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CNN NEWSROOM

Massive Snowstorm Pounds Northeast

Aired January 27, 2015 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here we go. Hour two. You're watching CNN's live special coverage from Boston, Massachusetts.

I just wanted to show you, by trudging through this stuff, we have been here all day, and we were here until the wee hours of the morning. Right around 1:00 a.m., it was up to my ankles. Now you can see it's basically at my knees. The latest snow total we have in Boston, right about 20 inches or so. According to the governor, Boston could see five, maybe even 10 more inches. That would be record setting. So we're going to talk about Boston.

Also, incredibly important the stories along the coastline. Nantucket, where they're off the grid, no power. A woman had a baby overnight thanks to a tremendous team of nurses and physicians. They're calling it the blizzard baby. We'll talk to that mother.

Really, it's a situation in Scituate, Massachusetts. We'll take you there live in just a moment. We are hours away from high tide and coastal flooding. The wind gusts, we're talking hurricane-strength wind gusts at times. It's a bad, bad situation for a lot of people in that part of the state.

The story isn't just here in Massachusetts. We have crews throughout the northeast. Seven different states in states of emergencies. So this is huge.

Let me walk over and bring in our meteorologist, Jennifer Gray, and the fire commissioner here, Joe Finn.

Thank you very much. Good to see both of you under the conditions.

And we also have Dana Rosengard, who's with the American Red Cross.

So let me begin, Commissioner, with you.

So far, you were saying, you know, I don't even know what hour we're in and it's continuing, no major fires, no major issues for your firefighters yet.

JOSEPH FINN, BOSTON FIRE COMMISSIONER: We have been very fortunate we that haven't had a major incident so far in the last 24 hours.

But we're certainly staffed and adequately staffed, I should say, to deal with any situation. The mayor was gracious. We sat and we had a very defined operational plan. We have additional engine companies and ladder companies throughout the city to reduce the response times.

Side streets, the DPW commissioner is working diligently. They're doing a great job staying ahead of this. But we do have some issues on some side streets to get apparatus on there. So we are taking it very seriously.

And we're working very hard. And we're certainly ready for anything that comes our way.

BALDWIN: It was interesting where you were saying earlier because it is so cold, the snow is so much lighter, there haven't been as many issues as far as downed power lines. It's just not heavy enough to bring them down.

Dana, let me just bring you in.

As you have been watching for people potentially stranded, tell me with the Red Cross what you all have been dealing with, some of the challenges you have been facing here in the city of Boston.

DANA ROSENGARD, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Well, this is, as we say in Boston, a wicked big storm.

And we have run or supported shelters in the region. I think 170 of them -- 170 people, excuse me, in shelters across the region, including 22 here in Massachusetts. So, that's our first concern, is for the people who can't stay in their homes and need some place safe and warm to be.

BALDWIN: I know one of the big concerns -- we were talking with someone who runs one of the big homeless centers and shelters. And they are absolutely at max capacity, from what we're hearing.

And this could be, Jennifer Gray, this could be record-setting if the snow continues to fall into the evening, which it is.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have about 20.8 inches right now. We only need about six and change to beat that record. It will be the number one worst storm here in Boston, only about two inches shy of becoming the worst January snowstorm.

And so this will be in the record books in one way or another. And we still have several hours of snow left to go before this thing starts to taper off, at least through 9:00, maybe even midnight.

BALDWIN: Have you all -- have people for the most part, you know, really listened to the travel ban? You haven't had people heading out? Any stranded cars? I know that has been an issue in years past.

FINN: No, everything has worked pretty well.

The mayor declared an emergency parking ban, so most of the cars -- most of the people adhered to it, so the plows have been able to get out and move the snow. And we really haven't had anybody trapped. People are -- the citizens have been very cooperative. Everyone gets that this is very serious and could be a potential catastrophic storm. So, everyone is abiding by all the goodwill and I should say advice that's been given out.

BALDWIN: We will go to Scituate, Massachusetts, in a minute, guys. Just get in my ear and tell me if our crew is ready.

In fact, let me just do that right now. Stay with me because I want to talk to you about that.

But we have Alexandra Field. She's in Scituate, Massachusetts, where, Alexandra, you -- tell me what you're seeing. The coastal flooding, downed power lines, is it getting worse?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's actually amazing. We have been out here for a couple of hours, Brooke, and the wind has picked up so much. The snow has picked up so much. When you look at all the water that's already out on these streets, what we're dealing with is just -- and wind and then saltwater spraying up, because while you're looking at someone's backyard, you're also looking at saltwater that came in when this water breached the seawall at high tide.

It's really cold out here. You can see where this water is beginning to freeze. You have got ice and slush and chunks of debris that are floating through here. And then you have all of these homeowners. You know in just two hours, Brooke, we're expecting high tide here. That's when they could see some significant flooding yet again.

