track of this storm as it then moves east. abc's clayton sandell near the denver airport tonight. >> reporter: a winter weather explosion tonight putting a bulls eye on the center of the country. why white out conditions. okay, it's about noon. we are just east of denver and the blizzard conditions have definitely kicked in. visibility here is virtually zero. in colorado, parts of major interstates 70 and 25 clogged by crashes are shut down. >> there are dozens if not hundreds of cars stranded here on i-70 and the wind gusts are unbelievable. >> reporter: it's all thanks to a rare winter storm, with a technical term, a bomb cyclone. they call it as a bomb cyclone because the pressure drops so quickly. the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. here at the airport, we're seeing gusts of 80 miles per hour. that forced denver to shut down all six runways. tloilt do but sleep and play cards. >> i grew up in new orleans and i have seen a hurricane. this is a snowicane. >> reporter: in texas, winds gusting above 70 miles per hour. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: strong enough to flip

team made it to them. we have the new tract tonight, as this moves east. and clayton sandel l leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, people are watching the skies the midwest to the south. >> it's a legit tornado. >> reporter: multiple tornadoes reported already, as the deadly storm moves east. one twister, ripping the roof off of this church outside paducah, kentucky. 40 preschool kids and staff inside. >> we give god the dmroglory th nobody was hurt. >> reporter: in nebraska, high-water rescues west of omaha. >> there's crews out here getting people from the properties. >> reporter: at least one person in the state is missing. the storm, packing powerful winds, gusts above 70 miles per hour, flipping trucks wednesday, in amarillo, texas. in colorado, the national guard and state troopers, still helping rescue drivers after a blizzard trapped hundreds of cars. >> we have to get them moved so the snowplows can come through. >> reporter: the bomb cyclone has moved on. we're in the middle of i-25. this stretch of freeway between denver and colorado springs is still a parking lot. we foun

tornado threat for parts of the south before the storm strikes the northeast. here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: a powerful western storm tonight is on the move. south of bellevue, washington, slick roads thursday sending a school bus full of kids sliding. no one was hurt. in colorado the rockies are bracing for even more snow with new avalanche warnings. you can see where slides have broken free on interstate 70. this is a view above an avalanche that buried multiple vehicles thursday. everyone escaped. officials say it's the worst avalanche season in 50 years. >> these slide pads don't have a history of hitting the highway. >> reporter: broken and buried trees mark the spot near jones pass colorado. where a back country skier was buried yesterday. teams are out triggering avalanches like this on purpose before they become threats. this spot hasn't seen a slide this big since eisenhower was president. those intentional slides sometimes triggered with explosives. we watched ski patrollers at copper mountain resort working to make the snow safe. >> how much snow does it take to immobilize you? >

former patient armed with split-second life or death decision. clayton sandell with the video tonight. >> reporter: a panicked 911 call sends officers racing in. >> i've been stabbed! please! reporter: the voice on line is a mental health therapist in fullerton, california, attacked by a former patient seen walking in moments earlier with a hunting knife. >> help me, i've been stabbed! >> reporter: that patient, katherine brazeau, had been treated by the therapist for three years until they had a falling out. the therapist got a restraining order. brazeau allegedly making repeated threats. >> she makes it clear that the therapist is going to die. >> reporter: the two veteran officers try to get in, but the door is locked. >> anybody inside, come out with your hands up! >> reporter: so they kick it in. as brazeau raises the knife again, both officers open fire. brazeau, shot seven times, was killed. the therapist survived. this entire incident from last may was over in just three minutes. the district attorney determined that both officers acted reasonably in order to save a life. tom?

northeast. here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: a powerful western storm is on the move. slick roads in washington sending a school bus full of kids sliding. in colorado the rockies are bracing for new snow with new avalanche warnings. this is a view above an avalanche that buried multiple vehicles. officials say it's the worst avalanche season in 50 years. >> these slide pads don't have a history of hitting the highway. >> reporter: this marks the spot near jones pass colorado. teams are out avalanches like this on purpose before they become threats. this spot hasn't seen a slide this big since eisenhower was president. those slides sometimes triggered with explosives. we watched ski patrollers working to make the slope safe. >> how much snow does it take to immobilize you? >> nothing. two or three inches. >> reporter: severe weather could spin up in the south bringing high winds and possible tornado. after three dozen twisters last weekend struck four states. here in colorado we're expecting another round of heavy snow tonight. that increases the avalanche risk. tom? >> clayton out

