access service. very unlikely tomorrow. >> our storm alert team coverage begins with topper shutt in the weather center and topper, things are winding down a bit. >> ever so slowly. we are seeing some bands of snow try to develop from the north and move down to the south. we'll start with live doppler. we are still seeing some good bands of snow. now crossing over on the other side of 270, still some heavy snow in upper montgomery county, and still some good snow in southern sections of charles county, south of laplata. it's very slow to move out. and we are going to zoom in to the snow picking up on the west side of 270, and actually, over the river, too. pretty good snow in seneca. you jump the river, you go out past great falls, this is all moderate to heavy snow, as you go out route 7. pretty heavy snow. as you get towards leesburg, it lightens up again. it's improving.

it's going to be a slow going, especially north and east of town. that includes upper montgomery county and points east and north. let's go to the computer. look at the size of this storm, it's mind boggling to see two record breaking storms within four days of each other. usually it takes the atmosphere time to recharge itself, i know it does us. here we go. the storm is now a little bit east of atlantic city. it's throwing back a ton of moisture. temperatures, because the system hugged the coast earlier, they are above freezing in places like boston and also providence. it is snowing there and it will get worse. as far as we're concerned, we had the brunt of the winds and enough snow in philadelphia, the brunt of both. again, the storm is going to pull away and slowly but surely, the whole area of precipitation will move back to the north and east. we are seeing bands develop from north to south and that will continue, especially in eastern loudoun county, right around the river for the next couple of hours. don't forget to check on the

elderly. bring in the pets. car wax, wd40 will keep the snow from sticking. you have to shovel access to and from your house. shovel the back door and the side door. have your flashlights ready in case you lose power, so far, things have been good in that department. considering the winds, 34-mile wind gusts, 34 in winchester. they are howling, 49-mile per hour wind gust, and they gusted over 50 earlier today, so this is a very strong tropical storm. just a winter tropical storm. feels like it's 13 outside, feels like it's 7 up in baltimore. next seven days, dry tomorrow, but still windy. low to mid 30s across the board. but we'll keep it dry. we'll come back and talk about this clipper, which could come in late monday or monday night. back to you. >> all right top, thanks for that. >> slick roads are blamed for a 50 car pileup.

state police say seven people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. crews say they are closing i-64 for several hours to clear the scene. and to detour traffic. fire fight everies say it's one of the worst accidents they have ever seen. the severe weather also blamed for a deadly pileup in central pennsylvania tonight. it happened on interstate 80 in clearfield township, at least one person was killed. several other victims were talk taken to area hospitals. a penndot official says 50 vehicles, including tractor trailers were involved in the crash. >> that is not ideal. you have been keeping your eyes on the roadways all day long. just a mess. >> worst accident i saw out there today, obviously here, 95 in maryland, we told you about this. this is still closed between 32 and powder mill going southbound due to a crash involving six cars and not just six cars, but four tractor trailers. as you can imagine, crews are having a tough time clearing the roadways. those roads are closed right

now. they are detouring drivers out to route 198 to get back on the beltway. let's head outside and see how things are looking on 495. usually congestion is the problem here, but definitely not today. as you can see from a live shot on this camera, the road conditions, all this ice packed covered roads and also lanes disappearing, those gusty winds, definitely not a day to be out there. we are seeing some coming down, speed not recommended today, more than ever. let's put our cameras on to virginia. route 50. this is where my friends are hunkered in their apartments. they reported to me that snow has subsided down there in that area and hearing plows coming through their roadways. that is good news. i wish i had good news when it came to public transportation. as we check that and recap, metro right now, still underground service only and tomorrow, they are trying to do aboveground, but still trying

