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U.S. East Coast Hit by Snow Storms; New York City Shuts Down Roadways Due to Snow. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 23, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:22] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. You're looking at live pictures right now of Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Travel ban underway. You heard from the New York governor last hour. It means that no one is to be on the streets, on the bridges, or even in the tunnels. And that gets underway at 2:30, so 30 minutes away from the travel ban taking effect. Upwards of 20, maybe even 25 or possibly even 30 inches of snow fall expected in New York. It's a bad situation only about to get worst.

Our Poppy Harlow is in New York, in Manhattan. Poppy, look at those conditions behind. While it's beautiful, at the same time it's potentially very dangerous.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. It is. It is absolutely dangerous. You see people out here behind me. They should not be and they should go home soon. That is what the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, is saying. That is what the governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, is saying.

Folks, if you are just tuning, this is our live continuing coverage of what is turning out to be an epic storm here in New York City, looking it will be worse than what was predicted. The latest estimates between one and three inches an hour, up to 30 inches hitting New York in the next five to eight hours. All of the roads here will be closed at 2:30 p.m. eastern time, in half an hour. At that time the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel, major thoroughfares the nation's populous city also shutting down. The rail lines that are not underground coming in from New Jersey, coming in from Long Island, those will be closed at 4:00 p.m. eastern. Everyone here is being told to go home and be safe.

I want to go straight to our meteorologist Chad Myers. He joins me in Times Square. And Chad, I know it's beautiful, but people need to not be in it.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, that's the problem now. People are walking around, and at 2:30 they need to be in their cars and go home or just go back to their hotels. They're having fun here, except for the people behind me here. Those people in the TKTS line, they stood in line this morning to buy tickets for the shows here on Broadway. Now those shows are closed. Now they're standing in line for a refund. That's not how I want to spend my time here in Times Square. Here, where is your sled?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't got one.

MYERS: Where is yours?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have one.

MYERS: Come on. This is time for fun in New York City. Poppy we are going -- they're from Boston. The snow hasn't melted from last year yet.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Poppy, it is going to get deep here. I'm telling you, what we have here, I've seen a couple of snow angels in Times Square for the first time ever. We're going to get another 12 inches on top of what we see here. So people are going to have to either walk home, stay home. And please don't go out. I was out for at least three hours earlier this morning, and it got worst and worst and worst. All the taxis were getting stuck. If you don't have four-wheel drive or if you don't have somebody with you from the National Guard, it's time to get off and stay off at 12:30. The ban is real. It doesn't just mean please stay off. It means do stay off, Poppy.

HARLOW: It absolutely does. And I think, Chad, one of the things you're concerned about, right, is the rapid speed of the snow. Again, this is nearly twice, expected to be twice as worst, twice as bad as they were predicting yesterday.

MYERS: Right. Let me just take the photographer, we're going to look down the street. You can only see about one city block, maybe two city lights. That's it. So we have two block visibility, which means this snow is coming down at a rate about three-quarters of an inch per hour. And I know that earlier this was about an inch less one hour ago. So it is still coming down.

And if it continues to snow for 12 more hours, and in some spots, Poppy, even snows more than that, this rate gets more than that, then all of a sudden, we are going to have this 24 to 30 inch snow fall. For a while today the snowflakes were hard and it was almost like a sleet. That doesn't pile up very much. This stuff here, that's all snow again. This is piling up deep. They have to move it, and this is the stuff you get stuck in.

HARLOW: Yes, no question about it, Chad Myers on it for us. Thank you from Times Square, meteorologist. We'll go back to you in just a moment.

I do want to go to my colleague Brian Stelter, because he is in a roving vehicle around New York City. This just ahead of the road closure. I know, Brian, people may see you and think they can be out. They should not be out. You are there to tell them how bad it is. What's going on? What are you seeing?

[14:05:00] BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we actually saw an ambulance about 15 minutes ago that was having to be dugout because the ambulance was stuck in some snow on a side street. Right now we're on the Westside Highway in Tribeca, moving north towards the West Village. We want to go head up towards the tunnels, because at 2:30 those tunnels and the bridges in the city will all be closed to traffic.

This is actually the first traffic jam we've seen. We've been out here this afternoon. The traffic jam is because of the garbage trucks that are today doubling as snowplows. You see a number of cars behind them while the snow plows do their job here on the West Side Highway.