east. abc's clayton sandell near the denver tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a monster winter storm is on the move. bringing whiteout conditions from colorado into the dakotas. okay, it's about noon. we are just east of denver and the blizzard conditions have definitely kicked in. visibility here is virtually zero. in colorado, parts of interstate 70 and 25 clogged by crashes are shut down. >> there are dozens if not hundreds of motorists stranded here on i-70 and the wind gusts are unbelievable. >> reporter: it's all thanks to a rare winter storm, they call it a bomb cyclone because the pressure drops so quickly. the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. here at the airport, we're seeing gusts of 80 miles per hour. all six runways closed at denver's airport. more than 1,300 flights canceled. >> i grew up in new orleans and i have seen a hurricane. this is a snowicane. >> reporter: in parts of texas, winds gusting above 70 miles per hour. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: causing this semi to overturn. >> oh, my goodness! >> reporter: ripping off a warehouse roof. and tossing airplanes

abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: it's a dark and disturbing dive into the mind of triple murderer chris watts, heard in a newly-released interview with investigators. >> none of this makes sense. that's why i know you guys keep asking these questions, because it doesn't make sense to me. >> reporter: his wife shanann, 15 weeks pregnant, seen here coming home from a business trip in august. watts says they argued, she accused him of cheating, and told him this -- >> you're never going to see the kids again. you're never going to see them again. get off me. don't hurt the baby. >> reporter: watts says that triggered him into a rage. he says shanann did not fight back as he strangled her to death. >> it just felt like there was already something in my mind that was implanted that i was going to do it, and when i woke up that morning, it was going to happen, and i had no control over it. >> reporter: the couple's daughters, watts says, woke up to see their mother face down in bed, wrapped in a sheet. >> is that what happened? bella came in? what did she say? >> something's wr

-41 in wisconsin from the last system. 131 vehicles involved. and here's abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: dispatchers could hear it happening. >> there's a huge pileup. people are -- >> ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? >> help! help! >> reporter: car after car, trucks and semis, a tangled smashup unfolding in whiteout chain-reaction chaos sunday on this wisconsin highway. >> which car? >> reporter: rescuers scrambling over icy wrecks find people trapped. >> okay, i'm coming to you, okay? hold on. >> reporter: in one pileup, 131 wrecked cars. 71 people taken to hospitals. one man was killed. >> this is my 27th year. up on scene, that was the worst conditions i've ever seen. >> reporter: officials say if you are stuck in a crash like this, the safest place is in your car. and this weekend, more potentially dangerous cold and snow is headed from the plains to the northeast. david? >> all right, clayton, thank you. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the well-known actor rushed to the hospital. was it a stroke? the actor known for his roles on "beverly hills

strip. here's abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: tonight, a violent las vegas casino shootout seen from surveillance cameras. police say it started friday night. the suspect, michael cohen, armed with a gun, demanding money from a belliago cashier. >> cohen entered the bellagio poker room and robbed the casino cage at gunpoint. cohen fled with cash and casino chips he stole from the cage and exited through the north doors into the valet area. >> reporter: as cohen was running out of the casino, so was his luck. he tries carjacking a driver, but is spotted by these officers, already there on another call. as they confront him, he opens fire, hitting one officer. police return fire. cohen is hit and dies at a hospital. >> we're going to transport an officer. >> reporter: that officer shot in the chest was saved by his bulletproof vest. police also saying tonight they believe cohen is same suspect who robbed the same casino back in 2017. that crime unsolved until now. david? >> clayton sandell with us tonight. clayton, thank you. >>> here in new york city tonight, there are new develo

unsolved until now. david? >> clayton sandell with us tonight. clayton, thank you. >>> here in new york city tonight, there are new developments in the mudder of a reputed mob boss on staten island. the suspected killer making his first court appearance. he's accused of lawyering the man out of his home by ramming a car backwards into another car to get him out of the house. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: some of the first images of the 24-year-old police say murdered an alleged mobster. >> is it true you're waving your right to extradition? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: anthony comello appearing today in a new jersey courtroom with the words "maga forever" scribbled on his palm. comello is accused of murdering reputed gambino family crime boss francesco "frankie boy" cali. police say comello shot the 53-year-old purported godfather after allegedly smashing into cali's parked car outside his staten island home. >> get a rush on a bus. >> reporter: just moments before the murder, the two men were reportedly spotted on grainy surveillance talking and shaking hands. police say they la