crews will be working nonstop to try to keep up. >> alex perez on the storm for try to keep up. >> alexerez on the storm for us again, alex, thank you. mike wonkham and, mike, first of all, the track, where is it right now and where is it headed. psou plains but it's movi what it doi is it's changing into snow and that is going to accions be gh baltimore, philadelphia, we cou see 8 inche of snow in those areas perhaps as much as 12 in some locations and south a line of ice all the way from oklahoma through parts of arkansas and kentucky. we're going to be seeing very slippery conditions into those areas and behind it here comes le here in boston we missed ptoe cold air will plunge all the way south. than it was this afterno >> prepare and build in extra time for the commute. >>> out west they came prepared. look at this. umbrellas in hand but, mike, at least the tents came down. >> good news for them. rainstorms. tonight we're talking about rainstorms. tonight we're talking about temperatures dropp fro actually clearing away them. >>> the fast-moving developments in ukraine. pr putin wi

abc's alex perez shows us. >> reporter: just when they thought they were in the clear, mother nature clobbering the midwest with a massive snowstorm. in chicago, spinouts during the morning commute. car accidents killing at least two in ohio. with this season, now the third-snowiest winter the windy city has ever seen, chicagoans have had enough. >> tired. ready for it to be over. >> reporter: chicagoan matthew wallburg measured his driveway and sidewalk, and got a crew stat. he shoveled more than 25 tons of snow this winter. and along with the snow and wind, wild temperature swings. it's tuesday here in chicago. and the temperature is about 43 degrees. one of the warmest temperatures we've seen all year. fast-forward 24 hours. >> and today, in chicago, the temperature plunged to 20 degrees. and in some places, there's as much as six inches of fresh snow on the ground. indianapolis, 68 degrees tuesday. tonight, headed for a low of 10. today's fast-moving storm, headed east. >> can't really see much of anything now. >> reporter: parts of new york and new england could get as much as t

alex perez tells us how he did it.> if you think managing your weight is tough, imagine what it's like for a chef. >> piles of bacon everywhere. you know? tempting. >> reporter: he's a star chef? cleveland, ohio. he owns six restaurants and a food truck specializing in comfort food. >> we sell more short orderner this restaurant than any other in ohio. 1,300 to 1,500 calories would be a good estimate. >> a day's worth of calories in this one meal. >> yeah. >> reporter: but for rocco, it was his profession that almost killed him. >> i was probably 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day. i thought i would end new a pine box because there wasn't a casket to fit me. >> this was him at his he have viest. 497 pounds. now he's down to 240 pounds. >> millions of americans struggle with obesity. there are over 100 million dieters in the u.s., making up to five dieting attempts each year. rocco's turning point came after seeing pictures of a trip to italy. >> the.ic chur, man. i was frankly unhealthy, unhappy, unsavory to look at. size

abc's alex perez walks us through the tape. and remember, the person driving had been working overtime, and had fallen asleep. >> reporter: a terrifying moment captured on camera. this video appears to show a chicago commuter train, about 3:00 a.m. monday, as it barrels off the tracks onto a platform and up an escalator at the o'hare airport. ntsb investigators say the operator of the train admits she fell asleep at the controls. >> she did not awake again until the train hit close to the end of the bumper. >> reporter: take a closer look. you can see the train approaching in the distance, standing nearby, a commuter and an officer chatting. in a panic, they run for safety. 32 people onboard the train suffering minor injuries. >> it kind of felt like somebody punched me. or something. and then the lights went out. >> reporter: it's not the first time. the same train operator was reprimanded back in february when she, quote, "closed her eyes for a moment," and the train overshot a station stop. the driver, who has not been ident

and abc's alex perez, tonight, has the people struggling the most. and some of them, making a fortune on the freeze. >> reporter: mother nature's march madness. raleigh, north carolina, cars flipped upside-down and skidding on icy roads. in arkansas, along this interstate near the tennessee border, a truck accident backed up traffic for miles passengers stranded overnight for hours. an ice storm in houston coated the area with a quarter-inch of dangerous ice, bringing down trees and knocking out power. it's been a winter for the books. and in chicago, they shivered through the most days at or below zero ever. the industry, walloping car sales, too. dealerships, empty. >> nobody comes out. it takes two weeks for them to come back out. >> reporter: and airlines, taking a hit. about 1 million flights canceled this season, costing airlines as much as $500 million. but winter has thawed out a few winners. roofing contractors and car repair shops can barely keep up with business. frank has told us he has seen more cars damaged by potholes than ever before.

