So, when skies cleared and the temperature crept above freezing for first time in weeks, people were delighted - until they saw snow turn to water. The heavy snow is about to become a huge expense. Thousands of homeowners are watching their walls warp and ceilings collapse. Insurance adjusters are watching a disaster in the making, CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports. Claims are just beginning to trickle in, more than 6,000 so far in the Chicago area alone, but unlike a hurricane or a tornado, this natural disaster will take weeks to show its full force, and the insurance industry knows these early reports are just the tip of the iceberg.
Workers have their hands full.
Inch by inch, Warner Nelson carefully clears a canal through the ice to give melting snow a way out. After three weeks of 14-hour days, the roofer is like an emergency room doctor, forced to choose which of his customers can wait and which requires immediate attention. Homeowners like Szpargowski wonder what else may be happening within their walls, fully aware that the warmer it gets, the worse it will be. Ths website is designed and maintained in cooperation with HelpForMyWebsite.