Throughout the day and at least most of tonight. The breakdown right now as we go on into the weekend, the snow arrives overnight. Snow amounts are still going to vary considerably from south to north. Much more to the south and west. Much less to the north and west. Damaging winds, flooding certainly a possibility. This is the time you want to make sure you have batteries, flashlights, even a manual can opener. Most of this is going to be a snow event. Might be a little mixing along the coast. The accumulation range right now, we still have to keep it in the 6 to 12inch range. Any little shift as little as 50 miles could make it go from 6 inches to a foot. Further south and west, better chance of a foot or more. Once you get on that border, over a foot a good bet. Towards the north and west, the amounts drop off a little bit been 2 to 6 inches through most of northwest new jersey. Anything from a coating to a couple inches into sullivan, orange county, and ulster and a lot of variation with this particular storm. Well watch it hour by hour. Right now, shes watching the roads and rails. Heres lauren. We do have our first problem of the morning on the roads. Well heads over to new jersey, where the ramp from route 3 eastbound to the eastern spur is shut down with a tractor trailer accident. Otherwise, the roads look good. Well look at the George Washington bridge on the inbound side. Things moving nicely into the tolls on both levels. We will have more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. Thank you so much, lauren. Its 5 02 right now. As chris has been mentioning, the wind with this storm will stop you in your tracks. Thats causing major flooding fears along the coast. Tracie strahan is in belmar in Monmouth County. Reporter good morning. Were hearing from governor Christies Office. He says new jersey is fully prepared and ready to deal with any impact from the storm, but the governor remains on the president ial campaign trail. Hes in New Hampshire while all whats ahead. This is a drone camera video of the dunes on the beach. Theyre about 12 to 18 feet. They stretch from south to north. You can see them here. The crews have also reinforced emergencies berms on the beach, prepare ing for maximum impact from high winds and flooding at high tide. The mayor of belmar says theyre standing by for any storm surge that could flood out roads in this area. As the crews continue their work here, the town has canceled things like track pickup and any recreational activities. Residents are being warned to secure their loose items and get their vehicles off the road prior to the start of the storm. Thats something theyre being asked to do tonight. People that will be out driving, theyre being asked not to drive through any flood waters. Its something we see all too often out here. Theyre keeping a close eye here on route 35 in this area and k street. It floods all of the time. Were waiting to see if theyre actually going to block off that area at some point today. Back to you. All right, tracie. So construction crews on the tappan zoe ee bridge are going to be extra cautious this morning. Theyll secure the Construction Equipment ahead of the storm. Were told that crews may actually be out on the bridge, but that depends on how bad the weather gets. Right now scheduled lane closures for construction will continue as planned. On long island, utility crews are taking steps to avoid Power Outages. Crews were out trimming trees to help minimize any damage. Pseg long island wants to lessen the challenge that falling limbs will take out power lines. Meanwhile, Nassau County showed off the army of plows and salt trucks at their disposal. The same weather system heading our way left a trail of destruction in mississippi. This is lamar county outside of hattiesburg. There were reports of a tornado touching down and destroying some mobile homes. The storm also brought down trees. To search for people who could possibly be trapped or stranded. Meanwhile, new york city taking the storm very seriously. Sanitation workers are on the clock or will go on the clock in about two hours to get ready. Storm team 4s Katherine Creag is in Midland Beach on staten isoland where people are worried not only about the snow but the flooding. Reporter indeed, kerry. Midland beach, a community that really braces itself for any and all storms. Sandy might have happened a few years back, but this is an area that has fresh memories of that storm. These are sand dunes that have been built up here. Its kind of a gradual climb up this way, but it really falls off. Its a dropoff on the other side closer to the water. These sand dunes are about five feet high. New york city certainly getting prepared for this upcoming storm. There are worries about coastal flooding. Mass transit, according to the mayor, mass transit will be running. Chains, their snow tires ahead of the snowfall. A bus driver told us the travel will be slow on those snowcovered roads. The mta says youll see fewer express trains because they need to be placed out of service to stay dry. Some other trains, metro north, lirr, for customers, they need to know if the snowfall reaches 10 inches, it can shut down service. Were hearing the message from the city, if you can stay off the streets, please do. You know people will be driving. Sanitation crews will be out and about treating those roads ahead of time. Theyll be there plowing. Also, mass transit will be running, so people will be trying to catch the bus or walking to their subway train. Back to you. Good luck to everybody. All right, kat. Thank you. All right. Were going to check in now on weather and traffic starting with chris. All eyes on you. Well, dont look too closely. Didnt enough sleep last night. Anyway, were talking about this being a multifaceted storm. Its the snow, the wind, and the coastal flooding. All of the areas shaded in orange. Areas in pink, its a winter storm warning. Areas in purple, its a Winter Weather advisory. Thats indicative of how the conditions get much less severe the further north and west you go. The further towards the city and shore, the threat is greatest. Accumulate ing snow for just about all of us. There may be a brief mix of sleet. Maybe a few rain drops mixed in along the immediate coast. The highest snow amounts tend to be just to the south and west of the city. Blizzardlike conditions near the city and the coast at the high of the storm, which will be later tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening especially. Coastal flooding and beach erosion a big concern. Heres the future track of the storm taking it off the southeast coast, blowing it up into a significant storm. Notice that sharp line where to the north and west it drops off quickly. Well take a closer look at this and the snowfall amounts expected across the area in a minute. Thanks, chris. Good morning. A lot of bus detours today for nj transit because of a water main break. It affects 63, r 64 h 68, 80, 156, 158, and 159. For the city, its just bx19 this morning. If youre getting on the ferries, everything looks good so far. If you are parking in the city today, youll need to move your car. Well have more weather and traffic ahead on the 4s. Thank you. So in case its needed, the lirr has the socalled darth vader train ready to roll. Its an 80ton snowplow train, and it is pulled out for the big ones. However, Railroad Officials dont anticipate having to use it this time around, mostly because there are fewer trains running on the weekend. Some students scheduled to take the s. A. T. Tomorrow in new jersey can stop the cramming. Many test centers are postponing the test because of the storm. You can find a list of possible s. A. T. Center closings and the makeup dates on our home page, nbcnewyork. Com. Download the nbc new york app. You can use it to see live radar right where you live. Thats pretty cool. You can also track it every step of the way. Search wnbc in the app store or google play. 5 08. A little bit of breaking news o out of brooklyn. Police searching for a red min minivan after an Early Morning hitandrun. It happened on broadway in williamsburg. The details now clear yet. But police say a man was taken to bellevue hospital. They tell us hes in Critical Condition. Again, Police Looking for a red minivan that left the scene. Also new this morning, a Police Investigation in downtown stamford. It closed grove street between broad and forest overnight. Police not releasing a lot of details, but the investigation apparently is centered around a Gray Nissan Maxima and a Stamford Police cruiser. Were told the nissan had holes in two windows. Police are looking for a gunman who allegedly attacked a woman and her adult daughter in queens. Its a story we brought you as the two women had just pulled into the parking lot of the hampton inn near kennedy airport. Investigators say thats when a man jumped into their car. He allegedly pistol whipped the daughter. When the mother tried to stop him, police say he shot her in the torso. The mother is in Critical Condition at jamaica hospital. Police say theyve arrested the man suspected of a violent random slashing in the east village. Hes in custody. 28yearold Francis Salud is facing assault charges. Hes accused of slashing Anthony Smith, a complete stranger, from his ear to his mouth. This was last saturday. Smith needed more than 100 stitches. The injury left his face partially paralyzed. He asked his friend to speak for him. Just wants to make sure that this person, you know, is put where he belongs, whether thats in a Mental Institution or in jail. Police say salud was arrested three months ago for a similar crime. In that case, investigators say he slashed a man in an argument this is near bellevue hospital. Police say he may have a psychiatric history. New this morning, were waiting for reaction from the state department after hearing reports that an american is being held by north korea. North korean leaders say they have a University Student in virginia. North korean state tv says hes accused of, quote, hostile acts. All right. It is 5 11. Straight ahead, the emergency meeting that could shape the future of atlantic city. Plus, washingtons taking extreme measures for the storm thats coming. It could dump 2 1 2 feet of snow there. A live update from washington in just a moment. And were getting the latest about what this storm means for us. What to expect in the day ahead. Your weather and traffic on the 4s ask coming up. Remarkable things are happening at your local acme. Were making changes, and were Getting Better every day cleaner. Friendlier. Fresher. Like fresher meat and seafood. And fresher produce and hundreds of organics. To top it off we offer lower prices every day. Right now, get breast for 1. 