there were only 136 canceled flights today compared to several hundred yesterday. the airlines say they are still deicing this afternoon. the airport expects to be busy the next day or so as passengers rebook their flights. parts of i-70 and i-76 are among the roads closed on the eastern plains. snow and strong wind reduced visibility at times to less than a mile in some spots and a winter storm warning is still in effect for the eastern plains until 5:00 tonight. meteorologist belen deleon is in the backyard. so, belen, what can we expect tonight? >> goodness. i can say back here in the backyard our snow has ended. i can see just a little sunshine out in the distance trying to peek out from behind the clouds. that's the trend into tonight. our clouds just kind of breaking up and as they do, those temperatures are really going to drop and that very cold air will settle in. let me is bring you up to speed. with the snowfall -- let me bring you up to speed. with the snowfall from this one

monthly average for february. we should have 7.7 inches for the month and we already have 11.3, that recorded out at dia. everybody wants to know what they got officially. here are a few preliminary snow reports. these are by the national weather service storm spotters, but at watkins about a foot, same goes for fort collins, genesee 22 inches, castle rock 12 inches. even this shot looks a whole lot better than what it did yesterday around this time. you can finally see the buildings out in the distance, cloudiness. those roads are wet and especially into the evenings difficult to navigate. our storm system has pushed off to the north and east caving some big problems for folks not only in colorado -- causing some big problems for folks not only in colorado but into nebraska and kansas into the midwest. on the warm side of the storm on the south side we're talking about severe weather.

thunderstorm watches, warnings and even tornado warnings set up for louisiana into tennessee. now here is a look at the cold side of this system. we still have that winter storm warning in effect for the eastern plains because of the lightly falling snow but very strong winds. those winter weather advisories extend all the way into the the midwest, winter storm warning, blizzard warnings and also winter weather advisories. that's about a distance of 1,000 miles as far as those warnings go because of this big storm system. so a closer look at home, that snow is falling closer to the foothills and also lightly towards the eastern plains. around the metro area you'll notice the north side has cleared up as drier air is working its way through, but certainly along i-70 we have that light snow falling and gusts on the eastern plains up to 30 miles per hour. that's why when you saw the closure along i-70, it's because of that. strong gusts like these with that snow falling causes big problems and the winds we have currently across colorado also making our temperatures feel

spots and below zero in some of our mountain valleys. temperatures 10 degrees in the metro area, that's the wind chill. we're actually in the 20s. so through this evening notice how our skies are going to remain mostly cloudy, maybe some light flurries, but the bulk of this storm has ended. temperatures currently in the 20s around the metro area and in the high country that's about as warm as it got today. a whole lot to talk about. it seems like i already went through the whole forecast, but there's more i assure you. that cold air settling in tonight, it will change the rest of the week. so hang onto that winter gear the weekend. we'll look ahead to what you can expect, warmer temperatures on the way. >> a little warmth would be a that's not bad. >> for all the kids and everybody they got the weekend day in the middle of the week. what did we get? me today. >> i know, but what did we get? i'm so bitter. that's all right. they enjoyed it. they needed it, i guess.

year for them, a season. thanks. denver public works is saying that residential snowplows have made one pass on every side street in the city. denver deployed 80 plows this morning covering more than 1,000 miles of city streets. a spokesperson tells 9news the plows are designed to make the streets more drivable by plowing the top layer of snow. they say current equipment can't get all of the snow off the streets even though some spots didn't meet the threshold of 12 inches of snow. they still decided they needed to use the plows. >> today we're seeing 8 to 10 inches, really didn't reach the 12 mark, but we also have a lot of wind which caused drifting. today was an appropriate day to put them out. >> the wind has been crazy. public works says deploying the plows usually costs about $50,000 in overtime costs. this time they did not have to spend that money because all of the work was done in regular

a car crashed into a brick wall today on south university boulevard at east hampden boulevard just before noon. one person was in the car. we don't know what caused the crash. you can make some assumptions, but maybe somebody lost control on the ice. deputies say there was no there never is. let's just say this for sure. in. hillary clinton won the iowa democratic caucuses in the party's left. one precinct resorted to a coin flip actually to break a tie between clinton and bernie sanders. that wasn't enough to put sanders over the top. clinton claimed 23 iowa 21. more than 170,000 iowans participated in caucuses across the state. the democratic part says that's one of the biggest turnouts ever. clinton declared victory at a rally early this morning. she later said while discussing the 2000 presidential recount that close elections matter.

