where actor harrison ford remains hospitalized. this after a small plane that he was piloting suffered an apparent engine failure and came down crashing on a golf course thursday afternoon. his publicist says he was "banged up but his injuries are not life threatening." an investigation is under way at this hour. in the air traffic control audio, you could hear ford make the emergency call just after takeoff. listen. >> ford was flying solo in the back seat of his vintage world war ii era military training plane. cnn's kyung lah has more from the scene of that crash and the investigation in venice california. >> reporter: firefighters are here as well as investigators, still trying to figure out why the engine of this plane, a plane that harrison ford was piloting why it suddenly lost power. he did manage to make an extraordinary landing. this area that you see right behind me this is a golf course. all that green grass you're looking at that's the vintage plane. you can see that the nose has broken off, that the propeller is ground into the grass. but the body itself is relatively unscathed, perhaps why he didn't have any more severe injuries. he was take on the a hospital and he's there listed in stable condition. the question though is why that engine stalled. people who heard the plane take off actually heard that engine stop. he didn't quite make it to the airport. but the people who live here in this neighborhood this densely populated area say they are very glad he managed to land safely here on this golf course. kyung lah, cnn, venice california. >> we've been looking into his flying history. he's an avid pilot who got serious about learning how to nigh in the mid '90s. he's a certified pilot of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters and owns several of them. thursday's crash in california is not the first, though. in 1999 he crash landed a helicopter in california during training. neither ford nor the instructor suffered any injuries. one year later, ford crashed again. this time attempting to land in nebraska where the plane hit strong crosswinds. again, a mix of luck and skill, but no one was hurt. there was a close call for more than 100 airline passengers in another situation. in new york at laguardia airport on thursday the plane skidded off the runway if you can imagine that, stopped just short of disaster. large hydraulic cranes are working to lift the plane off a fence, but officials say that could take hours. cnn's will ripley has this story. >> reporter: it's a terrifying image for everyone who flies. a delta passenger jet skidding off a slick and snowy runway at one of america's busiest airports. the flight from atlanta was coming in for a landing at laguardia, then lost control, ending up just feet from the water. >> as soon as we landed we felt the wheels hit the runway and we did not feel the wheels take traction and we started to skid. and we skid to the left side of the runway and we continued to skid. we were literally a couple feet away from heading into the water. >> reporter: officials say the two planes that landed on the runway before the delta flight reported good braking action. 127 passengers aboard the fright were -- flight were evacuated. the emergency chutes did not deploy. 24 people were injured, three taken to the hospital. one of the passengers new york giants tight end -- flight cancellations are continuing for hours. >> leaking fuel on the left side of the aircraft heavily. >> you said leaking fuel? >> affirm. his wing is ruptured. >> reporter: moments after the plane lost control, tense communications from air traffic control. >> we have an aircraft off the runway. >> the airport is closed. we have a 3-4. >> say again? >> we have an aircraft off 3-1. please advice the airport is closed at this time. >> cnn's will ripley reporting. how scary would that be to slide off the runway? that same weather system is causing major headaches for a big part of the united states. the storm has stretched across more than 3,000 kilometers about 1800 miles, and affected some 90 million people. in the state of minnesota, those who braved the cold could barely see the road in front of them. and in the nation's capital, enough snow fell not only to close schools, it even shut down the federal government. in kentucky, heavy snow caused accidents and brought traffic to a stand still. it left some stranded for much of the day. cnn's martin savidge has this story. >> reporter: in central kentucky highways became parking lots stretching dozens of miles. leaving trucks buses, and cars stranded and hundreds of people with little or no food or water and low on fuel. many posting their plight on social media. in some areas of the state, up to two feet fell overnight, faster than plows could clear. first stopping traffic, then burying it. hardest hit, elizabethtown in central kentucky and outside of paducah. the government called out the national guard. >> what we've been doing is taking stranded motorists to warm care facilities where they can get any treatment. we've had a couple cases of folks that needed insulin. >> reporter: jonathan chu is part of a christian music tour. this is pictures from outside his bus. by morning, the only suggestion of a highway was the long line of stuck trucks and cars. >> gives you an idea what things are like. i'm almost up to my knees in snow. >> reporter: amanda and her boyfriend were bound for chicago on i-65. >> i don't know if you can see this but we are backed up and completely stopped and our cars are really stuck. >> reporter: this was the start of their spring break. >> we have now been sitting in the same spot for over four hours. >> reporter: by afternoon, there were signs of progress as plows cleared the way, allowing tow trucks to get in and traffic to get moving. ironically many of those stuck were headed to florida. you guessed it. to escape winter. martin savidge, cnn, slaunt. -- atlanta. >> just look at that highway. that had to be miserable. >> absolutely. it's got eerie characteristics what happened in atlanta a year ago. not a good time. it's so phenomenal to see things that people had to put up with for so long. we're talking 15 hours stranded on the highway. it was all across northern and central kentucky interstate 24 and 65. i want to show you what happened. this is the swath of snowfall responsible for desolating people on the highways. look at it stretch from tennessee right through kentucky. louisville into elizabethtown. you see that dark shading of purple? that's the location that received 1 to 2 feet of snow. 24 inches nearly 60 centimeters of snowfall. and we broke some records here at louisville as well. we're talking about the greatest snowfall in two days set in louisville kentucky 17.1 inches of snowfall -- excuse me that was in lexington. louisville had just over a foot. the good news is this storm is now starting to exit the east coast. in fact the snow it's done. but now we start to talk about the cold weather that's going to set in behind it. high pressure clearing out the skies. that's the big blue h in the middle of the tv screen. that's going to allow for temperatures to drop significantly overnight. this is the minimum temperatures we're looking at. pi the this is a 24-hour temperature change. here in atlanta, it was 38 degrees warmer this time yesterday. if nashville, tennessee drops into the single digits this will be the coldest overnight low temperature that it has reached this late in the season something that we haven't experienced since the mid to late 1800s george. and if we're going to end on a positive note because we like to do that sometimes, 14 days until that first day of spring. >> how many of these snowstorms have we seen many >> five to six along the east coast. paralyzing places like boston but across the central and mid-atlantic states about two snowstorms leaving enough damage there. >> i think they're done. >> dry with you. as the news continues here the fight against isis. the militants that lay waste now to an ancient city in northern iraq. we look at what they destroyed and its historical significance. plus fierce fighting in the battle to retake tikrit. we have a report on the front lines. every truck can tow a boat. every truck can climb a hill. every truck can haul a trailer. but not everyone can say they're the fastest-growing truck brand in america. guts. glory. ram. 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[ gunfire ] >> reporter: tikrit is the target. heavy rounds fired into a city now the focus of iraq's biggest yet offensive against isis. the group overran the city last june. there are no signs of life there. many civilians have already fled, as well as some isis fighters, according to the soldiers here. we're at a base just two miles or 3.2 kilometers from tikrit. isis is just on the other side. that was an outgoing round. our visit was organized by a shia paramilitary force, created when the iraqi army nearly collapsed during last summer's isis onslaught. increasingly they're playing a central role in the fight against isis. one of the commanders has learned a lot over the last few months about isis' tactics. their basic strategy he tells me is to avoid face-to-face confrontations. they depend on improvised explosive devices and snipers. the forces received training ammunition weapons, and high level battlefield advice from iran. our tour included a stop at this mosque east of tikrit. until just a few days ago, it was deep inside isis controlled territory. iraqi parliament members visiting the troops was quick to praise iran for its fight against isis. >> today, the iranian support is much larger than the american support, which is limited, he says. praise for iran makes criticism for the u.s.