weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is in chicago tonight. mike? >> reporter: hey, good evening, lester. it's a travel nightmare whether you're driving here lakeshore drive or flying. 20-minute commutes are taking as long as two hours. so far, more than 800 flights have been canceled today at chicago's two airports. a major winter storm walloping cities in the midwest today. chicago expecting up to six inches through this evening. already, drivers are seeing havoc on the road. >> they're not too good so far. they haven't been plowing much. >> reporter: the first real blast of winter started later this year. it's already january and workers at the chicago home depot say shovels and salt have been flying off the shelves. >> we are expecting to have a lot of snow. we are all geared up as far as supplies go. >> reporter: the storm system dumped snow across the entire region with seven inches in iowa, six inches in illinois, three in minnesota, causing massive delays at area airports. the dry, fluffy snow adds up quickly and is severely reducing visibil

as usual, weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is right out there in the middle of it. mike, good evening. >> reporter: hey, good evening, brian. in most winters, this would be a blip on the radar, but this season is anything but typical with temperatures averaging in the 50s and only two inches of snow in chicago until today. it's the first snowstorm of the season for the windy city, hitting the chicago area with the white stuff. the city's department of sanitation was ready, putting half of its snow-fighting fleet on the roads before sunrise. for some here, snow is a welcome sight. >> i can do without the cold, but the snow i love. >> reporter: others would prefer the recent warm weather with temperatures as much as 30 degrees above average. >> i don't particularly like the snow. but i'm glad that for this to be the windy city that it happens in a rough winter. i'm grateful for that. >> reporter: from minnesota to as far south as kentucky and everywhere in between, the winter blast wreaked havoc on early morning commuters. in kansas city, traffic was snarled with low v

the weather channel's mike seidel joins us now from sunny beechwood, ohio. good evening, mike. >> good evening, lester. everyone was wondering, why is the ice, the cold, the snow. many are saying it's about time we got some winter weather. temperatures today on this map, these are all below average. notices those highs in chicago only in the teens. here in chicago more lake effect snow and wind chills only in the single numbers. and speaking of lake effect, how about 31 inches of it south of buffalo. by the way, u.s. snow cover has doubled to 33% in the last couple days. across new england and new york city a numbing 27 degrees. but tonight, lester, there are no signs that the wholesale weather pattern is undergoing a major change. and we're not going to see the persistent snow and cold that we dealt with the past two winters. with that said, the east coast, although cold tomorrow, will start to warm up on monday and tuesday once again. lester? >> mike seidel from the weather channel. thank you. there's good news for folks up in nome, alaska where they're ice

mike seidel, thanks. "still ahead as "nightly news" continues this friday evening, the road for retirement for the millions who haven't saved nearly enough, some numbers that may be hard to hear, but key to getting back on track. >>> later, making history at 30 rock, 60 years of our friends of the "today" show. >>> our report a week ago tonight on saving for retirement drew a lot of comments from viewers on our website. a lot of them have questions about what to do if they're starting to save very late or if their retirement accounts have taken a hit. what does it take to get back on track? nbc news correspondent anne thompson helps us navigate the road to retirement with a look at how to bounce back. >> reporter: turning 40 makes human resources manager tasha robinson realize her retirement nest egg of about $30,000 needs to get a lot bigger. >> i want to be able to be self-sufficient and care for myself and live comfortably and not have to struggle or worry. >> we're at 50%. >> reporter: after meeting w

weather channel meteorologist mike seidel has been in the thick of it all day. in sherman, new york. hey, mike. good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian. good evening. the new year started with a reality check of cold, wind and snow. it got under way on new year's day. take you up to northern michigan. not only snow but wind. 50 miles per hour wind gusts. 15 inches of lake effect snow shut down highways and caused whiteouts. this following a december that saw the lowest snow total on record of ten inches. the snow caused a lot of accidents and pile-ups. this one in chicago involved a dozen cars and shut down lakeshore drive for a time. there were no serious injuries. back in sherman the snow blowers were humming for the first time this season. with a storm total of up to 20 inches, skiers and snowmobilers are happy. but it's the cold that will get most of us. check out the forecast for tomorrow. in the northeast, sub freezing temperatures and an icy wind. in miami the low will be 40, approaching a high of only 56. maybe hand warmers on south beach. by wednesday the