sanders spoke late last night as the votes were still coming in. >> i am so thrilled that i'm coming to new hampshire after winning iowa! [ cheering and applause ] >> i can tell you i've won and i've lost there. it's a lot better to win and it's also a great tribute to the organization and my supporters there. >> if i think about what happened tonight, i think the people of iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment and by the way, to the media establishment. [ cheering and applause ] >> the iowa democratic party has said it will not do any recounts and the spokesman for the sanders campaign said they

results of the caucuses. with her advantage in superdelegates or the party officials who can support the candidate of their choice clinton now has a total of 385 delegates. sanders has 29. on the republican side presidential candidate ted cruz lashed out at marco rubio and donald trump today on immigration. he faced new hampshire voters for the first time since his iowa caucus victory yesterday. cruz lit into rubio over the fight for amnesty for illegally. he also said trump didn't do anything to fight immigration reform as the debate raged on capitol hill in 2013. trump finished second and rubio third in the iowa caucuses. >> i can tell you six weeks ago donald trump was saying every day that i was his friend, that he loved me, that i was terrific, that i was nice. now i'm an anchor baby.

>> now i don't really think six months ago something profoundly changed about me, but what did change is his numbers started going down and our numbers started surging. >> it's not just about winning one election. it's about growing the number of americans who vote on the basis of limited government and free enter prize and a strong national defense. we need to unify the conservative movement and the republican party. i can do that better than anyone running. >> polling has shown trump has a commanding lead in new hampshire. health officials in texas say a patient there has acquired the zika virus through sexual transmission. the dallas county health and human services says it received confirmation from the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention today. the patient was infected after having sexual contact with an illegal person who returned from a country where zika was present. it's the same type of transmission we heard about from a fort collins veterinarian.

malaria in 2008. he returned from a research trip from senegal after being surrounded by mosquitoes. he says within a week after returning home he began seeing symptoms of a virus. a rash on his chest, sore joints, sensitivity to light, similar to those with zika. a few days later his wife who had not left the country began showing similar symptoms. the zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites and investigators have been exploring, though, the possibility that the virus can be spread through sexual contact. yesterday the world health organization said the outbreak merits being declare an international emergency. the w.l.o. estimates that there -- w.h.o. estimates that there could be up to 4 million cases of zika in the americas next year. the cdc said women who are pregnant or attempting to become pregnant should postpone travel to places where zika has been detected. the organization putting together the summer olympics in rio says it's worried about the

there's not enough evidence that people are cancelling travel plans to attend the olympics in august. the committee's head doctor said they are not concerned to the point of advising people to avoid brazil during the games. the world health organization has not yet recommended travel restriction to brazil. we are digging out from under this winter blast and on any other day that would mean talking to 9news mountain newsroom reporter matt renoux in his mountain newsroom. >> without a hat surrounded by snow. >> except today. he is in sunny san francisco on super bowl coverage and now matt joins us again looking a little suntanned. enjoying it, we can tell? >> reporter: it has been absolutely beautiful. i hate to say it given all the weather you guys are having back there. mark and kim, i have needed an umbrella but really only to shade me from the intense rays

francisco area. it's been so warm and beautiful with just the slightest chill in the air at nighttime, completely manageable, though, with a light jacket. the truth is it did rain just a little bit this morning. it is san francisco, after all, but this super bowl is being played in the shadow of palm trees and california sunshine. the flowers here are spectacular and people are enjoying their lunch outside in the kind of spring-like weather that's perfect for chasing pigeons or just soaking up the rays, the like all the snow that slowed the mascot thunder down stuck in california waiting for i-80 to open but just sent out these pictures today saying that they're on the road again. hopefully they'll be here soon. they had padded a little time in so that they could make it here by thursday and start doing appearances then.

