hello, everyone. i m kate bolduan. at this hour, we re tracking this massive winter storm sweeping across the united states. it is impacting the vast majority of americans today. just two days before christmas. the storm is bringing blizzard conditions. i mean i don t need to say it. you could see it. blizzard conditions and ice freezing rain and very strong winds to cities coast to coast. areas near the great lakes could see up to three feet of snow like buffalo. but the cold, record-breaking and life-threatening. more than 200 million americans are under windchill alerts. the storm has not knocked out power to at least a million customers so far and travel is starting to get back. more than 3700 flights have been canceled today and more than 2,000 others have been delayed. that is not even to speak of what the roads are like right now. we re going to get to. we have reporters stationed across the country. let s start with meteorologist al alice isson chinchar. up an dow
comcast business. powering possibilities. hello, everyone. it is the top of the hour. thanks so much for being with us. i m kate bolduan. it is the storm impacting pretty much everyone in one way or another across the country today. more than 200 million americans under windchill alerts and holiday travel plans are getting much more complicated by the hour for so many people. life-threatening cold has pushed all the way to the gulf coast and the mexico border and with more than 70 million americans facing temperatures below zero today, blizzard warnings remain in effect for more than 11 million people, mostly near the great lakes. areas near buffalo could see up to three feet of snow. they ve been getting walloped already this season and making matters worse, the damaging winds that knocked out power for more than a million customers from texas to new england, all of this is wreaking havoc on typically one of the busiest travel days of the year. more than 3,900 flights have
there are winter storms and then there s this, an historic co coast-to-coast arctic blast packing the power of a category 2 hurricane and whether it s blinding snow or subzero temperatures just about everyone out there is feeling it. more than 200 million americans right now under winter warnings or advisories and looking at that map, the more purple you see, the colder it is. and the timing of this is simply terrible. holiday travel where it s even possible is a mess as you would guess. thousands of flights are canceled right now and you can forget about driving in a lot of parts of the country. in new york the snow and flooding are so bad all n nonessential travel is banned right now and in rhode island, massive waves hammering the coast. street flooding there a big concern. and blizzard conditions are also making for some white knuckle driving in ohio and cleveland. it s going to feel like minus 27 all day. and in the south, well, that s where you ll find a lot of ice and
hello, welcome to cnn newsroom. we begin with this monster winter storm. its core is hovering over the great lakes, and its trailing arctic air is causing power outages and dangerous travel conditions two days before christmas. life-threatening windchills have permeated all the way to the gulf coast, over 70 million americans are experiencing below freezing temperatures, that includes the entire state of texas. this video s from kentucky where the governor has just confirmed three people have died as a result of this storm. and this from our affiliate whbq in memphis, tennessee, their high today, 16 degrees. it s usually around 52 this time of year. the city s enforcing rolling blackouts to reduce the strain on their power fwrid. and damaging winds grid. and damaging winds have knocked out power to a million customers nationwide. and look at this the storm system causing heavy flooding in parts of new england. just a harrowing sight for a region expected to hit freezing
have been empty for more than six weeks. reporter: as for this family it s frustrating and it s scary. first we couldn t feed our children because of the infant formula shortage and now we re facing another challenge with being able to take basic care of them. reporter: athena jones, cnn, new york. hello. i m kristen fisher. welcome to cnn newsroom. this massive winter storm system is barrelling towards the east coast this hour, and this arctic chill is straining the power grids, closing airports from coast to coast, and causing deadly road conditions on one of the busiest travel days of the year. look at this video that we just got in from hamburg, new york. snowing and flooding on the coast at the same time. deep floodwaters across new england are a huge concern heading into the weekend as temperatures continue to drop, and nearby buffalo, officials have closed the airport and canceled all flights. you can see why. over 70 million americans are experiencing belo