-led anti-isis coalition. unfortunately, says this spokesman, we've seen no effort by the international coalition and that really doesn't reflect well on them. the iraqi government has said it didn't request assistance from the coalition. if this operation is successful these fighters and iran will take credit. ben wedeman, cnn outside tikrit. iran's foreign minister says his country is helping with the fight against isis but in a very limited way. he spoke to cnn's christiane amanpour. >> we've been assisting the iraqi people. the international criminal court and accusing israel of war crimes. palestinian president mahmoud abbas must make the final decision before the resolution could go through. he has not commented yet on that. north korea has called the stabbing of a u.s. ambassador to south korea a knife attack of justice. and now south korean police are looking into that suspect's background and his link to the north. most of the products we all buy are transported on container ships. before a truck delivers it to your store, a container ship delivered it to that truck. here in san diego, we're building the first one ever to run on natural gas. ships this big running this clean will be much better for the environment. we're proud to be a part of that. if you haven't heard about the latest sale at hotels.com, then you haven't seen this commercial. book now and save during the spring break sale at hotels.com. female announcer: want your best rest ever? then don't miss sleep train's best rest event. you'll find sleep train's very best mattresses at the guaranteed lowest price. plus, pay no interest for three years on beautyrest black, stearns & foster serta icomfort even tempur-pedic. and rest even better with sleep train's risk-free 100-day money back guarantee. get your best rest ever from sleep train. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ south korean prosecutors have requested a warm so they can keep the suspect in thursday's attack on the u.s. ambassador if jail. investigators are also looking at the possible links he may have with north korea, which called the stabbing "a knife attack of justice." let's go now to ivan watson joining us with the very latest there in seoul where the attack happened. ivan this suspect, was he -- are you hearing more about links to the north or is he a person who did this on his own? >> reporter: well, that's a big question here. the police here say that he insists that he acted on his own, but that's not stopping them from investigating possible links to the north. take a listen to one of the police chiefs had to say earlier today. >> translator: he went to north korea seven times, in december of 2011 he tried to build a monument to kim jong ii. >> reporter: he's 55 years old, he already had a criminal record because in 2010 he was convicted of throwing a block of concrete at a japanese diplomat. he was also known to participate in one-man protests reportedly even setting fire to himself at one point about ten years ago. and despite that he was allowed into the gathering early thursday morning, that the u.s. ambassador was present at. and was heard yelling that he wanted to disrupt u.s. -- joint u.s.-south korean military exercises as he was stabbing the u.s. ambassador mark lippert in the face and in the arm and wrist. the ambassador himself, doctors say, is in better condition. he was able to move around his hospital room and was paid a visit by south korea's prime minister earlier today. george? >> ivan the simple fact that this happened what does it say about security there in seoul? >> reporter: well, it does raise questions. how has a man who has this previous criminal record how was he allowed into this gathering and how was he allowed in carrying a knife, which he then presumably used for this slashing of the american diplomat. the south korean police say they had dozens of police in and around the venue where the gathering was taken place thursday morning. the u.s. embassy says it did not request extra security. one of the main newspapers here published an editorial today, kind of criticizing the security forces here for not having done a better job of protecting the u.s. ambassador. another large newspaper here in its editorial, announced this was really a disgrace for the country, the fact that this attack had been allowed to happen. but the fact of the matter is even though seoul is quite close to the line of demarcation, that very tense frontier with north korea, day-to-day security measures don't seem to be very tight here in the capital. for example, there are not metal detectors. if you want to go into hotels or shopping malls, as you would see in many other cities around the world, presumably it hasn't been a major security concern in the past. but one big question here was the suspect acting as a lone wolf carrying out an act of terror or did it have links to the north korean regime? >> simply a question many people want the answer to. ivan watson joining us there live in seoul. thank you for the reporting. the prime minister of australia says his government has not given up on trying to save two of its citizens from being executed in indonesia. they were convicted on drug smuggling charges and are now on death row. >> we want to assure people that even at the 11th hour the australian government is doing everything we can to let the indonesian government and people know that it would be in neither their best interest or their best values for these executions to go ahead. >> meanwhile, pictures showing an indonesian police smiling and posing with two australian men is sparking