plunged several hundred feet down a snowy embankment there. the bus was heading back to vancouver from las vegas. it crashed on a section of the blue mountains called dead man's pass. an area so dangerous officials warned it had some of the most severe weather conditions in the northwest. the driver survived but too badly injured to speak with police. winter weather being blamed for dozens of crashes across the country. >> it is dangerous right now. people from the midwest to the northeast still trying to recover from back-to-back snowstorms. today, temperatures taking a massive dive, with some areas bracing for the chilliest air of the season. we get more now from meteorologist jim dickey. hi, jim. >> good morning. cold air in place across much of the north and east on this new year's eve. these are your early morning temperatures. 5 in burlington. 9 in portland and 18 in boston. as we switch gears now in the north central portions of the country, these are as high as temperatures will get as we go through the day. 9 in bismarck,