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. Government weather experts confirm that the last two months have been the country's coldest November-December period on record. 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. Copyright MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.