to be optimistic. metro access, not running today either and definitely out of commission as well. brett and lesli, back to you. >> all right, we continue our live team coverage with bruce leshan and gaithersburg and chin in alexandria. let's start with you, the snow has stopped where you are, but in a way, that is really fool's gold, because the wind is whipping that snow around, isn't it? >> if the snow is stopped, it is news to me, because it seems to be coming down. take a look over to your left. there's a wrecker going by, he says we are on the job 24 hours a day and on the back of it is one of the vehicles, many, many vehicles that have been wrecked in this. if you look at the pavement on 355, you actually can see some pavement as the wind blows, wow, into a whiteout condition here. but it is coming out of the sky, although there may be lightning and one piece of good news, there was a baby born in

a stuck ambulance in baltimore in this weather and the baby is just fine. you can see this is the driveway up into the gas station, where we have been hanging out. the montgomery shell on 355 in gaithersburg. i want you to take a look at our live truck. look at this here. look at that ice, unbelievable as the truck sits out in it. if you come up from here and look at that mass, as the wind gust hit it, that's the signal going back to the tv station and that mass is just shaking like crazy, and if you want to go over and get a sense of how much snow is fallen out here in gaithersburg, look at this handicap van. this is a van that takes people to dialysis and look how much snow is on the top of it. you know, there's probably a good 13 inches of snow here. who is challenged by this? take a look at the video tape. firefighters.

this is gaithersburg, washington, grove volunteer fire department. they have been cranking through this, doing twice as many calls as they normally do, and it's been a huge challenge for them getting into many, many neighborhoods. they called out the maryland national guard. the humvees have been assisting them and asking you to assist them as well. stay inside, wait for the roads to get clear, and while you are inside, do not use those care seen heaters and so forth inside. check your smoke detectors, check your carbon monoxide detectors and play it safe. coming back on camera. my colleague behind the camera, he was lured here who say it doesn't snow much here. now we are in the middle of the snowiest winter on record. surray chin, i'm hoping the conditions are a little bit better down there. >> you know, in my ear it

sounds like it is a little better, although we can't tell if it's blowing snow or falling down from the sky. let me show you the wind is here and there, it picks up and you can see the light whipping around on those trees. i want to show you the pavement here in downtown alexandria, old town here, we actually see pavement. wet pavement. a huge progress here throughout the day. i want to bring in major bill yule and councilman, frank fan in here. are you proud of what your city has been doing today? >> i'm proud of everything we have been doing, particularly the folks that have been working around the clock since 7:00 a.m. and the operational center and having to implement the snow emergency we have in place. and think of citizens who have been patient and stayed in. being safe, stay off the streets, let the plows and equipment get up and do all the work, but yes, very pleased. we have 521 miles of streets in the city, so we are trying to

take care of the emergency routes first for ems access and get to residential neighborhoods as quickly as we can. we have done a great job. >> as we turn into night side, what are the challenges and what are the needs? >> ahead of us is being safe for all the emergency vehicles, that's our main concern. we are going to get the plows out tonight, they will be out tomorrow. it will be a little while until they get to the residential streets, but we ask everybody to be patient through this challenging circumstance and we have done everything we can on a proactive level. we brought in snow removal crews from buffalo, new york, and doing everything we can to get everything back for folks in northern virginia. >> we have had crews out for the past two days doing a survey about municipal buildings, schools, and so forth to check for structural buildings. we haven't had any problems

yet. they are looking good, and we are cleaning the snow off of those that need to be, but that assessment has been underway consistently and encouraging our residents and business owners to do the same, we don't want them to go on the roads because it's dangerous. they need to call in professionals to help them. >> we have power outages and shelters, too. >> power outages are small in the city right now. they can and will continue as long as tree limbs fall onlines. with the heavy weight of the snow and freezing temperatures tonight, we may develop icing, but we have a shelter at charles houston rec center for folks to go to when they are without power. we have a couple warming centers for folks who just want to be in places. >> thank you gentleman for your time. i'm also going to take a gauge. it is getting cold out here and the temperature, it says it is 10 degrees. i'm not sure how accurate that is. it gives you an indication of

