`` this is our third flight ``change. `` hundreds without power and on ``in their cars. ``traffic coming to a standstill. ``the dangerous blizzard is not ``showing any signs of letting up. ``today, saturday, january 23rd, ``2016. `` announcer from nbc news, ``this is a special edition of ``today blizzard 2016. ``live from studio 1a in ``rockefeller plaza. `` welcome to today. ``im erica hill. ``hardy souls. `` im alongside Sheinelle Jones ``and al roker. ``we have dylan dreyer out in the ``field along with our ``meteorologists. ``this is all of the effected ``states and those under a ``blizzard warning. ``the warning from virginia to ``southern connecticut. `` already so much going on. ``lets get the latest on the ``storm. ``1 to 3 inches per hour. ``already washington, d. C. Has ``more than a foot of snow on the ``ground. ``they are expected to get more ``than 2 feet. ``philadelphia, 9 inches already. ``they are expecting up to 2 feet ``as well. ``here in new york, we are now ``expecting more snow than ``originally predicted. ``at least 3 inches at this hour, ``but up to a foot or more we are ``told when it is all over. `` the storm has life ``threatening blizzard conditions. ``a storm this big has not been ``seen in washington, d. C. In ``nearly 100 years. ``no surprise, the roads are ``dangerous. ``people are told to stay inside. ``thousands of accidents. ``at least ten People Killed on ``the roads. `` the storm is a huge mess as ``you can imagine. ``lets get to dylan dreyer who ``joins us from the nations ``capital. `` reporter good morning, ``erica. ``this hit washington, d. C. With a ``vengeance. ``we aeady have more than a foot ``at the coast in virginia and ``delaware, had reports of wind ``gusts of 65 to 75 mileser `hour. ``one report in virginia up to 85 ``mis an hour. ``thunder snow repted in ``baltore. `that goes tohow you the ``intensity of thestorm. ``weill see t conditions ``continue all thrgh theight ``wi blizzard warnings not ``piringntil tomorrow mornin ``the tions capital taking a ``direct hi ``washington, d. C. Expected to be ``bued under as muc as 2 feet ``of snow by the end of the storm. `` stay off the roads if you ``dont need to be on the roads. `` reporr the storms scope ``reaches from the carolinas to ``new york, has turned deadly. `North Carolina. `` hit had the bras and when ``up. `` reporter thoands of ``crashes locked u major roa up ``and down the eastcoast. ``accidents stillnded up `spinning wheels like wsnb ``reporter in nashville. `` i am stuck. `` have the ped to themetal. ``im not moving. `` reporter governors in ten ``states and District Of Columbia ``have declare state of ``emergencie ``the natiol guard has dloyed ``400 pernnel to hphe `sickened andstrand. ``shelters are opened to help `homeless survive freezing ``conditions. `` we canno have peopl ``outside. ``it is unsafe. `` reporter 2 degrees with the ``windchill of 8 when rescuers in ``virginia saved this saint ``bernard who fell through the ``ice. ``the plowing start wednesd ``and wonte done until sunday. ``airports are empty. ``more tha 6,000 flights have ``en canced since frid. ``delays rippling across the ``country. `` weot warnings from ``everyone. ``if you dt get i to n yor `` rorter mtrak is operating ``on a modified schedule. ``greyhounds cancelling service ``for much of the east coast. ``blizzard conditions from ``washingtono n york. ``winds up to 60 mil per hr ``and nrly 140,000 people are ``alady struggling in t cd ``wiout power. ``now we followed this storm from ``roanoke, virginia, yesterday to ``here in washington,. C. ``what should take four hours took `us nine hours on the road. ``we are going to attempt t get ``to new yorkity todayy taking `i. `` know we just tol you we `shouldnt be on theroads. ``i want to pointut we are ``travelingn the blue mobile ``this is a satellite truck that `will be able to feed y guys ``our tri fm here up along i95 ``to new york city. `` is an extremelyeavy tck ``and we are taking it very slow. ``we will update you over the ``cose of the show on the ``travels. ``from where we are now the next ``ti we see you. `` sw and steady will w that ``race. ``thank yodylan. `` the question is when will all ``th snow let up and when it i ``all done, how much snow on the ``ground . ``al is here this morni wit ``that and re. `` it wille done ibout 24 ``hours, but we e deing with `the fects of this into next ``week easily with th power ``outages a snow. ``we will have to get rid of it. ``look at the swathrom montauk ``to t appalachian. ``here is why we end up upping ``the amounts. ``the sto moved furth north `thanpredicted. ``we havblizzard wnings from ``virginia a the w to marthas ``viyard. ``winds of 35 Miles Per Hour