controversy. the police chief featured in the photographs reportedly said he was trying to raise the men's spirits, and did not know that the pictures were being taken. jurors relived the moments after the deadly boston marathon bombing through the eyes of survivors on thursday. the second day of testimony in the trial of dzhokhar tsarnaev. one father described the heartbreaking choice he had to make to stay at the finish line with his dying son or save his daughter's life. other witnesses recounted the carnage that they saw, equating it to something out of a horror movie. dzhokhar tsarnaev is charged with 30 counts related to the double bombings in 2013. three people were killed there at the finish line. one of the victims to testify in this trial was rebecca gregory, who lost her leg in the attack. just hours after taking a stand, she posted a powerful open letter to dzhokhar tsarnaev on her facebook page calling him a coward who wouldn't even look her in the eye. she spoke with cnn about what it was like to come face to face with the man who had been a fixture in her nightmares for such a long time. >> i had dreaded this moment for so long. i think the anticipation of it was just so much more to handle than i ever realized. then when i got up there and sat down and stared at him, i wasn't scared anymore. and for the first time i felt like i was almost you know helping in bringing justice to something to horrific. i can't be angry and i can't hold on to that. because if i do then it's just going to put me in this limbo and i don't want to be in a limbo. i've been in limbo for so long and i chopped off my leg because it was holding me back. i'm going to forget about him, because that's what he's doing too, is just holding me back from living my life. still ahead this hour much more on our top story that we're following, the plane crash involving actor harrison ford. we'll hear from one witness who said he heard the plane's engine shut down. that as the news continues here on cnn u.s. and cnn international. [ r&b slow jam playing ] ♪ yeah, girl ♪ ♪ you know, i've been thinking about us ♪ ♪ and, uh, i just can't fight it anymore ♪ ♪ it's bundle time ♪ ♪ bundle ♪ ♪ mm, feel those savings, baby ♪ and that's how a home and auto bundle is made. better he learns it here than on the streets. the miracle of bundling -- now, that's progressive. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. the headlines this hour actor harrison ford is in stable condition after a small plane he was piloting crashed near los angeles. the single engine plane was attempting an emergency landing, but ended up hitting a golf course instead of a densely populated area nearby. new video shows iraqi forces fighting to retake the city of tikrit from isis. show shia and sunni militias are fighting alongside government troops. tikrit has been under isis control since june. in the u.s. state of kentucky heavy snow is causing a string of accidents and brought traffic to a stand still. look at that. left hundreds of motorists stranded for hours. the national guard was sent in to help with rescue efforts. we understand that no deaths or injuries were reported. an attorney for the family of michael brown, the teenager killed by a police officer in ferguson, missouri plans to file a civil wrongful death lawsuit. back to the top story we are covering this hour. actor harrison ford hospitalized after his plane suffered engine failure just after takeoff. the small plane then hit a tree before crashing on a golf course. one witness told cnn he heard the plane struggling. listen. >> having problems and he turned around. he was right by the house, the engine cut out. and then he turned around. that's when he turned back to get to the airport. i heard him right above the house and it's not the first time i've heard an engine make that kind of noise. >> reporter: and you weren't alarmed? >> it's not the first time and typically they come back. so their engines cut out and they come back. it happens a lot. >> so lucky for ford and for the people in that neighborhood. earlier i spoke with cnn aviation analyst mary schiavo and asked her about the vintage world war ii era plane that ford was flying. >> it's getting more and more rare. there are a lot of clubs and organizations in the united states and around the world, in britain, as well. enthusiasts who like to keep these old planes running or restore them and get them running again. but as the years go on, they get progressively more dangerous. a 60-year-old plane has lots of special needs, which is why the faa here in the united states issued special rules about these vintage aircraft in 2009. saying they need very special care and you can't just put on any kind of part or do anything that you want, that you have to follow special aging aircraft protocol. so they're tricky and prevalent, but they do have an unfortunate higher incidents of crashes and problems. >> so mary, when you talk about this plane, and we're talking about obviously the ntsb will determine whether this was an intended landing, whether he was trying to land in a golf course, but we're