eastern new mexico and the texas panhandle. and now two systems team up to ring in a soggy new year in the northeast. rob marciano starts us off. >> reporter: the new storm coming together and heading east, just as millions are digging out or drying out from a massive storm that prompted dozens of water rescues, like this one in north carolina. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: watch this suv being swallowed by flood water. its driver trapped inside after plunging head first into a retention pond. >> he's still in the car! >> reporter: a bystander jumping in to save him. the driver narrowly escaping through the rear window of the car. similar scenes in georgia. a half a foot of rain there forcing drivers to take their chances on flooded roads. first responders using a ladder to carry this stranded motorist to safety. that storm leaving six dead, tormenting the north with ice and snow. dumping up to a foot of snow on the dakotas and nearly two feet in minnesota. but in the southwest, that new system bringing blizzard conditions and dropping up to 30 inches of snow in new mexico. this camper overt

none are leaving. >> reporter: whiteout conditions all the way to the texas panhandle. the storm moving east, stretching from canada all the way to the gulf coast. and with it, torrential rain and lightning. in new orleans, transformers exploding. >> that's crazy! >> reporter: in houston, high winds snapping all six poles holding up this billboard, sending it into this building. in austin, flash flooding. julie butler had to be rescued after her car got pushed a quarter mile off the road by floodwaters, thanking the firefighters who got her to safety. >> all of those firefighters are like angels from heaven. they're not little tiny things that sit on your shoulder, i mean, they're huge with wings. >> reporter: first responders rescuing a sheriffs deputy nearby. >> and victor joins us live from atlanta. and victor, this storm headed right towards you. besides all the travel trouble this is going to cause, there is also a flash flood watch right there? >> reporter: that's right, tom. and it's already raining here in atlanta. a lot more is on the way. already messing up the commute for the

. winter storm watches posted for the panhandle. across oklahoma, a good swath and ice from amarillo, through arkansas, across the ohio valley and into the mid-atlantic, where they're already seeing some snow tonight. david? >> rob marciano with us again tonight. thank you, rob. >>> and next this evening, from costa rica, a heartbreaking confirmation for the family of that american woman who disappeared on the last day of her vacation. her father now identifying the body found near the airbnb where his daughter was staying for her birthday. and tonight, investigators say it appears that she did die after a violent struggle. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> we're incomplete. >> reporter: tonight, the father of carla stefaniak is struggling to make sense of the brutal murder of his beloved daughter. >> it's too much for us. that's too much for us. >> reporter: authorities revealing new details about the murder of the 36-year-old who came to costa rica on vacation. >> second day. the hot springs. >> reporter: they think stefaniak fought for her life. she was stabbed, her neck broken inside

georgia and the florida panhandle. also, parts of alabama. and dense fog across the northeast. and at the airport, huge delays. still snowing in the midwest, 14 inches piling up in parts of nebraska. next storm coming in from the pacific hits california tuesday, another strong one that traverses the entire country next week. >> rob, thank you. >>> next tonight, the nfl back in the spotlight for how it investigates players accused of violence. former kansas city chiefs running back kareem hunt, apologizing for shoving and kicking a woman at a hotel in cleveland. tmz sports obtaining this video. hunt claims the nfl never asked him about the incident. here's zachary kiesch. >> reporter: tonight, nfl star kareem hunt breaking his silence after being fired once this video emerged, showing him shoving and kicking a woman. >> it don't really matter what happened. i was in the wrong. >> reporter: the video was first released by tmz sports on friday. the incident happened back in february at a cleveland hotel. you can see hunt arguing with the woman and then shoving her. she then hits hunt.