sparks flying. our entire region is reeling after the onslaught of winds, rain, and wet, heavy snow. out cold. neighbors left in the dark now doing anything they can to stay warm as restoration is expected to last until next week. right now on nbc 10 news, take a look at what's happening across our entire area. trees falling, power lines knocked down, roads closing from storm damage.

test of thousands without power, dealing with a tree down or damage in their neighborhood. live team coverage will show you what everyone is keeli indealin and what's next following this maim storm. nbc 10's drew submit is live in havertown. >> there's been a delay getting people back on the power grid because of scenes of destruction like this one. you see the power lines down here, these are de-energized. these trees have taken it down. pico saying they expect the majority of customers back online by monday. but the last of them by the middle of next week. because of the tangled lines and huge trees they need to take out, it is going to take some time. the only lights on this street in norristown coming from a utility truck. road closures are still widespread as the linemen go up in buckets to take on the trees. from blue bell to east norton,

snapped limbs and downed lines untouched. >> a transformer blew up. the other half of the neighborhood got on earlier today. i don't know what's happening over here. >> reporter: shawn johnson is burning scrap wood in the driveway. his only source of heat. after more than 24 hours cut off from power, leaving the cold house hasn't been easy. >> we're going to stay warm. have a couple of beers. >> reporter: these neighborhoods soar dark you can't see much. but you can hear the hum of generators. a much calmer scene than the transformer explosions from friday night. gary says he's glad no one got hurt. >> the car was stopped right in time, as you can see. >> reporter: the fires are all out now but the wind is still slowing down utility crews. >> even this morning still. >> reporter: in ambler, some restaurants were able to open back up tonight. >> we're pretty booked tonight so we're excited. we're ready to work. we've been sitting doing nothing all day. >> reporter: in the dark neighborhoods, there's not much to do but wait.

>> the last i heard was monday. so we'll see. >> reporter: you want to be careful whether you're driving or walking, because these trees are all over the place. they are certainly creating hazards. we hear the hum of the generators, a lot of people have them. pico is warning people to make sure that those are outside, you're being careful with the fumes, and with your electrical systems as well. at the height of the storm, more than 660,000 pico customers were without power. tonight the number is 160,000. also on the screen, the latest numbers from ppl, psg and g, ac electric, and delmarva. >> oh my god, holy [ bleep ]! >> a frightening chain reaction event in havertown. a tree came down, a short time later a transformer caught fire. a car stopped as another tree

landed on its hood. the driver was not hurt. several trees toppled next to this drexel hill home. take a look at this pile of tree branches. it doesn't appear any of the trees damaged the home. our team coverage continues with first alert meteorologist steve sosna. steve, it has been a nightmare for so many people. what is next? >> yeah, that's right, denise. recovering after tropical storm and hurricane-force wind gusts across much of the area. it was a long-duration event. luckily the next couple of hours, we'll see those gusty winds subside. it will be breezy but not as gusty. those winds will return here on sunday afternoon. wind gusts 30 to 40 miles per hour will be back in the picture. we do get two nice, quiet days ahead of us here for monday and most of tuesday. but looking over some of the latest information, a nor'easter is likely now on wednesday. and the trend here is towards snow. wind gusts now, if you're walking outside, it's not a pleasant march evening.

march definitely coming in like a lion. wind gusts 20 to 30 miles per hour. windchills right now 18 in the poconos, 30 in blue bell, feeling like lower 30th at the shore. at 11:16, i'll walk you through the newest information and have your exclusive ten-day forecast. trees down, power out, a big mess to clean up from the poconos to the shore. a familiar sound for many people across the reg job. chainsaws getting a workout as residents and workers cleared downed trees. fallen limbs blocked roads in northeast philadelphia. today's clear skies were a welcome sight for those dealing with damage. >> finally calmed down now. but now hopefully we can get like some response to fix some stuff and get our power back. >> at the shore, minor flooding in the back bays was enough to

force some people to wade through knee-high water to get to their cars. if you're without power and your phones and tablets are low on juice, comcast is opening up xfinity stores to plug in and power up. go to any xfinity store and bring your devices. comcast is the parent cough nbc 10. next, erasing medical debt. nbc 10 is helping get rid of $2 million worth of past due bills. how you can negotiate down your own mounting money issues. i'm danny pommells. as the regular season winds down, a chance for head coach jay wright to reach a career milestone. a wild game for the flyers as they take on the top team in the league and it ends up being the highest-scoring game of the season for the orange and black.

