"action news" delaware valley's leading news program. with rick williams, sara bloomquist, and meteorologist, david murphy. wednesday afternoon and the big story on "action news" this noon is a nor'easter.

>> a light snow is falling in montgomery county and other parts in the region are seeing rain and a messy mix. and taking a live look at claymont in newcastle delaware. a heavier brand of snow is pushing through right now. we have crews covering the conditions around the region but we begin with karen rogers and chris sowers tracking the latest on the storm. >> we are look agent stormtracker 6 live double scan we notice we looked at this the intensification of the storm we have is lightning strikes near cape may giving the idea that the area of low pressure is starting to really ramp up. here is what we see with this. the storm is intensifying as we speak and peaking through 4:00 today. we'll hear rumbles of thunder with this as we have already seen thunder and lightning along cape may. the strongest winds are maintained along the coast. we see 30 miles per hour wind

gust as long the coastline. lets look at stormtracker 6 live double scan and show you what is happening. here is the change in the last hour. look at this area here. last time i was on we talked about rain in new jersey and now that rain is turning to snow and you see that not just in philadelphia but in interior parts of south jersey and notice the bright area of purple. in that area we are look agent snowfall rates up to 2 inches an hour. along i-95. we get it in wilmington and media and chadds ford and in the city. and 295 in woodbury and now in glassboro. and up near trenton. not as much currently as we go north and west but the bands are lifting to the north and we'll see them continue to move. as we look toward the south it's still rain along the coastline. see the intensity of the rain. reds and yellows, these heavy bands are lifting through and we see them moving through the

region. 1:30 seeing the snowfall through the region and moving out between 5:00 and 7:00. and we go outside now to meteorologist, chris sowers, we see a real difference in the snowfall you have out there. >> it's coming down good now here. we are underneath the heavy band. the snowfall rates 1 to 2 inches an hour. we look at city avenue it's mainly wet but starting to see assumelation on the roads and sidewalks and parking lots. but the main roads still wet way little slush at this point. snowfall totals so far. we are seeing about inches in glasgow. and 7:00, 8:00 this morning you into warm 3 inches and smyrna 2 inches of snow. over into new jersey, winslow township 2.6. now in winslow that was earthy this morning it flipped to rain and now going back and forth and

evesham 1.8 and bellmawr 1.5. eastern pennsylvania we see the highest snow totals so far. east nantmeal township 7.5. here we have shifted to the highest snowfall totals just a bit off to the northeast. so now northern montgomery county, mercer county and bucks county and portions of the lehigh valley. and portions of northern new jersey in the 10 to 16 inch range. 6 to 10 inches of snow nor the immediate philadelphia area and 3 to 6 for interior section ises of south jersey and portions of newcastle county in delaware. you can see the snow starting to pick up now and roads are getting more covered here. just about with every passing minute. meteorologist, karen rogers, she will be back along in a few

minutes. and she'll have the rest of the accuweather forecast and the timeline and lets you know when this clears out and another storm on the way for sunday night into monday. >> all right chris thank you. >> lets check out delaware county now. vernon odom is in prospect park not far from the airport where the snow is falling steadily at this hour? >> reporter: good afternoon rick and sara, it's starting to come down heavily. that is heavily predicted early this morning. of course delaware county in the southern part got hit hard last friday during that storm, that nor'easter last week and what is coming here is not as windsy but just as troubling and this snow is heavy and could knock out power lines. 3800 customers still without power that is the latest from peek oex the snow is accumulating on the sidewalk and on the grass as well.

people here in southern delaware county. ridley township specifically prepare for the next blast. here in southern delaware county. ridley trucks get a start on the storm. after the nor'easter that clobbered the municipality fz this neck of the woods. some 3800 customers do not have their power restored. and helene stewart is bracing for more snow. >> preparing for another storm. getting the first layer of heavy slush out. >> you couldn't be happy after losing power last weekend. >> no, but it's march it will go away quickly. that is my positive spin on this storm. >> the schools are here closed today and the kids tell me they are glad. >> stay inside and watch tv. >> cozy. >> this ups driver hits the road headed for long island where the

storm is raging and met the challenge last friday night as well. >> going up to long island was not too bad. it's windy but when you have a full truck it's not so bad. when you have an empty truck have you to watch out. >> what do you think you have tonight? >> a full truck. >> the dire predictions coming through in southern delaware county. i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. meantime the roads are slippery in montgomery county. this is video from montgomeriville where a car is slid off route 202 at costco drive. the driver appeared to be okay but the driver was stuck in a ditch on the side of the road. and accidents like this is the reason that penndot is urging penndot to avoid unnecessary travel. joining us now on the phone is bob kent from penndot.

