this is cnn breaking news. >> 10:00 p.m., all right everyone on the east coast, brace yourself. this is our breaking news, more than 85 million people in the path of a storm with life or death implications. i'm don lemon. this is "cnn tonight." this is a storm so enormous it could shut down much of the east including baltimore, including washington, philadelphia, and new york and we are live on each of the cities for you. the air traffic is at a stand still. thousands of flights cancelled. if you got to out on a flight tonight you very, very lucky, at least 7500 flights cancelled tonight and through the weekend. residents are warned to stay off the roads and shelter in place in the face of a record-breaking storm. the reporters are in the midst of it in the region. and chad myers is tracking this. he is our meteorologist. he knows everything there is to know about storms. a lot to talk about. when i checked with you an hour ago you said we are at the beginning of this. where are we now? >> we're one hour closer than we were but five hours from the lull getting into the gulfstream. that is that warm water. it's 45 but it's not 10 like some of the air is to the west. when that 45 degree water gives up its steam and combines with the 10 gruyere to the west we have explosive development of a coastal storm that is a nor'easter. 31 million people right now in a blizzard warning which means there are 20 million pets in a blizzard warning too. if you're cold, they're cold. make sure they don't stay out in this blizzard like weather. here comes the snow. d.c. -- here comes more snow and more to come. there could be 30 more inches on of the of what we're seeing, philadelphia the same story and baltimore piling up from inner harbor, all the way out to harrisburg, very heavy snowfall to come as the low parks itself and plows moisture from the gulfstream that is 2 to 4 degrees warmer than we should be this time of year anyway. it's warmer than it should be and that warmth is going to add fuel to the fire to make this a bigger storm than it could have been. columbia is going to see ice and snow coming down. and atlanta, georgia right now, it's done. snow all through the day in nashville, it's finally all over as the emphasis now comes into d.c., charlottesville, richmond, virginia, baltimore, philadelphia and on up the turnpike. there is a potential for us to see significantly more than the forecast total which is between 8 and 14 inches. there are models where i don't get home until thursday or friday because there won't be flights until then. let's hope that doesn't happen. let's hope for 10 and you know what, let's hope that is the worst it could be. there could be significantly more as this coastal bomb explodes. we're not sure where the bomb goes off and where the snow really totals up. it could be new york city. it will certainly be philadelphia and trenton and baltimore/washington area. that's not a miss. but this so far, 12 inches for new york city is a miss. if it hits it's double that and then some. winds 40 to 50 miles an hour. some gusts to 60 or 70. you may never see three feet of snow in d.c., you could see bare ground and then an 8 foot drift next to it. the low with the cold core is waiting to get into the gulf stream. when it gets over the warm water. it's warm enough. when it gets over that it's like a hurricane going into the bahamas where the water is 85. that's where it bombs because the energy of the water is there. the energy here is for the gulf stream for the snow. >> tell me about the thunder snow. >> that is amazing. there is so much convection in this. when there is sleet you are shearing ice crystals and water vapor apart. you can get thunder and lightning in the snow. it's not like a crack/boom it's more of a rolling low thunder. >> we had it here two years ago. remember that? >> when that snow comes down, it really does pour down. it's like the either taking a big sneeze and snow just falls down. >> coastal boom and the earth taking a big sneeze. chad's watching this for us. >> we are in fairfax, and washington. jennifer gray live at the national mall. we see, you know, behind us, washington. take it away. look at the live shot. it's coming down. >> it really is, these gusts of wind, it will blow the snow. it's been difficult to tell how much snow we received because the wind is blowing the snow all around. that gets the visibility down to zero. you can barely see the washington monument behind me. i believe we have got about 4 inches here where i'm on the national mall. we are expected to get much, much higher amounts as chad said. we could get 30 inches or more. it is going to be a long night here in d.c. this is going to continue into tomorrow as well. so during the thick of it tonight we are going to see snowfall rates at 2 to 3 inches per hour on top of that you're going to have winds at 20 to 30 miles an hour with gusts up to 60 and higher. so we are going to be in this for hours and hours. this is not a fast-moving storm. it's a very slow-moving storm. we are still going to possibly see snow for the next 24 hours or so. so we are going to see incredible amounts of snow. a lot of people remember the snowstorm from 2010 where 30-plus inches fell. outside the city this could be worse than that. that's why people have been urged to stay off the roads. we have seen quite a few plows pass by. at midnight it will be hard for the plows to keep up with the snowfall