I think it was notable to hear Chad talking about the folks standing in line at Broadway, because all the Broadway shows are canceled tonight. All the matinees performances are canceled as well. There is one show that will go on, though, Poppy, one show, and that's "Saturday Night Live." Our own Bill Carter reporting the show will go on no matter what tonight on NBC. That's the only show tonight in New York City that will actually be happening.

HARLOW: Brian, what are you seeing out there? I mean, I actually drove into work this morning about 9:30 a.m. and I was on the FDR, one of the main highways in New York City, and I think saw three cars the entire time, which is good. Are you seeing any more?

(LAUGHTER)

STELTER: We were not seeing many cars at all until the last few minutes, and that is because of this line of snowplows, this convoy of snowplows, one in each lane trying to clear the roads. Up until now, we've seen relatively little traffic. I thought Times Square was pretty congested, but that's because a whole lot of pedestrians out there. Downtown not so much. There are some kids out here enjoying the snow. This is the biggest snowfall in some cases they've ever seen. This is at least going to come in the same level as the 2010 storm in New York and possibly pass it. We're talking about the blizzard of '96 as a comparison, and then ones we can't even remember from much earlier last century. Definitely one for the record books, and notably much bigger than was expected. Sometimes we hear forecasts ending up being a lot lower than what we were hoping for and we expecting. In this case it's the opposite. A couple of days ago New York was expecting four or eight inches of snow, maybe a foot, but probably not. Now we're talking about at least double that, maybe even more. This is one of those rare cases where the forecast models actually called for less, not more.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Brian Stelter, thank you so much. Please, be safe, you, your photographer, whoever is driving you there, be safe on those roads. We'll get back to you in just a moment.

And folks, just to remind you again, all of the roads here in the nation's most populous city, New York City, will be shut down at 2:30 p.m. eastern time in just under half an hour. If you are on them, we heard the mayor and the governor saying you can get tickets, points on your license. This is no joke. Stay off the roads. The trains coming inbound from New Jersey, from Long Island, stopping all service both ways at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. The George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel, the two biggest thoroughfares into the city closing down as well in less than half an hour.

Jason Carroll in Central Park. Jason, you are where they do the measuring to determine exactly how much snow we're getting. You and I were speaking yesterday. The models for this were looking like New York could get just a little bit of snow, maybe up to 20 inches. Now we're talking about 30 inches.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what a difference a few hours could make. I went to bed last night at about 3:00 a.m., thinking at one point according to the meteorologist we were going to get a little snow. Woke up this morning to a lot of snow. Out here in Central Park, we're at the 72nd Street entrance. If you could look through the white out conditions up here at Central Park, you can see a few drivers out there on the roads. But as we all know now, in just about a half hour from now drivers like you see out there through all the snow will not be able to be out on the roads. Up here at Central Park, people, Poppy, are doing everything that they can to enjoy the last few hours -- hey there, how are you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

CARROLL: How's it going. Happy blizzard. The last few hours of daylight enjoying the snow out here. They're sledding, having a good time, doing everything that they can. You know, these are New Yorkers, Poppy. They are a hardy group. They know how to have a good time, but they also know when it's time to call it quits. But not calling it quits, not just yet for these girls here. You told me you just got out here. I mean, it's freezing. It's cold. If it were me, I would be home in front of a fireplace. But you've got the sled. You're out here enjoying the snow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just like the nice type of snow you want to run around in.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're ready. We're ready. We're staying out.

CARROLL: You're ready to take on the hill?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. A lot of stress, we just want to go out and have fun on the weekend when we can.

CARROLL: We also want to point out, Poppy, these young girls here, they did not drive here. They walked into the park as many of the people walked into the park. Thank you very much. Go have your fun on the slopes out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We went down the side.

CARROLL: We just saw you guys go down the slopes, and fortunately, you made with your sled there. How you doing, buddy?

[14:10:00] All right, you guys, good luck, have fun out there.

