. that shows how tough it is. >> the what's happening here, the wind is really picking up out there. we're trying to maintain a lane for emergency vehicles. it's a tonightious plowing operation. that will be the case throughout the day, actually into the evening. once the winds die down and the precipitation starts to die off, we can make some really significant progress. until then, driving conditions are way too treacherous. we're telling people please just stay put where you're safe and warm. >> charlie gischlar, maryland

highway, keep us posted. >> you got it. take care. >> you, too. >> we head into germantown, maryland. scott macfarlane is out there. look at this. >> wow. >> 5:43. we are continuing to track this blizzard of 2016. >> the wind is blowing really hard, coming down heavy and hard. wow. those are huge flakes. >> they are. >> we'll check back in with scott macfarlane and the rest of our time as co

minute by minute, the storm, it is getting stronger and emergency crews are on hand every second to try to handle it. >> news 4's scott macfarlane following the response in montgomery county. he's live in germantown. we were looking at the live shot, coming down hardest where you are it seems t. reminds me of 2010, of the blizzard of 1996 when you mix the winds with huge and increasingly wet flakes of snow. germantown road is behind me. we thought it would be quiet out here this morning. we thought it was. they have been aggressively plowing this road. it's a major artery through montgomery county. when they aggressively plow roads, people endeavor out and try them. once you get off germantown road, things get dicey.

neighborhood roads and parking lots into businesses that are open are no longer navigable. we hit that level of snowfall. there's a storm operation center that closely monitors germantown road and other major arteries. the storm operation center is in gaithersburg, the highway services, the department of transportation, the tree cutting contractors are watching the conditions of the major roads throughout the county. usually up county is the problem. this one is different in so many ways. it is pervasive, heavy snow and wind corner to coroner montgomery county. live in germantown this morning. scott macfarlane, news 4. >> thank you, scott. and soon enough visibility will be a huge problem out that way. stay safe and as scott reminded everyone, it is the side streets that are really bad already. he said just off of germantown road, things get dicey. >> where he was walking it was

clear but, again, the sidewalks piled up. some folks tell the difference between the curb and where the street goes off. >> we mentioned about the lane markings. there are none. we saw that firsthand as we made our way into work this morning. we know in talking with highway patrol in maryland that disabled vehicles have been the real problem. that's what's keeping the snowplows from being able to do their jobs. they're blocking all these ramps. just a reminder to stay home and stay safe. >> let's go to chuck bell who's tracking more of this. as we saw in germantown, coming down very hard there. >> it's coming down seriously fast. i'm still working on a couple of graphics for you. what a great amount of snow we'll continue to see. want to thank everybody on twitter who is starting to send me some of their pictures. here's one of them, jeannette

mobley, lack at the snow stacked up on the cars here in brookland. it will be that kind of a day. it is powdery, though. all you'll need is your broom. you'll be able to sweep most of that off. have a long handled broom. all that snow will come right back on you. a nice, long broom, maybe push it across the roof on to the other side of the car. jenn patalune, there's her prius. she said my little prius, i almost can't see it anymore. this will be the case. snow is at least bumper high on all these cars here. people are smart. at least they left their wind shield wipers up. that will not help in the digging out process. storm team 4 radar for you. these intense bands of snow are

showing up. the heaviest of the snow is north of route 50, between 50 and route 1 in prince george's anne arundel county. heavy snow in southern and northern montgomery county. the heavier bands are above and below gaithersburg. heavy snow south of 50 in southern half of fairfax county. heavy snow through all parts of the district right now. the area of low pressure that's driving this storm is still the upper level low. this will not start to wind down until the upper level low finally goes off the coast and moves on out to sea. with the low sitting back here, imagine you get an ore and dig it as hard as you can along the side of the canoe. you spin up the whirlpools. that's what's going on. this area of low pressure is essentially digging down into the atmosphere. it's these curly qs that come up, these smaller areas of

intense low pressure. that's what's going on. as it digs in, i throws moisture off the boy and back into us. the air is way below freezing. this is all powder across parts of northern maryland. it's a heavier, wetter snow. do know that the power outages are more likely to take place east of i-95 towards the bay. because the winds are stronger % and the snow is heavier and wetter. so planning out your day, right now it's coming down north and south, east and west, all directions, just blowing and driving snow. heavy snow through at least mid-to-late morning. moderate steady snows and that includes wind. it's going to remain windy all day today. current winds are gusting to 30 miles per hour at joint base andrews. 35 for the gusts at annapolis. ocean city, 55 mile per hour gusts at ocean city. it's all rain along the beaches.