69 a pound pounds or more. Friendlys ice cream for 1. 79. Low prices, great quality, and friendlier service. It is 5 14. Here are four things to know this morning. Sanitation workers go on the clock. Power crews are out across the area trying to prepare for this approaching storm. A blizzard warning is now in effect beginning tomorrow morning. The latest forecast in just a moment in weather and traffic on the 4s. Police have made an arrest in a crime weve been following closely. A random slashing in the east village that left the victim the suspect is 28yearold Francis Salud. Britax is recalling its bsafe 35 and 35 elite car seats because the handles can break. The company says you can still use it in the car or the stroller, just dont carry it. Theyre providing free repair kits. And if you were planning to brave the weather to attend this weekends winter jam in central park, you are out of luck. The event is cancelled because of the storm. A little earlier this week, the Parks Department actually made snow for that event. The Parks Department says it will not be rescheduled. Well have our own winter jam pretty much across the entire tristate area. The reason for that, a major coastal storm bringing blizzardlike conditions. Weve upgraded from a watch to a warning in the last hour or so. You go the north and west, you can see the degree of the warnings. Theres a winter storm warning that means snow, yes, blizzard conditions, not as heavy snow. Further north and west, theres a Winter Weather advisory, meaning even less snow is expected. Heres our storm. Still not terribly impressive looking. Theres a piece of energy right back here where its snowing this morning in northern sections of alabama. This is going to move towards the east. As it does so, whats going to happen is this storm will blossom off the middle Atlantic Coast and begin to throw the moisture up the coastline toward us. But thats a process thats going to take a while. Right now were in the clear. We stay dry today. We start out with sunshine. Clouds will start to increase as we go through the day today. Future tracker shows that. Sunny start. Here come the clouds, 2 00 in the afternoon. Still quiet. No snow anywhere to be found until you go towards baltimore and d. C. The snow moves more east than north. The snow over extreme southern new jersey. Then it starts to make its move towards the north. This is 3 00 a. M. Notice these darker shadings of blue. Moderate to heavy at times. You can see those bands of darker blue come on through at times during late saturday afternoon and evening. The snow continues until sunday morning. Well start to see things clear out beyond that. Thats a long period of snow. So were still in that 6 to 12inch range in and around the city, five boroughs. Probably average about 10 inches, give or take one or so on either side. Heavier amounts of that go into portions of Middlesex County. Further south and west, a foot or more. Into southeast pennsylvania, same scenario. Towards the north, notice it starts to drop off. You may go another 20 miles, and it drops off to maybe 2, 3, or 4 inches. Further north and west, northern sections of orange county, sullivan, duchess, a trace to in the same viewing area, were predicting as much as 14, 15, 16 inches of snow to just a trace. Coastal concerns, thats the other side of the story. We have coastal flood warnings in effect. 50 to 60mileperhour winds along the new jersey coast. Seas of 10 to 20 feet. Beach erosion and coastal flooding a possibility. The storm impacts, along the jersey shore, were talking about the strongest winds here. 50 to 60mileper ur gusts at the peak of the storm. 15 to 20 feat seas. Storm surge of two to four feet possible. Its also an astronomical high tide. Coastal flooding is likely. North and west, as ive been saying, not as strong an impact. Were talking about lighter snows here. Maybe 3 to 6 inches, little to no mixing. Any snow that falls, its still going to blow around and reduce visibility. It will be dangerous to travel just about anywhere. Inland sections of new jersey, up to a foot or m e possible. Again, some Power Outages going to be possible there. As you go across long island, strong wind, heavy snow, blizzard conditions possible, especially from tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow night. We could see gusts there well over 60 miles an hour. Imagine a foot of snow on the ground. That doesnt sound like one of the biggest snows weve ever had. But that being pushed around by 60mileanhour winds. The plow comes through, and the snow goes right back over the roads. Thats why we need you to stay off the roads tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. Gets better by sunday. Next week, a warmup. Back into the 40s come tuesday and wednesday. Im out of gas, lauren. Your turn. Im sorry, what . Did you just say gas . Not that kind of gas. Oh, my goodness. How do you follow that. Oxygen, you know. Yes, yes, yes. Of course we knew what you meant. Were going to take a live look outside at 495 in new jersey. Plenty of gas stations over there. Anyway, if you are headed westbound, you can see the flashing lights to the bottom left side of your screen there. Trailer affecting the ramp from westbound 495 to route 3. Its also affecting the route 3 ramp to the eastern spur of the turnpike. In the meantime, youll want to avoid that spot. Then lets head over to long island. We have an accident out there on the Southern State parkway eastbound out by straight path. You can see the flashing lights in the distance out there. Blocks the right lane and the shoulder. Again, thats eastbound just after straight path. Good news is its not causing a delay. No reported delays yet at the airports. You will want to check in with your individual carriers. I did see, for example, united is not operating United Express flights tomorrow out of newark. Thats already been posted. You definitely want to check in with the individual airlines. Of course, any major airport delays, well be on top of that. More weather and traffic. Thank you. This is projected to be a serious storm for us, but for washington, d. C. , it could be historic. By the time the weekend is over, the Nations Capital could be buried in under 30 inches of nbc washingtons Megan Mcgrath is just outside of washington in leesburg, virginia. How are people there preparing for the storm, and are you ready . Reporter i think were as ready as we can be. We knew that this was coming, and people know the snow totals. Weve been talking about it now for a couple of days. But were in an area thats not used to snow like this. No doubt its going to be difficult for a lot of folks. Now, im here in leesburg. Im about 30 miles or so outside of washington. This area is expected to get clobbered. More than 30 inches of snow in this storm. D. C. Is also going to see major, major snow totals, 12 to 17 inches before 8 00 a. M. Tomorrow. A total of 18 to 20 inches from this blizzard. The high winds that go along with it. Take a look at some video here. A couple of things. Metro, the subway system, theyre going to be closing at 11 00 tonight. Basically, well be out of commission for the duration of the weekend until they can move safe for the customers, for the riders. Lots of preparations under way. All of the trucks are salting up. Theyve got their plows on. Theyre ready to go. Theyre going to be on stand by. Were expecting the snow to come later on tonight. We still have a few hours. Needless to say, there are plenty of folks that are out there hitting the grocery stores. We are seeing some bare shelves out there as people scoop up those necessities. But starting to get kwie quiet later on in the afternoon. Thats what were expecting. The d. C. Government is going to go until 12 00 this afternoon, then theyre going to shut down. School systems all around the region basically preemptively closing today in preparation for this storm. So it is going to be a big one, but folks say, as i talked to a gentleman a while ago, i think im ready as ill ever be. I guess we all are. We appreciate talking to you. Thank you so much. Weve been ready for this, right . I went home yesterday and realized i only had one loaf of bread. Are you of the bread, eggs, milk variety . Then i said, lets calm down. Its not the apocalypse. We can make french toast another day. I think i have enough for french toast until sunday. Shes ready. Straight ahead this morning, how you could make a couple bucks off of this approaching storm. And just ahead at 5 30, go inside a home where they will be riding out the storm without heat. This is no laughing matter. This is serious stuff here. No way. Savor an egg mcmuffin any time you like. A fresh cracked egg, canadian bacon and an english muffin with real butter. Mcdonalds all day welcome back. So much to get to with the weather. At least were not d. C. Thats true. And its a weekend. Of course. Theres no rush hour, no school issues, things like that. Look how colorful our map looks. Isnt that pretty . So lovely. We should have uglier colors. The areas in the orange, that includes the city, long island, much of new jersey, blizzard warnings. Northwest sections of new jersey, its a winter storm warning and Winter Weather advisories. The Hudson ValleyStill Holding on to winter storm watches. Its going to be a sharp cutoff between very heavy snow and not much snow at all. This evening is quiet. Snow will arrive late tonight, early tomorrow morning. The snow really ramps up tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow possible through saturday and saturday night with wind gusts of over 40 and 50 miles per hour. For today, not too bad. 33 the expected high. Dry through the day. Tonight, back to the 20s. Again, we still have several hours to get prepared here. You have a chance today and through the evening hours. Get yourself in place. Okay. Im going to try to do the same. Get it together. Thats what were all trying to do. Hey, lauren. If youre getting on the rails, all good news from there. All running on their regular routes and schedules. Then well take a live look the lincoln tunnel. Very quiet as cars and trucks here. On 495 westbound, we have a tractor trailer accident thats blocking the ramp to route 3. I will have the details and show you what that looks like coming up. All right. Thank you. 5 27. In this mornings cnbc money report, atlantic citys mayor says the city has no choice but to explore bankruptcy. Emergency City Council Meeting on tuesday to discuss the issue. Yesterday governor christie vetoed a Financial Rescue plan for atlantic city. The gambling town has struggled as casino competition increased in surrounding areas. 