well, nbc's tom aspell is in london with the latest on that. my goodness. all what has it been like in europe there, tom? >> well, alex, europe's cold snap has seen snow closing roads and airports across the continent and has icy blizzards from the arctic bring freezing temperatures and misery to millions. in britain, normally mild winters are a memory as schools close and millions stay home from work. local counsels have used up so much gravel on the icy roads that they have been running out of supplies, leaving thousands of secondary roads and sidewalks untreated. turning them into sheets of black ice. eurostar, the train service, which links britain to france under the channel, is running on reduced services. in sweden, temperatures dropped 40 degrees below zero putting a strain on energy supplies. heavy snowfall in the czech republic has prompted the government to ban trucks from its roads. spain reports thick snow in catalonia and heavy rains in italy caused concern over rising water levels. venice is facing exceptionally heavy tides. now meteorologists

in london, tom aspell, nbc news. >> we would like to make a programming note. normally at this time we bring you reporter's notebook p.m. however it will not be airing this morning. it will resume next sunday as usual. >>> in sports the capitals are very hot. the nfl playoffs are here and georgetown pulled off a fantastic come back from behind win. hakem dermish has all the details. >> good morning. when asked about playing the challenges, the head coach respond like pretty much ever other opposing bench boss. it's a huge test for us. they are a scoring juggernaut. last night the kidnaps thrashing atlanta 8-1 and happy birthday. first period caps up 0. here come the caps. simmons first attempt is stopped but persistent. caps take a 2-0 lead. simmon-two goals in the game. second period caps lead it 3-0. jeff schultze with a long pass to ovechkin. he redirects it to himself. shoots. knuble in front. third perio now caps up 7-1. thrashers turn it over. morrison passes right through three defenders to jason. he scores his first goal as a capital. the caps crush atl