dozens took part in a long line for a reason in mt. morrow. lifetime fitness, part of a four-hour relay spin class that was dedicated to raising money for st. jude. cydney long took part in today's event. a south jersey police officer is recovering after a suspected drunk driver slammed into his patrol car. the officer was on route 322 in hamilton township last night. he was diverting traffic because of some of the downed power lines. a man crashed into the front of the officer's car. drifter was not hurt but he is facing a slew of charges. next on nbc 10, erasing medical debt. nbc 10 is borg to get rid of $2 million worth of overdue bills. tonight, how you can bring down the price tag on your own medical bills. another storm brewing, yes.

we have a second nor'easter in a week coming at us. how this one will be different from the last one and what you can expect from the storm, along with the timing, that in your exclusive ten-day forecast coming up.

more and more student debt is keeping people from doing what they love. (horn sound) ♪ ♪ like buying a home. ♪ ♪ (knocking sound) traveling. ♪ ♪ even getting married. ♪ ♪ at citizens bank we can help you refinance both your federal and private student loans.

so you can start saving and get on with your life. ask a leader in student lending how we can help you reach your potential. ♪ gus, you are crushing it! just trying to shed those extra pounds. (giggles) me too. gettin' the beach body back... (sighs) is gonna take a lot of work. this will help you power through. one million dollar power payday, new from the pennsylvania lottery. yup, with top prizes of a million bucks. so, how do i look? like a winner. (they both laugh) keep on scratchin'!

tonight, nbc 10 responds. erasing medical debt. we're digging into the collections process that keeps so many patients stuck in a cycle of overdue bills. nbc 10 responds is working on its biggest initiative yet. the nbc universal-owned television stations across the country are donating $150,000 to wipe out $15 million of medical debt, including $2 million from the philadelphia area.

nbc 10's george spencer is looking the journey of a medical bill from your doctor's office to the collections calls at your home. >> reporter: for tammy torres, a cup of morning tea offers stability in a time of turbulence. her husband died of liver cancer in 2015. then she was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year. >> here i go again, but this time it's me. that's what i was saying to myself. >> reporter: after eight rounds of chemo, torres considers herself a survivor. but she can't focus on her recovery because of this growing pile of medical bills. the current total, at least $4,000. >> bills keep piling up, coming in. i'm overwhelmed. $1,000 for a co-pay, the thousands keep coming. >> reporter: across our region over 1.1 million people have medical debt that's been sent to collections. a product of shrinking health coverage and more complicated

benefits. >> there's more responsibility for out-of-pocket payment than there ever was before. >> reporter: dr. levoy founded health advocates to help employees navigate health benefits. the company tells its clients to start with an in-network doctor if you have insurance, and have a candid conversation about what you can afford. but then lebo withes says try to work with the hospital or office's billing department. >> they are much more sophisticated in working out payment plans, recognizing the value of quick pays. >> reporter: when patients can't pay it all, their bills usually move into collections. large portfolios of medical debt are often sold and resold from one collect tore the next, each one usually buying it for just a fraction of the previous cost. meanwhile, the amount you owe stays the same or even grows. but by the time collectors are calling you at home, you might have more leverage over the amount of your bill than you'd think.

>> they've probably bought it for some discount on the dollar. and so you have a better chance of negotiating with them because they're trying to settle an account. >> reporter: leibovitz recommends telling the collectors what you can actually afford to pay each month and seeing how much they'll budge. >> it's been a tough year. >> reporter: torres' bills aren't in collections yet, they're too new. but right now she doesn't know how she'll ever catch up. >> i didn't ask to be sick. this changed my life. i had to stop working. i can't even pay a bill because i can't even work right now to pay this money back. >> you cannot sign up to receive nbc's medical debt payoff, nor can you call our partner, r.i.p. medical debt, to pay off your bill. they use an entirely random and anonymous process, only you will know if your debt has been forgiven if you get one of these yellow envelopes in your mailbox. >> if you receive one of those yellow envelopes, we'd love to

hear from you. remember, anyone can donate to r.i.p. medical debt to help pay off the bills of other people in our area. just $25 can pay off $2,500 of bent. visit nbc10.com and click on "this story" to find a link to donate. live from new york, it is saturday night. here's a look from studio 8h. tonight charles barkley hosts. turning to our first alert weather, a curtain helped save a little boy's life when a tree came crashing down on his home in montgomery county. a large tree fell on the roof and this caused damage to the house, and glass came flying into rooms. we talked about what happened seconds before the tree toppled. >> "stay away from the window, come here." and it's the big dang came in the roof and he just laid down, and the whole curtain just was

surrounding him. this one. that might have saved his life from the glass and all the shattering glass over him. >> luckily his son was not hurt. steve sosna joins us. steve, we're not out of the  woods. another storm is now brewing? >> that's right. i'll show that to you in just a second. looks like a second nor'easter here within a week's worth time. we have to show you optimism. regardless of the weatherer, it's 33 days away to the phillies home opener in south philadelphia. keep that in mind after i deliver you some of the info i am about to do here in this forecast. the three bullet points tonight, a chilly, breezy sunday ahead of us. but it will be dry. if you're out and about tomorrow, dress for the breeze. it will be in the mid 40s here. feeling more like the upper 30s. so monday is the pick of the week. this is the day where we have the lightest winds, the most sunshine, and rather pleasant. get your rest while you can because looks like another

