at airports, frustrated travelers. almost 3,000 flights canceled and more than 2,000 delayed. the storm is barelying over the northeast. behind it, incredibly cold and intense winds that will last into the weekend. but the severe conditions in new york s central park didn t stop these people from having a little fun. we re actually waiting on some friends to play some touch football game. reporter: and when those friends showed up, it was game on. new york city remained under a winter storm watch overnight. the concern, dangerous roads and walking conditions. john and marci. thanks, tahman. now let s get forecast specifics about all this. oh, yeah. for those who want to know all the details about this cold, crazy weather we re going to go live to accuweather meteorologist jim dickey to get some stats. how are you doing, jim? doing good. it s cold, certainly. good news is we re seeing improvement, especially along the i-95 corridor all day tuesday.
do these morning present any challenges? do you think you re good to go? we should be in pretty good shape on the state roads but because the temperatures are so low, salt loses some of its effectiveness at these temperatures so motorists definitely need to be wary of changing road conditions, especially if they go across overpasses or bridges because they tend to freeze before the road surfaces. motorists need to be careful even if roads are clear. joe dee, we appreciate your report. thank you for that. thanks, john. and stay with us for continuing coverage of this latest winter wallop. abc news will keep you on top of the storm and let you know what to expect in the days to come. now to those mounting worries about security at the olympics. the white house says it has offered russia whatever assistance it needs to keep the games safe but one athlete is
the bitter cold is a concern for millions as well. abc s tahman bradley continues our coverage. good morning. reporter: good morning. the polar freeze is back bringing parts of the country to a standstill. and meteorologists say this just the beginning. across the midwest and northeast, an army of snowplows and shovellers, digging out from another winter blast. over 80 million people, buried in snow, and some places over a foot high. clearing all that snow is back-breaking. been doing it all day today. all day. heavy? yeah, heavy. i had an idea it was coming but i didn t think it would be this much. just looking out the window, it is a complete whiteout. reporter: and a wipeout on streets. frightening spinouts. in indianapolis, the storm folded a fedex truck in three. and closed stretches of i-65 for hours. the great lakes, more frozen this winter than they ve been in decades. this endless pool of ice is lake michigan, captured by a drone camera.
storm and governor calling a state of emergency. for those going to work the morning commute will be a tough one. i spoke with joe dee. communications director for new jersey department of transportation. thank you for joining us. tell us the situation in new jersey. how bad is it? what is the situation right now? right now the snow is starting to subside throughout the state. it s been a long day of heavy snows. some areas more than a foot of snow has fallen. much of the state has received significant snowfall. so, it s been an all day effort with our plow trucks and salt spreaders. they ve been out all morning throughout mid-morning. we expect them to continue throughout the night. road conditions are improving. some roads are still snow covered but passable. other roads we ve gotten down to the blacktop and we ll continue working on them throughout the night. do you have any advice for motorists in new jersey right now?
this morning on world news now we are locked in in a winter wonderland on the upper west side of new york city. winter wonderland? how about waste land? a living hell? we are busting out the flaps. very, very stylish. you actually do look stylish. i can t feel my face. it is not just here. the storm stretched for 1,000 miles from kentucky to massachusetts. schools are shut down today. roads are treacherous and thousands of flights are cancelled. what are we complaining about? at least it s above zero. this morning we take you to the coldest city in world. prince harry s journey to the south pole.