rates that we are going to see. the national guard troops will be coming in, 60 of them with 30 vehicles to patrol the streets all night long and staying here until everything is back to snowstorm. and so that could be quite a while. looking for the possibility of power outages as well through the weekend. >> more than 100,000 people without power. jennifer grey in washington on the national mall for us. this is a slow-moving storm so it's going to sit and snow is going to pile up. >> brian todd is out in the snow. what are you seeing out there? >> don, we are in the northwest part of washington and inside the city at this moment, the story is the wind and the volume of snow and the whiteout conditions, the lack of visibility. we are on connecticut avenue heading northbound toward the maryland line. i will switch you to the dash camera. look at the vortex of snow and the wind. look what it is doing. it is whipping it around from side to side. we're going to show you this part as we move nrth to the maryland line. they knew the visibility was going to be bad but it's worse than we thought it was going to be. we're going to pull over here and give you a sense of what we are look at here. the vortex of snow is impressive and treacherous. there is snow pack on the street and the snow pack is deceptive. it looks like it is packed down but it is slippery. underneath there is a small sheen of ice. and a lot of slush. switch over to this camera here. and you can see just check it out up here, just the snow drift and the wind. that is really what is killing the visibility here for anybody moving around now. and we've seen this play out where we just were in northern virginia, we saw a lot of people stranded, a lot of people having trouble seeing. you can see the wind hitting my face now. it's really bad how it is whipping around and crushing your visibility here. we just got off the phone with virginia state police. they have responded to 840 accidents in the state today and we're not done with this yet. we are heading into the worst hours. what we're told by the national weather service and others is that at some point in the evening even now when we get to the overnight hours when it is going to get to its worst volume you might see tapering off a little bit. that just means it is ebbing and flowing. if you think you are out of the woods you're not and you are not going to be until tomorrow afternoon or evening. also with regard to the roads you can see the snow pack here and it looks flat and packed down. it is still treacherous. even when the snow stops on saturday whenever it stops it's going to take 48 hours to clear the roads. if you can venture out when it stops you can't. it's still going to be bad on the roads monday morning. that means the monday morning commute is going to be ugly. >> brian todd out in it. that's how you do a snow story and cover it live. >> now in fairfax, virginia. he is out in the elements what do you have for us, nick? >> a lot of snow plows around us. this is a major staging area in fairfax, virginia. the snow has been coming down in the last 30 minutes or so. and the story of the day it's the wind. we have been hearing it from our meteorologist, reporters all across this hard-hit area where the storm is. let's talk to the guys who know what it's all about. you don't need to shy away from the cameras. we hear you're the man. you are taking a much-need break. what's going on? >> about to head home and get some sleep and come back at 10:00. >> how are the road conditions? >> it's pretty crappy and starting to get worse. it's pretty thick. it's -- this is all a new experience for us. >> i imagine you have all sort of been through this kind of thing before. this is a usual thing every winter but what does it compare to other winters here in virginia? >> past winters was much easier. wouldn't you guys say? >> oh, yeah. >> let's talk about -- pan around the camera here. you guys are fixing the light here. you are dealing with your own equipment issues. >> correct, when you hit a manhole cover the lights jerk and you blow lights out all the time. we have to do minor maintenance on our vehicles. >> show us a little bit about what you are putting on the roads. how is it different? you have to plan for this different, put down different materials fending on the weather conditions? >> there is a chemical route and then a salt and saturday. >> this is what you're putting down. >> this is straight salt here. and the secondary roads we put salt and sand on. >> thank you for your time. we'll make sure you get back and stay warm and stay safe out there as well. i spoke to the virginia department of transportation. they say the roads are look pretty good but after midnight the storm is going to be strong, the visibility will be an issue and the wind is going to pick up and the snow is going to keep on falling. >> i think crappy is a technical weather term if i'm not mistaken. nick, we'll check back with you. we're going to talk now with jordan ashley walker, communications officer for north carolina department of transportation. nick checked with the department of transportation in virginia and things look good. but what about in charlotte where you are? >> we have had a very busy 24 hours here in north carolina. we started out this morning with some snow and freezing rain, and then later on this afternoon it transitioned into sleet. and so that obviously is creating