to do to that that and when they do, the weather will be absolutely perfect. it's, mark and kim, dare i say summer-like, great for eating a little bit of ice cream while doing a live report back in denver. sorry about this, it's so warm my ice cream is melting. >> you want to get right to that, absolutely. why don't you just stretch out there completely and get a few rays. you're nearly completely reclining already, you might as well do the whole 100%. >> reporter: i am. this is a tough assignment when your ice cream is melting. >> don't worry, matt. we'll get even. when you come back, we promise there's going to be a really good doozy of a storm up there and we'll say we'll just have matt in the show two, three, four times just standing there the whole time. >> reporter: there's already a storm brewing because my wife's had to shovel our driveway in silverthorne the whole time i've been gone.

hear about all that. >> the double whammy for you. >> that's not the storm you want. that's a good one. >> and nobody deserves nice weather more than you, i must say, and a little ice cream as well. enjoy your treat because there's a busy week ahead. matt renoux reporting live from sunny san francisco. see you later in the hour. thanks, matt. >> his wife is going to give him a dose of what he needs right now since he's rubbing it in. sunday is a day of significance for football fans, all the more for one couple in particular. >> absolutely. judy and dennis brubaker bought their broncos season tickets in 1970 after their wedding. hours after the broncos won the afc championship game they found out they were picked in the super bowl lottery tickets. february 2nd is the big game

anniversary at the same moment. >> we love peyton manning and we're hoping for that cinderella story for him because it's been one for us. >> i love it. i love their sweaters. the brubakers say the real anniversary gift they would like the most would be a broncos super bowl win and they start driving to california tomorrow morning. look at the shirts they've got, everything. >> they're equipped. >> 46 years and a lottery >> very special. good for them. coming up the other big topic of the day our political expert will join us to talk about what is next for both parties. >> heading to new hampshire. as we head to a break,

now both sides have winners, one race much closer than the other the day after the iowa caucuses. both democrats and republicans are processing what the results mean for each party.

sanders to declare victory. ted cruz claimed a 3% victory off donald trump. donald trump edged marco rubio for second. >> we are joined with our political analysts and the question going forward is new hampshire is next. what has to happen in new hampshire for the republican candidates to move forward, kelly? >> i think we learned a couple important things last night of no. 1, my friend james has been saying that republicans have been capitalizing off zeno phobia, but i would like to note that 56% of republicans in a very white state voted for an american of cuban descent or an american. so i think that's really important for us to know and also hillary needed to win by at least 10% for her to really win and her victory was declared literally by a coin flip.

so if the people with momentum continue it through to new hampshire, they should do fairly well, but really this was a momentum building night for them. >> james, when we talk about, that the clinton campaign has to be saying this morning whoa, i mean by the hair of our chinny chin chin. >> oh, sure. >> this had to be a giant wakeup call at this point. what are they doing? unexpected. closer. closer than they ever wanted it. >> keep in mind in 2008 hillary came in third in iowa and as soon as results came in, she said i'm breathing a big sigh of relief. so that was true. coming out on top or even neck and neck then because she didn't know the end numbers was a big win for her. >> don't they say right now if we can't beat bernie sanders, how in the world can we compete in the general election against the republicans? >> she will lose in new hampshire i predict.

well there, neighboring vermont, but then after that hillary will start to gain in states where voters of color play a much more central role. >> so a very close race for hillary clinton and a somewhat stunning loss for donald trump. >> yeah. you know, he almost came in third. marco rubio almost beat him. i also think it's important to note when it comes to the democrats, they really only have two choices. martin o'malley got out last night and to my lefty friends i say welcome to the judge am because republicans have been dealing -- jungle because republicans have been dealing with a group of motivated insurgents since 2008 with ron paul and with the tea party and you guys are about to experience what it's like to have your own version of that with your bernie sanders people because they are organized. they are motivated. they are giving money and although i disagree with them on almost every policy point they are true believers and they are going to cause havoc in the party structure of the democrat party.

