i saw you, bill karins. wasn't that you? you were like in the heart-shaped boxers? >> no, no. the scooby-doo boxers. >> that's right. that was you. just making sure. >>> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> missing for years in afghanistan a member of the australian defense force reunited with comrades. a trained bomb sniffer went missing 2008 after shrapnel broke what was attached to her handler. an american soldier saw her and helped reunite her with her friends from down under. >>> her furry friends in the event. this is coming of age day. men and women turning 20 are honored. yesterday in tokyo to celebrate animals transitioning into adulthood, dogs and cats in traditional clothing were honored in a ceremony at a shinto shrine. huh. very interesting. >>> elvis the king would have turned 76 this weekend. to celebrate, fans in japan searched for a new king to crown. they held an elvis impersonation contest. five wannabes slipped into polyester hoping to score the top prize. the winner has nailed the vo

we're going to have much more on this storm with nbc meteorologist bill karins.t's coming up in just a few minutes. >>> first, here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- police in new york are looking for tips that will lead to them to a female suspect who robbed an elderly woman. surveillance shows the mugger grabbed the 81-year-old's purse and knocked her to the ground as he ran away. the victim suffered a fractured shoulder and cut to her forehead. >>> in pennsylvania, a broken water main flood a ten-block area and in 90 minutes, gushed about 8 million gallons of water. crews have drained the area, but the damage has already been done. basements, cars and other properties were waterlogs and a crater now sits where the break occurred. >>> and in ohio, what could be the world's largest clogging is grabbing lots of attention. thousands are logging on and using their computer keyboard to operate the claw for a chance to win anything from leather chaps to fake teeth shipped to your door. but if you're thinking of playing, you may want to g

what do you say, bill karins? >> do you think they would frown upon me if i asked for it tempora style? >> they wouldn't, but i would. >>> time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- in new york city, dr. nancy snyderman will be on hand to talk about the health benefits of getting the recommended amount of rest at the sleep to live institute's 2011 sleep summit. >>> in washington, maryland democrat barbara mikulski will make history when she returns to capitol hill this morning. mikulski will be sworn in for her fifth term as u.s. senator, making her the longest serving female senator in u.s. history. >>> and happy birthday to actress diane keaton who turns 65 years old today. happy birthday to her. >>> all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." >>> and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "t

for more on that we go to nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, good morning.not again. >> yeah, i know. this is amazing, lynn. we're going to see a storm this big after all the storms we've had this winter. already blizzard watches in effect for areas around chicago. winter storm warnings for kansas city and st. louis. travel is going to be very difficult tonight and into tuesday here in the middle of the country. anyone doing any air travel from chicago to st. louis, des moines, kansas city, there's a good chance your flights will probably just be canceled. even dallas where the super bowl preparations are underway will get some winter weather out of this. then the storm heads to the east coast, and we'll see amazing and hefty snowfall totals. as much as 12 to 18 inches for chicago and detroit. lynn, just, you know, we got until about thursday or friday, and then the storm will be gone, and then hopefully we can catch our breath. >> hopefully february will be a little bit easier. thank you. we'll have much more on the weather with bill coming up shortly. >>>

for more on this massive snowstorm we go to nbc meteorologist bill karins. all those folks on the west coast grinning ear to ear, thank goodness i live out here. >> it's been a blockbuster banner year. we have school cancellations in the public schools of new york, boston, philadelphia and washington, d.c. there's millions of parents out there scrambling trying to find out how they're going to take care of their children who have the day off. the snowstorm is exiting this region and these snowfall totals once again, new york city was the winner. i mean how many storms this winter can new york get the highest totals. philadelphia 15 inches, no newark, 14, areas around washington, d.c., at least 9. one storm after another, 50 inches of snow has fallen in new york city in one month. >> it's -- >> never happened before. >> it's unbelievable. thanks so much. >>> and getting around washington today may be tough, but lawmakers looking to tackle the federal deficit have their work cut out for them. a grim estimate from the congressional budget office puts the nation

now back to lester and amy. >>> bill karins is out on the plaza with a check of your forecast. d morning. >> today you said it's your cousin's birthday. where is your cousin? >> right there. >> maybe i shouldn't stand in front of the birthday girl. happy birthday. which birthday are we celebrating? >> 11th. >> enjoy your birthday. let's chat about what's going on out there. the january thaw. a little jealous of this today because it's not heading our way. dallas, 74. atlanta, 65. florida in the 70s. so enjoy this while it lasts for areas from texas down to florida. now the areas that are still cold from minneapolis all the way through chicago, snow showers are in your forecast. we also have snow plurryes. maybe a dusting to an inch at most from new york city up through new england and a new storm system that will cause headaches next week is >>> here's a look at our morning temperatures again, 40s and 50s outside. not going to warm up from that 50 in san jose. you can see we still have some fog around the north bay, visibility is down to less than a mile in santa rosa. that spin