I should also point out, Poppy, that once again when it comes to this travel ban, one important point. These people are out here having fun. This a serious story as well. You know, when you're listening to some of the earlier reports, I was hearing that some 200 accidents occurred. That was as of this morning. So this travel ban, very, very serious. One little sort of anecdote I can give you. Just in terms of trying to make it to our live shot locations, subways are running late, so you don't want to try and do that. Finally, I got a cab. The cabby said I'm from Romania. I can get you through this snow. I'm used to snow. We were going up 8th Avenue, which as you know is a very busy avenue in New York. There was a mound of snow going up all of 8th avenue. At one point, we skidded to the left, skidded to the right. I said, slow down. We made it here, but it just gives you a sense how dangerous conditions can be. Poppy?

HARLOW: No question, Jason. You won't be driving home. I won't be driving home. I'm either taking the subway home if it stays open or I'm staying here next to work. It is not worth it, and it is 20 minutes until that travel ban across New York City goes into effect. Jason Carroll in Central Park, thank you so much for that. I want you all to listen to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: I now feel that the balance has fallen towards protecting public safety. And we're going to commence a ban on roads in the downstate area. We're going to do it in an orderly way so people have time to leave work and to get home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: It is the smart move. Public safety first and foremost, always, you're hearing that from the governor. You're hearing that from the mayor of New York City. We will bring you updates of course throughout the day as we have them from the public officials. Let's get a look at what is in store for us. How this storm is moving, how slowly it's moving, how much more snow is expected up and down the eastern seaboard. Allison Chinchar joins us from the CNN Severe Weather Center. Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It's a threefold. It's now just the snow. It's also the poor visibility, and the very strong winds. And a lot of that is really just now starting to have a big impact on New York City and the surrounding areas. Look at some of these totals, LaGuardia, 16 inches, JFK, 14.7, same thing around Central Park. And some of suburbs in New Jersey also dealing with 13, 14 inches of snow.

But the key thing to note are some of the highest totals. Look at this, 38 inches in Red House, Maryland, 35.5 in Hancock, West Virginia, 33 inches in Winchester, Virginia. The reason this is important is because those totals have risen just like the numbers in New York are going to rise. They may not get as high as 38, but 31 which they got in Pennsylvania is very likely in parts of suburbs of New York City. So, again, certainly something to watch out for.

Here is a look at the radar. Again, you still see a huge swath of white, which indicates the snow. This purple stripe that you see right here, that's the incredibly heavy snow. The stuff that's coming down two, three, four inches per hour that they've had certain waves of in downtown New York City in Manhattan and Long Island, and again part of northern New Jersey as well. Interstate 78 and 87 at some point could be getting those two, three four inch an hour amounts.

And the visibility, we've talked about this. It's incredibly poor. Some spots you can barely see 100 feet in front of you. Some of those areas include New York with visibility of less than a quarter of a mile. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania also around half a mile visibility for Baltimore and Washington.

And the strong winds. We're seeing the numbers come up, 47 miles per hour in Ocean City, 46 in Atlantic City, now 30 miles per hours into New York City. And, again, those winds are not expected to die down any time soon. But you combine that with high tide tonight around 7:30 and the full moon. This is going to cause some significant coastal flooding along New Jersey and also into parts of New York City, Poppy. So that's why they're going to have to keep a very close eye for the next 24 hours.

HARLOW: Allison, thank you for being on top of all of this for us as these models are changing by the minute. We appreciate it so much. You just heard Allison mention that flooding. It is devastating. Some parts of New Jersey, especially Atlantic City. A live report form Atlantic City on the catastrophic flooding there ahead.

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[14:17:27] HARLOW: Welcome back to CNN's continuing live coverage of what has turned out to be an epic winter storm, blizzards up and down the seaboard. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you live from New York City. I'm standing in the heart in Manhattan right in front of the entrance to Central Park. This storm could have done anything to New York City. The models were anywhere from four to eight inches. Now what we're hearing from city and state officials is we could see 30 inches of snow dumped on New York. The nation's most populous essentially shutting down this afternoon. In just about 12 minutes time all of the roads in New York City will be under a mandatory shut down. That means no vehicles other than those in the midst of an emergency will be allowed on the roads.

The Lincoln Tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, two huge entryways into New York City also shutting down at that time. The trains coming in from New Jersey, Long Island, also shutting down. This is stretched from Atlanta to Charlotte, up through Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, all of it.

Let's go straight to Miguel Marquez, my colleague in the thick of it in Baltimore. Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't feel like Baltimore, Poppy. It feels like the Arctic Circle. This is unbelievable. The wind has picked up yet again. I'm standing in about a foot-and-a-half of snow here.