The majority of this damage was done between 4:00 and 5:00 this morning when the high tide came in, and it breached the seawall. That seawall is all the way at the end of that street down there. I don't even know how well you can see it right now because of the visibility. But if we look down at the street that we're standing on, when we got here a few hours ago, this was just a ton of water covering a large part of this road here.

You can see where that is icing over again. There are still people inside these houses, Brooke. We have seen people step out and look around. There are people who are telling us that they're going to stay in here, even with the high tide just a couple of hours away.

On this side, that's the harbor. You can see some of the snow and wind coming off the harbor. But the really big concern is that water that comes over the seawall at the beach, which is behind me. Brooke, I also want to point out the major issue of concern out here. A downed power line, you can probably see it.

That happened while we were out here. That's because these winds have been whipping up so much. We're talking about wind gusts around 30 miles per hour. Parts of Scituate, again, as we have been reporting, they have turned off the power to parts of Scituate last night because they want to prevent the situation from getting any worse. They don't want an issue where you have electrical fires and where you have firefighters who can't get to people.

At the same time, there are people still in their houses, and some people out here on this road actually say they do still have power. When you see these downed power lines, you have got to be really, really careful about it. We're also seeing people who are still out on the roads. This is not the kind of thing that police want to see right now.

We have seen the National Guard out here. We have seen police in high-axle vehicles out here, they tell us, to kind of help people. They have had to help to evacuate people. And we have also seen a lot of cars that have come down this road and realize that it's frankly impassable so they turn around. They don't go through that floodwater, which of course nobody needs to be driving through floodwater. They turn around.

There are people, though, Brooke, who have been going to the beach, made their way down the road. They have gone to the beach. They tell us they're seeing really big waves getting closer to the seawall. We have to see what happens at 5:00, when that high tide comes through. That's what everyone is watching right now.

BALDWIN: Yes. That's the hour we're watching for, for so many of the areas, coastal areas of Massachusetts down there. Alexandra Field, we will stay in close contact with you. Thank you. Stay safe.

And just back to you. We were talking, obviously, that's a potential fatal combination with the downed lines. Thank goodness they thought ahead of time and cut the power off. But with high tide at 5:00, what are we talking about in terms of waves and the flooding getting worse?

GRAY: Yes, absolutely. In the next couple hours, it will get worse.

I was looking at a couple of charts a couple of minutes ago and they're forecasting possibly two feet above flood stage. And then you have the winds coming in on top of that with the high seas and everything. We can expect more flooding. That's going to be the story until that tide starts to relax and go back out again.

But the flooding has stayed there, even during low tides. There was still flooding throughout the day, because the high tide happened this morning. And then it's been there all day. And now the next high tide is coming in. And so it's not going to get better any time soon with the breach of that seawall. It's just adding insult to injury.

BALDWIN: Jennifer Gray, thank you very much. Commissioner, I appreciate you. You have a big job. And, Dana Rosengard, as well, thank you so, so much.

We're also just getting a heads up now that the mayor here of Boston, Marty Walsh, will be holding a news conference in half-an-hour from now, half-an-hour here in Boston. I'm sure he will update some of those power outage numbers, snow totals, et cetera, here in Boston.

Tom Sater, you have been watching all of this. It's been incredible that the snow just has been falling and falling and the whipping winds in all different directions. This could set the record here in Boston.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It could, absolutely.

In fact, about another eight, maybe nine hours of snowfall. And so we only need -- I think we're at 20.8. We need to get up to around just over 27. You just need about seven more inches and that will break the all-time record. That can happen with eight additional hours.

We're starting to see some dryness. That's good news. You get into Western Mass and parts of Connecticut, we're in a little bit of a dry slot. But the center of the storm, believe it or not, has still been intensifying up to just an hour ago. Every hour, it's been getting stronger. This machine is purring. And, therefore, the winds will continue to be quite strong and gusty, but the problem is that we're starting to find here is all the coastline that are facing to the northeast, because -- this is why we call it a nor'easter.

These winds are north-northeast right now and this is where we're seeing a lot of the flood problems. We have seen it not just in areas to the north, to the south too, but Boston, for the most part, when the storm is moving up the coast is protected here, of course, by the peninsula. But now that the winds are coming in, this is where we're going to have a problem.

And, again, as Jennifer mentioned, it's 5:00 p.m. for the next high tide. Right now, our tides are four to five feet above average. Toss in high tide, and we're going to have an issue here. Then you get a little bit more snowfall. This is where we're going to have some issues as well, because, again, the heavier snow, the more weight. The more weight, the power lines most likely on tree branches will go down them, maybe some roof collapses.