>> that's not all bad, notice, is it? it gets people -- though, is it? it get people involved. >> it get people involved and it's a great demonstration of the democratic party. we've been accused of not having debates. with o'malley out it clears the debateds for sanders and chin -- debates for is around and clinton to go head to head. -- sanders and clinton to go head to head. >> it seems to me marco rubio has tried to be the 1 rising above the fray and not throwing the first punch. when does he go out and go bam against one of the other guys because they're coming after him now looking at him. >> he's definitely showing momentum and we saw this yesterday. people broke away from the polls largely away from trump either towards cruz or rubio. i think the question is at what point are bush's donors going to look at the remaining field

out where they're going to go. that's when we're really going to start to see stuff start to heat up. >> speaking of voters we also discovered last night the oldest candidate in the race has some of the youngest voters, james. >> that's right. bernie sanders got 84% of voters under the age of 29 and clinton had older voters, really interesting breaks there. it will be interesting to see if sanders can attract more voters of color and see if clinton can attract more younger voters. those are the big questions still lurking out there. >> it's always great to have you guys in here. we love it when we have you separated by the middle of the set which hasn't happened before, no fisticuffs this time. thank you very much, kelly, james. >> hardly. >> although sometimes on twitter you go crazy, kelly, but that's what it's about. >> that's the point. >> it's not mean, just fun. we'll go from politics to burt and ernie and big bird. we're talking about an interest

>> next new plans for the sesame workshop.

there is news today that the fbi is now joining the investigation into the contamination of flint, system. the tap water was contaminated with lead you may recall after the source switched from 2014. it was meant to be a cost cutting move as the city was under state financial management. the corrosive river water was not properly treated and caused lead from pipes to seep into the drinking water. the fbi announced today it is part of a federal investigation which also includes the u.s. attorney's office and the epa. >> in order to deal with the water crisis here in flint it's going to take a multi-faceted approach. you can't just look at one element to deal with ha has happened here.

certainly we have to look at the infrastructure. >> people in flint say they complained about the taste and smell and color of the water shortly after the switch but say no one in the government would listen to them. the top marine corps generals say they believe all women should have to register for the draft now that all combat jobs are open for them. the military service leaders say they will not lower standards to bring women into more grueling jobs. they say it will take up to three years before the compact posts are fully integrated. political leaders have been reluctant to endorse the draft requirement. google overtook apple as the world's most publicly traded company. stock beat analysts' forecast yesterday. with today's gain it is now the largest publicly traded company by market value. analysts say the shift shows the value of data.

>> research info, life without google. >> i mean we live on it every day and so do thousands of other business offices. sesame street is broadening its reach from television to silicon valley. >> this is quite the leap. the nonprofit creators of the show sesame workshop launched a venture capital firm that invest in tech-startups in childhood development. they say the developers will have access to sesame workshops children and families. the $10 million fund intends to invest in $1 million each in new comedies that helps children grow smarter, stronger and kinder and use new technology along the way. >> isn't that great? sesame street evolves all the time. >> timeless and kids live in the same world that we do, so it's natural progression. so good for them. the snow is moving out, cold not so much. >> that's true, also the

think and next belen will have details what to expect heading

all right. this gal looks like she is loving the snow and her mom pam sousa says the snow is one of lola's favorite things. this time there was a little too much to roll around in because she might not be able to get back out again. so she's just enjoying her run in boulder. >> see the tail? >> there's practically nothing left of her. share your pets in the snow pictures and videos with us at yourtake @9news.com. one of our viewers sent in this video today, two sisters skiing at sloan's lake.