The productions for Baltimore were about two feet of snow, at the most, 24 inches of snow. Now, the weather service is saying anywhere from 24 inches to 30 inches in Baltimore. We're already up to some areas in Baltimore, up to 18 inches of snow. This is a drift that I happen to be standing in, which is drifting up to about two feet here next to the inner harbor. Just massive amounts of snow.

The mayor of Baltimore saying we're only halfway done, that we're just over the halfway point in this storm. Check out the streets here in the inner harbor, just how rough these conditions are. I mean, you literally cannot see, about maybe an eighth of a mile, but that's about it. Literally, white out conditions. Driving in this stuff is very difficult, because even though you can see sort of down the street in front of you, as soon as the winds starts and everything is white around you, you literally can't tell exactly where you're moving to or what's going on around you.

Extraordinarily dangerous conditions here in Baltimore. Public transportation completely shut down through at least Monday morning at 3:00 a.m. They will reassess that. So far, no major problems here, but I think once this storm, this snow falls and you have these cold temperatures, that's what's going to test the city to see if the days ahead that they can keep up and stay on top of this. Poppy?

[14:20:08] HARLOW: No question. I know, Miguel, you were speaking with the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, just about the preparations. What did she tell you?

MARQUEZ: She said, I mean, the biggest issue they have right now is that the snow is just not relenting. The storm is actually worse than the predictions were. So we're halfway through. They expect another pulse coming through this afternoon, this evening, and then that will be the worst of it. The bigger problem on the backend, cold temperatures for days ahead. So this storm, this snow is not going anywhere. She says the city is prepared, that they've been able to get -- the police have been able to make arrests, that the fire department has been able to get to emergencies. So far things are working. But days and days of this, it's going to get tougher. Poppy?

HARLOW: Absolutely, especially when it all piles up there on the side of the road and people try to commute Monday morning. Miguel, thank you so much. We'll get back to you in just a moment. I'm going to take a quick break. More of our continuing coverage of this epic winter storm live from New York City, next.

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HARLOW: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of what has become absolutely treacherous, wicked winter weather slamming the eastern seaboard. I'm Poppy Harlow with you live from New York City. I do want to tell you about some very severe flooding that is taking place in New Jersey, that coastal flooding that we're still worried about especially in and around Atlantic.

[14:25:02] That's where we find our Ryan Young. Ryan, you are south of Atlantic City. What are you seeing? RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're taking that one-two punch.

You can see the snow that's left over from last night's snowfall. When you start walking in this direction, Poppy, we really wanted to show you this. We've been driving around all afternoon looking at these conditions. You can look at this car right here that getting ready to go into the water. I don't know why they're chancing this. They decided to drive through. We've seen several people doing this. Most folks have stayed off the road, but some decided to venture out and go out to try to see if they can find some supplies.

This is what we're seeing, the coastal flooding. We knew there was going to be the high tide, that full moon. That combination was going to provide the water back up into this area. If you look at some of these businesses, you can see the sandbags that they have used to try to -- as you can hear the wind whipping through here, to make sure that they save some of the first floors.

We've actually gone up to those sandbags and seen that the water has penetrated several of these businesses downstairs. That wind is punishing. It's whipping. They said that some gusts were going to be up to 60 miles per hour. The highest one we've been able to measure so far with our wind meter here, just over 35.

And as you can hear now, it's just been pounding us all afternoon long. In Atlantic City, we've also seen cars and total neighborhoods that have been flooded because of the water that's coming in, and this could get worse because we have another high tide coming in later on. As you can see again, the wind is punishing us around. But for the most part, people have heeded the warnings and stayed off the streets, except for the folks like this who have decided to take their chance and do this. We've seen some cars stall, and we've actually seen some National Guards folks out delivering children to their loved once after being stuck in several places. Poppy, their bracing themselves for what could happen next.

HARLOW: Absolutely. You feel for all of those people there and wish them the best. Ryan Young, thank you so much. You and your crew, please stay safe as you can.

We are just moments away what is effectively shutting down of New York City. At 2:30 p.m. eastern time, in just three minutes, all of the roads in New York City will be shut down. That includes the Lincoln Tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, two major, major thoroughfares into the city.