how cold it will be through the overnight hours. that is latestment back to you in the studio. >> interesting to me that the administration is taking advice on how to deal with the snow from the city of buffalo. the redskins also back during the december 19 storm, consulted the buffalo bills to clear fedex field the way they do it up there. it's like we are living in buffalo these days. >> they know how to do it pretty well. they have experience. >> they do, but i have had folks tell me today that they are from ohio or buffalo and they said, we have done a fantastic job clearing our streets. >> why not go to the experts for advice and for the experience and for the cleanup, right? >> well said. let's hope it's not too much longer like buffalo here in our town. we are making history around these parts. not the history any of us aspire to, but history nonetheless, because the washington area has now received more snow this winter than any other on record. >> i don't know. i think we're the experts now.

four storms back to back to back. >> buffalo should take advice from us. >> we have continuous storm savety alert coverage coming up right after the break. stay with us.

hospitals in our area are relying heavily on volunteer drivers to get people to work. >> one of our 9news now crews rode along to learn how hospitals are managing to operate in these conditions. here is alex. >> right now, we have some issues with staying off the street. >> snow command center at washington hospital. >> but they will be there to pick you up. >> the la gistics room, where snow command drivers are dispatched. >> be careful. >> yeah, there was quite a bit of snow.

>> the mission, to pick up a patient care technician in silver spring. >> often to the peek of this storm, to pick up a hospital employee, somebody he never met before, but knows getting them here is quite critical. >> you know, it's very important to get them to the hospital so they can serve their patients and do their jobs. >> he faces the unknown on every route. today, whiteout conditions. >> drive around with so many people walking on the roads. you know, no sidewalks cleared. >> no banks at intersections interfere with his line of sight. he arrived at his destination safely. isaac says he did not want to miss work under any circumstances today. >> when you work too much, you get stressed out and cannot think no more. i think it's very good for me to be in there. >> mission accomplished. >> thank you so much. >> now don is needed in unit

2500, while he prepares for his next, much needed trip. in montgomery county, 9news now. >> if you are willing to volunteer your time and have an all-wheel drive vehicle. you can contact the snow command center, the number there is 301-891-5300. >> there are many hospitals out there that can use some help. scott broome is out in the elements. what do you see? >> well, i'm continuing to follow a drama, with some firefighters down the pike here, who are stuck. by the way, skype has been problematic. we are pushing this technology to its boundaries. i hope you understand if we are having issues here. there's a fire truck from carol that has been stuck in 12-foot drifts since about 12:30 today, down the pike. what were they doing down there? they were trying pho get a

bunch of other motorists out. that's route 85 for practical p ups. take a look at some of the pictures we took before. 85, closed by wind driven snow and huge drifts. so here's the situation with the firefighters. there are six of them, four on the truck, and two guys who are in another vehicle that had a plow on the front of it. they simply could not get them out of there. there's nobody or no piece of equipment heavy enough to get them out. it turns out, a nearby resident has a snowmobile and right now, down at the carol manner area, the snowmobile is going in and bringing out one guy to the fire department and they are in the process of doing that right now. i believe these guys are not going to have to spend the night out there. also, according to emergency management officials here in frederick county, u.s. 340 and u.s. 315 are closed. they are not officially closed, but there are a number of areas

where snow drifts tangled with tractor trailers and right now, police and ems officials are having trouble getting down there to get those vehicles out of the way. so again, the situation here in frederick county, like everywhere else, the official warning is to stay off the road. my situation, i'm stuck here on route 85 in a lowe's parking lot with a bunch of the truckers who managed to get themselves off the highway. you can take a look at that off of my dash board camera here that's in the car. i'm going to sit tight with these guys. this is a safe place to be. i want to go interview the emergency management ficials about what is going on with these stranded firefighters, but the road is closed to the emergency management center in frederick county. the county has been pounded by very, very strong winds that have been continuous all day long and the drifts on the roadways, they told me are up to 12 feet high. i haven't seen any of them. if i had seen them, i wouldn't be talking to you, because i'd