5 27 right now. Just ahead, new outrage in new jersey that dates all the way back to sandy. Plus, new information about a shocking crime. The first murder in decades in a local town. Reporter and its not just the snow but a possible storm surge that has shore towns on edge. Im Tracie Strahan live in belmar with more on that and how theyve already sprung into action. And if youre about to head out the door, take us with you. Keep watching today in new york. Download the news 4 new york app since 1961, Pearle Vision has provided the neighborhood with expert eye care. That was dr. Stanley pearles vision and we still proudly carry on his legacy. Today, doctors like Lisa Hamilton perform detect diabetes. Because we care for you. And your eyes. This is genuine eye care, in your neighborhood. Right now, bracing for a blizzard. A warning just issued minutes ago. Lastminute preps taking place up and down the east coast ahead of a monster storm. And plow drivers on the clock. Power crews standing by. This storm expected to pack some dangerous winds. We have Team Coverage to help you prepare for whats coming. Today in new york starts now. Good morning, everyone. Im darlene rodriguez. Im Kerry Barrett in for michael this will morning. We have Team Coverage. We sure do. Along the coast, where it could get ugly this weekend. We have that as well. We begin with the latest forecast from storm team 4s chris cimino. Were in that battening down the hatches phase. We have some time, but the storm is gaining strength. It will continue to intensify. The snow breaking out now in southwestern sections of west virginia. Its going to have a hard time initially getting in here. Theres some cold, dry air over us. Were starting out in the clear. I think well see sunshine to start this day. Most of today and tonight is its further south where the snow breaks out earlier. Nonetheless, for tomorrow, really through tomorrow night and early sunday morning, you can see where the blizzard warnings are in effect. The further north and west you go, it becomes a winter storm warning. This time around, untypically, the further north and west you go, we see less snow around here. Temperatures in the 20s right now in and around the city. The cold air is in place. Down. Brief mix along the coast possible. Highest amounts just south and west of the city. Blizzard conditions near the city and coast. The other side of the storm, coach its a flooding and beach re erosion. Well talk about that coming up. We have some problems in new jersey. Well take a live look at 495. Westbound, youll see flashing lights on the bottom left side of your screen. We have an overturned tractor trailer thats shutting down the ramp from westbound 95 to route 3. In a separate incident not so far away from here, we have an accident eastbound coming off the route 3 ramp to the eastern spur of the turnpike. Thats also closed with an accident. Kind of a weird thing out here. You can see delays are starting to build. Then heading over to long island, this one not as bad. Accident on the Southern State parkway eastbound by straight path. Things are still moving through this area. More weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. All right, lauren. Thanks. People living along the coast are bracing for the worst. Several counties under a coastal flood warning. Tracie strahan is in one of hows it going, tracie . Reporter i have to say, weve been here several times before, darlene, seeing these dunes that have been built up on the beach but never like this and not to this extent. Usually you see a couple dunes. Not this time. This stretches for just about the entire 1. 3 miles of beach here. The bulldozers really went to work ahead of this storm. I want to show you some video to get a birds eye view of this. This was taken from a drone camera. It shows those dunes already in place. Town officials not leaving anything to chance here ahead of the storm because they are concerned about what the mayor calls a significant storm surge. You can see crews working there. They reinforced those emergency berms on the beach. Theyre preparing the town for maximum impact from high winds and flooding at high tide on both saturday and sunday. Other shore towns have offered a voluntary evacuation. They are recommending that its 6 00 tonight. Closal e al coastal flooding could make roads impassable, and they could end up without power. Were seeing people starting to wake up and jog on the boardwalk at this point. It is chilly out here today. The wind is pretty moderate compared to the other times weve been out here. That wind is certainly a concern as it picks up during this storm tomorrow, darlene. A lot of people saying theyre not sure if theyll stay in down, but they have been warned to move their cars off the street to Higher Ground as a precaution. Back to you. All right. Good warnings in place there. Tracie, thank you so much. And now well go to Katherine Creag in Midland Beach. Reporter this is really one of those scenic places. Weapon we expect to see joggers, people walking their dogs later. It can also be so treacherous because of coastal flooding. The sand dunes have been built up here. It might not look so high as we feet high at least. Theres a dropoff on the other side, closer to be the water side. New york city, the mayor telling new yorkers to get prepared and as for preparation, when it comes to mass transit, were told everything will be running. The buses will be getting their snow tires and snow chains ahead of the snowfall. A bus driver told us that the travel will be slow when those roads are covered with snow. The mta says youll see fewer express trains as well because they will need to be placed out of service to stay dry. But there will be local trains running. For metro north and lirr customers, were told if the snowfall reaches 10 inches, it can shut down service. Again, where we are, the concern is about coastal flooding. Its not one of those places, as tracie was saying, where people are being told to leave. We expect people to stay here. Well talk to some residents later, but theyre just happen. Superstorm sandy. The dunes are up, and theyre just worried about coastal flooding. Dont quickly forget that. Kat, thank you. 5 36 right now were going to check weather and traffic starting with chris cimino, tracking everything thats going on. Those coastal concerns. Its an astronomical high tide because of the full moon. Now you have a noreaster moving up the coast. Heres future trackers look at this storm, pulling out of the southeastern states. It gets organized. Watch that area of snow begin to blossom. Heavy snow in the virginia and delaware area. Notice the darker shades of blue. That means the snow is getting heavier. Some light snow will push north. This is 7 00 tomorrow night. This is 10 00. Still see that dark shading. That means heavy snow still possible. That accompanied by very strong winds that could gust over 40, 50 miles an hour. The timeline, later tonight, the snow makes its way into central portions of new jersey. Getting close to the city by 3 00, 4 00 in the morning. Probably across connecticut, up through the upper Hudson Valley, maybe not until noon f not a little later. The breakdown for today, enjoy it while we can. We have some sunshine to start. More clouds in the afternoon. A High Temperature maybe just barely nudging above freezing at 33 degrees. Rest of the forecast coming up in a bit. Right now, heres lauren. Latest if youre heading out the door for the commute. A lot of detours today for nj transit. 63, 64, 68, 80, 156, 158, and 159. Thats because of water main break repairs. Then new york city, only bx19. If youre getting on the rails, subways look good. Metro north, lirr, nj transit, and path, no problems so far. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules in effect today. Well have your next weather and traffic juch update on the 4s. On long island, you utility crews out trimming trees to help limbs will take out any power lines. These particular lines are from great neck. Meanwhile, Nassau County showing off the army of plows and salt trucks they have at their disposal. These trucks will be out making sure that roads are clear over the next two days. The storm will leave thousands of new yorkers living without heat or hot water desperate to stay warm. This woman is a single mother with three small children. She say shes been living without heat in her building on ralph avenue in crown heights, brooklyn, since last week. She says she contacted the company that manages the building, but so far they have not helped. She boils water to bathe her children. They all sleep in one bedroom in front of space heaters. Thursday morning i got up, and it was freezing. Freezing in the house. I touched the radiator, no heat. I checked the hot water, no hot water. News 4 investigates found the building has five active boiler violations on file with the before the storm comes, download the nbc 4 new york app. You can use it to see live radar right where you live. Track it every step of the way. Search wnbc in the Apple App Store or on google play. A lot of new jersey politicians say their state is being shortchanged when it comes to Hurricane Sandy relief. Yesterday the state was awarded 15 million by the federal government for a storm preparedness education program. Meanwhile, new york state is getting more than 200 million from that billiondollar fund. Senator bob menendez calls it absurd. In westchester county, friends and family said goodbye to a scarsdale woman killed in her own home. In keeping with jewish tradition, the funeral for dr. Robin goldman was held as quickly as possible yesterday. Her friends say she made a disturbance and difference and was a beloved pediatrician. Her husband is behind bars, accused of stabbing his wife to death. 