or ``more and stains you g in ``for three hrs or so ``it ao meansou have ``visibity of ss tn a ``quarteof amile. ``cranberr new jersey, inches ``of ow. ``w, they areookit 6 ``ches o snow. ``it is still coming down. `at ts point, i is falling at ``abou a ratef 2 to 3 inches ``per ur. ``so hes what we look for as ``far as the accumulatis. ``keep in mind we will look at ``winds gusting or 50iles per ``hour. ``heavy snow forashington and ``baltimore. ``24 inches or more when all is ``said and done. ``for iladphiaenal and ``southern new jerse heavynow into t early afternoon. ``18 t 24 inches of snow with `winds gusting u40 miles per `hour. ``inhe n york aa, we pect ``to see 18o 24 inche ofsnow. `this heavy swontiinnto `the rnoon. `susngp t0iles `ho ``we lki at bzzar `condio. ``nehan, 8 to 12 inches. `priden a 3 to 6. `boon wl s 2 to 4 inches. `om delrva and all the coast. ``we will deal with ts for a ``long time toominto next ``week. `` al, thank you. `u will need a lot of rest. `kegour eye on this. ``another rokerthon coming. ``it will be all day on ``nbcnews. Com. `` two days ago washington, ``d. C. Was almost brought to a ``standstill with just a brushing ``of snow. ``is the city equipped to handle ``this storm . ``the washington mayor, mayor ``bowser is here with us. ``good morning. `` my pleasure. `` what is the conditions this ``morning . `` as you have been reporting ``all morning, we are in the eye ``of the significant storm. ``a storm we have not seen like ``this in washington, d. C. In 94 ``years. ``we got out early pretreating ``our streets, closing our ``government and schools on ``friday. ``really encouraged everybody to ``we have seen since yesterday, ``with snow starting about 1 00, ``13 inches fall and we think the ``forecast is going to hold. ``we are going to get at least ``another foot. `` back in the 90s, heavy ``snowfall shutdown washington, ``d. C. For an entire week. ``how is this storm . `` this is a blizzard with ``sustained winds. ``we prepared our residents and ``stay inside for 36 hours. ``we are seeing the winds pick up ``today. ``very hazardous conditions. ``nobody should really be out on ``the roads. ``were keeping our roads passable ``for emergency vehicles. ``tomorrow, if it stops as it is ``planned to, the big digout will ``proceed. `` mayor, when there was less ``than 2 inches in washington, ``d. C. Two days ago, people were ``the president had to use the ``motorcade back to the white ``house slipping and sliding. ``are things different this time ``around . `` theres no similarity to tell ``you the truth. ``this blizzard has been forecast ``for several days. ``our entire apparatus is running ``out of other homeland and ``emergency management agency. ``we have all of our resources ``fully deployed. `` washington mayor bowser, ``thank you. `` thank you. ``everybody stay safe. `` i want to head where the ``hour. ``heavy amounts of ice could cause ``problems for millions if the ``south. ``we have nbcs Gabe Gutierrez ``joining us from charlotte, north ``carolina with more on that ``angle. ``gabe, good morning. `` reporter erica, good ``morning. ``more than 130,000 customers in ``North Carolina are without power ``and we take a live look from the ``air. ``you can see there has been ``plenty of snow and sleet here in ``the charlotte area, but ``rain as you had initially ``expected. ``there are about 1,200 crashes or ``so in the North Carolina area, ``including at least six deaths. ``a Good Samaritan was killed, ``police say, when he was shot by ``the stranded motorist he was ``trying to help allegedly under ``the influence. ``travel here is a nightmare. ``american airlines is expected to ``resume flights in the area. ``the area is preparing for the ``huge Football Game hosted here ``by the carolina panthers. ``yesterday, they practiced in the ``snow. ``a major pep rally was canceled. ``the team says they are ready for ``tomorrow. ``today, workers will take the ``tarp off the field to be able to ``dry it out in time for the big ``game. ``a bit more sleet is also ``expected here in North Carolina ``throughout the morning. ``it is expected to move out later ``today. ``guys, back to you. `` Gabe Gutierrez this morning. ``gabe, thank you. `` it is not just massive ``winds that have people worried. ``for many along the coast, the ``storm surge that brings flooding ``could cause problems this ``weekend. ``we have nbcs rehema ellis along ``the coast with more on that. ``good morning. `` reporter good morning, jose. ``it is a tough morning out here. ``we had winds gusts above 50 ``miles an hour. ``im holding on so i can stay on ``the air. ``there is a real concern about ``what could happen