wow, what an awful lot of wind energy. future winds, these are sustained winds now, in the 20 to 30 mile per hour range all day long today. the winds could easily continue to gust well over 40 miles per hour at least through noon, 2:00, 3:00 this afternoon. sustained winds will start to lay down a little bit by 10:00 tonight. more in that 15 to 20 mile-per-hour sustained range. by the time we get to 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, winds will be around from the northwest and in that 10 to 20 mile-per-hour range, laying down as we get towards sunday sunset. monday morning with the wind laying down and the sky clearing, monday morning will be a very cold start around here. this is our high resolution computer model showing you the intense rain bands here. this is all snow. i left it in green so you can see the color enhancement

better. those heavy snow bands continuing to pin wheel up. by noon today, another pocket of heavy snow moving into parts of montgomery county. with by 8:00 tonight, things will be starting to wind down at least a little bit and after we get past midnight tonight, that will be the end of it. >> the european model says it will be a solid 16 inch snow total down at national airport. 2 feet out by leesburg. a foot an a half gaithersburg, 20 in frederick. this is computing output. our forecast remains mostly in the 20 to 30 inch on average rain. for the rest of the morning ould could continue to see another 6 to 12 umpls of snow with the heavy snow and the wind continuing by later on today, again, 20 to 30 inches or more. scott macfarlane was mentioning the blizzard of 1996. i was working in roanoke for that event. we had 30 inches of snow. here's one of the differences.

the temperatures went down to zero behind the snow. it will be cold here tomorrow but we'll be teens and 20s, not down close to 0. that will make the cleanup as we get towards sunday andc[snkvki. >> ice could still be a factor? >> oh, absolutely. it will be below freezing. >> thanks so much. we'll check back in shortly. one of the things we've seen is the scenic views across our area, especially when it comes to national monuments, land mshlandmarks mshlandmarks andd)á

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10 1/2 inches here so far on the ground. then we want to take a look at this next shot.

a site that we know well, the national harbor and a look at a snowy capital wheel. we took a live look and it looks like it's frozen in time. moving along, having fun in the snow, cross country skiing. news 4's jackie bensen captured this yesterday on the national mall. meagan fitzgerald is out there now reporting live. she's managed to catch a dancer. >> he was good. >> he was on beat. we'll see more scenes like this later on this morning near the national mall. remember, you can always share, tweet us your pictures. we have people getting married, we have the tomb of the unknown soldier, standing guard, dong their duty they've done 24 hours a day for 365 years -- 365 days, 24 hours a day. send us your stuff. use #blizzard 2016. e-mail us, ic@nbcwashington.com. tag us. we'll do our best to get your

stuff on the air. >> we just checked flight aware. the blizzard caused more than 500 cancellations at our airports. bwi marshall, 214 cancellations, reagan national 191 and dulles more than 185. nationally more than 4,500 flights have been canceled. it will be monday before you can ride the metro. even then, the agency is not sure if they'll be 100% up and running. it's the first time since hurricane sandy that the entire metro system has been officially shut down. a fairfax county family's st. bernard is home safely. >> fairfax county fire and rescue saved the dog from a frozen lake. this was last night. the family was tubing down a hill in fairfax station when the

dog wandered on to wood glenn lake. take a look. falls through the ice, struggling to get up. i can only imagine how cold that water was with the wind chill outside of 8 below in the air. first responders able to dry the dog, warm him up. they say the dog is 100% okay and healthy. doing well. >> just a good reminder, stay off the ice. this is storm team 4's special coverage of the blizzard of 2016. ing aboutle down in blizzard 2016 despite the foot after snow already on the ground, we are only halfway through the dangerous storm hitting our area. it's only expected to get