5 40 right now. An out of control suv hit a woman in east harlem, pinning her against a wall. Were told that a worker at a gas station right down the block got into the suv while it was being serviced. He apparently lost control when the brakes failed. He also ran over the foot of an offduty nypd officer before hitting her. He go straight, and the lady was in the laund row mat. She got stuck between two doors. All you saw was her head over the hood of the car. So scary. Police questioned the service station worker, but so far no charges have been filed. Its 5 4i. Just ahead, the fight shaping up over a Big Development plan in new jersey. Plus, a troubling record. What more travelers than ever are trying to bring on airplanes. And the latest on the storm. Weather and traffic on the 4s is coming up. Youre watching today in new you could make some extra money during this weekends big snowstorm. The city san Station Department is looking for emergency snow laborers. You have to sign up before 3 00 p. M. Today at the local department of sanitation garage. Workers have to be 18 or older. They will be paid 13. 50 an 5 44. There will be a lot of shoveling going on around the area, especially later tomorrow and into sunday morning. Meantime, right now things moving along pretty quietly at times square. Roads will stay dry not only for today but for the bulk of tonight. Its well after midnight when the snow starts to break out from south to north. A little bit of a breeze out there at times. Its a chilly morning. 21 degrees right now in central park. Were seeing teens in other parts of the area. The weekend storm, lets talk about it. This is the latest information. Snow arrives overnight. Snow amounts still varying greatly. If i were to actually tell you what were looking a the in the computer model range, anywhere from 3 inches to 30 inches. Damaging wind, yes. Flooding, yes. Certainly a possibility. Most of this is just going to be a snow event. I dont think we see any mixes of consequence. Blizzard warning stays in effect for the city, long island. Central nmg ew jersey and all the its a blizzard warning into sunday morning. You go north and west, its a winter storm warning. The intensity of the storm lessens the further north and west you go. Heres the storm. Pretty large plume of snow right now. The storm is running into a strong area of High Pressure sitting to the north of us. Its the high that feeds in the cold air, but its also feeding in dry air. Thats why some of the computer models have been watching that northern fringe of the snow get eroded more than others. Right now were nigh nice ce and dry. In terms of the snowfall potential, 6 to 12 inches. In and around the city, it looks like a solid 10inch type of snowfall. With it blowing around, its going to be difficult to actually measure. Into central new jersey, thats when Middlesex County on south and west, we see that foot possibility. Interior sections of ocean and monmouth counties as well, you could see a foot or more. The further west you go, a foot to the north and west, only 2 to 6 inches once you get to bergen county, passaic county, Sussex County. Further north, a trace, a coating to maybe a couple inches. If this storm shifts a little further to the coast, these numbers shift further north. It stays further south and east, these lighter numbers shift towards the city. Right now were thinking about a 10inch snowfall on average in the city. Higher amounts south and west. Jersey shore, high impact. Waves 15 to 20 feet. Moderate to potentially major coastal flooding there. This is a serious storm. Out in the city, suburbs, heavy snow possible. Gusts up to 30 to 40. Low visibility. To the north, lowest impact. Out across long island, high impact here too. Heavy snow, maybe a little sleet and rain briefly mix in. Look at the gusts. Potentially 60 miles per hour. Coastal flooding is going to be a good bet there as well. Heres your sevenday forecast. Quiet before the storm today. Snow moves in probably about sweeps across the area, picks up in intensity all day tomorrow into tomorrow night. Snow ends sunday morning. Clearing in the afternoon then a quieter week. Gets a little milder with temperatures in the 40s come tuesday and wednesday. Lets find out about the commute. Heres lauren. Thanks, chris. Good morning. A bit of a mess in new jersey. We have ed hughes live in chopper 4 over the scene of this overturned tractor trailer, which is causing a closure to two different places. You can see its on its side. The accident actually was coming off route 3 westbound on the ramp to the eastern spur of the turnpike. That is shut down. But theres also a debris spril. Looks like there might be fuel on the road. Thats shutting down the ramp from 495 westbound. Outbound lincoln tunnel to route 3. Both of those ramps closed right now. Delays are building out there on 495 as you make your way westbound. Ill continue to keep a close eye on this for you. This is a trouble spot. Youll not be able to get to route 3 from 495 right now. Coming off route 3 to the eastern spur of the turnpike also shut down. Central parkway, where we have an accident heading eastbound out by the kew gardens interchange if the right lane. You can see stop and go as you make your way through there. Otherwise, the roads look good right now. If youre getting on the ferries, also good news from there. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules in effect. Well have more weather and traffic ahead on the 4s. Lauren, thanks. Its 5 49 right now. Two new jersey politicians say theyll put legal roadblocks in front of any plans to develop liberty state park. Right now governor Chris Christie is talking about a new conference center, restaurants, and an amusement park. But jersey city mayor and state Senate President vow to go to court. Theyre hoping any lawsuit who you would outlive christies term in office. Theres federal fallout from the water crisis in flint, michigan. The areas regional administrator for the Environmental Protection agency resigned yesterday. Lead from pipes contaminated the water supply for the citys nearly 100,000 residents. The National Guard has been deployed to distribute bottled water. A base in hawaii to mourn the loss of 12 of their own. Those marines were aboard two helicopters that went down in the pacific last week during a training mission. Their bodies were never recovered. Yesterday the marine corps officially declared them dead. Todays service is closed to the public, but it will be streamed live on youtube. A former Alaska Airlines pilot accused of flying while drunk. He was formally charged wednesday in los angeles federal court. Prosecutors say he flew from san diego to portland, oregon, and then on to orange county, california. Thats where he is said to have flunked a random alcohol test. That was back in 2014. He has since retired. More passengers than ever are being caught while trying to bring guns on airplanes. Thats according to the tsa. They say their agents found 2600 firearms last year. These were inside of carryon bags. And 80 of them happened to be loaded. Seized last year than the year before. 5 50 right now. Still to come, how billy joel came to the rescue for a local school. Plus, some nypd officers going the extra mile. What they did after rescuing a baby goat in queens. And a blizzard warning issued for our area ahead of the approaching storm. Storm team 4 has the latest the common core rollout was a disaster. Parents knew it. Teachers knew it. And now, governor cuomos task force is doing whats right. State tests dont unfairly count against students. And test scores wont be used in teacher evaluations. Less testing. Greater focus on learning. Thats a start, but theres more to do. Lets Work Together to support sensible and welcome back. 5 53. 21 degrees out on app friday morning. Singer billy joel wants to keep the arts alive. Hes given 1 million to the Long Island High School for the arts. He wants Nassau County to keep the school open for the next three years. The school has struggled with dwindling enrollment and falling tuition revenue. The arts are so important. Its so nice when you see a lot of musicians and actors donating money and raising money for these programs. They succeeded because of those programs, a lot of them. Giving back. The piano man coming through. He probably has someone to shovel his walkway, i know that. Hope so. Out on long island is going to be rough with a lot of wind and snow heading our way. Headlines, quiet today, clouds build on in. Morning from south to north. Blizzard conditions are possible from tomorrow afternoon through tomorrow night through a good part of the area, especially near the coast into portions of new jersey where the snow and wind will be heaviest. Our day planner today looks harmless. We have a clear sky, 22 degrees. 28 by noon. Just increasing clouds and a High Temperature of 33 degrees. More on the snow accumulation potential and the other part of the storm, the impact on the coast. Well talk about that in the next hour. Chris, thank you. A couple of trouble spots out there right now for the commute. This one just came in. An accident southbound on the new york state throughway after exit 14b. Thats in the left lane. Then lets take a live look outside at the cross bronx expressway, where we have an accident here now. This is in the westbound lanes out by 3rd avenue. Stopandgo traffic back past the bronx river parkway. We also have big problems in new jersey. Ill have the details coming up. All right. See you in a bit, lauren. Thank you. Net row north is disputing claims made in a survey by the connecticut Commuter Rail council. Riders in Fairfield County have had issues, quote unquote. The biggest problems are late or delayed trains, overcrowding, and the general lack of information. Only 10 of riders say theyre highly pleased with the service. Metro north says their own recent survey proves most riders are happy with the train. Well, three Police Officers helped to catch a runaway goat in jamaica, queens, and then they took the rescue one step further. The officers say they couldnt just let the baby goat go back to the slaughter house where it escaped from monday night. So they paid the slaughter house 40 for the goat and found it a new home at an Animal Sanctuary in suffolk county. Just a little baby. Hes cute. And we appreciate the work of those Police Officers, having that heart like that. Very nice. 5 56. Coming up next at 6 00, the tristate area gets ready for that monster snowstorm. Whats being done right now to prepare for the threat of heavy snow and coastal flooding. We