weather channel meteorologist mike seidel with us from cleveland tonight with the latest. >> reporter: good evening. it was a shock to the system in many in the midwest as the recent winter warnings were snubbed. in cleveland four inches of lake-effect snow with 40 mile-an-hour wind gusts that caused whiteouts. wind chills near zero were long overdue here in. buffalo, six inches of snowfall. another foot could small tonight and tomorrow. making up for the large lack of snow this season. in green bay 450 turned out in lambeau field and scored $10 an hour to shovel out the stadium ahead of sunday's packers/giants playoff game. unlike four years ago, temperatures will be in the upper 20s at kick-off and in the below zero. close to zero tonight in chicago. your coldest night so far, more snow around the lakes tomorrow. that 29 in new york city tonight is actually a little bit above average. wind chill will get you. tomorrow, a seasonable january day in the northeast. sunshine, less wind. the warm-up begins in the big cities. by sunday, temperature are back above average. how many times ha

. >> allow me to introduce you to mike seidel of the weather channel. what's your reading? >> we're kind of protected here -- >> it's not just hurricanes that have sent mike seidel flying. he's also found snow and ice on the ground can turn a weather report into a major slipup. >> is what happens -- ow, geez. oh, gosh. >> and there's another hazard when reporting on extreme weather. the kids are out of school. >> the children seem to be having the most fun of all of us here. they're all load up, as you can see with snow. that probably wasn't the best idea i've had this weekend. >> no, it isn't. and the attack isn't over. >> they're having a great time, as you can see. >> and even when a reporter is expecting snow day fun -- >> it looks like rubin is in the lead and here comes ali -- >> he can still get taken for a spin. >> that was a bad idea. at riverside park, rob leff. >> clearly reporting on weather in the outside is no walk in the park, but surely a reporter is safe inside the studio. not always. as idaho falls anchors justine bouvier and tommy can tell you. they host

the weather channel's mike seidel has more for us from dunkirk, new york. ike. >> reporter: hey, thomas. so far, so good out here in western new york on the new york state thruway. where it is finally looking and feeling like winter. the thruway in good shape this hour, but tonight and through turs morning we'll have squalls through here and cleveland and erie. we've already had snowfall up in northern lower michigan, traverse city it started snowing yesterday on new year's day. look at the wind. we're getting 30 to 40-mile-an-hour wind gusts with the dry snow. we're getting the whiteout, blizzard warnings in that area through later on today. meanwhile, back here we're looking at one to two feet in those areas that typically get dumped on 100, 150 inches a year, for instance, the cha talk wa ridge toward jamestown, new york, and certainly here south of buffalo. we're looking at more snow through tuesday morning. but the real impact of the first true arctic air mass of the season, a little late coming, is going to be the shivering and teeth-chattering weather

mike seidel is 50 miles from buffa buffalo, by the shores of lake erie. grew up on the shores of lake erie. i know how brutal it kb. what's in store? >> reporter: really? i dmot know that. >> just outside of cleveland, ohio. >> reporter: well, i want to tell you, cleveland and those areas like lake ashtabula, geauga county, they're getting snow, pretty good snow this morning, an inchable hour in some spots, up here, too. some of the preferred lake belts will get as much as two feet of snow. buffalo has only had a few inches of snow. this time last year in syracuse you had already shoveled six feet of the stuff. this year only seven inch ltz. really the story is the cold air, our first arctic air mass after a very lovely and mild december. new york city tomorrow, highs in the upper 20s, boston stays in the 20s, d.c. afternoon freezing. by wednesday morning, chris, temperatures in florida for most of the state at or below freeze pg, enl a frost down near ft. myers and northwest of miami. chris? >> weather channel's mike seidel in dunckirdunkirk, new york, be