bill karins is out here. all right, bill. >> amazing how many people are braving this.four mornings through much of the country. let's review the national graft. snow breaking out in areas of member neb, that will head down to missouri and also our friends on the southeast coast, you may see a little sleet, very rare >>> and we're off to a cool start around the bay area, even some 30s around livermore, gilroy and santa rosa. we'll be seeing temperatures in the 60s later on. today we should see mid 60s around the tri-valley. closer to 70s in santa cruz. look out for some big surf today. high surf advisory into thursday. and things are looking dry for this time of year all the way in through friday of next week. forecast. lester? >>> now to the incredible story of a woman abducted as an infant more than 23 years ago. carlina white was just 19 days old when she was kidnapped from a harlem hospital. carlina suspected the person who raised her wasn't her mother and after years of investigating, she tracked down her real parents. here's the woman who allegedly kidnapped her w

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather here's bill karins. u know, bill, if living in those folks in southern california, if they didn't love it enough, those pictures of frozen cars will make them say, yeah, guys, i'm good over here. >> it has been so nice the last week in l.a. i mean, ever since the golden globes it's been sunny and about 70 to 75. it's been an incredible stretch of weather. another big storm is heading up the east coast, too, so they're going to daily with that as we go throughout the next two days. while in the west all the storms are coming in. the northern portions here up even north of seattle lately. most of the storms have been coming on shore in british columbia. they've been diving down to the deep south, and that's why we've been so nice here in the west. we haven't seen any storms plowing on shore. it's been a while since we picked up snow in the sierra mountains. you remember the beginning of the season with huge amounts of snow, and i guess it's still good. we still have that base. we're still skiing on it. clou

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> so cold, lynn, around the country. the mall's probably -- one of the more entertaining places to go. >> yeah, and movies. >> movie, too. >>> talk about what's happening in the west this weekend. a series of storms affecting the pacific northwest, while if you want warm, beautiful conditions head to southern california or arizona. you'll probably have the best weather in the entire nation in the days ahead. warm high pressure off the coast will protect you. the stormy weather's all up here to the west. we've seen one storm already. the second one is now moving in. the rain's going to pick up in intensity if it hasn't already. how quickly all the rain moved in. showing on the radar by green. the white is were where we're showing you the snow. it's warm. even high elevations are mostly rain. that's why the avalanche threat is high. rainfall predictions, the yellow coloring along the spine of mountains, up to two inches of rain with the

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's bill karins with the weather channelorecast. bill, i don't know, looked like fun. >> that's the way to do it, though. instead of just running into a frozen lake, you know, if i was to go down a slide, i think ki handle that one. well, temperatures are the big story this past weekend. we have temperatures as low as minus 40. yaz numbers up many the morning plains. that has made it to the east coast. much of the country is actually warming up now. pacific air instead of arctic air has moved on shore in the west. there is a storm system. it's a weak storm that's going to be heading up here just north of seattle during the day today. it's going to drag a cold front through the pacific morgan stanley. there's already a lot of clouds out there. want a lot of rain in oregon, but up in washington state we do have this area of rain. we're still very much dominated by high pressure, and as long as this high sits here, we're going to continue what has just been a fantastic trend of weather all through southern california and arizon

. >>> and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins weekend aa heavy new year, bill who would buy a panda cow for $30,000? >> oh, i would. >> wow! >> you go party, bring your little panda cow with you. yeah. that's coming up next. a little mini -- you get me it, i'll give you the money. good morning, everyone. it's been a relatively storm-free beginning period here. we do have a storm system over southern california. it isn't a block buster storm like the one wes were getting in 2010. what take thats this storm interesting is that it's so cold we're getting snow in the valleys. not just the mountains outside of l.a. these are the valleys just outside of town. it's very chilly and a lot of people don't see snow are actually getting some, even this morning. take a look out your window. who knows. maybe one of lucky few that will see snowflakes and shouldn't cause too many problems on the road. showers, this cleared out sacramento and san francisco. we do have winter storm warnings and so we have winter storm advisories out there. anywhere

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill the beef? >> let the bird in. >> he is a wild turkey. get your shotgun. it will be fun. >> have to watch that wild turkey. i have learned that lesson, bill. let's talk about your weekend weather. good morning, everybody. we have a cold front that's knocking on the door with a move on this morning in washington state. let's get a break on light shower activity. ju too much. tlaz much bigger storm behind it that will bring wet weather for the upcoming weekend. here's the setup. here's high pressure that's been providing much of the west coast with just gorgeous weather conditions. i mean, it's going to be beautiful today from denver to salt lake city all the way down to southern california and into arizona. as far as the radar goes, it's not a lot of precipitation with this cold front. i know it's in the forecast. i do expect showers to move on shore by day break and then by midday it will spread over the region. do have the umbrella handy, but it's no