I want to go straight to our Chad Myers in Times Square. The objects are difficult, Chad, because you've got people around you enjoying Times Square. They need to go home. They need to go to their hotels. How unprecedented is it, Chad, to have all of the roads shut in New York City?

MYERS: I can understand why they did it, Poppy, because we were out three hours ago when there was four inches less snow than there is now, and every time a snowplow went down an avenue, it blocked the street that crosses it, and the cars couldn't get over the big pile of snow. Now with an additional three to four inches on the ground already, I

can see why cars won't be able to get through. Emergency services have the right-of-way. If a car is blocking the road, the emergency services can't get to you. The first responders can't get to the people that need to be responded to. Even Starbucks has closed down. I know for most reporters, this is the worst part of the day if I can't go get a cup of coffee to stay warm.

Here is a pile of snow that hasn't really been disturbed. What, maybe 12, maybe 14, here is a pile of people that have been disturbed. They bought tickets to the theater. The theaters are now closed. They have to go back and try to get a refund for the shows they thought they were going to see.

So it's an inconvenience, yes, but think about this. All of the people that work at the theater have to get here somehow. If the roads are closed, how does that happen? Sure, there is a subway, but not everyone has access to that or not even close to that if you're in Jersey or Long Island railroad and all that way out to the east. So they had to start shutting down the city. There was no choice. As long as the snow continues today, and it's going to continue for at least another six to 10 more inches of snow, the city had no chance and no choice. They had to shut it down.

HARLOW: And it's certainly the right thing to do. Be cautious, safety first. No question, no matter the inconvenience. You know what, Chad, you've got to think about all those workers in the restaurants, on the Broadway shows who would have had to come in and then go home late at night.

MYERS: Absolutely.

HARLOW: It is not worth it, no question. Chad Myers, our meteorologist for us live in New York's Times Square.

It is 2:30 eastern time, everyone. If you are just joining us, the travel ban in New York City has now taken effect. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you live right in front of Central Park. All of the roads in New York City now shut down by mandate of the mayor, Bill de Blasio.

[14:30:00] I want to go straight to our Brian Stelter. He is in a roving vehicle obviously for the media. He's showing it to you. The emergency vehicles are out there. But no one else should be out there. Brian, you were at the Lincoln Tunnel. This is a huge passage into New York City. It is now closed. Is that right?

STELTER: Yes, and behind us you can actually see a couple of the vehicles that police cars have actually moved in. They're shutting the tunnel down, shutting down traffic in and out of Manhattan. I found a few hearty soles out here. I wondered what the heck they were doing. So let me ask real quick, where are you coming from and where are you going?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're coming from the Javits Convention Center going to our hotel. STELTER: Normally we could see that. That's about a block away. You

can't see it because of the low visibility. What was going on at the Javits Center?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have market.

STELTER: And how much further do you have to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of avenues.

STELTER: Are you wishing you hadn't come out today for this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I wish it was a different day, but it's all good. We have to work.

STELTER: You've even got your paper here. I'll let you keep going. You're going to that way, right? We'll let you keep going here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're are leaving clothing on.

STELTER: Heated gloves is one better than me. Thank you all for talking with us. I'll let you go ahead.

We're on 39th street in midtown over towards 10th and 11th Avenues. Like I said, the Lincoln Tunnel right behind us. You can see some snowplows, a couple of cars being able to leave New York, being able to leave Manhattan, heading towards New Jersey. We will see that get less and less and less as the hours go on here.

By the way, we're by the Port Authority bus terminal, and these is usually the on and off ramps for all the buses. There that was shut down hours ago. For now, just a few cars out her here. All I see frankly are emergency vehicles and snowplows. Poppy, back to you.

HARLOW: Brian, thank you so much. We appreciate the reporting. Back to you in just a moment. I do want to go, though, on the phone to Frank McCarton with the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Sir, can you hear me?

FRANK MCCARTON, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK CITY: Yes, I can, Poppy. How are you? Good afternoon.

HARLOW: Good afternoon to you. Thank you so much for joining us. This is something I haven't seen in quite a long time, being a New York City resident. You have all of the roads shut down here. Just talk people through how serious this is and what can happen if they are found to be driving on these roads.