9news reporter steve seager found out they are part of a new order called the sisters of life and they are very active. i'm sure they've got layers on underneath everything, but that's good because it's pretty darn cold out there. i love it. i would be taking video, too, if i saw that. >> i wonder if they're from someplace that has a lot of snow. >> sisters of life, that's it. the majority of the snow is over. it's pretty much stopped. the eastern plains, though, are still living with it right now. >> they're still getting it. we are expecting freezing temperatures for a good part of our week. belen deleon is in the 9news backyard. how cold is it? >> right now the temperatures are in the 20s, but if the skies clear tonight, our temperatures will drop to the single digits, so a very cold night ahead. let's take a look at more pictures because we absolutely love our viewers for sending in their videos and pictures. if you have some skis in the

a good way to get around, especially if you have 27 inches . from high country reports wolf creek 35 inches, some of these spots well above 2 feet. this is all good news because we need that snowpack when the springtime rolls around and it starts to melt. it helps fill our reservoirs. the temperatures today were only able to get to about 22 degrees. in the high country we had teens and 20s, no surprise there, a typical february winter day. a while ago i mentioned we got 11.3-inch at dia which put us above the february snowfall on average, but not only that. with 11.3 inches in february this one storm has put us above our seasonal snowfall as well. to date we have 38.5 inches

so this is just one storm in february. we'll see how the rest of month the paints out. right now we do have snow falling lightly out toward the eastern plains. it's mostly come to an end in the metro area falling lightly in the foothills as well. we still have a winter storm warning in effect until 5 p.m. for kit carson, shyian, yuma county, for parts of kansas, nebraska, all -- cheyenne, yuma county, for parts of kansas, nebraska, all parts of the high country blizzard warnings in effect. the avalanche danger is really high, so an avalanche warning is in effect through tomorrow morning. now the temperatures out at dia, 21 degrees, but it feels like 10 degrees out here in the the 20s. so it's cold out here. let's take a look at the weather across the state in northern colorado, 20s, teens and single digits in the high country and look at the rest of the afternoon. we do have some very cloudy

with light flurries, but our temperatures are really going to tumble once that sun sets. we'll hang onto the clouds a little while longer. overnight we'll see clearing and temperatures will drop to the single digits and the cold air will settle in. a look at futurecast shows when the snow clears out of the eastern plains because they're under that winter storm warning and the the winds are gusting up to 30 miles per hour. we've got whiteout conditions for our friends in the eastern plains. through 10 p.m. the snow wraps up. we hang onto the clouds. in the high country still some lingering snow showers. into this evening our skies clear here in the city, partial clearing and then tomorrow morning we're waking up to partly cloudy conditions with still some leftover snow in our northern mountains, but the bulk of that storm will have already moved far, far away. temperatures tonight will drop to around 7 degrees, our skies turning partly cloudy and here's a look at your overnight lies because we're talking about a double sock kind of

range and out towards the eastern plains. in the high country some of our mountain valleys will drop to below zero. so something that they're use toddler, but still this will make -- to already, but still this will make it a comfortable night, the high around 31 degrees, a chance for flurries. with the flow from the northwest we could still see some very light snow in the city, shouldn't cause too much problems. thursday 35, friday a chance for flurries and saturday and sunday looking really nice in comparison to the past few days. we're united in orange and also in white now because of the snowfall and you know what? people are still very much prepared and excited about sunday's game. brian jackson sent us this picture of him building a snowman and it looks like our matt renoux will have some very difficult weather to endure out in santa clara by sunday with the kickoff temperatures around 73 degrees, but we're expecting lots of sunshine out there.

i said i hope the snappy pants were keeping him warm. >> his fancy pants. did you see him eating his ice cream? >> yes. i've seen folks in colorado even to them it's cold right now still eat some ice cream, too. >> why not? sit by a fire and eat some ice cream. >> back home in chicago when it got down to 27, they'd open the dairy queens and i'll tell everybody what's your problem? kim, look at belen's footwear. >> she's wearing boots, totally prepared. sometimes it's kind of slick out here. boots is like a fashion thing for women. you wear them not only to keep your legs warm. i wear them with a heel because some of us are vertically challenged. that doesn't mean they provide any protection walking out on the ice, not at all. them just give me a little height. >> so when you go down, there's