nor'easter impacting us here on wednesday. and there are some differences between this upcoming storm and the last one. so let's take a look at the temperatures right now. this is a march evening that has the march wind with it. 38 in philadelphia. the winds gusting over 30 miles per hour. 38 millville. 29 the poconos. right down to the shore points it's chilly. first alert radar is dry here this evening. no more rain or snow to talk about here for the next couple of days. certainly a good thing. but already on our radar screens right now is another storm system. this one is curling into the pacific northwest. over 3,000 miles away from us. but our computer models are very much in agreement that this storm will give us an impact. that's why our confidence, a lot higher than average with this coastal storm. this is the american model. there's such high confidence in this forecast, the storm brewing tuesday night, on wednesday morning at midnight we're looking at rain and marine mixed with snow in philadelphia.

just like the last one, the costal low takes over here. and look at how this flips over to snow. this is wednesday at noon, raining in philadelphia. then watch how that rain-snow line collapses to the south. this will be a fairly potent and intense system. so we may be looking at several hours of heavy, wet snow. unfortunately during the middle of the week, during both commutes. so that's certainly a problem on our hands. then we kick the storm out of here for thursday. what's difference from this nor'easter compared to the last one in the wind will not be as intense with this storm system. we'll still have wind, especially at the coast, but not the hurricane-force winds we were seeing yesterday. more snow with this system. it has a colder side to it and we're high confidence with the impacts of this storm. all of our models are in agreement. 38 degrees right now in philadelphia with that busy wind out of the north-northwest. a chilly night overnight. winter attire. we've hit march and many of you want to make the leap to spring,

but winter's hanging on strong. 45 tomorrow. more sunshine to the west of the city. the east the ocean storm is parked out there. highs tomorrow in the mid to upper 40s. a smidge below average. we'll stay that way here the next several days as we're stuck in this cold pattern. your ten-day forecast, again, a couple of nice days. we can continue cleaning up. temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. wednesday it's all about wednesday, tracking that nor'east nor'easter. crystal will have the latest tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. i'm danny pommels from nbc sports philadelphia. sticks and hucks will make us feel better. flyers visiting lightning. ta tampa bay entered with 92 points, the most in hockey. first period. this long outlet pass creates a

two-on-one for the lightning. steven stamkos, the one-timer, we're tied 5-5. 6-5 later. the pass bouncing around the slot, ends up in claude giroux's left, he ties it. this went to shoot-out. steven stamkos' five points and the overtime win. flyers waste two leads but salvage the point 7-6. flyers face the panthers tomorrow. defenseman shane gostisbehere has invited the marjory stoneman douglas high hockey team to attend the game and meet the players. douglas high school is where last month's mass shooting occurred. gostisbehere attended that school for two years. the team won the state championship 11 days after the shooting. jay wright looking for win 413 in his career on the main line to tie a school record, hosting georgetown. hoyas possession, bridges with the steal and the stick. he had 24.

nova makes it win 413 for their coach, 97-73. penn looking to clinch a share of the ivy league title for the first time since 2007 at brown. quaker sophomore ryan bentley, get him a side of macaroni and three. career high 30. penn wins 99-93 but will be the two seed behind harvard in the ivy league tournament. union hosting the revolution with a pair of teenagers in the starting lineup. you've got to wonder how this feels for 18-year-old anthony fontana. in the right place. union wins 2-0. super bowl champions ronald darby and fletcher cox among a number of eagles signing autographs at the philadelphia sports caramel ra bill yeah show at the valley forge casino as the championship celebration continues. phillies play two split squad games and lost them both.

new tv, new speakers, netflix.

this is going to be the place for binge watching, ladies. is it, ladies? don't get me wrong, you have killer tech mrs. d, but you still don't have fios. ok? fios is a 100% fiber-optic network, literally engineered for streaming. good advice. i've also got some ideas on a better cereal selection, which i will keep to myself. experience netflix on the 100% fiber-optic network made for streaming switch to fios and get a year of netflix on us with a two-year agreement.

here's your exclusive 10-day forecast. a nice one sunday. a little wind to deal with, not

bad. 45 degrees. nice start to the work week, 44 degrees. all eyes on a potential major nor easter on wednesday. rain changing to wet, heavy snow. commutes could be impacted. the latest with crystal tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. >> that's nbc 10 news for now. i'm denise nakano. "saturday night live" is next.

[ cheers and applause ] good evening, i'm anderson cooper, and this is cnn. your number one source for ac