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins withhe weather channel forecast. yeah, bill. what? the tiger was just being nice. trying to make friends. >> a new way to get a squirrel off your attic. a cute video. the line could have got him if he wanted to. talk about weather. cold air in through the rockies. thankfully not heading for the west coast. a little piece coming in through areas of extreme eastern oregon and washington state. idaho is very cold this morning, too. vegas at 33. not fun. as far as today goes, the weather pattern is about to change. we are seeing a new storm system off the coast sending in clouds and moisture at this hour. this isn't a blockbuster storm but it's going to change the weather pattern. behind his, high pressure builds in out over the ocean. that's going to cause all the storms to head up back into the pacific northwest in the days ahead. so today, we mentioned, a lot of cool air out there. a little bit of rain and snow. u eureka, snow, maybe a shower around sacramento. further south there's showery

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i don't know, bill, what size would you say the baby is wearing already? like a two, like a toddler's two or something? >> what's even more amazing is that the mom looks like she's doing great. >> yeah, i know. kudos to her. >> exactly. pretty impressive stuff. let's talk about this weather pattern. impressive rainfall totals in the northwest. temperatures are a little warmer today than yesterday. the exception being vegas and boise. you're still pretty cold. now, along the coast some pacific air has moved in. along with it, a hose of moisture in the pacific. this time it's focused around vancouver island and the puget sound. most of oregon, nevada and california are not seeing this nasty weather. the next day, day and a half, just impressive rainfall totals. you can see a that plume of rain coming into bellingham. in seating, tlseattle, on and o showers. we could possibly see -- this is red. four inches of rain in this area in the northern cascades. alre

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> i hope we never have an update to that story, because if we do -- >> it didn't end well. >> exactly. hoping to raise the money and be done with it. >>> let's talk about the weather pattern out there, lynn. snow yesterday in areas that don't usually see it. started in the valleys in california, and it moved right into the deserts of southern nevada. even in downtown vegas, they saw snow. technically in las vegas you see snow about once every other year. this accumulated, at least a dusting on the sidewalks and grass. the biggest snowstorm in history was seven inches, and that was many, many years ago. every now and then it happen, but it's still quite a scene. as far as what's happening today that storm system is long gone. dissipating over utah and arizona. another cut off low off the coast not affecting anybody and cloud cover coming up with the next system in the british columbia. high pressure protecting the west, cool and chilly

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins.e has your weather forecast. >> harmless fun. >> unless you're intoxicated, which is illegal. >> you should be arrested for riding on a donkey in the mid of the streets anyway. we won't go there. let's talk about what happened with our business snowstorm and let's get a wider perspective of just how cold -- this is just what my grandfather would call an old-fashioned winter, cold and snowy about everywhere. this map shows the snow. the snow is in the deeper in the blues. high elevations, the pinks in the cascades and sierra. southern georgia through alabama, mississippi, northern louisiana. a little bit of snow in texas, new mexico has some snow, even areas in arizona. in other words, 71% of the country is covered with some snow. florida is the only one that does not -- does not have snow. of course, we have volcanos in hawaii. that's why they have a little bit of snow, too. we have a new storm system that's been bringing rain in the northwest. it's been a little bit warmer so we haven

here's nbc meteorologist bill karin s with your weather channel forecast.as waiting for the chimes to come if with my little joke will. did you hear that? >> i did get it. i was looking closely to see if there was a tip jar on top. >> i'll be here all week. >> let's chat about what's happening around the country because another big storm is now heading to the east coast, and what has been an endless series of winter storms is actually snowing this morning in tennessee. areas like nashville. that snow is going to arrive later on during the day for areas up there in the northeast and mid-atlantic. now, middle of the country, a little chilly and cold. on the west coast, no problems at all. i mean, this has just been a fantastic stretch of weather, and it's like a broken record. a ridge of high pressure is protecting the west. a downward flow is coming out of the mountains. the only area that has clouds is in the pacific northwest. we're mild. 41 in seattle. cool in medford this morning. san diego, all the way to phoenix, temperatures in the 40s to near 50. now