sot treacherous travel conditions tonight. and through this afternoon and this morning. the issue right now is black ice. black ice is difficult because you can't see it. it's hard to predict. and for motorists it's hard to respond to. our crews will be out overnight. we have been working 12 hour shifts for 24 hours now. they will be monitoring the spots that are prone to black ice treating it with salt, and s.a.t. sand mixture. those are the concerns in charlotte and north carolina as a whole right now. >> do you know how long it's going to take to get the road conditions back to snowstorm or they won't be until this storm is done? >> i think you're right about that, don. i think that we've still got the winter weather and in charlotte we are expecting snow to come in overnight. so our crews are just going to continue to work clearing, plowing, until the system moves through. and obviously, several hours after that so we can clear up the last bit of whatever the storm brings. >> where do people need to stay tunes to? the news? >> and we have a website where people can check live conditions. we have a lot of information available there. we obviously want people to check the conditions before they venture out. stay off the roads if you don't have to be on there but be prepared. >> ncdot.com. or gov? >> ncdot.gov. >> when we come back more on the monster storm out in the east. we have the latest information that you need to know as you are dealing with this storm. in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. and in albany, the nanotechnology capital of the world. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov while you're watching this, i'm hacking your company. grabbing your data. stealing your customers' secrets. there's an army of us. relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. think you'll spot us? ♪ you haven't so far. the next wave of the internet requires the next wave of security. we're ready. are you? hwe'll match any competitorse best prprice. this? what about this? price match guarantee. and this? yep! so no monkey business, no tomfoolery? oh, we do have tom foolery, tom. staples has a price match guarantee. make low prices happen. staples make more happen. where you can savor 2 of 7 new and classic creations on one plate for $15.99. and bold flavors ghost pepper bbq shrimp and savory maple-and-bacon shrimp are to good to last, so hurry in! go on a first date. my passion is puppetry. here? i think we're done here. hate drama? go to cars.com research, price, find. only cars.com helps you get the right car without all the drama. this is our breaking news tonight. that is hunker down. live pictures of philadelphia. the giant winter storm moving up an down the east coast. residents of coastal new jersey battered by hurricane sandy three years ago bracing for the worst. look who is joining me now. that is mr. chad myers. join me right over there. we're going to get to chad in a moment. he is going to help us this evening. and vanessa freeman is with news 12 new jersey and she is holding up the big umbrella. it looks very windy and she has precipitation. take it away. what is going on? >> yes. >> keyword is trying to hold on to this umbrella. we are just along the bay here. we are on bay shore drive. we have been out here the entire evening and it started snowing around 8:00, 8:30 and as you can see as we pan down lower for you to see, it's really starting to accumulate out here, maybe an inch or more of snow. it's coming down a little light but they are expecting it to get more thick and more dense and that's what folks are worried about out here. >> and they are worried about coastal flooding as well, right? >> exactly. exactly. a lot of officials out here are worried about the flooding as you mentioned and with the storm surge coming in about 4 feet they are very concerned. and that is what encouraged a lot of the officials to put in place that mandatory evacuation. that is just as strong as hurricane sandy was. >> the barnegat police are issuing some evacuations in the town. has everybody cleared out? are they heeding it? >> right now, it is a ghost town. these roads aside from the snow, rather, there is very little tire tracks out here. a lot of folks did take heed to that warning and are evacuating but we have die hard shore residents who say we have been here and done it. a lot didn't have a bad outcome in hurricane sandy. they are hoping if they hunker down they will have the same luck. >> vanessa in barnegat, new jersey, she is going to have a tough time. she may have to put the umbrella down and go with the hat. ryan young is in margate, new jersey. hers looked a bit wetter. is that possible? where ryan is, i have chad myers here. stand by. his looks puffier, dryer. >> the closer to the ocean, the wetter it is going to be. from atlantic city to wildwide and seaside we're going to see more rain mixing in. you are not going to get 25 inches of snow but more of a mess. >> ryan, you have the puffy snow where you are, is it really coming down? >> sort of. sort of. we sort of have the puffy snow. we have been holding on all night for this live shot. we wanted to tell you it has been mostly the rain/sleet mix and it changed over to snow. this is what people are concerned about, the idea this water could rise again. when hurricane sandy hit, this water was so high it came over the edge of this fence, blue the fence out of the holdings here and went across the way into the first story of all the homes along this street. a fire truck got stuck here. there is a full moon and high tide going on an they are worried about the water coming over the edges here. they're not worried about the snow. that just started falling. we have seen the heavy truck passing by live on tv clearing the snow from the roads. that's not been an issue. people have been hitting the bar up for the last hour and a half having a few drinks and not worried about the impact. 