Meteorologist Jeff Ranieri

The first significant "winter" storm of the season hit the nation over the weekend and during the start of the workweek. Here's a peek into my notebook as I set out to cover the storm:

Day 1
What a storm ... Our deadly system that moved from the Southwest to the Midwest, and finally the Northeast, was a storm all in its own ... In my years covering national weather I have never experinced a non-tropical storm pack such a punch in so many locations ...

Sunday I left from NYC and headed to Massachusetts where the roads were almost too slick for this Florida native. When you're driving and it's too cold for the wipers or the defroster to work, it's never good. My speed was cut in half as it took about twice as long to arrive Sunday night. I made it to Massachusetts by 8 pm and we worked on our story for the network 'til midnight ...

Day 2
Wake up call Monday 4 am ! Arriving at the live shot soon after and on the air by 7.

As our storm lingered, I literally experienced almost every kind of precip with my crew over 13 hours of live shots. Rain, sleet, snow, & freezing rain. This led to many accidents and road closures.

By 7 we wrapped up the day and got our next asignment, New Hampshire.

Arrived 10 PM

Day 3
Meridith, N.H.

4 am wake up call for Today Show.

Even though the storm was on the way out , the arctic air was not. I pulled out my winter gear and loaded on the clothes in layers for a blustery day.

The snow was packed high and the nearby lake was ushering in frigid wind chills near 5 degrees.

Local residents say the quick, hard punch of gusty winds and a foot of snow was something they had not seen in a while, since last year was such a weak winter .

I did manage a bit of fun with a few new friends who also love the weather!

It turned out to be quite the day with incredible views as the storm cleared.

On to the next storm...

One word of advice to those who travel to the cold. Get a jacket with a hood like this !
I think by my smile you can tell I was able to stay warm .

Jeff Ranieri