Millions on the East Coast are bracing for a blockbuster snowstorm and some serious snow shoveling this weekend. It's time to begin stretching those muscles to help protect your back, one of the most common snow shoveling injuries.
According to Adam Bornstein of Born Fitness, most back issues stem from one problem: poor core strength, Today.com reported. Don't round your lower back, he said. "Once you round your back you shut off the powerful muscles that make shoveling easy and instead shift the stress onto small muscles that cause all of your pain," according to Bornstein. Instead, he said, concentrate on "pushing your hips backward while slightly bending your knees. You want your core and abs, as well as your hips and hamstrings to provide stability for your lower back.
Pace yourself, shoveling for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Be aware of heart attack warning signs: increased heart rate, shortness of breath, more sweating, and tightness in the chest. Finally, wear layers, making sure noses, toes, and fingers are well covered and dry.
Major flooding has stranded residents inside their homes in many Jersey Shore towns.
One of those residents is Gus Herrera, who owns a home in Ocean City, Cape May County.
Herrera told NBC10 he tried to leave his home, but was unsuccessful.
“I’ve tried to get out since 8’clock in the morning, but when I woke up, it was already flooded,” Herrera said.
Herrera said he has family in Somers Point and was trying to make his way there.
Herrera has lived at the Ocean City home for 10 years. According to Herrera, the last time he saw major flooding like Saturday's was during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
With another high tide Saturday night, Herrera fears more intense flooding could be on its way.
“I'm afraid it’s going to be like Sandy, but hopefully not,” Herrera said.
Herrera is hoping for the best, but is preparing for the worst during high tide Saturday night.
Firefighters battled not only flames but flooding as they tried to control a coffee shop blaze in a popular Jersey Shore town Saturday.
As a winter storm continued to pound Sea Isle City with heavy winds and wet weather, firefighters tried to extinguish a fire at the Avalon Coffee Company at Landis Avenue and 42nd Street in Sea Isle City early in the afternoon.
Luckily no one was hurt.
The fact that the blaze broke out around low tide made things easier, but not easy, on firefighters.
“Luckily the tide was receding enough that all the other agencies that came to assists were able to get here… in efforts to put this fire out, said Lt. Thomas McQuillen of the Sea Isle City Police Department.
No word yet on what caused the fire.
Mercedes Delgado has lived in West Wildwood, New Jersey her entire life and made it through Hurricane Sandy without any damage to her home.
However, the blizzard, combined with the high tide Saturday morning, sent water flowing into her Glenwood Avenue apartment, damaging most of her personal belongings.
Delgado tells NBC10 it was about 7:30 a.m. when water began pouring into her ground floor apartment.
In all, Delgado estimates approximately four feet of water came rushing into her residence.
Delgado says she lost bedding, tables, couches, clothing and other items.
Delgado told NBC10 she lived in the same apartment during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and did not receive any water damage.
"It's the first time it's ever been like this."
In addition, Delgado said the cars of two family members are a total loss after they were flooded by rising water.
In hindsight, Delgado told NBC10 she wishes officials made the decision to evacuate her town.
Fortunately, no one was injured at her home.
When baseball enters the offseason, players are finally able to spend quality time with their families and pursue other passions.
For Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout, its helping The Weather Channel report on the deadly blizzard that has crippled much of Eastern Seaboard.
The New Jersey native, nicknamed The Millville Meteor, joined TWC's Jim Cantore Saturday morning to report on weather conditions in his hometown of Millville in South Jersey.
Trout phoned into the Weather Channel as Cantor was reporting live from Washington, D.C. The weatherman called the "pride of the California Angels" a "huge weather nerd."
The Major Leaguer said he was up all night checking the snowfall measurements and estimated that there was about a foot of snow on the groundat 10:32 a.m. ET.
"The winds is the worst part about it, its blowing hard," Trout said, adding that by his parents house there was about "4, 5, 6 foot drifts."
Trout also reported that road conditions were "terrible," but that the storm system was "awesome."
The 2014 American League MVP wasn't downplaying his excitement over weather. He said the blizzard delivered to his expectations and was excited to get outside and "play in it soon."
Friday night, he also tweeted a video of the snow falling "hard" in #SouthJersey.
The weatherman ranked Trouts on-air reporting as the number three "funnest thing I've ever done." As for Trout, turns out he does have some weather-predicting skills.
During an interview with Yahoo Sports last summer, Trout revealed that the Weather Channel wanted to offer him a corresponding gig.
“We’re planning on me doing a story when there’s a big storm in Jersey,” he said. “I’m gonna be on the Weather Channel. Hopefully, we get a big snowstorm.”
Officials in Montgomery County are urging residents to check on the elderly during Saturday's blizzard after a man died while shoveling snow.
Montgomery County commissioners revealed during a conference call Saturday that an 88-year-old man died while shoveling snow in Lower Providence Township. They did not reveal the man’s identity or an exact cause of death.
Officials are urging residents in Montgomery County to check on elderly friends and family members as the historic blizzard continues to move through the region.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
The roof of a New Jersey grocery store partially caved in Saturday afternoon as a historic winter storm pummeled the region.