7:00 a.m. is the realtime when they are expecting the water to come -- >> that is s.o.p., standard operating procedure if you don't have to work, most people stay at home or hit the bar. but there is a wind advisory that is supposed to go into effect. what is up with that? >> great question, don. i have my wind meter here. we have had the highest wind gust is 11 miles an hour. the wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour are not supposed to start until midnight. so far, so good. 11 miles an hour on this wind meter is not that big of a deal. but that concern is for this water. a police officer stopped by from about an hour ago and said how long are you going to be parked here? they are concerned about the water coming over the edge once again. >> stand by, ryan. and rightly so. there is a possibility of coastal flooding. >> when you have a high tide because of a full moon, you push water on shore and you are going to push three or four feet on top of the astronomical tide and you put a 15-foot wave on top of that you lose the dunes. >> is it going to change over from a presip, a wetter -- i guess rain-like substance to something that is fluffier or is that going to continue -- >> going the other way. it's going to get wetter and wetter as the low gets closer we're going to see the moisture wrap under up here. the water is 45 degrees. that water and wind will make it right along the shore all wet not all white. >> but that's freezing. that's terrible, right? >> it is certainly terrible. you are going to get power lines down. in manhattan a lot of the power lines are underground. they go where the subway goes. if you get away from the city and the power lines are above ground and if you get ice on them the power lines are going to come down. >> you are saying this is just the beginning. we are four or five hours from the real beginning or the brunt of it? >> the fuse was just lit. the low was in atlanta, georgia. when the fuse runs the low all the way to south carolina, that's when the fire cracker goes off. that's when the storm explodes and gets much deeper, much bigger and becomes almost a tropical storm. we will have wind gusts of 75 miles an hour in ocean city, all of those areas will have winds to 75. >> this is a view from space. that is ridiculous. >> yes. it's covering a bit -- it would cover alaska. it's covering the east eastern half of the united states. we had 6 inks in knoxville, ashville, all the big cities in the south, they got hit. >> the fuse was just lit a couple hours ago and we are a couple hours away from the big portion of this storm. but, still, this is the time now and maybe too late, this is where you stock up and be in your home. you saw ryan young out at the bar, but you should be making your way home and hunkering down. when we come back we're going to check in with chad myers. more on the storm making its way up the east coast. we have more reporters out in the snow zones live for you. at every turn... when you're engineered to literally to drive circles around the competition. ♪ lost shipments, international regulations, security breaches, lost revenue lost respect. well crafted solutions for today's problems in commerce. pitney bowes, the craftsmen of commerce. other wireless carriers make families share data. not t-mobile! switch now and get four lines with up to six gigs each. and no sharing. just thirty bucks a line at t-mobile. rootmetrics, in the nation's largest independent study, tested wireless performance across the country. verizon won big with one hundred fifty three state wins. at+t got thirty-eight, sprint got two, and t mobile got zero. verizon also won first in the us for data, call speed, and reliability. at+t got text. stuck on an average network? join verizon and we'll cover your costs to switch. ♪ he has a sharp wit. a winning smile. and no chance of getting an athletic scholarship. and that is why you invest. the best returns aren't just measured in dollars. as long as you love me, it's alright bend me shape me, any way you want me you've got the power, to turn on the light shape the best sleep of your life. sleep number beds with sleepiq technology adjust any way you want it. the bed that moves you. only at a sleep number store. you can see, to be able to see snow at night, that means it is really coming down. 85 million people in the path of this monster storm. i have chad myers helping me get through this with all the details on what it means, who is getting hit hardest. and when it is going -- >> go off shore. right now it is over atlanta when it gets off shore it explodes and uses the gulf stream water. >> philadelphia is going to get the brunt of the storm. sarah, when did the snow start falling in philly, how much have you seen there already? >> yeah, it started falling a few hours ago, what you notice is this is the kind of snow you can hear it hitting your jacket as it is falling. so far we have 2 inch