have live Team Coverage. And of course if youre about to head out the door, take keep watching. Download the news 4 new york app on your mobile device. New at 6 00 a blizzard warning. New advisory ies in overnight. Also, flooding fears have coastal communities on edge. Well show you whats being done to keep residents safe. Plus, mass transit concerns. Whats being done to keep the buses and trains rolling. Today in new york starts now. Good morning, everyone. Friday morning. Its january 22nd. Im darlene rodriguez. Im Kerry Barrett in for michael gargiulo. We have live Team Coverage with everything you need to know about this monster storm heading our way. We do begin with storm team 4s chris cimino. Chris, new advisories in overnight. Yeah, we went from a blizzard watch to a warning. A lot of folks went watch to warning because were within that 24hour period of the time impacting us. Storm trying to get organized. Main piece of energy sitting back here. Until it jumps to the coast, thats when we can fine tune the accumulations. Certainly heavy snow, strong wind. The potential is there for blizzard conditions. Were fine this morning. The blizzard warnings kick in late this morning, early tomorrow. The storm arrival time, late tonight between 7 00 and 9 00 in southern new jersey. The snow slowly treks through central new jersey. Probably knocking on the door of the city anywhere between 3 00 and 5 00 a. M. In the morning. Then it pushes on through across long island into portions of connecticut a little later in the afternoon. Again, the timeline is going to be critical. Looks like we have several hours today and tonight to prepare. Well talk more about snowfall amounts and the impact on the coasts in a bit. Lets get to lauren scala. Any trouble spots . A big trouble spot. Lucky for us, we have ed hughes overturned tractor trailer in new jersey. This truck was coming off westbound route 3 trying to head to the eastern spur of the turnpike when it overturned there. The ramp from westbound 3 to the eastern spur is shut down. Its really affecting the ramp from 495 to route 3. You can see heavy delays. This is coming out of the lincoln tunnel. Delays are pretty extensive out there on 495 westbound. Thats because that debris spill needs to be cleaned up. Its affecting both of those ramps. This is the spot to avoid. If you can head to the holland tunnel, that would be a much better idea at this point. Heading over to the cross bronx expressway, we also have an accident westbound by 3rd avenue there. Plains road. Head to the bruckner. Well have more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. Thanks so much, lauren. 6 01 right now. Communities along new jerseys coastline are bracing for the possibility of severe flooding. Tracie strahan is in belmar, new jersey w more. Youve been in that community so many times covering weather stories. Reporter and the joggers are now coming by. You can see them right now, darlene. Was running by, are you going to leave this area because of the possible storm surge coming . She said, absolutely not. Shes going to stick here. Were going to show you why shes so confident. Its likely the dunes that have been erected and up since yesterday to protect from any potential coastal flooding. I want to show you a birds eye view of this. It comes from drone video released by the Mayors Office in belmar. You can see those 12 to 18foot dunes already in place. Crews reinforced emergency berms on the beaches as well yesterday. Theyre preparing the town for maximum impact from just the high winds and flooding at high tide thats likely to come on saturday and sunday. Other shore towns have offered a voluntary evacuation. Theyre recommending residents leave down by 6 00 tonight. Coastal flooding certainly a concern there but also the roads. They could be impassable because people could get stuck inside of their homes as a result of it and possibly without power. Because of Hurricane Sandy and funds received afterwards, theyre prepared for any impact from the storm. Governor Christies Office says theyre prepared too. The governor, however, not in the state of new jersey. More on that coming up. Back to you. Tracie strahan in Monmouth County. Thank you. Of course, right now the plan is to keep the mta up and running throughout the storm, but mayor de blasio is urging all new yorkers to stay inside unless it is absolutely necessary. Today in new yorks Katherine Creag continuing our Team Coverage from the Midland Beach section of Staten Island, where the memory of sandy is still very, very clear in these peoples minds. Reporter absolutely. Indeed, kerry. Thats why people are so worried about coastal flooding. There was a woman just here minutes ago. We talked with her. She was walking her dog. Shes actually looking forward to the snow. She just hopes its not overwhelming. As she said, there is worry about coastal flooding. Thats why these dunes have been set up here. They stretch for at least a these are about five feet high. As for getting prepared, new york city says its prepared. Mass transit, for example, were told the subways, buses will be running. The buses, in fact, will be getting their snow chains, their snow tires ahead of the snowfall. A bus driver told us the travel expected to be slow on those snowcovered roads. The mta says youll see fewer express trains as well because they need to be placed out of service to stay dry. For metro north and lirr customers, were told if the snowfall reaches 10 inches, it can shut down service. The woman we talked with a little bit ago said its great if you can stay at home. If you have to go out and work, thats not good. She said it might be a good day to stay in. Shes looking forward to the weather. Take a listen. Youre looking forward to it . Forward to snow . A little bit is okay. Saturday and sunday doesnt really if you dont work, its not we cant complain this year, really. What, like two inches last right. It was like a dusting. People around here worried about coastal flooding . Maybe around here, around this area. Maybe a little bit. I dont really you know, i live deeper. I wasnt really thinking about it. Reporter and this city, the mayor also saying that it might be a good day to stay inside, make sure you have food and supplies. By the way, as for the weather out here, it was kind of surprising to us to see her walking her dog. Its not even windy, but it is frigid. The air temperature very cold out here. Back to you. A couple days to get used to that. Kat, thank you. Absolutely. 6 05. Time for weather and traffic right now. Chris, you were saying that woman sort of has it right. We cant really complain. She put it in perspective. Thats the thing. We havent seen any snow this year. When you talk 6 to 12 inches of snow, it sends a little panic through us. Weve been down this road strong wind, low visibility. It is good timing that its on the weekend. The cold air is in place. Accumulating snow just about everywhere tomorrow. The highest snow amounts will tend to be south and west of the city. Blizzardlike conditions in and around the city for a few hours and along the coast in particular tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening, and coastal flooding and beach erosion also a serious concern. Day planner today, nothing really to be concerned about other than trying to stay warm. Annlother chilly start. 22 now, going to 28 at noon, forecasting a high of 33. Well take you area and region by region in the next hit on the 4s. Right now, lets head to lauren. Thanks, chris. Good morning, everyone. A couple detours out there for nj transit bus commuters. Routes 63, 64, 68, 80, 156, 158, and 159 because of water main the bx19 today. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules in effect. A quick look at the cross bronx expressway. We have pretty heavy delays westbound because of an accident out by 3rd avenue. Delays go back to castle hill avenue. Two days in a row having problems on the cross bronx. Well keep you updated. More weather and traffic ahead. Thanks so much, lauren. 6 07 right now. In brooklyn, one family will have to ride out the store without heat. Small children. She says shes been living without heat in her building on ralph avenue in crown heights, brooklyn, since last week. She says she contacted the company that manages the building. So far, they have not helped her. Shes boiling water to bathe her children, and they all sleep in one bedroom in front of space heaters. Im scared that snowing, freezing, and then the portable heater i have wont work. News 4 investigates found the violations on file with the department of buildings. Parts of washington, d. C. , will be shutting down ahead of the storm that could bury the Nations Capital in up to 30 inches of snow. Plans already announced for government offices to close at noon. Bus and Subway Service will also shut down a little later today and remain suspended for saturday and sunday. Starting at 9 30 this morning, taxi drivers will begin charging a snow emergency fare. Passengers will have to pay an extra 15 on top of the regular fare. You can track the storm and get the latest advisories any time with the nbc new york app. It is available right now in the app store and on google play. We are following breaking news in brooklyn. Police are trying to track down the red minivan they say was involved in a hitandrun. It happened at 1 00 this morning on broadway in williamsburg. Police say a pedestrian was taken to bellevue hospital. That man is listed in Critical Condition. Again, police are looking for a also this morning, a Police Investigation in downtown stamford. Part of grove street was closed off overnight between broad and forest while police examined a Gray Nissan Maxima and a police cruiser. The nissan had holes in two windows and evidence markers had been placed on the ground, but police havent yet revealed any details. New this morning, reports out of north korea say an American College student is being held there. So far, were not getting any confirmation from the state department. North korean leaders say that they have otto warmbier, a student in virginia. Investigators ors are hoping to end the week on a high note. Cnbcs landon dowdy is watching it all for us. Wall street looking to end on two straight positive days. Closing off the highs of the session due to a big bounce in cold weather in the u. S. The markets also boosted by europe on speculation officials there may announce more economic stimulus measures. Look for data this morning on existing home sales. Checking futures, pointing to sharp gains at the open. Fingers crossed, stocks could post their first positive week of 2016. Kerry and darlene, back over to you. That would be a nice change. Landon, thank you. 6 10 right now. Still ahead, more on the storm preps all across the area. Well show you what our Utility Companies are doing to help keep the power on while this heavy snow falls. Plus, your weather and traffic on the 4s is coming up. Remarkable things are happening at your local acme. Were making changes, and were Getting Better every day cleaner. Friendlier. Fresher. Like fresher meat and seafood. And fresher produce and hundreds of organics. To top it off we offer lower prices every day. Right now, get fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast for 1. 