>> how are the conditions around the region at the tomorrow? >> due to the severity of the storm we reduced speeds on the highways to 45 miles per hour. and our trucks have been out and an all hands on deck operation. we have a salting operation but counter noted as the storm intensifies we'll get our blades down and turn into a plowing operation as the afternoon goes on. and the snow continues to build. as we know the heaviest snow is expectd this afternoon. we are using all available resources this storm. more than 420 pieces of equipment and 70 thousand tons salt. >> we have been seeing video of the highways, and it looks like 95 is really getting hammered. is there one thoroughfare

getting hit hardest so far from this nor'easter? >> the early part we saw really wet roads mostly rick, and as you said the heaviest bands have hit now, like you talked about i-95 and other roads are becoming more heavier and obviously as the scenes are showing more snow covered and really our goal is to try to make the roads as passable. they may nod be clear. we expect the snow to kind of rage over the time. the next few hours. like i said our goal is to make the roads passable but they may not be clear and our message is as the accumulation builds we are advising motorists to stay off the roads an void travel if at all possible. that is our message right now. >> bob, it helps as well for people to make way for your equipment on the road right?

>> yes, we advise motorists to keep at least six car lengths between themselves and the plow trucks. our plows aring through the areas and expect them to be snow covered and poor visibility and whiteout conditions as the storm intensifies. but the plow trucks will be out tlx and residents can keep track of the plow trucks we have the automated system within the plow trucks. >> bob kent from penndot. stay close bob we'll check in with you for sure through the afternoon and evening hours. thank you. >> sounds good. lets switch live to bucks county. trish hartman is checking the situation in plumstead township this afternoon. >> reporter: hi rick, yes it's coming down and definitely lightened up and snowing for the

past several hours in plumstead and we'll give you the idea of the conditions here. the parking lot is wet and slushy here and then we have a couple inches of accumulation a wet, heavy packing snow here. we are along 611 here and now it's just wet. we have been seeing a mix of slush around 10:00 and it started to stick on the road and plows are coming through regularly. and the roads are looking pretty good. we talk to a number of people out and about this morning getting supplies and we talked to people that lost power for days because of this last storm. and bracing for any issues and we talked to the plumsteadville fire chief about the concerns he has going into the storm. >> the snow being heavy is kind of a concern. what kind of trees is it going to bring down on the power lines. we are lucky there is not a lot of traffic. it's different trying to get

around. really just being prepared with what we are dealing and crews in both of our stations, and in there for the next 24 to 36 hours. >> i came in to buy propane in case we lose power again. he had power outage last weekend and i want to be ready for it. >> we got our power restored yesterday, and we got our power back we lost our tv. we have no tv no computer -- >> get out the board games. >> exactly. >> a lot of reading. >> reporter: we spoke to both fire and police this morning they both said the same thing stay inside and off the roads. we are live in plumstead, 6 abc. >> thank you. the storm has really created a mess for air travel. you are looking owe or trying to look, at philadelphia international airport at last check nearly 200 flights to and

from philadelphia have been canceled. if you were scheduled to fly today be sure to check in with your airline before you headed to the hair port.

we are back with new video from delaware. this is the scene from wilmington kpurts were picking their way through heavy snowfall

and the city of wilmington made the call to close all government offices at noon today. 15 minutes ago due to the road conditions that are getting worse. >> taking a look at the scene in philadelphia. the city is getting a mix of rain and snow throughout the morning. a snow emergency is in effect that means all parked cars must be moved off the snow emergency routes today. there are 400 pieces of equipment on stand by to keep the roads clear as the storm continues. >> and staying in the center city area. nydia han is live on rittenhouse scare. >> the snow is really coming down now. i'm on rittenhouse square, take a look the heavy flakes started falling an hour ago and the roads are covered and the sidewalks are covered and people are out and about with their umbrellas and the cars are starting to get covered as well. we are could having this from

the stormtracker 6 live double scan radar van, take a look a lot of people are coming by to get a look. this provides real time data for your own neighborhood. the wide swath of lavender means it's falling at a 1 to 2 inch clip an hour. this is what you have to notice and be worried about. the roads will be covered by snow and it will impact visibility. we are watching this, and first got here though around 9:00 this morning. and when we first arrived. the snow had yet to fall and people were getting a little impatient. >> when is the snow going to start? >> rittenhouse has yet to recover from the last nor'easter so as people get in their last minute dog walks and runs and baby strolls. the question is -- >> are you ready for another winter storm? >> no, no i'm not. thought it was over. >> i can take off from work. >> the silver lining. >> we are ready. after we get some paper towels.