here. ``during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, ``this building where i am right ``now, was torn apart during the ``storm. ``the city around the coastal ``area, they spent the last couple ``days with bulldozers pushing as ``much sand as they could up ``against to protect the areas and ``water coming from the atlantic ``ocean. ``they are not so worried about ``the inches of snow they will ``get. ``they are worried about the water ``it is to my left right now and ``it is brutal. ``atlantic ocean, you can i can ``barely hold my position here ``because the wind is that strong ``coming off the ocean. ``no one is out and about. ``they are heeding the warnings. ``stay inside and just hunker ``down. `` thank you very much. ``that satellite uplink is ``difficult because the winds are ``so strong. `` new jersey governor chris ``christie was supposed to be on ``the campaign trail this weekend. ``he returned to his home state to ``help his residents. ``he joins us now. ``governor, good to have you here ``with us. ``im not sure you could see ``rehema ellis. ``she is on the coast of new ``jersey. ``where is your focus this ``morning, governor . ``is it the coastal area . `` it is not more than any other ``part of the state. ``we do not expect major flooding ``on the coast. ``which is fairly typical for ``storm events on the coast in new ``jersey. ``at least as of now, were not ``expecting any type of major ``flooding incidents along the ``coast. ``they will be a bit better off ``from the snow perspective as ``rehema mentioned in her report. ``in the other parts of the state, ``we have heavier snow than we ``thought we were, 6 to 18 inches ``in the north. ``up to 2 feet in central and ``inland and southern part of the ``state. `` as you well know, there was a ``fair amount of criticism in ``timing of leaving the campaign ``trail in New Hampshire to return ``home to new jersey. ``how do you answer those critics . `` i dont know why they would ``be critical. ``i was here last night before the ``first snow flake dropped. ``so i dont understand any basis ``for criticism. ``my view was i wanted the best ``information i possibly could as ``to whether my presence was ``needed here. ``once i got the final forecast at ``the decision at 11 30 to be ``home. ``despite the fact flights were ``canceled. ``i drove from New Hampshire back ``to new jersey. ``i was home last night before ``8 00 p. M. `` i know you have been advising ``folks to stay home. ``you talked about the `` when in your estimation will ``it be safe for folks to be out ``again . `` you know, i would think ``tomorrow, the way it looks now. ``i think today and tonight folks ``should expect that this is an ``inside day for them. ``were doing really well, though, ``in terms of keeping our roads ``passable for emergency vehicles. ``and others who absolutely have ``to be on the roads. ``up in the north we still have ``mostly wet roads with traffic, ``moving pretty freely. ``in the central and southern ``areas the roads are snow covered ``due to the heavy snowfall. ``but all of the roadways are ``passable. ``35mileanhour restriction on ``the major roads like the new ``jersey turnpike and the garden ``state parkway. ``our department of transportation ``has over 3800 pieces of ``spreading salt and sand and ``moving snow off the roadways, so ``you know, right now we feel like ``were doing well from that ``perspective. ``weve got about 17,000 power ``outages so far across the state, ``most of those focused in the ``southern part of the state about ``15,000 of them being in cape may ``county. `` we know youll be a busy man ``today. ``appreciate you taking time for ``us. ``thanks. `` thank you very much. `` the snow is falling quickly ``in philadelphia as well. ``that city expected to see two ``feet when its said and done. ``jacob rascon is in philly with ``more. ``good morning. `` good morning. ``this storm is everything that ``philadelphia expected and more, ``thinking a foot and a half, now ``thinking up to two feet of snow, ``the snow has been falling at 2 ``to 3 inches an hour in some ``areas and they are blizzard ``conditions, sustained winds ``above 30 miles an hour with ``gusts well above 40, and this ``snow is not expected to stop all ``there is a blizzard warning and ``winter storm warning in effect ``here and the surrounding areas ``through tomorrow morning at 3 00 ``a. M. ``of course, the airport is closed ``or saying there are no flights ``in or out of the airport all ``day, this airport and three ``other airports as well, and as ``you can tell, the wind is pretty ``bad. ``its pretty miserable out here. ``the problem the plows say is ``that they are trying to plow all ``of the roads but they cant even ``get