Modest Losses on Wall Street; Harsh Winter Hit Q1 US GDP; Extreme Weather and the Economy
LAKE: The US Federal Reserve is paying attention to recent volatility on Wall Street. That's according to the minutes of the Fed's October meeting. The central bank ended its nearly six-year-long bond-buying program at the meeting three weeks ago. Now, investors are focusing on how soon they will start raising interest rates. It will be our obsession. Here's how Wall Street ended the day, and you can see, some very modest losses. It was awfully close there at the settle, but we did end it down about two points. Now, at least six people have died in a vicious snowstorm that's blasted the eastern United States. Buffalo in upstate New York is one of the hardest-hit cities. Much of the city is buried under almost two meters of snow. And more is expected on Thursday. Buffalo's international airport is open, but good luck getting there. A driving ban is in effect in the southern part of the city. And Buffalo is not alone. The rest of the US is dealing with below-freezing temperatures, even Hawaii and Florida. Well, CNN's Martin Savidge has been braving the extreme weather for many hours. He filed this report for us a short time ago.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Buffalo tries to dig out from an avalanche of snow, even more is on the way. The lake effect blizzard hammered southern areas of the city Tuesday, dropping nearly six feet. Yes, feet.</s>GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: I believe when all is said and done, this snowfall may break all sorts of records.</s>SAVIDGE: Of the 42 square miles that make up Buffalo, only 10 were impacted. But they're overwhelmed with snow the likes of which rarely -- maybe even never -- seen before. The impact was so specific to South Buffalo, even the airport just three miles away got only 6.5 inches. A break in the weather Wednesday allowed emergency crews to start the big dig. More snow is expected Wednesday night into Friday, which could add a couple more feet on top of what they already have.</s>BYRON BROWN, MAYOR OF BUFFALO: Please do not be fooled by the beautiful sunshine. There is still tremendous amounts of snow on the ground in South Buffalo. If you don't have to drive, if you don't have to go out to work in other parts of the city as well, stay home.</s>SAVIDGE: Driving bans are still in effect in South Buffalo, where snow left many stranded on the New York freeway, including the Niagara University women's basketball team, who got stuck on I-90 for 24 hours. That team was finally rescued. But calls keep coming in from those still stranded, and in many cases, rescues like this one last night were carried out on foot.</s>KIMBERLY BEATY, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: This morning since 6:00 AM, we had 12 new calls. So those people right now, they should be OK, but officers last night were responding on foot.</s>SAVIDGE: EMS and firefighters have been depending on volunteers with snowmobiles to get into hardest-hit areas. The death toll from this brutal storm has climbed to six so far. Some from cardiac arrest shoveling, and others trapped in the snow.</s>SCOTT PARTONIK, CHIEF, ERIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Sadly, we have to announce we found an individual today, a 46-year-old male in the town of Alden. His car was buried under approximately 12 to 15 feet of snow, and he was found deceased.</s>SAVIDGE: One of the biggest struggles: simply clearing streets. Plows aren't enough. They need front-end loaders, hauling the snow away using hundreds of dump trucks. Rescuers from as far away as Nevada have contacted Buffalo officials to offer their help, and the city says its most urgent need is for anything that can dig up and haul away the seemingly unending mountain of snow.</s>LAKE: And Martin joins us now, live from Buffalo. Martin, this is an area that is used to getting snow, but this is beyond anything they're used to seeing. And if I'm -- if my eyes don't deceive me, it is snowing again.</s>SAVIDGE: Yes, absolutely, it is snowing again. And you're right. This is above and beyond what Buffalo is accustomed to. In fact, it is possible that before this week is out, they will have seen an entire season -- entire winter's worth of snowfall come from a single snow event, this one. It's still ongoing, as you can see, and that was the concern today. They only had a short window of opportunity where they could try and go out and clear streets. This area where we are right here is in front of a fire station. It's considered a critical path, so that's why it looks as plowed as it is. However, I should point out, this also is not the heart of the hardest-hit area. It's actually still about a half mile down that way, add another foot or more to what you're seeing around here and that's the kind of landscape they have. People are surrounded and literally held hostage by snow. Maggie?</s>LAKE: Martin, we're seeing some intrepid people look like they're trying to move around you a little bit, and it's not that easy getting around. What are the conditions like? We've seen pictures earlier today of snow literally collapsing some people's windows, there's so much of it. I know a lot of people have the gear, but do they have electricity? Are they able to get food? Are supplies going to be a concern for some of these hardest-hit areas?