69 a pound when you buy 5 and select varieties of friendlys ice cream for 1. 79. Low prices, great quality, and friendlier service. Welcome back. Time for weather and traffic together on the 4s. Weve got a lot of weather to talk about. Today is quiet and the evening is quiet. Lets talk about the weekend storm. Snow arrives well after midnight, closer to 3 00 or 4 00 in the morning. Snow amounts still going to vary greatly across the immediate tristate area. Still could vary based on a little shift in the storm track. Damaging winds and flooding a good possibility out of this, especially along the coast. Mostly a snow event here it appears. The cold air is going to stay locked in. We upgraded the watches to warnings in most areas. In the city, it is now a blizzard warning. Just to the north and west, counties shaded in pink, its a winter storm warning. Extreme northwest new jersey into the poconos, were talking about Winter Weather advisories. The further north and west you go, the impact will be less. Still in the watch area. Not expected to get the full brunt of this storm. The storm gets itself together, moves towards the coast. This is 1 00 a. M. Its still sitting just to the south of the city. Into central new jersey, snowing pretty decently in the southern we move forward into the overnight and Early Morning hours, heavier bands of snow begin to approach the city across new jersey. Thats the darker shading you see in blue. Notice the rainsnow line staying way offshore. Into the evening hours, snow varying in intensity. Maybe a break in the action towards the north of us. Then the wraparound, again some heavier bands of snow for tomorrow night accompanied by the strong, gusty winds. This is still 6 00 a. M. It could still be snowing across the city. That will pull on out in the afternoon. That could potentially leave a 6 to 12inch accumulation on average. Higher a. Er er amounts down along the jersey shore. It drops off the further north and west you go. As little as 2 to 6 inches of snow just north of the city from white plains on north into the northern sections of new jersey. Only a 2 to 6inch snowfall amount. Extreme northwest Sussex County county, su ivan, ulster, duchess, maybe only a couple inches of snow. If the storm track shifts a little bit, you could see those numbers shift further north as well. Just the same could be said if it shifts further south and east. Lets break it down. Along the jersey shore, 50 to 60 plusmileperhour winds gusts are possible at the height of the storm. 15 to 20foot surf. Two to fourfoot storm surge. Coastal flooding is likely here. Significant beach erosion. Inland spots in new jersey, were talking about heavy snow. Major impact here. Strong wind gusts, 6 to 12 inches of snow. Gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour. This is an allsnow event, possible Power Outages. City, long island, coastal connecticut, again moderate to major impact with this storm. Coastal flooding at high tides, 50 to 60mileanhour wind gusts along the coast. Potential mixed precipitation. Even happening. The high tide concerns for flood ing ing. No mixing expected. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour. Still not going to be too nice later saturday up there either. Dry day today. Quiet most of tonight. Snow toward morning. Snow heavy at times with strong gusting winds. Things quiet down early next week. Lets see if its any quieter or rougher on the commute. We have some of the same trouble spots. Theyll likely be out there for a while. You definitely need to know about them. We have ed hughes live in chopper 4 shutting down two ramps in new jersey. This overturned tractor trailer was coming off westbound route 3 trying to get to the eastern spur of the turnpike. Thats shut down also. The ramp from 495 heading westbound to route 3 is completely closed. You can see theres some debris in the roadway that they have to clean up. Delays are building out there on not yet back to the tolls at the lincoln tunnel, but certainly a slow ride. Eastbound, a lot of rubber necking. Lets talk about the buses. Both nj transit and decamp have reported potential delays on buses via 49 r5 since the express bus lane is on that side of the roadway. Ill continue to keep you posted on that. Heading over to the cross bronx expressway, theres this accident by 3rd avenue. That involves a debris spill as well. Its in the right lane. Delays continue to build. Th teyre back past castle hill avenue. The accident on the roads thats not as bad is on the new york state throughway southbound just after 14b in the left lane. Things are still moving along just fine. Lets talk about the airports. No reported delays today. We do suggest of course that you check in with your carriers. For example, united already said theres no United Express flights out of newark tomorrow. Right now, of course, no traffic coming up on the 4s. Lauren, thank you. Police have made an arrest in the vicious slashing of a complete stranger in the east village. 28yearold Francis Salud is charged with assault. Hes accused of slashing Anthony Smith from his ear to his mouth last saturday. Smith needed more than 100 stitches, and the injury left his face partially paralyzed. Police say salud may have a psychiatric his. A scarsdale woman murdered in her own home laid to rest. The funeral for dr. Robin goldman was held as quickly as possible yesterday. Her friends say she made a difference, she was a beloved pediatrician. There was no mention of her husband. He is behind bars, accused of stabbing her to death. A Police Officer accidently shot by a fellow officer in the bronx two weeks ago is waking up in his own home this morning. [ applause ] he got a round of applause as he was released from the hospital yesterday. The 25yearold left the his uncle, a Port AuthorityPolice Officer who died on september 11th. Many new jersey politicians want washington to take a second look and award the state a little more Hurricane Sandy relief money. New jersey was granted 15 million from a 1 billion federal fund. Meanwhile, new york state is getting more than 200 million. One federal official called new jerseys application weak. Senator bob menendez calls it absurd. It is 6 20 right now. Still ahead, a park battle brewing in new jersey. Whats being done to stop new developments planned for liberty welcome back. Looking at times square. 6 23 on a friday morning. Well, as philadelphia prepares for the storm, police are warning its a, quote, nosavies city, with their rendition of drakes hotline bling. Call us from your cell phone thats right. The department wants anyone to call them on their cell phone if they see people trying to save parking spots on the street. They posted the video saying in part, we know the kids like drake. Those kids. Call me on your cell phone. Theyre funny. The Philadelphia Police has a very funny twitter page. Theyre showing, as you know, because you lived there, theyre grandfather clocks, barbecue grills to save that spot. Big armchairs from inside. And people throw down over that stuff. Not condoning that sort of behavior, but with you shovel out that parking spot, i guess you feel like you own it. Somebody moves in, oh, yeah. You did the work. No savesies. Maybe garages. Thats you want to keep the cars. Clouds are on the increase. No problems today. No problems this evening. Both commutes are dry, fine. Much of tonight is fine. I think the snow arrives late tonight and more likely in the city toward morning. First in central and southern new jersey. In the city by 3 00 or 4 00 in the morning. The potential is there for blizzard conditions from tomorrow afternoon through tomorrow night. Theres the storm right now. Still getting its act together. A lot of moving parts, pieces to the puzzle that have to come together. Not sure exactly when and where thats all going to take place. Agreement were going to get a significant snowstorm. Strong winds and coasting flooding concerns tomorrow into tomorrow night. For today, this is the calm before the storm. Just increasing clouds. A sunny start and a High Temperature this afternoon of 33 degrees. Were going to talk more about snow accumulations and impact on the coastal communities in a little bit. Thank you. Problem spots . A couple of them. Laterunning construction in jersey city. Truck route 19 southbound all lanes remain closed at duncan avenue. Northbound, the left lane is blocked. Very heavy delays in this area. The turnpike extension is the way to go. Well look at the Alexander Hamilton bridge, where things are moving along nicely. We did have an accident westbound on the cross bronx. That cleared out. Delays are eeds asing a bit. Still big problems in new jersey. Details coming up. Thanks, lauren. Coming up, our live storm team 4 coverage continues. Zblrp on storm preparations here in belmar. Im live with a look at how residents are gearing up for the storm. Reporter and im Katherine Creag on Staten Island where theres mixed reaction to the storm. Some are looking forward to it, others concerned about coastal flooding. Zblmplgt and if youre about to head out the door, keep watching. Take us with you. Download the news 4 new york app now at 6 00, bracing for a potential blizzard. New warnings in overnight as this monster storm moves our way. Coastal flooding a major concern for a lot of our shore communities. E ing a voluntary evacuation order. Plus, trying to keep mass transit on track. What officials are doing to keep the roads and tracks clear. Today in new york starts now. Good morning, everyone. Friday morning. It is january 22nd. Im darlene rodriguez. Michael gargiulo. We have