But all the water that's been moved into the area, once the winds shift, not all of the floodwaters will move back out into the ocean. So any water that's remaining trapped in place along many of the communities will freeze as we get down to 14 degrees overnight.

And you can see the winds. Now, that's not going to do anything to help dry this water up. That will become an ice sheet in many locations. Wind chill should get to one or even two below zero tomorrow morning.

Here's the center of our storm. You can start to see really where it is, lifting toward the north-northeast. With winds still this strong and the weight of the snow continuing to get heavy, I think we're going to have more problems.

We call this -- this is heart attack snow. The reason for that, and you all know -- we have been reviewing this for it seems like every storm -- one foot of snow on an average one-car driveway is equivalent to moving two tons in weight.

So the heart is already beating faster to keep the body warm. And then you have a little bit of issues like that. But you can see it. There it is, 20.8 in Boston. Quickly, the record for you, 27.6, not much farther to go -- back to you.

BALDWIN: Not much farther to go at all, especially as it continues to come down on us. Tom Sater, thank you so much.

We keep throwing all these numbers and data and historic records at you, but you know what? None of that mattered for a little baby in Nantucket. You know how that entire island doesn't have power? Yes, that didn't matter. We have mom and baby standing by. We will talk to mom on the other side of this break from Nantucket.

I'm Brooke Baldwin here in Boston. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. We're live here in Boston. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And one of the biggest stories so far in this massive nor'easter we have been covering is the island of Nantucket, not too terribly far away from me where I am in Boston. They have been and still continue to be off the grid, no power.

So, knowing that, imagine being an expectant mother, an expectant mother who in the middle of the night with just a hospital running on a generator has a baby. That happened. They're calling this little baby boy a blizzard baby.

I have mom with me, Danielle Smith, and the doctor who helped deliver this precious little baby boy, Dr. Margaret Koehm. The baby's name is Cayden Keith Moore.

Danielle, congratulations.

DANIELLE SMITH, MOTHER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: How are you doing?

SMITH: I'm good. It's definitely a lot better here than at home with no power.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Is this baby number one for you?

SMITH: It is.

BALDWIN: Wow. So can you just tell me -- I mean, just tell me the story of when you knew it was time and how you got to hospital and how you had little Cayden.

SMITH: Well, I actually started having contractions before the storm hit Nantucket, so I came to the hospital to check to make sure everything was OK.

They said, well, you're only about three centimeters right now, so you could go home, grab your things and come back just to be safe. So that's what I did. And we didn't expect anything to happen so soon, but it just happened so quickly.

BALDWIN: So, thank goodness those contractions came early. And so you were there already.

Doctor, Dr. Koehm, can you just tell me, I mean, what was the situation like when the snow really started? At what point, you know, did that generator kick in, and then at what point did you help deliver this baby?

DR. MARGARET KOEHM, NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL: Well, yesterday, we tried to prepare for the storm, so we called all our moms who were close to term to offer them boarding at the hospital just in case they didn't have vehicles that could get them through the blizzard in their time of need.

So, a couple of moms took us up on that. And when Danielle came in, she was contracting slowly, but with the weather being so bad, we encouraged her to stay. And she took us up on that. It was a good thing because all of the sudden labor really kicked in.

We see that sometimes happen when the barometric pressure drops here on Nantucket. And so a little after midnight, I think it was, our power went out. And so we were on generator for about four hours before Danielle delivered. But it's been nice and toasty warm here. We had a few lights to provide. And Danielle is a superstar. She did this all naturally.

BALDWIN: Whew!

(CROSSTALK)

KOEHM: Yes.

So, we had a good team and --

BALDWIN: So, and, Dr. Koehm -- Dr. Koehm, I hear you. You're mentioning how you gave the heads-up to these different expectant mothers.

In fact, I heard you just came into the room to be on CNN with me after delivering another baby?

KOEHM: Exactly, yes. We just had another mom come in a couple of hours ago, and she moved along very quickly as well. And so now we have a little boy and a little girl here in our O.B. floor with their families. So we have a blizzard boy.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I'm not quite sure if I heard -- a blizzard boy and a blizzard girl. I can't see you. I wish I could so badly. I don't know if Cayden's in the picture or not, but how's he doing, mom?

SMITH: He is in the picture. He's doing very well. He's such a good baby. He always fusses, but he just wants someone to talk to him or like touch him for a second and then he will just start smiling.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

KOEHM: -- he could see them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. KOEHM: Turns towards.

SMITH: He's a little shy.

KOEHM: Oh, there he is.

BALDWIN: So cute. So great. I hear baby voices in my ear. And that just made my heart smile.

So, Danielle, thank you so much and congratulations to you on your blizzard baby boy. You will have quite the story.