here. but i want to show you how wet this stuff is. it sticks to everything and that includes the roads. you can see out here quite a bit of snow on the streets out here in philadelphia. what you also see on the streets still because it is friday in philly and not quite that bad. you see a lot of cars and a lot of people. there is an ice skating rink if you can hear the music, people are out here enjoying friday night still getting in a little bit more fun before the brunt of the storm really hits. we have heard chad talk about it all night. we have a few hours before the heart of the storm hits philadelphia. but places like this are prepared. they are ready for the worst. i talked to the emergency management guy here in philly, the commissioner of the streets department. he gave a pep talk to the plow guys earlier today saying this is one of the storms you have to keep motivated and stay alert and safe. you are going to be out on the roads for several hours chasing the snow, keeping the streets clean. but they are prepared here. they have 400 plows out just in the city, another 450 in the suburbs. this is a city that in the next 24 to 36 hours could get as much snow as it typically sees in the entire month of january, maybe even more than that. 12 to 22 inches predicted. so they've got all sorts of precautions in place. for example, they have a code blue enacted for tonight if you see a homeless person out on the streets in philadelphia, you should call the police so they can get to a shelter. you are supposed to move your cars off the streets so the plows with get through and do their job. a little bit of good news here, don, when you're talking about this storm, this time last year, cities like philadelphia and others up the northeast corridor, by the time they got to a storm this late in january, their snow budgets were in a pinch. they had seen several storms. this time around, this is the first major storm of the year. and so they have the salt stockpiled and they are ready. their budgets are full and they are ready to handle this. >> i used to live in philly, where is the skating rink of which you speak. >> this is city hall. >> okay. >> you can see william penn. we have seen people walk by in the snow and there are cars on the road. public transportation will be shut down at 4:00 a.m. and there will be no fliepghts tomorrow. it's not quite the ghost town than you are seeing in other places. it's definitely snowing, not necessarily atypical of january, right? so the big winds have not started yet. the scary stuff has not hit here yet but officials are telling people that doesn't mean to be out all night. at some point go home and stay there. that's where they want you this weekend. >> that's the best advice. and philadelphia is like new york city but village like and with the cars off the streets, the people in center city are going out and about to the restaurants and the bars and just checking out the snow. let's talk about virginia. virginia state department offices and schools closed early to get people home and off the roads. chad myers is here with me and joining me on the phone is cotton peryear, state public affairs officer for the virginia army and national guard. what is the current status? >> right now we've got about 400 -- [ audio difficulties ] we have helped transport blood supply from one hospital to another. with our um vees we are able to assist the first responders to give them capability to do something they may not have to protect the citizens of the commonwealth. we have been doing this a lot of years. katrina changed the world in terms of the national guard to prepare for domestic operations. we get better each time we do it. we have a lot of experience on the federal side. we have soldiers in combat zones an the peacekeeping operations and that experience comes back as well. with you have procedures and we have a play book that says we need a re-reduction team and we execute that. each time we get better and are better prepared. >> how many folks out there? >> 400. the government has authorized more if we need to. we are watching to see what the weather does. we have a combination of soldiers that are at our armories but we have them co-located with the fire houses and police and different places so we are in the right place to help out. >> have you had any requests for assistance yet? >> yes, we have been working directly with the state police. they've made a request, would you come here to this either department of transportation location or come to this state police facility to get our state troopers to places they may not be able to reach with their police cruisers. i heard earlier today we transported somebody was having a heart attack and we were able to get them to the medical station they needed. we have been doing a few missions and we're ready to do more if needed. >> so you are also helping officials like police get to where they need to go. >> exactly. that's our job. we've got capable first responders here in virginia but when it comes to the snow, with our humvees we can help them get places they are not able to go. we are probably going to see more tomorrow as we get more snow piled on top of what we're got right now. we anticipate being busier tomorrow. >> what are we looking at here? this is chevy chase, maryland. and that looks pretty icy. >> you know, it's always good to drive in the white and not on the shine. when it is