live Team Coverage. Everything you need to know way. Chris cimino and the forecast. Everyone is watching, chris. Every once in a while, a snowstorm is a nice and easy this one isnt. Weve got timing issues with this and the impact exact track and a fine cutoff line. Ill explain as we go through this. You can see the leading edge of the snow into virginia right now. Were still in the clear. High pressure dominating. Strong High Pressure to the north and cold, dry air. While thats feeding in the cold to produce the snow, its also feeding in dry air that may erode the northern fringe of that snow shield. Well talk about that in a couple minutes. Meanwhile, blizzard warnings in effect. Its more imminent well see blizzardlike conditions in the city, long island, a good chunk of new jersey, all these counties shaded in orange. Those in pink, its a winter storm warning. Snow arrives overnight tonight. Probably not until about 3 00 or 4 00 in the city. Snow amounts still varying greatly. There will be damaging winds and flooding. More details in a little bit. Lets see what the latest is on the commute. Thanks, chris. Good morning. North bergen, new jersey. Ed hughes live in chopper 4 over the scene of this overturned tractor trailer that shuts down the ramp from westbound route 3 to the eastern spur of the turnpike. Also shutting down the 495 westbound ramp to route 3. So delays are building out there. Really, its bad. Eastbound is really bad because of the rubber necking as well. You have a 20minute delay into the lincoln tunnel tolls. Westbound, this could also affect new Jersey Transit and de camp buses. Both are reporting possible delays via 495 because of the express bus lane being on that side of the roadway. The tractor trailer still on its side. Well have more weather and traffic ahead on the 4s. Lauren, thank you. 6 32. Right now, the possibility of severe coastal flooding is a threat along the jersey shore. Today in new yorks Tracie Shay Strahan is in belmar with more. Reporter its something theyve seen here before, especially during Hurricane Sandy. We just looked down the boardwalk and saw a dust cloud. Its actually a bulldozer putting up more dunes like the we cant get to them because theyre being protected by a fence. The town not wanting anyone to try and mess up what theyre trying to have to guard against this storm. I want to show you a birds eye view of all this taken from a drone video camera. You can see those dunes, 12 to 18 feet of them, built up along 1. 3 miles of the beach. Crews have reinforced emergency berms on the beach. Theyre scared about maximum impact from the high winds and flooding at high tide on saturday and sunday. Even the towns mayor says the storm surge could be significant here. We spoke to a man just a short time ago taking a walk on the boardwalk. He says hes comforted by seeing that a plan is already in place. I walk the boards every morning. You know, the water is you just cant tell what happens with the sea there. It could cause problems. With the full moon, i think its out today as well, thats going to be a bigger issue. Reporter now, the dunes were put up yesterday. In other shore towns, theyve offered a voluntary evacuation. Theyre recommending residents in certain areas leave by 6 00 tonight. Here in belmar, theyre suggesting people at least move their vehicles to Higher Ground. Abuse because theyre scared about that storm surge, theyre telling people to try and stay off the roads, but if they go out, not to drive through any flood waters. Thats something we see all too often, especially in the shore towns. Theyre warning people to keep their eyes peeled for anything happening on the roads. Back to you. Tracie, thank you. Meanwhile, drivers are being urged to stay off new york city streets this weekend, but as of right now, the subways will be up and running. Today in new yorks Katherine Creag continuing our Team Coverage from the Midland Beach section of Staten Island. Kat . Reporter kerry, weve been talking with people out here right along the beach walking their dogs, bicycling, jogging, getting red ing ting ready for this beautiful sunrise that will be with us in theyre wondering, what will the storm bring . Were standing on a dune here. They stretch for a couple miles, at least five feet high. People weve been talking with are hopeful this will prevent communities. As for getting prepared, new york city says mass transit, as you mentioned, will be running. City buses, in fact, will get chains and snow tires ahead of the snowfall. One bus driver said travel will be slow on those roads when they become covered with snow. The mta says youll see fewer express trains because theyll need to be placed out of service to stay dry. For metro north and lirr customers, we are told that if the snowfall reaches 10 inches, it can shut down service. So people concerned about that. Some of the folks weve been talking with this morning wondering about flooding here on Staten Island. Heres what one guy had to say a little bit ago. Because these dunes are up now, about five feet high, do you think does that give you does that make people feel a little better . I dont know. I dont know. Think it helps, no. Its going to flood anyway. Reporter as you know, this is an area that has long and fresh memories of superstorm sandy. That man said that his house was affected by the storm. As for whats going on here in Midland Beach on Staten Island, were giving you a shot of that beautiful sunrise. As chris said a while ago, kerry, it is the calm before the storm. Seems like thats maybe why people are out here by the beach doing their thing. Bicycling, walking their dogs. You never know what will happen over the weekend. Back to you. I know. Its beautiful for now though, kat. Thank you. Time for weather and traffic. Well check in with chris cimino. Looking at that, lots to keep track of this morning. Yeah, its going to be a difficult storm. It has to be tracked hour by hour, especially once it gets going later tonight and tomorrow. A little shift in the track can shift this forecast dramatically. You want to stay with us through snow arrives overnight tonight. Amounts will vary dramatically through the viewing area. From an inch to a foot and a half. Delineating that line is going to be tricky. Damaging winds, flooding a possibility. This is mainly a snow event. Could be a little mixing on eastern long island. Southern new jersey between about 8 00 and 10 00 tonight. Then from about 10 00 until 1 00 it goes through central new jersey. Should be approaching the city by 3 00 or 4 00 in the morning. Further north into connecticut, long island later in the morning. In some cases, even early afternoon. For today, it is the calm before the storm. Clouds gather later in the day. Forecasting a high of 33 degrees. Well take another look at the accumulation potential in your neighborhood in a little bit. Shes taking a look at the commute. Heres lauren. Lets talk about mass transit. We have our first subway issue of the morning. We have delays on uptown f and g trains right now. Your major commuter lines are all operating on or close to schedule, which is great news. Lets talk about the buses. Decamp, you could experience delays on 495 because of this accident out there thats shutting down the westbound ramp to route 3. You see a lot of rubber necking on both sides of the road. Thatly will affect the express bus lanes. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules in effect. Well have your next weather and traffic update on the 4s. Okay, lauren. Thank you. 6 38. The storm may awaken a rarely seen force on the long island railroad. The lirr may have to roll out its socalled darth vader train. The 80ton snowmoving train is pulled out for major storms, however officials dont anticipate having to use it this time around, mostly because there are fewer trains running on the weekend. And in new jersey, pseg crews were busy making sure the heavy snow were expecting doesnt cause unexpected Power Outages. We caught up with crews in tenafly trimming tree branches. Its sister company, pseg long island, was also cutting back some of those studeorgents scheduled to take the s. A. T. Tomorrow in new jersey, you can stop cramming. A lot of centers are postponing because of the storm. Find a list of closings and makeup dates on our home page at nbcnewyork. Com. You can track the storm and get the latest advisories any time with the nbc new york app. It is available right now in the app store and on google play. Happening right now, police are looking for the man who attacked a mother and her adult daughter in queens. It happened in the parking lot of the hampton inn near kennedy airport. Police say the suspect followed the victims car. When they stopped, the man allegedly jumped in and pistol whipped the daughter. The mother tried to stop him, but thats when police say he shot her in the torso, stole items from the car, and ran off. That mother is in Critical Condition. A woman recovering this morning after being slammed into a wall by an outofcontrol suv. It happened in east harlem. Witnesses watching firefighters was still pinned against the wall. Were told that a worker at a gas station right down the block got into the suv while it was being serviced. He apparently lost control because the brakes failed. He also ran over the foot of an offduty nypd officer before hitting her. So far, no charges have been filed. No word on when the water will be restored following a water main break in weehawken. Officials have warned residents and businesses in that area to expect little to no water for the time being. Crews capped the 24inch main, but repairs are needed. 6 40 right now. Two of new jerseys Top Democrats are vowing to stop governor christie from developing liberty state park. Yesterday, the jersey city mayor and state Senate President said theyll go to court. They hope to delay any development until 2018 when christies term expires. 6 40 right now. Still ahead, a marathon lawsuit. Why teen runners are taking on the organizers of the new York City Marathon. Plus, your weather and traffic on the 4s is coming uh. The common core rollout was a disaster. Parents knew it. Teachers knew it. Force is doing whats right. State tests dont unfairly count against students. And test scores wont be used in teacher evaluations. Less testing. Greater focus on learning. Thats a start, but theres more to do. Lets Work Together to support sensible and fair learning standards that help every child in welcome back. 6 44 on a friday morning. As youre heading out the door this morning, its a cold one. The big story obviously is the storm coming tomorrow. Right now its just cold and dry. 21 in murray hill. In the park, 22. Teens north and west. Another very cold start. 