talking about a very densely populated area, and to bring that plane down in a golf course, how challenging would that have been? >> it's very challenging. i think we now know from the air traffic control tapes, he did call an engine failure. and what happens is once -- if you have a single engine airplane and you have a failure, if you're a good pilot, you set it up in the glide slope and you're trained to what the best ratio is for your plane, how you can get the most amount of mileage with no engine. and he obviously set it up for a good glide ratio, but he just couldn't make the airport again, apparently he was coming back to land, and for that golf course to be there was extremely fortuitous. i lived in los angeles for years and you can't land on the freeways. it's bumper to bumper. and there's just nothing else there. so it's lucky that the golf course was there, and it was fortunate that he knew how to set the plane up for an unpowered landing, put it in the glide slope, brought it down. pretty good piloting. >> she says ford's plane was not equipped with a flight data recorder so that is again, so thankful he survived that plane crash. thousands of protesters stormed an indian prison on thursday and beat an alleged edd rapist to death. can you please tell us the details of this attack? >> reporter: sure george. this attack took place on thursday evening in the northeastern corner of india, in quite a remote city. there were over 1,000 people who gathered in the center of the town. they were there to protest the rape of a young woman, a rape that took place in that city two weeks ago. they gathered there, they started protesting. the mob got angrier and they marched towards the local police or jail facility where the alleged rapist was being held. they stormed the jail. they went inside. they broke down the cell where he was being held. they dragged him out into the streets and beat him. they stripped him naked and beat him. they beat him black and blue and he succumbed to his injuries before the police could rescue him. as you can see from the pictures there's some pretty violent scenes there, the alleged rapist beaten by thousands of angry protesters. the police used tear gas and bamboo canes to manage the crowd. the situation in that town still remains volatile. we believe the area is currently under curfew. george? >> again, we know that these two incidents have nothing to do with each other, but how is india's decision to ban a documentary on the deli rape case playing out there in india? >> reporter: people here are angry about that decision. there is a lot of debate here about whether the government should have gone ahead and banned that film or not. but what is interesting here is that yes, it is a very widespread topic of discussion here. it is playing out a lot on social media. but very few people in india have had a chance to see that movie. yes, it was available on youtube for several hours yesterday. some people are saying that they could still access bits of it this morning, even though the government has asked youtube to take that video down. but remember it is a very small part of india's population that has access to the internet or youtube. but what this incident has done is it has brought the issue of women's rights and women's safety back on the national agenda. and what it is demonstrating is that india is reaching a peak it is really upset with the insensitive is shown towards women's rights and safety in india. >> p >> it's been more than a year since jodi arias was convicted of murder. on thursday she learned her fate. she will not face the death penalty. that's coming up. with my android from tracfone, i can... order safety goggles. play music for seedlings. post science fair projects. schedule guinea pig 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morning mode. and a partly sunny mode. and an outside... to clear inside mode. transitions® signature™ adaptive lenses... are more responsive than ever. so why settle for a lens with just one mode? experience life well lit®. ...upgrade your lenses to transitions® signature™. visit your local walmart vision center today. to ask about transitions® signature™ lenses with chromea7™ technology. and start living a life well lit®. for many prescription nexium helps heal acid-related erosions in the lining of the esophagus. it's my prescription. there is risk of bone fracture low magnesium, and vitamin b12 deficiency. side effects include headache abdominal pain and diarrhea. if persistent, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. it's my prescription. nexium 40mg is available only by prescription. pay only $15 a month. visit purplepill.com today. in the country of argentina, the ex-wife of the prosecutor who mysteriously died in january, says that he was murdered. he had been pursuing a case against argentina's president and other top leaders there. his death sparked outraged and has shaken the south american nation. a team of forensic experts found that he was murdered. >> translator: logically the suicide that's tended to be proven will not be verified because of the reason