>> mike seidel, live for us in chicago. mike, thanks so much.ng a new effort to find 21 people still missing in the grounding of a cruise ship off italy a week ago. michelle kosinski is live. michelle? >> reporter: good news. they were able to get back on ship, blasted more holes in the hull. it's been nonstop since the beginning. it's as moveable. it's actually moving constantly. we're talking millimeters per hour, but that's enough to put divers at risk in their race against time to find the victims and remove all the fuel before the ship potentially slips deeper. that irgoal today is to get to an area called deck four. that would be a meeting point where passengers would have gone in life jackets. it's a way to be rescued. but it's on the submerged side. it's where divers recovered several victim over the past few days and it's where they expect to find more today. >> okay, michelle kosinski live for us in italy. thanks so much. that's the news. let's head back out to amy on the plaza. >> tom, thanks so much. we want to head over to bill kari

the weather channel's mike seidel is in cleveland. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. i can tell you the season feels like the midwest. the windchill has been 9. keep in mind it's a couple degrees below average. so it's taken all this weather to get the temperatures back to average. let's take you back to thursday and friday in upper rochester, minnesota, where we had numerous accidents caused by the snow and ice and strong winds. tractor-trailers getting blown over. a horrible rush hour on thursday morning in st. louis. then we come back to clooevland. yesterday was the cold wind off the lake with four inches of lake effect making up for somewhat of the loss of snowfall. 15 degrees below average. the winter storm warning continues from here to the lakefront until 4:00. let's go up to buffalo. known for its snowy winter. yesterday a record snowfall of 6 1/2 inches, but they're still down 3 feet. look at the whiteout there along interstate 90 as temperatures plummeted. and, again, it's going to stay cold and snowy ar

thank you so much, mike seidel. >>> a new target for apple could it lead to a match made in heaven?. is it a must-see? we'll take a look here on "weekends are alex witt." [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! i'm giving you the silent treatment. so you're calling to tell me you're giving me the silent treatment? ummm, yeah. jen, this is like the eighth time you've called... no, it's fine, my family has free unlimited mobile-to-any-mobile minutes. i can call all i want. i don't think you understand how the silent treatment works. hello? [ male announcer ] buy unl

. >> reporter: there was enough snow near philadelphia that the weather channel's mike seidel -- >> i'mng to buffalo. >> reporter: he'll need it around buffalo where the system is expected to dump as much as two feet of snow. putting an abrupt hall to that area's snow drought. in new york city, only flurries are in the forecast. that calls for bitter cold tonight into wednesday. multicar pileups were common across the region. the one monday near indianapolis injured several people. >> it was a sheet of ice. it was a chain reaction all the way from the front with the truck all the way back as far as you can see, really. >> reporter: there was snow as far south as georgia. a dusting in the mountains but enough to make roads too dangerous for school buses. even in central florida, for protection from the cold, they're covering plants with special frost cloth. the winter blast will be brief for the northeast. highs in the 50s are predicted for the weekend. nbc news. >> wow! that could be us, you know. we've got to be thankful. we're just getting wind and cold temps. more to come on news4 at

mike seidel is along the icy shores of lake erie.ood morning. >> reporter: the gravy train of warm weather and no snow in december is ending quickly, now around the lakes, traverse city, northern michigan, started snowing late yesterday, blizzard warnings, whiteout conditions, we've had bursts of snow around cleveland and erie and western new york. buffalo so far has had just about four inches of snow, and that's the slowest start to any snow season on record going back to the mid 1800s. we're going to see one to two feet in the preferred areas. buffalo will get several inches of snow to make up for lost time. the real news is the cold air sweeping across the east, the midwest and down into florida, by friday morning we could see frost outside of miami, tamron and highs tomorrow in new york city will stay in the 20s but it will warm up again quickly by thursday and friday so a quick hit. >> get the big coats out. thank you very much, mike. it is the last full day of campaigning before the iowa caucuses. mitt romney, ron paul and rick

>> hey, mika, i'm out on south beach, starting to know what mike seidel of the weather channel feels and sit inside a dark deli all these mornings, so i came out here to get a little flavor. truth be told, not a lot of people out on the beach, just me and a few vagrants who, perhaps, stumbled in from the clubs last night. but that's all going to change. the beautiful people will be out here soon. speaking of which, congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz will join us inside jerry's deli, also, congressman jack kingston here in support of newt gingrich. we will be right back to south beach on "morning joe." ♪ i believe in dreams again ♪ oh, yeah ♪ 'cause i believe in you and me ♪ ♪ oh, boy ♪ i believe in miracles ♪ and i believe in you and me ♪ ♪ see, i was lost ♪ now i'm free ♪ 'cause i believe in you and me ♪ but not your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. whenever you call. why wait if you don't have to. and absolutely no foreign transaction fees. does your card do all