12 in sussex. 14 in bridgewater. A bit of a breeze stirring every once in a while. You need to bundle up. Heres our storm. This is future tracker. Lets watch it evolve as it goes through time this morning. We move forward from right now into the Late Afternoon and evening hours. Overnight, notice the snow by about 1 00 a. M. Getting close to the city. Snowing at a good clip in central and southern new jersey. Will stay offshore for now. Heavier bands of snow starting to approach the city. Snowing lightly to the north. Moderate snow in the city, long island at that point. Snowing at a good clip through central and southern new jersey as well. Along the jersey shore, there may be a little mixing. This is 8 00 tomorrow night. Still snowing everywhere. Winds increasing at this point. Bands of snow still wrapping around the system at 11 00 saturday night. Finally out by 5 00, 6 00 a. M. Sunday morning. This is a longduration storm were talking about. If you get stuck under those heavier bands for a prolonged period of time, were talking significant accumulation. Major accumulating snow for most of the area saturday and saturday night. Highest snow amounts will be from the city on south. Lesser amounts to the north and northwest. Blizzardlike conditions near the city and coast. If you dont have to go out or be on the roads, please stay safe. Hunker down. Its a weekend. Enjoy it. Look out the window and watch the snowfall. Coastal flooding and beach areas of new jersey. So snow accumulations, were talking 6 to 12 on average. The city leaning more towards 8 or 10. 12 probably once you get further south and west of the city. Monmouth county, closer to a foot. Northern ocean county with a little mixing along the immediate coast, that number could come down. Mercer county into philly, over a foot likely. North and west, were talking about 2 to 6 inches. And not very far north and west of the city. Maybe 2 inches or less from areas like poughkeepsie through northern portions of sullivan and orange county. A little shift in that storm track will shift these totals dramatically, but its a fine liegne. Lets break it down. Jersey shore, 50 to 60mileanhour wind gusts. 15 to 20foot storm surge of two to four feet. Coastal flooding likely and significant beach erosion as well. Inland new jersey, this is where it will be all snow. Blizzard conditions likely. The further north and west you go, not as much snow. 6 to 12 inches on average. Could be Power Outages. City and long island, were talking about strong wind gusts on the order of 50 to 60 miles an hour along the immediate coast. Could be a little mixing in eastern long island. High tide, flooding concerns indeed. Further north and west, less consequential with less snow. Quiet today, quiet tonight. Now is the time to get things done. After about 3 00 or 4 00 in the morning, the snow moves in and really picks up during the day tomorrow and tomorrow night along with the wind. Its out of here sunday morning. Quieter next week. We do a little melting come tuesday and wednesday. Later into the commute, whats the latest . Still some of the same problems out there in north bergen, new jersey. This is really affecting the lincoln tunnel and that entire area. We have chopper 4 over the scene of this overturned tractor trailer coming off the westbound ramp from route 3 to the turnpike turnpike. Theres a debris spill out there theyre trying to clean up. Very heavy delays on 495 westbound. Trying to get to route 3 is a mess. Lets talk about 495 eastbound. Now we have an accident there. Eastbound out by kennedy boulevard, that accident blocks the center lane. Its about a 30minute wait to get between the turnpike into the tolls at the lincoln tunnel. Its about 20 minutes at the holland right now. Its about five minutes at the George Washington bridge. Thats the way to go. In addition to that, expect possible delays on buses for nj transit and decamp. Anything that takes that express bus lane on 495 west could be affected by this. Certainly leave yourself extra time. We have a couple other problems on the roads. Wet have a disabled vehicle northbound on the throgs neck heading to the bronx. Thats in the right lane. Delays go back on to the clear view. Take the whitestone, thats a better bet. If youre getting on the rails, delays on uptown f and g trains. Everything else moving along nicely. Well have more weather and traffic coming up in j a bit. Back to you. Thank you. 6 48. Two amateur athletes claim the new York City Marathon is running afoul of the law. Theyre suing after being denied they claim the marathon runs an illegal lottery to decide who can participate. They say only the state has the power to do that. Officials say theyre process is on the up and up. Up next, a new dispute over Rider Satisfaction on metro north. Metro north disputing claims made in a survey by the connecticut Commuter Rail council. The survey says that 84 of the riders in Fairfield County have had issues. The biggest problems are late or delayed trains, overcrowding, and a general lack of information. Only 10 of riders say theyre highly pleased with the service. Metro north says that their own recent survey shows most riders are happy with the train. Probably depends on what time of day and whats going on, right. The today show is coming up in a few minutes. Well check in with savannah and will lie, see whats ahead. Good morning. Coming up on today, complete bearing down on us right now. As you know, thousands of flights already canceled. We have a snow emergency taking effect in the Nations Capital this morning. Well be live. Got everything you need to know to prepare. Also ahead, a new concern tied to the dangerous zika virus as Health Officials in one country urge women to put off pregnancies for the next two years. Then, will they lead to less stress and more success for your teens . Were going to tell you about some major changes coming to the s. A. T. Weve got those stories and more when we see you on friday on today. Back to you. Have a wonderful weekend and great show. Coming up next, how our shore communities are preparing for the looming snowstorm. Right now communities along the coastline are bracing for the possibility of severe flooding. Today in new yorks Tracie Strahan is in belmar with more. Reporter we just saw that the bulldozers are out already, building up dunes in this area to protect it and other shore towns from a possible storm surge. A drone captured the dunes that have already been built up, and more are on the way. We just spoke to the Monmouth County sheriff, who says crews are in place to make sure that this area is protected from any coastal flooding. Right now, there are no evacuations that are mandatory, but they are urging residents to move their cars to Higher Ground and not to drive through any flood waters if it happens. All right, tracie. Thank you. Meanwhile, Katherine Creag continuing our Team Coverage from the Midland Beach section of Staten Island. Reporter kerry and darlene, were standing on a dune here in Midland Beach. There are dunes here as far as the eye can see. People around here hoping that they will prevent any kind of flooding. As far as preparations go, we want to show you video. We are being told by the city of new york that mass transit will be running. The buses will be getting their snow chains and snow tires ahead of the snowfall. A bus driver said travel may be slow when those roads become covered with snow. The mta says youll see fewer express trains because they need to be placed out of service so they dont get damaged. Again, just a lot of preparation overall. Back to you. That is a picturepostcard scene youre in front of there, kat. Beautiful. Nice work. Thank you. For the time being. Exactly. For now it looks beautiful. We still have big problems out there. Not a beautiful commute today. We have big problems in north bergen, new jersey. Shutting down the were going to take a live look from chopper 4. Ed hughes live over the scene of this overturned tractor trailer that shuts down the ramp from westbound route 3 to the eastern spur of the turnpike. In addition to that, because of a fuel spill and whats really causing the bigger problem, is a closure from 495 westbound to route 3. You cannot access it. Theyre working on cleaning this up, but there are very, very heavy delays out there getting into this area. If you can avoid 495 and take local streets to get to the turnpike, that would be your best bet. We are seeing possible delays on buses via 495 because thats where the express lanes are. Nothing significant as far as the buses go. In addition to that, you have a 45minute wait into the lincoln. Minor delays at the George Washington bridge. 30 minutes at the holland. Finally, just a disabled vehicle northbound on the throgs neck bridge causing headaches. You can always head to the whitestone instead. Lauren, thank you. Hey, chris. One more check of the weather. Bottom line, all the of the watches and advisories have now become warnings. You can see it all on the map here. Blizzard warning expected for late tonight and through the day tomorrow. Blizzard conditions, visibility quarter of a mile or less. Whiteout conditions possible at the peak of the storm, especially tomorrow afternoon and evening. The further north and west you go, the impact isless. Thats why you see Sussex County in that purple, just a Winter Weather advisory. Still under a watch through the Hudson Valley. Meantime, were going to keep ourselves here in the city in a 6 to 12inch accumulation forecast. Long island, same thing. I think the 12 is a better shot once you get into central new jersey, Middlesex County on south. Further south and west of there, over a foot a possibility. Then a sharp cutoff to the north and west. Drops to as little as 2 to 6 inches in northwest new jersey. Just up the Hudson Valley in the neighborhood of darlene rodriguez, only 2 to 6 inches of snow expected. Of course, the line could shift a little bit. Again, youre going to have to watch this thing hour by hour once it gets going. Along the coast, the main story is going to be flooding. Just the blizzard conditions that evolve later tomorrow it clears up by sunday