alex perez has more. >> reporter: a terrifying moment captured on camera.appears to show a chicago commuter train about 3:00 a.m. monday as it barrels off the tracks on to a platform and up an escalator at o'hare airport. ntsb investigators say the operator of the train admits she fell asleep at the controls. >> she did not wake again until the train hit the end of the bumper. >> reporter: take a closer look. you can see the train approaching in the distance. standing nearby, a commuter and an officer chatting. in a panic, they run for safety. 32 people on board the train suffer minor injuries. >> it felt like somebody punched me or something. then the lights went out. >> reporter: at the same time, the same train operator was reprimanded back in february, where she, quote, shut her eyes for a moment, and the train had overshot the next stop. >> the driver often working overnight swing shifts. the automatic brake system was activated but failed to stop the train. alex perez, abc news, chicago. >> just unbelievable video. >> we work the overnight shift. we k

alex perez, abc news, chicago. >> another type of business doing well. anything delivery.dry -- >> no one wants to go out. >> exactly. and some of the busiest ones according to delivery.com, soup, everyone ptsdz hot soup delivered, wine and vodka. if can you have your vodka delivered, you don't have to go out in the cold, they bring it right to you. >> i've had three flat tires this season. had to get those fixed. bootmakers are cleaning up. and carmex, you know that little stuff -- >> oh, yeah, that's a life safer. >> sales are up the last eight it ten weeks. >> here is a look at your weather. light snow across new england. from iowa to northern ohio. rain and snow in the pacific northwest. milder in the southwest. >> worst of the winter temperatures should be behind us, warming throughout rest. week. no more single digits in the mid-atlantic and no more subzeros in the ohio valley. seasonal temperatures across much of the country. >>> topping our health headlines this morning, a new warning about a high protein diet and extensive study found people in their 50s and early

our coverage begins with abc's alex perez. >> reporter: mother nature's fury taking no breaks in oklahoma city, icy conditions causing this 40-car pileup. >> and this car slammed into me while i was trying to eat my food in the car. >> reporter: this is the sight in denver saturday, after snow and ice caused a pileup more than 100 cars, killing one person. >> all the cars started to go like we had black ice or something. before you know it, everyone is sort of crashing into each other. >> reporter: in dallas, the big concern, dangerous ice. an ice storm here just two weeks ago paralyzed the city. pennsylvania up to a foot of snow, taking no chances, stocking up on an additional 20,000 tons of salt. after the last storm left them scrambling to find more. it's the same system that brought three days of record rain and mudslides to california. watch the unbelievable scene at this santa barbara dockside restaurant. >> time to go. >> what we're seeing here is what i call the perfect storm. you have high tides, huge surf and a lot of rain. >> reporter: three boats breaking loose in that choppy

and that's where we find alex perez. >> reporter: good morning, ginger. indianapolis they are bracing for anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snow. this storm is creating major problems as it treks across the country. accident after accident, overnight that fast-moving storm coating the roads in oklahoma city with dangerous ice. [ sirens ] in denver, the snow and ice blamed for this huge pileup, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20. >> i saw red lights, and the next thing you know, i'm underneath somebody else's car. >> reporter: temperatures in the mile high city dropped 42 degrees in just one day. authorities say at least 104 vehicles were involved in the pileup. in montana overnight, our first glimpse at the home destroyed by an avalanche that buried three people, including an 8-year-old boy. with shovel in hand, neighbors got them out. all three now recovering. >> these people are our neighbors. it could have happened to any of us. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, where they are bracing for up to a foot of snow, they are now stockpiling mount

we begin with alex perez in chicago. >> reporter: in just seconds a saturday morning turned to chaos in colorado. snow and ice blamed on that pile-up in denver killing at least one person after temperatures plummeted 42 degrees in just one day. in montana three people recovering in the hospital after an after avalanch came crashing into their homes. the entire town digging them out including an 8-year-old boy playing outside. another massive storm on the move. the winter just won't quit. >> it's terrible. >> reporter: this new storm narrow but long impacting 100 million people over some 1,500 miles. along the way snow ice and freezing rain from kansas in the central planes through the ohio valley and charging eastward jumping a wintry mix along the east code by monday. take a look at this. not even the niagara falls a match for mother nature's biting cold. 6300% of the warters frozen. from arkansas to west virginia they are keeping an eye on power lines. this could lead to widespread power outages. >> alex from chicago. >> the rain continues in the west. tonight some families and nei