that alberto did not commit suicide. he was murdered. this conclusion with scientific backing, was sustained by his family from the beginning. today, it's backed with scientific authority by this detailed and conclusive forensic report created by this prestigious team. >> at this point, authorities have yet to rule his death was murder or suicide. now in the u.s. state of arizona, convicted killer jodi arias will not face the death penalty after a jury deadlocked for a second time in a row. a jury found her guilty in the 2013 murder of her ex-boyfriend travis alexander, but deadlocked in the penalty phase. now the death penalty is completely off the table. i spoke with cnn legal analyst mel robbins about the face that captivated so many people. mel, so it came down to 11 jurors and one who saw this case differently. what is it like to be on a panel like that where it comes down to one person who basically has a very different opinion? >> it's got to be one of the most frustrating experiencing you can imagine. according to some of the jurors speaking to the press, when they entered the jury deliberation phase of this penalty trial, they had about six or seven folks that were ready to vote for the death penalty. so typically what they do george is they take a poll see where everybody stands and then people start putting their arguments on the table. so here you have a group of people that have been working together for months. now they're sitting in a room deliberating. they get to the point where 11 people glow and you have one holdout. what some of these jurors are saying is that they are convinced this person had an agenda. >> after the decision was announced by the judge, you could hear some people crying there in the back ground. jurors obviously saw again the gruesome images from that crime scene, heard the very personal details from this case but mel, what was it about this case that so many people -- brought to many people around to fixate on this? >> well there were a couple things. first of all, the nature of the crime was pretty darn gruesome. you have jodi arias convicted of shooting her former boyfriend in the head and stabbing him almost 30 times. she then left him in a bathtub and he wasn't found for five days. what really made people captivated is the fact that there was a live video stream of this trial, and the trial took a weird turn and jodi took the stand and she was almost like some sort of weird actress. and she went on and on and on about the salacious details of her sex life. so i think it was the nature of the crime and the fact that she laid such a compelling and bizarre witness in this case and she was so forthright about the very salacious details of their relationship, george. >> and a lot of the jurors were making the point that they thought arias lacked remorse through the course of the trial. so what happens next? i understand that on april 13th that will be the sentencing date. what will the judge have to consider? >> the judge is going to be considering witness impact statements. he's probably going to be considering the fact that this is a jury that you know could not reach a decision but the judge will know that 11 of these jurors wanted the death penalty. so the judge is deciding whether or not to sentence jodi to 25 years with the possibility of release, or 25 years without the possibility of release. and my bet is that you're going to see the judge sentence her to 25 years without the possibility of release. she was convicted of first degree murder. you had a jury get to the point where 11-1 they wanted to sentence her to the death penalty. this is not a case where you show leniency george. another story in the united states a major change in the works for a century old circus. after being criticized picketed and even sued for its treatment of elephants, ringling brothers will now phase them out of its shows by 2018. the group people for the ethical treatment of animals, had this to stay -- if ringling is telling the truth about ending its road show then it's a day to pop the champagne corks and rejoice that the first important step has been taken, but there are many more to take. >> >> as the u.s. and tehran work to reach a controversial nuclear agreement, we are asking regular iranians if they want improved relations with the united states. we'll hear their responses as the news continues on cnn u.s. and cnn international. denver international is one of the busiest airports in the country. we operate just like a city and that takes a lot of energy. we use natural gas throughout the airport - for heating the entire terminal generating electricity on-site and fueling hundreds of vehicles. we're very focused on reducing our environmental impact. and natural gas is a big part of that commitment. