Video: Major snowstorm hits Northwest

>> we begin with this major winter storm out west. jim cantore has more on this from seattle . good morning.

>> reporter: yeah, good morning, ann. dangerous conditions here all up and down the hills here of seattle . steep hills like the one behind me. you can see a car trying to make its way up queen anne avenue having a difficult time doing so. it won't be long before they close downhills like this as the city prepares for a year's worth of snowfall today. near whiteout conditions are making driving in washington, oregon and northern idaho treacherous and frustrating.

>> it delays you. you know? got the chains laid out, they go on easy, but it's part of it.

>> reporter: in olympia, people are bracing for the storm.

>> cheese, lunch meat, bread and wine.

>> reporter: the essentials.

>> got to have wine and a cigar for when it's over.

>> reporter: in snohomish, snowmobiles are replacing the cars.

>> we need to realize speed limits are for dry roads.

>> reporter: in seattle the space needle is in the clouds while plows are busy clearing roads.

>> one thing in portland i have never seen anywhere else when we get a valley snowstorm people abandon their cars.

>> reporter: these are boom times for towing services helping motorists who did stay with their cars.

>> they try to make it up the hill, get stuck, pull to the side of the road .

>> reporter: this storm hit the pacific northwest from northern california to british columbia .

>> snowmageddon, baby.

>> reporter: flights have been cancelled and hotels are booked with stranded passengers.

>> thursday afternoon, i guess, but we'll take off to avoid the snow.

>> reporter: maybe the saving grace is the fact that a lot of snow is coming before the heart of the rush hour in seattle . as folks look out the window they may say, you know, i may work from home today which would be a good idea.

>> snow day , jim. thank you very much.

>> more from al roker upstairs monitoring the path of the storm. hi, al.

>> good morning. as we look on the big map you can see we have winter storm warnings, watches and winter weather advisories as far south as central california a and as far east as montana. we have a pretty big storm. not as huge as yesterday but still good as the system comes in another big problem. winds, hurricane-force winds for coastal waters in oregon . wind gusts up to 85 miles per hour. and a lot of rain, not just snow with the system. as you get into the pacific northwest , northern pacific northwest in the cascades, some areas more than two feet of snow all the way down into the southern and central cascades. as we move to the south, rain will be a factor. look at the rainfall totals. some areas, 7 to 10 inches of rain along the oregon , california coastline. this will be a big weathermaker. with the strong winds we expect a lot of power

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46037665/

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