>> i needy icing salt. >> i hope that everybody is safe. >> reporter: and that really is the key. we want everyone to be safe too. we'll continue to monitor the situation here using stormtracker 6 live double scan van. we hope you come see us in center city. we are here all day. back to you. >> okay thanks check the latest on the nor'easter any time at 6abc.com. including multiple real time views from storm tracker 6 and get the updates hour by forecast.

coming up on 12:21 looking live at clay mondelaware. the snow is picking up as predicted. it started off as a wintry mix. and our meteorologists predicted the conditions would deteriorate and the roadway covered now in claymont, delaware. >> all morning lock you are sending us your snow photos and videos, lets check in with alicia vitarelli live at the big board to share with us some of the better ones. >> the images we see on video there are similar to the ones we get in folks using #6abcaction. heavy snow in exeter township. and it looks pretty on the trees there as well. the skies opening there in topton, berks county, and they seem to get most of the snowfall up until now and now picking up

elsewhere as well. and starting to pileup in phoenixville as you see there. just a wintery mix everywhere. snowing feathers and pretty videos, slow motion actions there. and weather conditions like this can bring a lot of problems things to keep your eyes open. here is a shot from bensalem -- >> the bensalem fire department poefrt posted this video of wires popping off bensalem boulevard. the dangerous conditions out there to be aware of. be careful if you head out. we are getting a lot of videos in and here is one on a lighter note. >> can you hear the lip smacking. and enjoying the snow in the backyard kind of eating it all up there. kids tend to enjoy the snow

days. so far some sledding shots. and also snow men in some parts of town. keep your videos coming using #6abcaction. you are our eyes and ears out there. >> eating the snow fine for the dogs but the kids -- >> not for the people. >> you make ice-cream and eat is later. that is what they do in my house. not really. >> coming up on "action news" at noon a check of the accuweather forecast. >> meteorologist, karen rogers, will have the latest on the nor'easter plus a look ahead at the conditions through the next week in our seven-day forecast. hopefully some better days ahead. we'll be right back.

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the coastline. here is what is looks like outside. poor visibility coming down at philadelphia international airport. be careful as you head out there. lets look at stormtracker 6 live double scan through the region. and we see yes we have the heavy rain along the coast. and the blinking near cape may, those are live lightning strikes. but what about this area of purple? that is the area we see heavy snowfall coming down at a significant rate and we have watchd this band continue to lift to the north. this was not south jersey and now in the city. and we can put the snowfall rate on there. and significant snowfall rates and that will impact the totals. it took a while for this to intensify. this says 3 inches now and for the most part 1 to 2 inches and now radar estimates it could be 3 inches an hour. and this pulls up to the north near doylestown and landsdowne and malvern. and lets look elsewhere.

the visibility is an issue as the snow is coming down along the i-95 corridor. visibility less than a half mile in spots. that is because of the snow coming down because of the significant rates. we see the storm intensify. and lightning strike as long the coastline and area of low pressure is ramping up and wind gusts as well. not as significant yet but 31 miles per hour along the coastline near beach have en, as the snow is coming down heavily it is drawing in the colder air aloft and see the temperatures dip a bit. and still above freezing for most of the region. that is why you saw that, coming down heavily as the rates we are seeing, that is when it starts to accumulate even on the roads. this is george sending in pictures in royersford. and the kids are ready for a st. patrick's day snowman. the snow is still really intense. and moving out of here this is

6:30 and pulling out of trenton so how much are we expecting with this. it has not changes much. 3 to 6 inches of snow through wilmington and salem and williamstown and chads worth, and 6 to 10 through the i-95 corridor and exton through pottstown and reading and 10 to 16 inches in karker found and doylestown and areas to the north. still expecting a significant amount of snow with this nor'easter just recently intensifying and continuing to do so until 4:00 today. heavy wet snow and 35 for your high and dry tomorrow. blustery and sunshine returning and 40, friday and breezy and partly sunny and quick flurry north of the city and 43 and saturday still chilly and not feeling like it should at 43. and spring forward saturday night. sunday partly sunny and 46, and looking for the potential for a storm sunday into monday. some model says it stays down to the south and another that suggests not.

we'll watch for that. tuesday windy and chilly and 44. the snow intensifying and we'll help you through the afternoon.

we are back with the coverage of the accuweather alert. as we look at round two from old man winter. this is march coming in like a lion with to nor'easters in less than a week.