</s>SAVIDGE: Well, for the most part, it depends. Buffalo folks are hearty people and they are accustomed to having to stock up, so they knew that was an issue. But then also, the other problem that they've been facing, power you mentioned. There have been some power outages. And those have been dealt with rather quickly. But the overall issue of resupplying, people have been going out on foot, walking to the corner market. We saw people carrying a sleigh. So, they're going out to get the things they need for as long as they can. The big thing here, it's going to warm up this weekend, if you can believe it. Might be 60 by Monday, I'm talking Fahrenheit. If that's the case, all this snow is suddenly going to melt. You can imagine what the next problem's going to be, flooding.</s>LAKE: From one mess to another. Martin, those people are made of tougher stuff than I am, I can tell you. You stay warm out there. Thank you so much. Well, the big freeze is more than just a problem for commuters. Extreme winter weather has the potential to drag down economic growth, just like it did, if you'll remember, in the first quarter of this year. Seems like a long time ago, but take a look at some of these numbers. The US output contracted at an annual rate of 2.9 percent over January, February, and March, the first quarterly decline in three years. Here's how it breaks down: spending falls, blizzards keep shoppers away from malls, restaurants and car dealers. The icy winter weather also shipped -- delayed shipments of both domestic goods domestically and abroad. And as a result, US exports declined. Even utilities like heating suffer, because the rise of cost of production was greater than the increase in demand. Everything just grinds to a halt. Meteorologist Tom Sater joins us from the World Weather Center with more. And Tom, the thing is, this isn't just an issue of snow, the extreme show we're seeing in Buffalo. We've got very cold temperatures, and we know what that frigid air can do. It also can bring things to a halt, can't it?</s>TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's really amazing, Maggie, the relationship between adverse weather conditions that last a long period of time and the economy. We've seen this happen. What typically occurs -- this is the second arctic wave we've had. We had one last week. There's a short burst of surge shopping. You run out, you buy your milk, your eggs, your bread, medication, to get ready for the cold. And this is the coldest November -- and we're just past the midway point -- since 1976, and there's another wave on the way. It's really something that when you look at the snow maps, and you can see most of this is a nuisance snow, but again, it does keep people indoors, 50 percent of the US. But what's really interesting is to see where we are now in this month of November compared to the first quarter. This is a look at how it is now, all right? Notice all of the colors of blue and purple. This is where the temperature anomalies are extremely low. Notice from the front range of the Rockies, you get extremely warm conditions. And that, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the drought. That's the other part of the equation with the economy. Now, the first quarter, almost no change. If you look at the first quarter, our temperatures were unseasonably cold. The Great Lakes almost completely freezing over, 92 percent of the Great Lakes, so transportation shut down. That was a record since 79. But with the drought areas out west, again, a good 40, 50 percent of the produce is just cut off and null and void. If you break it down -- this is the first quarter, now -- we've got January through March. And if you look at the numbers, and I'll point them out, it gives you a ranking. Blue is the cold. So, Illinois, their fourth coldest winter last year first quarter. Indiana the third, and so on and so forth. This is out of 120 years. So, 120 means California ranks that was the warmest. In 120 years of California. And in Arizona. So, it's not just the cold that can play a role in the economy. And unfortunately, we've got another round moving in. And here it comes. This is the second wave moving through. And if you think that this is the coldest since 76, we're just halfway through the month, we could really be seeing records. I don't think Minneapolis, which hasn't been above freezing since the 9th of November, is going to get up. Maybe this weekend. But another round and another blow to the economy, Maggie.</s>LAKE: We thought we put that polar vortex behind us --</s>SATER: Right.</s>LAKE: Good thing we learned all about it last year, Tom.</s>SATER: That's right.</s>LAKE: Thank you so much for bringing us right up to date. Well, the battle for taxi supremacy takes a menacing turn, and there is an indignant reaction to some of the tactics they're using at Uber. We'll hear from the journalist targeted by the company's executives after the break.