could get up to a foot of snow. they re stocking up. and this storm is dumping what s called heart attack snow. it sends some 700 people to emergency rooms every year. it s heavier and weighs twice as much as that lighter, fluffier stuff. just one of the many problems this storm is dumping on several states. when the storm hits the northeast, virginia and massachusetts can expect a foot of snow and the coastal areas will get powerful wind gusts. these are live pictures over the white house. d.c. can expect the worst storm in years. take a look right now, it is starting to fall. we get the latest from meteorologist jim dicky from accuweather. good morning, jim. good morning, john and diana. snow ending in chicago but just beginning here across northern pennsylvania, southern pennsylvania. heavy through these morning hours in pittsburgh and heavy through the day in the d.c.
call this potential heart attack snow. beware if you re out there shoveling. eight inches of the white stuff today. more to come. and that, of course, has created some havoc, especially for commuters locally and regionally. upwards of 2,000 flights were canceled throughout the midwest. 900 of those at o hare airport, another 240 at midway. good news tonight, midway s main carrier, southwest airlines, are just starting to fly out again. one airline took off at 7:20, and that s the first in a long time. a lot of passengers bottlenecked, and this portends what is now heading to the east as this front moves towards you guys. back to you. thanks very much. cnn s alexandra steele is in the weather center tracking the path of the storm. how bad is this going to be, do you think? if you re sitting here in new
places like washington, d.c. could get up to a foot of snow. they re stocking up. and this storm is dumping what s called heart attack snow. it sends some 700 people to emergency rooms every year. it s heavier and weighs twice as much as that lighter, fluffier stuff. just one of the many problems this storm is dumping on several states. when the storm hits the northeast, virginia and massachusetts can expect a foot of snow and the coastal areas will get powerful wind gusts. these are live pictures over the white house. d.c. can expect the worst storm in years. take a look right now, it is starting to fall. we get the latest from meteorologist jim dicky from accuweather. good morning, jim. good morning, john and diana. snow ending in chicago but just beginning here across northern pennsylvania, southern pennsylvania. heavy through these morning hours in pittsburgh and heavy through the day in the d.c. area.
in effect. live in minneapolis this morning, how bad is it there? reporter: well, you can see it s still snowing. we have about six inches on the ground currently and it s supposed to continue to keep snowing until about noon today. we could pick up ten inches to a foot of snow. so things are pretty messy out here. those drivers having a pretty tricky commute. snowplows worked overnight and will be on 12-hour shifts but it s still pretty slippery out there. we have been getting these one to three-inch snowfalls over the last three weeks or so. so things are starting to pile up. also want to show you it s that really heavy, thick snow so it gets really strenuous for people that may not have been out shoveling throughout that winter. they call that that heart attack snow, so be careful if you re in the midwest and getting this heavy, chicago snow. it s just sitting over the top of us for much of the day today. did some flight checks. flights from here to chicago cancelled because that
so if you re traveling anywhere today, you re probably going to be impacted by this weather. in the midwest, south dakota, the drifts are piling up as high as 3 feet. in minnesota, iowa, parts of wisconsin, the striving is stretch driving is treacherous as the snow is piling up faster than the snowplows can get to it. here in chicago they re expecting 6-10 inches of snow. farmers out here love it after they endured the trout last year. twhaint to get some moisture on the ground. drivers don t love it. state of illinois has almost 400 snowplows at the ready. they re expected to keep up with it. right now the roads aren t that bad, but later in the afternoon when it really comes down, they re not going to be able to keep up with the pace of the snow, and the problem with that is you ve got a lot of people who commuted to work, they re going to be stuck when they try to get home. you mentioned this is a wet and heavy snow. i can show you an example of how it s sticking and packs up. thi