miguel marquez spoke with the daughter of one of the victims, monique alexander. >> her grandkids were to come home. we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away, though. so, i kind of accepted it instantly. but it is hard knowing that she was outside for so long, too. >> and monique alexander was only 52 years old. the mayor of buffalo byron brown joins us on the phone. thank you for joining us. let's begin with how your city is faring this morning and your level of concern about a real flooding risk because of the elevates temperatures coming. >> we continue to dig out and open up the city. made a lot of progress. we have 100% pass through every street in the city of buffalo. our mains are 100% open and our secondaries are each with one pass. and as it warms up toward the end of the week, reaching it 50 degrees, we expect that there will be some flooding. we've seen these patterns before after storms. at the height of blizzard we went from minus 22 degrees below zero with the windchill, and later this week we're going to be at about 50 degrees. so, ther

monique alexander's daughter, casey, says her mom was the rock of their family, that she would cook for strangers on the holidays. the 52-year-old went out christmas eve, but never came back. >> our thoughts are with all the families suffering in this storm. mona with us now again from buffalo. and mona, they still have a lot of work to do, but there are some signs of a return to normal? >> reporter: that's right, mary. buffalo's mayor says all streets could be cleared by the end of the day today, then the driving ban will be over and the airport finally reopened this morning, like you said, signs of normalcy finally returning to buffalo. mary? >> mona, thank you. >>> as it clears up in the east, heavy rain, gusty winds, and snow out in the west. so, let's get right to senior meteorologist rob marciano, and rob, take us through the next 24 to 48 hours. >> reporter: well, land and s giver that is pointed at northern california. here it is, the next wave to come in tonight, have che gs, aswell, high wind h fm seattle down to santa barbara by tomorrow morning. then pushing into the mountai

tracy says a stranger discovered her 52-year-old mother, monique alexander, lying dead in the snow on christmas eve. >> we put her under an auning so that she wouldn't be buried under snow. you can tell when we spoke on video chat how sorry he was. he was crying. we were crying together. >> reporter: amid the heartbreaks are stories of hope from the city of good neighbors. one woman says she and her boyfriend rescued a man from the cold before turning to social media for help getting him to a hospital. then there's this barbershop owner who says his business became a refuge for many escaping the brutal storm. some would leave taking their chances in the blizzard. >> i had an opportunity to help people. i genuinely would do it again. i just did it so people could be warm. >> nbc's jesse kirsch with that report. >>> southwest airlines has already canceled more than 2,300 flights just today, about 58% of its daily schedule, this after more than 2,500 flights were canceled yesterday and 11,000 over the past week. many passengers are not received refunds for canceled flights even after bei

. >> 52-year-old monique alexander also died in the storm, she left her home the afternoon of christmasve with a promise she'd be right back. she never made it back. here's what casey, her daughter, told us. >> it's hard. her grand kids were waiting for her to come home. we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away, though. so i kind of accepted it instantly. but it's hard knowing that she was outside for so long, too. >> also 46-year-old mother of two melissa morrison. her mom, lynda, said she reached out to the police on friday when her grandson saw a social media media post about a body found. on tuesday the coroner positively identified her. >> and a 24-year-old refugee. he stepped out on saturday to get supplies for family that asked him for help. he never made it back to his home or pregnant wife who is days away from giving birth. >> also 55-year-old henry tellado died on christmas eve. he had asthma and collapsed after shoveling snow. they called 911 but crews were unable to get to him. >> in niagara county, 27-year-old timothy murphy died from car

. >> monique alexander died in the storm on christmas eve. a buffalo native who had been through many snowstorms here thought this one was the same. >> we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away though. >> a simple decision on any other day, life threatening in this storm. >> my kids, they lost their grandmother and that was her most important role in their life was being a good grandmother and now they just have memories. >> reporter: in erie county alone, at least 37 killed for extreme weather accustomed to major snowstorms. where every person who died, dozens of stories of those who stepped up and saved friends, neighbors, even strangers. >> this is something i always do. i help everybody. people out there dying. people freezing to death in their car. >> craig elson was open for business when the extreme conditions started up. >> if you need shelter, come to 707 to get warm. heat and electricity. >> reporter: he ended up hosting up to 40 people over two days at his cnc cuts barber shop. >> you've got to com

. >>> and among the victims of the winter storm in buffalo is 52-year-old monique alexander, she diedm her house. >> it is hard. her grandkids were waiting for her to come home. we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away, though. so, i kind of accepted it instantly. but it is hard knowing that she was outside for so long, too. because there were no emergency responders allowed to come outside. >> another victim abdul sharpu, from congo left his home to get milk and other supplies to help another family but never made it back. his wife is just days away from giving birth and his family has set up a gofundme campaign to help pay for his funeral. >>> and the family of melissa morrison tells cnn the 46-year-old was found dead in the snow near tim hortons. she was a buffalo native and leaves behind two sons. >>> it may be warming up on the east coast, but winter storms are still hammering the west. a large stretch of i-70 in colorado reopening after storms forced a nine-hour closure that left drivers stranded overnight. let's go to chad myers live in the cn

. >> reporter: in erie county alone, monique alexander died in the storm on christmas eve.m was the name as the others. >> we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away, though. my kids, they lost their grand mother, and that was her most important role in her life was being a good grandmother. and now they just have memories. >> reporter: for every person who died, dozens of stories of those who stepped up and saved friends, neighbors, even strangers. >> this is something i always do. i help everybody. there's people out there dying. there's people freezing to death in their car. >> reporter: frank was open for business when the extreme conditions started up. >> if you need shelter, come to 070 fillmore. >> reporter: he hosted up to 40 people for two days at his barbershop. then there was shikira autry who screamed for help. >> we've got to get some help. he has gangrene on his hands. he's going to lose his fingers. >> reporter: joe light, who is developmentally disabled, lost in whoiteout conditions. she didn't know him but saved him. a drivi

. >> reporter: casey macaroon's mother monique alexander died in the storm on christmas eve. the buffalo native who had been through many snowstorms here thought this one was the same. >> we were waiting for her to come home. i knew something was wrong right away, though. >> reporter: a simple decision on any other day. life-threatening in this storm. >> my kids, they lost their grandmother. and that was her most important role in her life, was being a good grandmother. and now they just have memories. >> reporter: in erie county alone at least 37 killed in extreme weather in an area accustomed to severe snowstorms. for every person who died dozens of stories of those who stepped up and saved friends, neighbors, even strangers. >> this is something i always do. i help everybody. it's people out there dying. it's people freezing to death in their car. >> reporter: craig elson was open for business when the extreme conditions started up. >> if you need shelter, come to 707 fillmore. you can get warm. heat and electricity. >> reporter: he ended up hosting up to 40 people over tw

a stranger discovered her 52-year-old mother, monique alexander, lying dead in the snow christmas eve. >> he put her under an awning so she wouldn't be buried under snow. you can tell when we spoke on video chat how sorry he was. he was crying. we were crying together. >> reporter: amid the heartbreak, stories of hope from the city of good neighbors. one woman said she and her boyfriend rescued a man from the cold before getting him to a hospital. then there's barbershop owner who said his business became a refuge for many escaping the brutal storm. some taking their chances in the blizzard. >> i had an opportunity to help people. i genuinely would do it again. i just did it so people could be warm. >> reporter: that's just one of the inspiring stories we have been hearing from this community. that business owner was giving out money so people could try to get home. this morning we have been watching for the threat of potential flooding here. the national weather service said as we get rain, especially tomorrow, the national weather service said if there's flooding it will be minimal.