First responders rushed to the Trader Joe’s grocery store in Westfield, NJ after the store’s walls bowed and the roof collapsed. No injuries were reported.
“We had a major roof collapse when we arrived on scene,” Westfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Brennan said at the scene.
The historic winter storm hitting the region now likely caused the collapse, authorities said.
“As it stands now it looks like it’s weather-related,” Battalion Chief Brennan said.
About a foot of snow had fallen on Westfield at the time of the collapse.
Snow from Saturday’s blizzard caused the roof of a Chester County, Pennsylvania, church to collapse.
Officials with Calvary Fellowship Downingtown on W. Devon Drive in Downingtown say the collapse was caused by snow on the roof of the church’s auditorium. Lee Wiggins, the senior pastor of Calvary Fellowship, told NBC10 more than five feet of snow fell through the roof, setting off the sprinkler system which flooded the auditorium.
"It was like Niagara Falls," Pastor Wiggins said.
No one was hurt in the collapse. Pastor Wiggins told NBC10 he estimates the hole in the roof is more than 60 feet in diameter.
"I looked up and we could see out to the sky a third of the roof to half of the roof is gone," he said.
Pastor Wiggins and his daughter, Noelle Wiggins, made the discovery after walking into the church auditorium shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.
"I almost cried," Noelle Wiggins said. "I couldn't handle it."
John Stout of Belfor Property Restoration visited the church Saturday night to examine the damage.
"It's the worst I've seen," Stout said. "We've dealt with worse across the country but this is the worst I've seen in Chester County."
Experts say repairs to the church will take at least six months and cost more than $1 million. Pastor Wiggins told NBC10 his church will stream their service online Sunday.
CLICK HERE if you would like to donate money to the church for repairs.
A massive winter storm that dumped more than 30 inches of snow on parts of our region raised flood waters in several Jersey Shore communities, closing several roads.
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High tides around 7 p.m. Saturday brought in more flooding to the Shore and another high tide is coming in early Sunday morning.
Sussex County High Tide
7:45 a.m. Sunday
Cape May County High Tide
8 a.m. Sunday
Atlantic County
7:26 a.m. Sunday
NBC10's Ted Greenberg was in Cape May County Saturday night where the streets were flooded with water. While there was still flooding Saturday night in several Shore communities, it stopped short of the record-levels that drove people out of their homes Saturday morning.
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"Cape May is the only south-facing beach in New Jersey," said NBC10 First Alert Weather chief meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz. "When the wind is out of the north it blows offshore therefore Cape May has a different kind of flood problem than the rest of the Jersey Shore."
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The massive winter storm caused historic coastal flooding and widespread power outages along numerous Jersey Shore towns Saturday.
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North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello told NBC10 that Saturday morning’s flooding was half-a-foot higher than what his town experienced during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Rosenello said residents called emergency personnel after water began entering their homes. Some residents were evacuated from their homes and an emergency shelter was opened. [[366295921, C]]
Rosenello surveyed the damage in North Wildwood Saturday night while riding in the city's Office of Emergency Management vehicle.
"The water just kept coming up so I knew that I had to get out of there," said Antonio Velasquez of Wildwood, New Jersey.
Velasquez, who was forced to evacuate Saturday, also dealt with damage to his home several years ago during Superstorm Sandy.
"This is my second disaster," Velasquez said while in tears. "My second time that I'm going to lose everything."
Similar rescues like the ones in North Wildwood played out in flooded areas of other towns.
In addition to water in the streets, there was also debris and downed branches that made travel hazardous. Residents are urged to stay off the roadways. [[366295651, C]]
Sea Isle City, Ocean City, and many other towns experienced major flooding on the streets.
At the Cape May Harbor, a new record high tide was registered. The old record, which happened during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, was 8.67’. The high tide registered at 9.26’ Saturday morning. Lewes, Delaware also set a new record high tide.
Cars left on the street and hotels in the shore towns were damaged by strong winds and there are numerous road closures all throughout Jersey Shore towns due to the flooding.
In addition, tens of thousands are without power along the New Jersey coast due to the heavy wind and snow.
During an interview with NBC10, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie downplayed comparisons between Saturday's storm and Superstorm Sandy.
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"We're not having any need in any of those towns in Cape May for evacuation," Christie said. "We're not having need for evacuations. The mayors did not call for evacuation in those towns. While flooding is moderate to major it is certainly not anywhere near the need for us to be evacuating anyone in those towns."
Christie said the Garden State had the manpower to respond to any mess. [[366302181, C]]
Christie also said the Department of Environmental Protection is monitoring coastal flooding and shelters are available in every county. He also urged residents to stay home and wait out the storm if they could.
Stay with NBC10.com for the latest weather updates.
Some lucky teens got a ride from a hero during the blizzard of 2016.
According to a social media post by Philadelphia Police Officer Damien Stevenson, he picked up a group of kids walking home in the blizzard.
The cost for the warm and safe ride? A selfie with the officer.
Little did the kids know that Officer Stevenson is known as the former partner of Sergeant Robert Wilson, who was killed in the line of duty at a North Philadelphia Game Stop last March.
Officer Stevenson was involved in a shootout with the suspects.