And, Dr. Koehm, it sounds like you may have other moms-to-be to attend to before this thing is over with.

So, ladies, thank you both very, very much. I really appreciate it.

KOEHM: OK. Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: And with that, Jennifer -- you.

Jennifer Gray is rejoining me, because we have talked so much about Nantucket and how, you know, they don't have power. How long potentially could they go without it?

GRAY: Who knows. It just depends when this thing starts to die down, which should be tonight into tomorrow morning. And then you have to worry about those floodwaters that came in, getting crews out to restore the power. Hopefully, it will only be a day or two. It's cold. The temperatures are only supposed to get colder as we approach the weekend.

BALDWIN: How cold is it? It's cold.

GRAY: It's very cold. Well, the temperature is about 15, but it feels well below zero, about two below to four below last time I checked when you factor in the wind.

And it will be colder as we approach this weekend. So hopefully they will get power very, very soon.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much also for braving it with me. And I appreciate it.

But we're not just in Boston here. And, again, just a quick reminder, we're waiting and watching for Mayor Marty Walsh here in Boston to give an update on the situation and conditions here. We also have crews all around the Northeast, including a crew in Montauk. This is the far east tip of Long Island, flooding issues there, lots of snow still falling.

You're watching CNN. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. We're coming in on some time-lapse video here of just the snow accumulations over the course of hours there with the Statue of Liberty.

Let me tell you, that is New York. This is Boston. It is cold and getting colder. Just take my word for it. The wind has been whipping. The snow continues to fall. This could be record-setting. We will hear any minute now from the mayor here of Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh, on any updates as far as power outages.

Just talking to the fire commissioner here in Boston, power outages haven't been that big of an issue because, let me just show you, the snow, it is so light. Because it's so cold, it's just still such a light snow. Do you see this? That it hasn't so far really brought down too many power lines.

So, we're watching and we're waiting for the mayor of Boston.

We're also watching some of the flooding situations along the South Shore into the Cape, Nantucket. We just talked to a new mom. No power there. A seawall has collapsed in Scituate, Massachusetts. We have crews there, huge issues there being flooding and the rising of the tides. Watching for that in just about two hours. We will take you to Scituate, coastal Massachusetts, but New York definitely feeling some of the brunt of this, especially when you head all the way down in Long Island, all the way out to that eastern tip of Montauk.

That is where Ana Cabrera is. She was up very late last night riding this out. She's back with us this afternoon.

Ana, what does it look like right now?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, strangely, the weather seems to be deteriorating a little bit from what we saw earlier today, Brooke, a little more reminiscent of what I experienced in the midnight hours.

The good news is -- we're here along the beach, and we were watching the coastal flooding possibilities here. That seems to have passed for now, that threat. High tide here was a couple of hours ago. Not exactly a day that you want to walk along the beach, though. We're still seeing the pounding snow, wind gusts in the 20 mile per hours -- steady, that is, around 20 miles per hour, but gusts even higher, around 30.

And yet there are people who are taking advantage of those winds and the higher water and the big waves. In fact, we talked to a gentleman who is a surf photographer and was expecting a big group of surfers to go out in this kind of weather this afternoon, where they were recording the weight height measured by the buoys out by Turtle Cove, one of the popular surf spots, at 16 feet.

And so I want you to take a look at the interview that we did this gentleman, who's a real surf enthusiast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES KATSIPIS, SURFER: Well, we're really hoping the winds are going to switch around a little bit and maybe for the snow to die down just a bit. Swells about 16 feet at 10 seconds, which is a good thing.

CABRERA: Yes? I mean, do you think we will see surfers out here?

KATSIPIS: Potentially. I know my boys are pretty much suited up and ready to go.

CABRERA: Are you planning to surf too?

KATSIPIS: I'm planning on swimming out there. Going to take some photos.

CABRERA: Most people would call you crazy.

KATSIPIS: Most people do call me crazy.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: We had a little bit of fun. And since that interview, James texted us to say, we're getting in the water.

We have been in our live location, so couldn't get video of that, but he promised to send us some of his footage. If we get that, we will make sure to turn it for you so you can see those people out in this kind of weather. Dangerous for those who clearly aren't the professionals to be out in the current, obviously, the strong, powerful waves and the continuing snowfall.

And so it's still a somewhat dangerous situation, especially for people who are out on the roads. But the good news here, Brooke, no devastation so far in Montauk or most of Long Island.

BALDWIN: I tell you, I sit and I listen to that, man, and I'm shaking my head.

I mean, I don't know how many wet suits that would take to get into that frigid, frigid water. There's no amount of money you could pay me to do that. But I will take his word for it.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: And you can share some of those pictures --

CABRERA: That's what I say.

BALDWIN: -- if he does brave it.

Ana Cabrera, yes. Thank you so much.