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins.he has your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good morning. it was warm and beautiful in southern california for this time of year. we picked up over the last 48 hours here over an inch of rain and n a few spots. portland, you picked up about 1.5 inches over the weekend. we're getting a little bit of a break. we still have rainshowers out there, but the majority of that storm has now exited. the rivers are still cresting, though, and a lot of those will be going down in the next two days. this high pressure system going to continue with gorgeous weather here from california to nevada. utah, arizona. now, as far as the rainfall goes, there's only a little left. up along the spine of the mountains. the heavier, more steady rain continuing here mostly up around belling ham, and it's been so warm. it's not just had rain. it was that we melted so much of that impressive snow pack. we had temperatures that have been in the 50s now. even at night the temperatures are dropping off. we

for that we'll head outside and say hello again to bill karins in the plaza. bill? >> good morning, lester. 23 degrees with the windchill in the teens. die-hards out here this morning. what's your sign say? >> fantastic and 40. >> where's your mom at? oh, there she is. i don't see anyone close to 40. where do you guys live? >> rhode island. >> still coming in days for you, too. let's talk about your weekend forecast. the cold air, ao the snow. maybe a little morehan you'd like. oflantic city up through areas delaware, you'll be shoveling later on this afternoon. a little bit of light snow head nothing boston this morning and high terrain of the appalachians getting snow. cold air is the story through the great lakes. windchills are brutal from wisconsin to minnesota, also down in chicago. and then a new storm out west. very active weather pattern, not just today but right into next week. >>> it's a chilly start saturday morning. waking up to 30s around the bay toward the north and east bay valleys. we have some high clouds drifting into the north bay. no worries abo

for a look at your weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i can't believe there aren't training wheels on the side of it? >> oh, no. >> the real deal. >> people with one bike like that, one person, but never the addition of the two. that's where he gets the innovator of the year award. good luck to him. let's talk about this forecast. the middle of the country, the big cold plunge. some of that cold air is trying to leak here into the pacific and the northwest. notice the temperature right now minneapolis is 2 degrees. i don't know how they get through the winters. denver at 12. some of the cold air is filtered through areas of nevada and extreme eastern portions of washington state near spokane. boise down to 25, salt lake city at 23. a chunk of that cold air has made it to the west, but not the southwest. l.a. still nice, phoenix looks good, too, vegas and much of california is going to be sunny and the best weather by far in the nation is all experienced here in the desert southwest. the weather pattern will change ever so slightly becaus

now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the forecast good morning. >> good morning to you, lynn. that theme is taking place this morning from the central plains through new england. that's a winter storm that's now moving out. it dumped about four to five inches of snow across the ohio valley, and now it's doing that in areas from new york to boston. in the west coast, because the best weather by far still is enjoying great conditions. the exception is up in the pacific northwest. our storm system has pushed up into the gulf ofç alaska and ao into british columbia. it's now bringing that moisture storm all the way through washington state, and rain has moved in just about everywhere from about portland northward and the clouds are increasing now even in southern oregon. the high pressure protects you in nevada, california, and arizona, but we're watching this moisture especially early today. by this afternoon it will lighten up, but the more moderate rain will come now, and you notice even the high elevations, the snow levels are extre

. >>> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. a massive amount of lard. >> hey, just -- i'll take some and put on my pancakes this morning and be good. right? >>> let's talk about what's going on out there this morning. good morning, everyone, to you. a heavy rain in northern portions of especially north of seattle from bellingham, northern portions of puget sound. and los angeles, a cutoff low has inched itself closer to the coast, that's brought showers continuing today maybe a few thunderstorms possible. just one of those weird systems spinning about three day. the heavy rain threat up to the north. as far as what we'll deal with today, still a little cool, but at least sun any much of oregon, north california and nevada, even arizona has a good deal of sunshine today. the heavier rain, seattle northward. olympia also getting into rainfall. the cut offlow brought showers briefly to los angeles, now dissipating headed towards the higher elevations. later this afternoon, heating. may get a shue e or

we're going to answer your questions on life after 40. >> but first, bill karins has got another check i don't know if i should walk into my weather office with my tom brady. who's your favorite jets player? exactly, i figured it would b go like that. let's talk about our forecast, a little bit of snow moving into the great lakes, a storm system in the northwest that's going to bring heavy rain today and tomorrow. the big winner los angeles, today, sit back and listen to this if you're cold, >>> maybe we are not going to get to 83. not too bad by our standards. later on, once we lose the patchy fog, hazy sunshine. in gilroy and salinas, close to 70. mid-50s san jose. 50s to near 60 around the north an east bay valleys. thanks to the fog, temperatures cooler for tomorrow with a few extra clouds. temperatures rebound for martin luther king day on monday and staying mild and dry through the middle part of next week. all right you guys are a little rowdy. who's from south carolina? and what's the group you're with? they're staying away from these guys, smartly. you guys have a wonderful tr