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. welcome back to cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. iran's foreign minister says he believes tehran and the united states are close to a nuclear deal. cnn's christiane amanpour is in switzerland where the latest round of talks just wrapped up. they discussed benjamin netanyahu's speech to the congress this week. >> there was no effect on the negotiating table, but i can see that he is trying and some people who associate with him try to create an atmosphere that -- an atmosphere of hysteria and fearmongering based on lies and deception that try to prevent a deal from taking shape. and i do not see why, because i -- the only reason the only explanation that you can have here is that some people consider peace and stability as an threat. because a deal cannot be threatening to anybody unless you want conflict and tension and mistrust and crisis. >> many iranians hope relations with the u.s. can improve if a nuclear issue is resolved and sanctions are lifted. relations have been all but frozen since 1979 and some deep divisions remain. >> reporter: it's still the main symbol of anti-americanism in tehran with the many wall paintings portraying america as an enemy of iran. to the authorities here the u.s. remains the great saytansatan. but many iranians want better relations with america, especially for economic developments. iran was an ally of the u.s. when the shau was in power. everything changed in 1979 that brought the clergy ayatollah to power. eight u.s. service members were killed in a botched rescue attempt of the hostages. today, the propaganda remains, but many say they have favorable views of the american people. >> it is better for iran to have a nice relationship to ore countries, especially america. onlies only as a country, not as a power of the world. >> i think it's good. i think the life of the people freedom. >> we will be good friends if we can. >> reporter: but divisions are still large. a majority of iranians believe their country has the right to develop a civilian nuclear program. while the u.s. fears iran wants an atomic water. this man owns a publishing company. he says a nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions are key to getting u.s.-iranian relations back on track. >> somehow it has to start. we all hope that because of our financial situation, financial positions. everything if we come to a certain agreement would be far better than this situation. >> reporter: closer political ties between the u.s. and iran appear to be a long way off, but many believe a nuclear deal might be a first step to reviving a relationship that has been toxic for more than three decades. hurricane force wind gusts whipped the italian and croatian coastline on thursday causing power outages and several downed trees. let's go over to derek vandam, tracking it all. big storm. >> absolutely. picture this. you're a truck driver driving down the highway, as you do and then the truck flips on its side. this is the scene in split, croatia, thanks to a local phenomena called the bora binds. this is what it sounds like, hurricane force winds. someone captured these amazing visuals along with the sound of the winds. a very localized wind phenomena that flips trucks over downs power lines, and downs trees and really whips up the sea, as well. that's the area we're talking about. coming back to the graphics you can see some of the recorded wind gusts. split, croatia, 155 kilometers per hour equivalent to a strong category one atlantic hurricane. that's some impressive stuff. here's the scenario and why it's happening. we often see this set up in the wintertime, across the balkan peninsula, thanks to a strong ridge of high pressure across central europe and a weaker low, moving across southern italy. this is forming north to northeast of the wind coming off of a mountain range that's right along the coast of croatia. think of this as almost a river or a dammed up river. we get this cold dense air forming behind this mountain range, and this is actually called the dinar mountains. even eventually it funnels right down the mountainside speeding up as it does so reaching hurricane force strength along the coast, and causing all kinds of destruction as you saw a moment ago. all thanks to the pressure and temperature gradients. look at the winds going forward in time. sarajevo gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour through friday into saturday. on top of that impressive snowfall totals expected in the balkans. we've measured well over a foot of snow with an additional 25 to 30 centimeters in the forecast. so that's what it sounds like and that's what it feels like to have hurricane force winds. amazing. >> to hear that just a minute ago, incredibly intense. derek, thank you so much. we thank you for watching this hour. i'm george howell. we'll have more news ahead the next hour with natalie allen. i'll be here after that. this is cnn, the world's news heeder. cope we can see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture every day. and an early morning mode. and a partly sunny mode. and an outside...to clear inside mode. transitions ® signature ™ adaptive lenses... ...now have chromea7 ™ technology... ...making them more responsive than ever to changing light. so life can look more vivid & vibrant. why settle for a lens with just one mode? 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