MCCARTON: Well, I think people need to realize this is a dangerous storm and they need to get off the roads immediately. The mayor and governor has said that. It needs to be common sense. We understand it is going to be folks as you go, coming to and from work, those folks who maybe had come into work at restaurants. There is going to be some time. So this a dangerous storm. We need to get off the roads. We need to be able to get around. Emergency vehicles need to get around. Sanitation vehicles need to be able to clear the roads. Ambulances need to go and get people that are sick and need to go to the hospital. And this is the way that we need to help people and save people's lives. And that's what we're doing at this point right now.

HARLOW: Absolutely. We have an amazing team here with us on the ground helping us as well. But when you look at the situation for the subways, you're closing all of those trains, the Long Island railway, New Jersey transit, into New York City at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. The underground subway here in New York, which so many people rely on, is still open. Do you expect it will stay open for the duration of this storm?

MCCARTON: Say that again, Poppy.

HARLOW: The subway, the underground subway, do you expect it to stay open for the duration of the storm?

MCCARTON: I can't look in my crystal ball and be able to figure that out, but right now it is running. It is going to maintain running as long as it can safely move residents and tourists throughout New York City. We'll try to maintain it as long as possible. And that's really what is most important is it has to be done safely and efficiently to keep that system running.

HARLOW: And what about people that may lose power in all of this? What are you telling them to do? Where can they go?

MCCARTON: Well, first of all, if you lose power you need to make sure you call in New York City 311, or you call your local PSENG. We've been telling people now for the last at least four days planning for this storm, that people need to make plans and be ready and have their emergency kit. Their go kits, flashlights, all those things need to be in ready. We've been telling them over and over again. And I hope that people have heeded that messaging.

We're only seeing maybe 200 people right now without power, isolated within the city of New York that are without power. It is an inconvenience, and I know that the utility companies are working very, very vigilantly to get the power back up. In our emergency operations and our communications is constantly ongoing and happening.

HARLOW: Frank McCarton with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, sir, I will let you get back to your job. I know you guys are incredibly busy right now. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

[14:35:02] I want to go to General Russell Honore for some perspective on this, someone who has dealt a lot with emergency situations like this, sir. What is your take, prudent for New York City to put the ban in, the travel ban at this point in time?

LT. GEN. RUSSELL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET): Absolutely. They don't have an option. You're talking about roadways that support nearly 8 million people. The storm is not over with. We're going to get more snow, Poppy. If they don't protect those roads and people get sick, or emergencies happen or a fire happened, emergency services won't be able to get there.

I think that was a great call. And that lesson has been learned through experience. As the governor reported earlier, and the mayor, they've learned from past experience by not closing those roads. It caused later problems as you get into the latter phase of this disaster. So I think that was great call.

Now people need to pay attention and get off the roads, clear the roads, get home, and listen to local government officials, as they deal with what may still be a hard act of this storm with the flooding and if the power start going out. So that was a great call. It was a gutsy call by the right call by the governor.

HARLOW: And general, what about what we are seeing in Atlantic City, that really severe coastal flooding?

HONORE: Absolutely. That coastal flooding there was predicted. The governor talked about it earlier and the local mayors in previous interviews. And it could get worst. There is another cycle coming as our weather people have reminded us later this evening, in the early evening hours, the next high tide and lunar cycle. So the water that was there this morning could get higher and flood more areas. So people need to, if you live in a low-lying area that normally floods in these types of events, these nor'easters, you need to move now before it gets dark.

HARLOW: General, thank you so much. Lieutenant General Russell Honore with some perspective for us. We appreciate it.

I want to go back to my colleague, Brian Stelter. He joins us right near the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel, which is now effectively closed down. Brian, what are you learning?

STELTER: What's noticeable here, Poppy, is there are still a few cars that were able to leave Manhattan, that are driving out toward New Jersey near the Lincoln Tunnel entrance. But there are no cars coming into the city for the last 10, 15 minutes, ever since that travel ban was put into effect no cars coming from in New Jersey from Manhattan. That would suggest they've closed off the tunnel entrance on the New Jersey in Hoboken.

Like I said, some cars able to leave, frankly more snowplows and personal cars out here at this point, most people heeding the advice of the authorities. I saw an emergency vehicle about 45 minutes ago stuck in the snow. The staff were out there having to dig it out, trying to clear it from that location. Especially on these side streets, we're on 39th street, on these side streets, they aren't going to be touched for a while while the snowplows are working on the main thoroughfares. So that's one of the big reasons why this is now in effect.