>> well, her boots look good. >> she went down and had lovely heels. today we're looking at some special devices. consumer reports evaluated these new devices, great for coloradans, very portable and in expensive to slip over your boots or your shoes for men and help you navigate on the ice. take a look. sue shavitz slipped on the ice and suffered a traumatic brain injury. she still has headaches, dizziness and vision problems nearly a year later. >> never thought that a couple inches of ice would change my life that day and that i'd be where i am nine months later. >> reporter: consumer reports tested four products designed to give you better traction on the ice. prices range from 8 to $34. bernie dietrich made his own personal skating rink and tried each pair on a flat surface and at various angles. then he went to a real rink to see how well each grips the ice while standing, walking and

>> all of these devices will improve your grip, but there were big differences in performance. >> reporter: the yak tracks performed the worse despite the metal coils on the bottom. bernie slid all over. the $8 outer star has tin stud cramp-ons on the bottom, but you can slip easily. the $27 ice trekkers gave more traction with their diamond grip traction cleats, but the best by far were the stable icers max that cost about $34. walking, running and even standing on ice at an angle didn't allow any slipping. really remarkable. stable icers. it looks like stablizers. it's stable icers. you get them in a lot of sporting good stores and big box stores and also on amazon. belen was pointing out that kim typically takes her heel like an ice pick and goes through the ice. >> that's how you are not going to fall.

>> the worst is coming from a parking lot inside sometimes is when you need those because if you're going to the grocery store and they cannot clear it enough. it's not their fault. everybody is bringing in their wet shoes and that's when you slip. >> by the way, i wanted to shout out to martin swanson, our maintenance person, because he always makes sure things are taken care of out here so we don't need the stable icers. >> your area is so nicely manicured and cleared out here, very nice. you can find all this information on 9news.com. you know who does not need stable icers? >> not right now, matt renoux in san francisco and eating ice cream, getting a little sun on his skin and now this is the outside of levi's stadium. he's going to take us inside.

as tanner said to me it's five days, mom, can you believe it, until the super bowl? at santa clara, california, the stadium is abuzz as the home of the san francisco 49ers is transformed. crews are full steam ahead getting the stadium ready for the pregame celebration. >> you know when we send matt renoux somewhere, it's big. he's covering all the festivities in san francisco. are you having a good time? i know you're working hard, but you're having a good time, too. >> reporter: you bet, mark and kim. san francisco has just been great. everyone is really hospitable. i've been lost about 17 times a day, everyone pointing me in the right direction, a lot of law enforcement, some great security. so it has been just wonderful. this is sort of where the fans in san francisco are gathering for a lot of the events. of course, the super bowl will be played about 50 miles south of here in santa clara, levi's stadium. it's an impressive facility,

its largest event to date? wrestlemania 31, about 76,000 people at that event. this sunday it's the super bowl and we got a behind the scenes look inside that stadium to see what that super bowl will look like. the media got a tour inside levi's stadium today. there's still a lot of work going on as crews get everything ready for sunday's game. the scoreboard is being tested. right now it's a tie 37-37 which is pretty optimistic for the panthers i would guess. you might have seen the stories, too, about two end zones painted with the broncos logos, don't know what's wrong with, that but i guess that problem has been corrected. the funny thing is no one would talk about that mistake. why would you want to admit you're a broncos fan and be objective painting both ends of the end zone that way.

event than wrestle a wrest -- wrestlemania 31. >> what are we looking to back there, the entrance? >> reporter: yeah. this is the nfl experience back here. i walked through it last night. so i've got some plans for the 4:00 show with some of the cool stuff in there. i guess the best way to put it would be like an olympic village back there. they've got all things fans can do, apartment as players, see the lombardi -- participate as players, see the lombardi trophies, i started thinking man, what kind of fun could we have with mark and kim at 4:00 in a place like that? >> the wheels get spinning. it's wrestlemania in the brain. >> great fun. we're looking forward to, that matt renoux, can't wait. >> reporter: i can't either. i'll say this. one of the things you can do is the 40-yard dash and i tried it