of course, we to want touch on the snow, and we have to go to alex perez in indianapolis on the cold side. what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: hey, good morning. here in indianapolis they are bracing for 6-8 inches of snow. this storm is creating major problems as it treks across the country. accident after accident, overnight that fast-moving storm coating the roads in oklahoma city with dangerous ice. denver, the snow and ice blamed for this huge pileup, killing one and injured 20. >> i saw red lights, and i'm underneath somebody els' car. >> temperatures dropped 42 degrees in one day. at least 104 vehicles were involved in the pileup. in montana overnight, the first glimpse at the home destroyed by an avalanche that buried three people, including an 8-year-old boy. neighbors got them out, all three recovering. >> these people are our neighbors. it could have happened to anyof us. >> reporter: pennsylvania, bracing for up to a foot of snow, stockpiling mountains of salt, 20,000 tons after they were scrambling. in indiana, another storm that could bring highways to a standst

our coverage begins with abc's alex perez. >> reporter: mother nature's fury taking no breaks in oklahoma this car slammed into me while i was trying to eat my food in the car. >> reporter: this is the sight in denver saturday, after snow and ice caused a pileup more than 100 cars, killing one person. >> all the cars started to go like we had black ice or something. before you know it, everyone is sort of crashing into each other. >> reporter: in dallas, the big concern, dangerous ice. an ice storm here just two weeks ago paralyzed the city. pennsylvania up to a foot of snow, taking no chances, stocking up on an additional 20,000 tons of salt. after the last storm left them scrambling to find more. it's the same system that

now the system is barreling towards some major american cities, and abc's alex perez is in chicago withhe latest. alex, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, good morning, dan. relentless. this will go down as the third coldest and third snowiest winter chicago has ever seen. the shivering doesn't seem to stop. snow and ice wreaking havoc across the midwest this morning. >> it's terrible. it's terrible. it's not fit for man or beast. >> reporter: in missoula, montana, a massive avalanche damaged several homes friday prompting a townwide search and rescue that dug out three people from the wreckage. >> he just said there's an 8-year-old buried underneath some snow. there was an avalanche. grab a shovel. >> reporter: all three found alive rushed to local hospitals. those remaining behind now left to dig out their town. in michigan, firefighters battled the elements. >> guys are getting froze up and they have to sit in the trucks to thaw out again. >> reporter: this winter has been treacherous for driving. the icy conditions are making cars lose control and causing accidents on the highwa

here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: this morning, a family is behind bars charged with shopliftingthan $7 million in merchandise during a decade-long robbery spree. 58-year-old branka bogdanov, his wife lela and daughter julia arrested tuesday outside their $1.3 million home in the posh chicago suburb northbrook, illinois. >> there were cars lined up all down the street. >> reporter: the family charged with interstate transportation of stolen property after allegedly stealing a variety of items from multiple states over the last several years. including american girl dolls, cosmetics, legos steak knife, even baby supplies from stores like barnes & noble and toys "r" us. authorities say the family would then sell the items on ebay. >> we identified transactions on ebay that were similar in amounts of merchandise and types of merchandise that were stolen from these stores. >> reporter: this federal complaint even accusing lela of wearing a long skirt with hidden compartments sewn inside to allegedly hide lifted merchandise. if convicted each family member faces up to ten years behind

here's abc news reporter alex perez. >> reporter: in just seconds a saturday morning turned to chaosdo snow and ice blamed on the pile-up in denver killing at least one person after temperatures plummeted 42 degrees in just one day. in montana three people are recovering in the hospital after an avalanche came crashing into their homes, the entire town coming together with shovel in hand digging them out, including an 8-year-old boy who was playing outside. now another message the storm on the move, the winter that just won't quit. >> it's terrible. it's not fit for man nor beast. >> reporter: in new storm narrow but long impacting over 100 million people along the way snow, ice, freezing rain from kansas in the central plains through the ohio valley and charging eastward, dumping a wintry mix on the east coast by monday. look at this, not even the mighty niagara falls a match for mother nature's biting cold. 60% of the rushing waters frozen. from arkansas all the way to west virginia they are keeping a close watch on power lines, the heavy ice this new storm is bringing could lead t

alex perez is in louisville, kentucky, with more on that. , alex. >> reporter: good morning, robin. that's right. ice is the problem in many parts of the south. there's concerns that ice buildup on power lines could lead to massive power outages. of course in this kind of weather, ice can form just about anywhere. i want you to look behind me here. on this pedestrian bridge. those are isocals all along that bridge created by this storm. there is ice on the roadways. many people are waking up to find their cars are coated in ice just like this. just another problem that people are dealing with. now, authorities have closed schools in the area and they're asking anyone who does not have to leave their home to do them a favor and stay inside their houses. robin? >> good advice. thank you, alex. >>> ice and snow means a lot of flight cancellations. david kerley has the latest from reagan national airport there in washington. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, robin, to you. here is the good news. they've been able to keep the runways