shiny, that snow is packed down and it is turned into ice. if you are fluffy white you can get traction. now the key is to do 10 miles an hour or less if you do need to travel. at this point in time, you don't need to travel. you need to stay where you are and walk where you need to go. >> i wish someone told me to stay at home. you don't have to tell me twice. >> you can get anything delivered in new york city. be safe, everyone. millions of people are snowed in tonight. i'm going to talk to a woman who is snowed in and due to give birth at any moment. when you're on vacation, it's time to play. so at hilton we say play hooky from your regular monday. and while you're at it, play hooky from the ordinary. the uninspired. the routine. but mostly, just play. when you plan a vacation at any one of hilton's 12 distinct brands, you always get the lowest price. only when you book direct at hilton.com. the drought is affecting at pg&e we've definitely put a focus on helping our agricultural customers through the drought. when they do an energy efficiency project and save that money they feel it right in their pocket book. it's exciting to help a customer with an energy efficiency project because not only are they saving energy but they are saving water. we have a lot of projects at pg&e that can help them with that and that's extremely important while we're in a drought. it's a win for the customer and it's a win for california. together, we're building a better california. back with the breaking news. that is chevy chase, maryland. we are out and about covering the storm. that is freezing up. >> we talk about this all the time. they have the defrosters on blowing on the windshield. so the windshield is warmer than the snow. the snow hits the windshield and melts. if you don't have your defrosters on and the snow doesn't melt when it hits the windshield. i don't want you driving at all anyway. but we're going to go through this. because growing up in nebraska you learn not to turn on the defrosters. turn the heaters on and crack a window a little bit and that will stop the inside from fogging up and stop your outside from getting like that because you can hardly see through that. and the wipers are not doing anything. >> winter storm driving tips from chad myers also known as cnn's meteorologist. chad, let's talk to this lady. she is in a predicament here. she is julie walsh. she is due to give birth at any moment. she joins us via skype. how are you doing? when is your due date? it's a baby girl. when is your due date. >> a week from sunday. >> you are not going to name it blizzard or storm, right? >> we haven't settled on a name yet but my 4-year-old is pushing for saturday since he found out he is going to have a new baby. it would be ironic if she was born tomorrow. >> your friends were joking and saying what about this cnn live interview. >> i should pretend to have labor pains. i am having contractions all the time but that is not atypical for me at this point in pregnancy anyway. >> okay. all right. what does it look like outside and how worried are you about the possibility of being snowed in when you are so close to giving birth? >> right now it is beautiful. it has been snowing since 1:00 something the afternoon. and i don't think i'm going to go into labor so i'm not super nervous but if i do go into labor it's going to be a big issue. so that does make me nervous. we have a long, steep driveway. we live in a rural area and we're about 45 minutes away from the hospital in ideal conditions. so i'm trying to, you know, keep a level head about it. but if it happens, i'm going to panic. >> so there's no plan? i mean, you have what, three children, right, already? correct? >> i have three small boys. >> do you have any plans who are you going to call or what you are going to do to get to the hospital? >> another reason i don't think i'm going to go into labor. my parents came out to get snowed in with us so they are here to watch my boys. we have some neighbors who have some big snow equipment and they have already cleared our driveway once tonight. so we are very blessed in that respect. so we are as well prepared as we can be. but tomorrow the winds could make whiteout conditions. i don't know what to do about that. >> i wish i could give her some advice. >> there is a baby out there called north west. so i'm going to go with nor east for your baby. >> i thought you had advice for her. >> were your parents with you to help out with your other kids? >> my mom was. i really do need to be in the hospital in advance because i have to be on an antibiotic before i deliver. whatever happens, if it happens i'm going to do my darndest to get there. >> why are you talking to cnn? you're scaring me, julie. at what point are you going to make a call to head to the hospital? >> well, if i were to have regular contractions that felt real, i would head out no matter what. i would not take the risk of waiting. this is my fourth child. it could go quickly. i have no idea. but i -- i'm not going to panic until i get to that point. >> you may need those emergency guys the virginia guard to help you. julie, best of luck to you. and let's hope that the storm is over before saturday comes. >> thank you so much. if i do have the baby i'll let you know. >> i think don is a great name even for a girl. donna. there you go. so, chad, you know -- thank you, julie, good luck. >> women when it comes to pain -- >> why are you talking about that? >> she says she is having labor pains or contractions, contractions -- >> this is the most composed, calm woman and you are freaking out. >> i'm freaking out for her. she's about to have a baby. she has a whole life inside her. >> she is seven days away we're good. ask dr. gupta. >> the lord moves in mysterious ways. coming up, over 7600 flights were cancelled. we are going to have the latest on how to get where you're going in this storm. you are supposed to be helping me out, chad. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could control her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. chase for business. so you can own it. rootmetrics, in the nation's largest independent study, tested wireless performance across the country. verizon won big with one hundred fifty three state wins. at+t got thirty-eight, sprint got two, and t mobile got zero. verizon also won first in the us for data, call speed, and reliability. at+t got text. stuck on an average network? join verizon and we'll cover your costs to switch. ♪ he has a sharp wit. a winning smile. and no chance of getting an athletic scholarship. and that is why you invest. the best returns aren't just measured in dollars. as long as you love me, it's alright bend me shape me, any way you want me you've got the power, to turn on the light shape the best sleep of your life. sleep number beds with sleepiq technology adjust any way you want it. the bed that moves you. only at a sleep number store. back now with the breaking news, this monster storm has grounded 7600 flights all up and down the east coast. renee marsh has more from reagan national airport. >> flight operations at airports in northern cities have officially shut down. take a look behind me. this airport is pretty much empty with the exception of airport workers. this colossal storm has managed to bring air travel to its knees in the northeast. passengers showing up hours before their scheduled flights. >> this or a hotel for several days. hoping to get out. >> reporter: most airlines have cancelled flights up and down the east coast through saturday. flight aware shows dwindling air traffic over the blizzard path. travellers waited in long lines in hopes of beating the storm. only a few were lucky enough to get on the last few flights out. >> we found one ticket to leave today for las vegas. >> so you do not want to take any chances. you want to get out. we want to get out. we're going to get out. >> reporter: beginning tomorrow, all flights in and out of philadelphia international airport will be cancelled. reagan national and washington dulles international airports were also stop operations. but it's not just air travel. officials are warning drivers to keep off roads as well. >> i've never seen it this bad. oh, no. i feel sorry for those guys down there. there's nothing they can do but sit there. and i just thought i'm going to walk. >> reporter: ice and snow made hazardous driving conditions in tennessee, kentucky, and north carolina this morning. high winds are expected to complicate efforts to keep the roads clear. major bridges could be closed and states have asking drivers to stay off the roads. of course the problems extend beyond the washington, d.c. and baltimore area, new jersey, new york and philadelphia all those airports are impacted as well. it could take two to three days or more before airlines can clear up the backlog of passengers and get people where they need to go. >> thank you very much. when we come back, much more on the monster storm bearing down on the east coast tonight. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? 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[dog bark] trust me, we're dealing with a higher intelligence here. ♪ the all-new audi q7 is here. ♪ and ca"super food?" is that recommend sya real thing?cedar? it's a great school, but is it the right one for her? is this really any better than the one you got last year? if we consolidate suppliers, what's the savings there? so should we go with the 467 horsepower? ...or is a 423 enough? good question. you ask a lot of good questions... i think we should move you into our new fund. sure... ok. but are you asking enough about how your wealth is managed? wealth management at charles schwab. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com all right, here we go, everyone. 11:00 p.m. on the east coast. the breaking news right now, more than 85 million people in the path of a storm with life and death implications. this is "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. thanks for joining us. this is a storm so enormous it could shut down much of the east. from atlanta up to new england including baltimore, washington, philadelphia, and new york. major cities in the northeast. air traffic at a stand still, thousands of flights have been cancelled. up to 7600 residents warned to stay off the roads in the face of what could be a record-breaking storm. let get all the information on the storm that is barrelling up the east coast right now. that is from chad myers. tell us what is going on. who is experiencing the worst right now. the worst is yet to come, right? >> the worst is yet to come when the low gets into the gulf stream. that's the warm water although it is only 45 degrees to the south that's the explosion that is going to happen when a cold low is going to interact that wake a hurricane getting over