HARLOW: Brian Stelter, thank you so much. We're get back to you in a moment. We're going to take a quick break. Much more live from Philadelphia also getting hammered by this storm, when we return. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow with your continuing live coverage in what is an epic storm up and down the seaboard. You're looking at live images of Nashville. This is a storm that has stretched from Georgia all the way up the eastern seaboard, all the way through New Jersey where you are seeing some horrific coastal flooding in and around Atlantic City. But again, you see how it has hit Nashville as well. The estimates were 29 people would be in the path of this storm. As you can see, that has risen significantly to 85 million of you, right now, enduring this storm. Where I am, in New York City, right in front of Central Park, they're now calling for up 30 inches of snow. That would make this one of the five worst winter storms in the history of the nation's most populous city.

Also in Philadelphia, they're getting slammed. That's where we find our Sara Ganim. What are you seeing, Sara?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Poppy. You know, 15 inches fell here overnight, another 10 to 14 inches expected to fall as the second band is expected to hit Philadelphia in the next couple of hours, the afternoon and evening hours. And in addition to the snow falling, falling and accumulating fast, the other thing that we're seeing here is these gusts of wind that everyone has been talking about, that everyone has been warning about when it comes to safety. That's what we've got these goggles, because when it hits your face it does hurt. These are up to 40 miles per hour gusts. You can see the streets. You can see the plows are continuously coming. But the snow is just that much faster than the plows can come. That hasn't stopped people in Philadelphia form coming out while they can enjoy it before the storm gets worse this evening.

I actually want to bring in a guy that I met here in Philly named John. How you doing, John?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good. I'm doing great.

GANIM: You're enjoying this a little bit. Tell me what you're doing today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. So we are running a beer mile, which is basically a totally unregistered race, a little bit of a renegade race. So basically the concept is you run a quarter of a mile and drink a beer. You run a quarter of a mile and drink a beer. You do that for a mile.

GANIM: Who is the winner today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gene. Come here.

(CHEERS)

GANIM: Tell me, you have couple of winners. One of them is the fastest guy. This is Gene. The other winner, I love this concept. Tell me about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the other winner, we're going to find out because basically the other winner is going to be whoever ran the closest time to the amount of inches fallen so far.

GANIM: That's potentially 22, 25, 30 inches of snow, that's 30 miles, sorry, 30 minutes in a mile. That's a race that I could definitely run and potentially win. John, thank you. It looks like you guys are having a lot of fun. That's the only kind of race --

(CHEERS)

GANIM: That's the only race I could ever win, Poppy, I'll tell you that.

HARLOW: Sara --

GANIM: Everyone is having a lot of fun, but it is, it is still a serious storm. Officials still telling everyone, please be careful while you're out here, the people out here. But they do want them at some point to go home and stay home, as the second band is expected to hit Philadelphia, Poppy.

HARLOW: I want some of your goggles. Can I get some of those over here?

GANIM: I have been asking people all day. Mine are a little better than Miguel's, right? Miguel is in Baltimore.

[14:00:04] HARLOW: I know. I know. You two have been battling it out over your eyewear this entire time. Thank you very much, Sara.

Much more serious situation here in New York City where they don't want anyone out. They don't want anyone running races like you saw in Philadelphia. The roadways here are banned. You can get tickets if you are on them, serious situation, 30 inches of snow. We're going to take a quick break. Much more live from our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GANIM: Welcome back to our continuing live coverage of what has turned out to be quite a winter storm slamming the eastern seaboard. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York right in front of Central Park where this city could get hit with up to 30 inches of snow, far more than even the most dire models were predicting 24 hours ago.

I want to take you to our nation's capital. Jennifer Gray joins us there. Jennifer, they were thinking D.C. might get his the worst, and obviously they have had a history of having a very tough time dealing with amount of snow. What are you seeing?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: People have to remember, it's not over yet. So a couple of hours during the middle part of the day, the snow kind of slacked off. I don't know if you can see me, Poppy, but it is coming down right now. This is really going to add a couple of inches, and we're still going to be in this for a couple of more hours. It is almost eerie to be in the nation's capital on a Saturday and it be this still. You sit quiet. You can actually hear the wind howling through the bindings. So it really is almost an eerie feeling here in D.C.

