It was business as usual for all of the major network morning shows Tuesday despite the massive snowstorm battering New York City.
The lead anchors for Good Morning America, Today and CBS This Morning all made it in to their shows’ respective studios, where the ABC, NBC and CBS morning shows reported on the ongoing storm hitting the Northeast.
On Today, Savannah Guthrie, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Carson Daly opened the show from outside and continued to brave the snow later by making their traditional trek out to the plaza, where some determined fans had showed up to see the morning show in action.
We’re starting the show outside this morning! pic.twitter.com/vceNqgitfG
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 14, 2017
We could all use a friend like @alroker, lending his hat to @CarsonDaly! #noreaster2017 pic.twitter.com/jvpVe3Br1z
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 14, 2017
The show’s Twitter account posted a Periscope video of Roker and Daly talking about their commute. They each shared videos of their snowy rides into work. Roker said his “wasn’t bad,” but he found himself a bit concerned when his driver was proceeding particularly slowly; Roker asked if he’d ever driven in snow, and he said only once. Daly shared video of his trip in on the Long Island Expressway, with only a couple of other cars on the road.
“It was a little scary but it was actually sort of nice, because nobody was on the road,” Daly said. “The key is speed. You just can’t go as fast as you think you can.”
.@alroker and @carsondaly chat about their snowy commutes https://t.co/iz94HqW0CQ
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 14, 2017
On GMA, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Lara Spencer and Michael Strahan reported on the morning’s big news stories and interviewed guests inside the show’s Times Square studio. Meanwhile, meteorologist Ginger Zee was out in Times Square reporting on the storm and tracking local accumulation levels.
NOW ON @GMA: @mcgregor_ewan talks #BeautyandtheBeast & more! @beourguest pic.twitter.com/wTR1jOZtWS
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 14, 2017
WATCH: @ginger_zee talks snow accumulation and timing across the Northeast – here’s what you can expect: https://t.co/MV0he1xk3o pic.twitter.com/D9eBoNwySN
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 14, 2017
Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell were in their usual spots around the anchor desk on CBS This Morning, reporting on the morning’s big developments.
But local fans weren’t able to watch the national programs, as all three networks preempted their regular shows with local weather coverage. The shows did keep fans updated via their Twitter accounts, and Today‘s account noted it was streaming the show live for those who couldn’t watch on TV.
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At the other end of the day’s scheduled programming, things seemed to be proceeding as scheduled despite the snow. CBS’ Late Show With Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Tonight Show and Late Night With Seth Meyers were still planning to tape Tuesday night’s shows that evening. However, on Comedy Central, Tuesday night’s new episode of Daily Show With Trevor Noah has been canceled due to the weather.
Broadway performances will go on as scheduled Tuesday night, and movie theaters across New York City had no plans, as of midday Tuesday, to close their doors.
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The powerful nor’easter grounded nearly 6,000 flights, knocked out power to almost a quarter-million customers from Virginia northward, closed schools in cities big and small and prompted dire warnings to stay off the roads. Amtrak suspended service and the post office halted mail delivery.
As the morning wore on, the storm track shifted slightly and snow switched to sleet in Philadelphia and New York, prompting forecasters to lift blizzard warnings for the two big cities and cut their prediction of a foot or more of snow by over half.
But Boston was still in the crosshairs, with up to a foot expected in the metropolitan area and gusts up to 75 mph forecast along the Massachusetts coast. And inland areas up and down the Northeast got clobbered.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, received at least a foot of snow, and Wantage, New Jersey, got at least 17 inches. New York’s Hudson Valley had up to 20 inches by midafternoon.
A 16-year-old girl was killed in New Hampshire after she lost control of her car on a snowy road and hit a tree. But many other people were home, and stayed there, when the storm rolled in Monday night and Tuesday morning.
“Good day to make brownies … and or read a book,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, which was expecting up to 2 feet of snow in some areas.
The above-ground portions of the New York subway system were shut down, and the flight cancellations included nearly 3,300 in the New York City area alone. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at airports.
In the nation’s capital, the federal government announced a three-hour delayed arrival for non-emergency employees, with an option to take the day off or telecommute.
The nor’easter came a week after the region saw temperatures climb into the 60s, and less than a week before the official start of spring.
In Narragansett, Rhode Island, high winds knocked down a state-owned wind turbine. In New York City, two homes under construction collapsed near the waterfront in Far Rockaway. No injuries were reported.
And two ponies broke out of their stables and roamed the snowy streets of Staten Island until an off-duty police officer wrangled them with straps normally used to tow cars and tied them to a lamppost. They were taken back to the stables.
“We want to thank our cowboy officer,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The storm coincided with New Hampshire’s traditional Town Meeting Day, when voters in more than 100 communities elect boards of selectman, library trustees and a host of other local positions, and in some locations, set their annual budgets.
Some towns postponed their elections because of the snow. But in Hopkinton, a steady stream of voters braved the blustery conditions to make it to the polls.
Schools in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and elsewhere closed.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said about 700 National Guard members would be deployed along with more than 2,000 snowplows to keep up with the storm.
The snow threat led college basketball teams to alter their March Madness travel plans. Villanova, top overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament, left Philadelphia on Monday afternoon for Buffalo, New York, to get ahead of the storm.
But teams in the men’s and women’s tournaments rely on chartered flights, so any backlog at commercial airlines shouldn’t be a problem.
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