>> this is like getting hit with a big crashing wave. >> reporter: snow mag get done, snow zil la monster. and mother nature's wrachlt most everyone gets into the act. cnn included, with a promo that could easily double as a trailer for a hollywood action film. scary stuff for a time-tested weather formula that is a tv equation, they start with dire warnings of an impending apocalypse, scary, very, very scary. >> weather not felt for manor beast, although the kids rather enjoying the snowstorm. >> reporter: you know what comes next, the live shots, from the roads, the salt trucks and the mounds of snow. next, on the street interviews, with drivers, business owners and the occasional pet.