be stuck. i'm going to sit tight here in frederick and keep tabs on the situation and keep you updated throughout the evening. for the moment, scott broome reporting live from frederick. >> keep us posted on those six firefighters. the last thing we want is for them to stay in that drift overnight with the winds going up and the temperatures going down. >> absolutely. even more dangerous situation. the effect of this storm is going to be felt for some time. topper continues to get all the data for us. he is out on the weather terrace. >> i'm shoveling right now, but i shoveled and covered up again. we are looking at blizzard conditions until 10:00 in the district. we'll take you out with live doppler and this is incredible. we are seeing bands move from north to south. they move across the river. it's now snowing again in parts of loudoun county and fairfax county. when will it stop? when it stops. we'll be right back.

we are back now and topper, you said the snow will stop when it stops. >> pretty much. and i knocked a big icicle off the light up there. please be careful. >> for your troubles. >> yes, there you go. let's start with live doppler. you wear it well. brett and i were talking. it is against nature and counterintuitive and cats are dogs are sleeping together. the storm is exploding off the coast. it is essentially a winter hurricane. yes, we've been talking about this all day. the bands of snow would indeed move back from northeast to southwest and they are. but the whole back edge was moving away from us. well now, the storm is deepened or intensified so much, that it is expanding its precipitation and consequently, as it moves back from the northeast to the southwest, it is snowing heavily once again in

montgomery county and in fairfax county and about to cross over 66 down towards fairfax. still some pretty heavy snow in rockville as you go up 270. heavy snow as you go out 66. you get out of it once you get passed manasas. it is beginning to come back to parts of our suburbs. out in front royal, 5 inches. out in this area, 5 inches. over in bowie, 22 inches. that is crazy. let's go to the computer. tonight, snow will taper off more to the north and east and it will stop when it stops. windy and cold. windchill, 5 below to 5 above. temperatures aren't going to do much. the winds northwesterly at 15 to 30 and gusty. all right, the blizzard warnings have been extended from the district and the maryland side of the river until 10:00 up towards baltimore. the south of the river down toward virginia until 7:00. that actually has not changed. that has been the same all

morning. all right. look at these totals. mitchellville, 21 inches. monroe and frederick county,21 inches. 13 inches, ashburn a foot. when we had the lull in the storm, they never got hammered as it picked back up this morning and this afternoon. 6 to 12 in the metro area. 12 to 24 to the north and to the west of us, back in the mountains, and also to the north and to the east of us, even down toward the northern neck. they have 5, 6 inches. teens and 20s. windchills around 0 to start and winds northwesterly at 15 to 25 and gusty. by afternoon, partly cloudy, still windy. i mean, not super windy like now, but it would be a windy day. mid 30s. northwesterly wind at 10 to 20 with higher gusts. again, it is so big and it is intensifying that it's throwing so much moisture back, that it's extending the back edge of the storm.

while it's moving away. it's growing. consequently, we have these bands that are moving counterclock wise around town. they are going to move through tonight. we aren't done with all the snow just yet, but the good news is, it is on the way out. if you know someone that has no power, have them turn the main water off. open cabinet doors and take the food and coolers outside and go to your friend's house. all right. wind gust, still 35 at national. 44-mile per hour wind gusts. out to the west, look at this. wind chester, wind gusts of 40 miles per hour, and winds, one of the thing that drives the blizzard warning. doesn't have to snow, has to have high winds and low visibility. feels like it's 10 degrees right now downtown. stay in touch. next seven days, we are in the 30s now friday and saturday and sunday. a little clipper will come at us on monday. light snow possible monday afternoon and monday night and on the cold side as we get into next wednesday. temperatures are still in the 30s. >> i've been watching that

radar all night long and watching the storm go to the right and i figured when it got across the river, it would be good, and now it's going backward. i know it's getting bigger, it's not fair. it's against the rules. >> listen, it's not fair. we are here and we are here with you. our storm alert safety coverage comes up. i am losing my words here. we are going to continue our coverage after the break. that's what i'm trying to say. you're watching 9news now.