I want to put my yardstick in and show you, we have increased a little bit. We're showing like 12 to 13 inches right here where I'm standing. But the official totals at Dulles as of 1:30 p.m., 23.5 inches.

[14:50:00] That puts Dulles at the number three spot for the largest snow fall ever. Reagan right now at 14.9. That ranks it at number nine when you're talking about the snowiest storm. To beat the record, Dulles needs another nine inches or so. In Reagan we need about another 14.

But it is not over yet. We are still going to be in this for a couple of more hours, Poppy, and the winds are incredible. Luckily not seeing too many people around at the moment.

HARLOW: That's good. They're inside where they should be. Jennifer Gray, thank you very much.

I want to go to Jason Carroll. He's in Central Park. And Jason, where you are, that's where they do the official measurement of how much snow the city is getting. Are there still a lot of folks out there behind you?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still a lot of folks out here, Poppy. Not as many people out on the roads, thankfully. If you take a look behind me you can see that's 5th Avenue and 72nd. Normally teeming with traffic, not now, not since that travel ban has been in effect. We're seeing fewer and fewer cars, though still a few out there on the road, but mostly people are heading into the park or doing what they should be. They are walking into the park.

Adam joining me here quickly with his two kids who decided to come out, just now taking advantage of this great snow. The travel ban in effect that you and I were talking, not everyone listening it appears, at least not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there's still a few cars out here when we walked over here from our apartment. But we're psyched to find some hills to go sledding on, right guys?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CARROLL: A lot of people say this blizzard is an opportunity to take advantage and have families come together and enjoy it while you still have some daylight hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is what we're thinking. We'll get some exercise, get the blood flowing meet some friends, hope to find a hill to go down and try to stay away from, you know, people that don't know how to drive with two wheel drive.

CARROLL: Kids, you ready for the slopes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm really excited.

CARROLL: Stay warm, try and stay warm when you're out there. Nice to meet you. Thanks very much.

Poppy, one of the things that we noticed on the way up here were a number of businesses that were open, and I think what's going to have to happen is the city is going to have to give some people some wiggle room. Obviously a lot of businesses open this morning, and in order to close and get their customers out of there and get people home, you're going to have to that have period of time between the travel ban and folks trying to get where they were trying to get home. So I think that is maybe what we're seeing here on the road, but in terms of what we're seeing here in the park, it's just some good old fashion fun at least for now. Poppy?

HARLOW: Jason Carroll live for us in Central Park, thank you so much. Quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We'll get back to our continuing coverage of the blizzard 2016 sweeping the mid- Atlantic and northeast. But right now snow is a beautiful backdrop if you're in Park City, Utah. The Sundance film festival is underway, and our Stephanie Elam is there. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka, yes, we have a lot less snow it seems like you do on the east coast there. But yes, we are here talking to a lot of different filmmakers, seeing what the experience is like for them. One of the people we spoke to is Kevin Smith. Kevin Smith and his daughter who is starring in this new movie "Yoga Hosers." It's an interesting film. It stars not just his daughter but also the daughter of someone else you may know, Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily Rose. And these star as really good friends who got invited to the big senior party, but there's some evil lurking near them that they have to beat down one odd yoga pose at a time. And here is what Kevin had to say about the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN SMITH, FILMMAKER: The weirdest thing is it's a kid's movie. I'm not expected to make a kid's movie, but it's a kid's movie. I'm kind of waiting for a bunch of people to be like, this is for children. And be like, yes, it is. I thought that would be weird. This was the movie that I wanted to see when I was a 12-year-old girl. So I finally made it as a 45-year-old man. It took a little while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: A 45-year-old man. I have to tell you, it is one of the most fun conversations that I've had. He is hilarious. It's a very different kind of movie than you would expect to see, he says. But he had a great time incorporating all the different family members from Johnny Depp's family, from his own family, and putting them in the movie. So if you're friends with him, you'll likely end up with one of his movies, Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's good. Laughing is good medicine. We all love that. All right, thanks so much, Stephanie Elam, we appreciate it. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We have much more news straight ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00] HARLOW: Welcome to our breaking news coverage of what has become an epic storm up and down the eastern seaboard. It is 3:00 here on the east coast. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you live from New York City. We will have you covered every hour of this storm, keep you posted on what is going on.