brag, but my record still stands. >> see, i actually believe that. you got the altitude going for you, standing on the highway without a hat, skiing like a maniac, the whole bit. >> we know you're mostly legs, so you would have an advantage there. >> reporter: yeah. the problem is i was wearing those pants last night, so i don't know if they'll let me back in. >> they gave you the extra speed, no question about that. matt renoux reporting live from san francisco. thanks, matt. >> striking in those pants. if you're looking for some inspiration for your broncos big boys? everything in sight. that's a good thing. he wears it off. we'll be sharing player favorite foods this week and we want your recipes. what would you cook for your favorite player? you can send them on a form we

of the player favorites there. we'll pick some of your recipes. >> be sure to watch friday for a broncos inspired pick six episode. we'll share some of your recipes and have some of your takes on broncos favorite foods and they'll be on our show on friday cooking up a storm some of their favorites as well. >> it's a great time to be trying new recipes, super bowl, dig in. forget the calories. enjoy the day. >> just go over the cliff on monday. our favorite furry forecaster can't hold a candle to our meteorologist in denver, but did he make a prick today. >> oh -- he did make a prediction today.

perchance this winter has

there is no shadow to be cast. an early spring is my forecast. >> which we report in this newscast. great news for us today. thousands waited at gobbler's knob in punxsutawney, pennsylvania, this morning to see if phil would season his shadow. well, the furry forecaster did not see his shadow meaning we can all look forward to an early spring. this is only the 17th time phil has not seen his shadow, but the groundhog's accuracy rate is running at a dismal 37%. so that colors it a little bit. >> take it with what you want. it's like asking for the 29-day or three month forecast. today is february 2nd, officially groundhog day, but who knew right here in colorado there are actually many groundhog experts? yes. take greg florant from colorado

professor in the college of natural sciences known as the groundhog guy. he studies marmots which are very close in relationship to groundhogs. >> so when asked if phil can really predict the weather, he said no, can't do it. he said it's based on folklore and if phil was in colorado instead of pennsylvania, there is absolutely no way he would come out, let alone see his shadow. >> no marmot in his right mind would have come above ground with weather that we're having now. the fact of the matter is people like to have something to celebrate and particularly if they think they can predict when the end of winter is coming, even if is with a groundhog. >> that works no matter who is predicting it pretty much, yeah. >> you heard it right there from the groundhog guy. don't count on an early spring, but we'll keep our fingers crossed just in case because every now and then even a good groundhog gets lucky. >> on the upside this year no

groundhog. remember the poor guy last year. >> was that in sun prairie, wisconsin? >> yeah. didn't happen this bend me shape me, any way you want me it's alright bend me shape me, any way you want me shape the best sleep of your life.

any way you want it the bed that moves you.

less like a hospital - and more like a mini version of super bowl city. with the help of the broncos children's hospital colorado looked more like a mini version of super bowl city than a hospital. >> hundreds of patients and staff and their families crowded the main lobby for a super bowl pep rally, the broncos drum line stampede throwing down a beat and a few broncos alumni and cheerleaders also helped get the crowd going. >> our patients and family love the denver broncos. they are a brand and a team we can all get around and we are very excited to bring more and more broncos and events to the hospitals to put smiles on the patients faces and families that we serve. >> this season the hospital has hosted a few broncos pep rallies, mostly outdoors. the hospital had no problem bringing the party inside. they've got a great music video on facebook, too. >> do we really? >> yes. >> i have to say that staff does the most wonderful things for those kids.

they're all broncos fans, so it's wonderful. >> probably love to have the kids get a break from all the therapy and doctoring. it's all good. >> love the players, when they need their own little pep talk, go there. they get it from the kids. that's it for us. 9news at 5:00 is next. this is 9news. >> you will help us tell our story that leads our newscast at 5:00, the snow totals from across colorado. we were given this shot of hadley's 7-month-old twins enjoying the first 7 inches of snow that fell early in the city. in castle rock this boy lost his boot in about a foot of snow. this golden retrieve took

very seriously chewing about an