done with the primary roads ``because they go and as soon as ``they are done with one they have ``to turn around and do it again ``because of the wind. ``they havent even gotten, they ``said, to the secondary roads, ``they are advising nobody be out ``and driving today in ``philadelphia. `` jacob, thank you very much. `` if you had a trip planned ``this weekend and didnt get out ``ahead of the Storm Chances are ``youre staying put. ``nearly 7,000 Flights Canceled ``since this storm began. ``several airports shut down. ``everything is up and running. ``kristen dahlgren is at new york. ``good morning. `` pretty lonely here. ``let me step out of the way. ``this is something you cant see ``often, an empty laguardia ``airport. ``there are about two dozen ``stranded passengers in the food ``court, didnt get the memo, ``didnt get the emails that ``their flights were canceled so ``they are here scrambling trying ``to figure out what to do, ``whether to get a hotel, whether ``to sleep here. ``it is a mess nation wide though. ``take a look. ``4100, more than 4100 ``cancellations nation wide. ``the worst airports, the new york ``area, topping that list, almost ``400 cancellations at jfk, newark ``has more than 300 here at ``laguardia more than 250. ``thats about i think thats ``optimistic. ``security here, no flights ``getting in or out. ``also philadelphia and then the ``d. C. Area airports really having ``its not just those airports. ``were seeing the misery across ``the country. ``some airports like miami, like ``ft. Lauderdale, even los angeles ``seeing cancellations today ``because of this storm. ``its interconnected and of ``course if you have cancellations ``here those flights arent ``getting here, the aircraft ``arent in the right place, so ``really a difficultay if you ``are traveling anywhere in the ``nation. `` that it is. ``thanks. `` your flight canceled. `` i was going to say. ``i had my flight to miami ``tomorrow canceled yesterday by ``the airline. ``they texted. ``dont bother coming. `` come over for dinner. `` im loving that, man. `` thanks. ``well have much more on the ``blizzard throughout the morning. ``we want to get to other news. ``politics, nine days until the ``iowa caucuses. ``candidates in both parties are ``sharpecandidates are sharpening ``attacks as they work to getting ``a high voter turnout. ``nbcs Kristen Welker is at the ``airport. `` reporter jose, good morning ``to you. ``force despite the weather making ``their closing arguments with the ``voters about to weigh in. `` i approve this message. `` reporter the two gop ``frontrunners battling it out on ``the air waves. ``donald trump hitting ted cruz ``over immigration. `` sounded like you wanted the ``bill to pass. `` of course i wanted the bill ``to pass. `` reporter and cruz trying to ``paint trump as establishment. ``trump and cruz will court voters ``in iowa today with the bitter ``fight dividing the party. ``the conservative magazine ``national review released its ``against trump issue. ``rebuke of the businessman. `` we are making an argument ``that donald trump has not been ``with conservatives, he wont be ``with conservatives. `` reporter some have warmed to ``trump fearing cruz is more ``divisive. ``2016 is fast becoming a race ``word, even for democrats. ``bernie sanders surging, painting ``himself as an outsider. `` i want to say a word on the ``issue that secretary clinton and ``i disagree on. ``that is the incredible power of ``wall street. `` reporter and Hillary Clinton ``trying to show she is the most ``qualified candidate. `` we need a president who can ``do all aspects of the job. `` reporter the question now . ``just how strong is the ``antiestablishment surge . `` this is a good year to be an ``insurgent. ``you hear many on both sides ``saying i support, fill in the ``blank, because nobody else says ``it like that. ``he says the truth. ``he is telling it like it is. `` reporter last night, donald ``trump sounded off on jeb bush ``for putting his mom in the ``campaign ad. ``tweeting, quote, jeb desperately ``needed mommy to help him. ``isis or putin. ``a video trying to help people ``find caucus locations was ``released by his campaign. ``jose and erica, back to you. `` kristen, thank you. `` where was donald trump when i ``was in high school . `` he is available now. `` al is back with a look of ``the rest of the countrys ``forecast. ``there are people who are not ``dealing with snow today . `` there are. ``in the mid section of the ``country. ``look at this. ``Pacific Northwest, you have rain ``and snow. ``out here in the northeast, you ``can see that giant swirl of ``clouds still taking over. ``so for today, again, middle of ``the country, not