>> absolutely, christmas makes i think more of snowfall, on your mind and not necessarily thunderstorm activity the but thunderstorms are what we have moving across the delaware and lehigh valley and some packing quite a punch with heavy rain and lightening and gusty wind as well. we will zoom into some of this activity right now and this particular cell starting to fall out. you can see the signature here on the reflectivity indicating gusty wind embedded with this cell moving eastbound in littleling harbor and will continue to work towards shore points in the last half an hour. heavy rain impacting new castle county and delaware and spread nothing to salem county, in new jersey. heavy rainfall where we see bright red returns, likely from some embedded thunder a as well. center city philadelphia seeing light to moderate rainfall but intensity is just about to pick up. a as we will head into the the next 20 minutes. we will talk about how long will will we be dealing with this rainfall and more record heat, in the forecast coming up in your full forecast, in just a few, lauren, thank you.

as we surged above normal temperatures today many people spent the holiday morning enjoying the outdoors. "eyewitness news" reporter rahel solomon is live in center city where she caught up with many who were pretending it was spring, rahel. >> reporter: that is right, we didn't see a lot of traffic outside on those roads but we did see foot traffic. people walking their dogs, jogging and a lot of people, and i do mean a lot of people looking at lunch out doors. when the temperatures go up in late december, the the crowds apparently, come out. >> beautiful, amazing. >> we love it. >> absolutely. >> on a very warm christmas day, friday, outdoor seating at rittenhouse park restaurant was a hot commodity. >> i will be eating outside, this restaurant, we have a big party, so i think we will be inside. >> reporter: park's general manager says the restaurant is usually busy around the holiday but even by this standard, this is a surprise.

>> did i condoner seats outside, absolutely not. this is a gift in so many ways, but will it impact me? differently sure, but in a good way. the that is true of many folks outside here. >> reporter: back at a very busy rittenhouse square why not enjoy some more warm weather, and the trees were flowering still, it is beautiful. the yes. >> lovely. >> reporter: what are you going to do after this. >> we're going to brunch. >> reporter: outside. >> yes. >> reporter: we do hear the rain moving in. you can see it coming down quite steadily right now f outdoor dining is what you like, earlier was time to do it. reporting live from the steps of the art museum, rahel will sol machine for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> nice way to spend christmas, rahel, thanks very much. a little boy brought spirit of the santa a to the homeless in love park today, as alexandria hoff shows us he and his family were inspired by a man they barely even know. >> reporter: christmas morning feels very different for a person waking up on concrete.

>> a couple young teenagers, there is a lot of people here we help. >> i'm trying to hang in there. >> reporter: julie wallace has not received a christmas present from anyone since my son died. >> my son had been died for 14 years. >> reporter: she didn't expect that streak to be broken. especially not by a ten year-old. >> unaudible. >> reporter: he was waiting for a bus with his mom when he met a home less veteran only known as mr. rick. >> mr. rick encouraged him, and he went and talked to his sisters and they decided to give up their christmas jt to help the the homeless. >> reporter: with his family mark helped save money, asked santa to pass his house by and instead bought presents for the the homeless. >> my two decided to do this this christmas for y'all. >> reporter: not knowing that they will be able to find anyone to give a gift to the the response they got at love park was overwhelming to say the least. >> you know, i love my kids, we will do everything possible

to help our kids. >> reporter: the the feeling was shared as other groups joined to provide extra food and blankets, but for mark it all comes back to mr. rick, who has military service they can think of his own brother. >> i want to thank mr. rick as well as others down here to show and make everybody aware that these people do need help. >> reporter: people like julie >> i lost my son. i don't get no christmas gifts. i'm happy. >> reporter: we tried looking for mr. rick out here but there is no sign of him. what we do know is that whoever he is he made a big impact on a little boy and that community. the kids thought their gifts were all given away out here we're told santa did end up hiding some back at home. reporting from center city this christmas i'm alexandria hoff for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> wonderful christmas spirit. now, lets take a look at this, no 21st century coats inside as crowd gathered for reinact.

of washington's crossing in the delaware. "eyewitness news" at washington crossing state park in bucks county, back in 1776, general george washington and his troops crossed the delaware river to titusville, new jersey for a surprise attack against fauxness trenton. the it turned the tides of the revolutionary war. >> during the time when washington crossed here, we were all dressed nicely in our outfits, and they before in tatters. >> not at all like it was. today was a beautiful day. it was about 65 or so. so, you know, 40 degrees more then it was back then. >> reinact. has served as a holiday tradition since 1947. >> a sweet treat for some area first responders this christmas, congregations of this synagogue delivered hundreds of cookies to police and fire departments in philadelphia, huntington valley, abington and bensalem and it was their way of saying thank you.

>> yes. >> they are the ones who are volume tiering. >> they want to give back to the police and fire station that is serve them and help them every day. >> that cookie delivery was part of the synagogue's social action program. president obama and first lady michelle obama sent season's greetings to the american people today. the weekly presidential address focused on jesus's love and compassion for those on society's margins. >> that is the spirit that bind us together, not just this christmas but as americans of all fates, it is what the holidays are about. coming together, as one american family to celebrate our blessings, and values that we hold dearly. during this season... >> the president and first lady also thanked the troops who sacrifice every day. still to come on "eyewitness news" at 6:00 proof it is better to give then to he have is. see how local volunteers stepped up to make sure families in need got enough to eat this christmas, lauren.

we have rain and thunderstorms moving across the delaware valley right the now, we will talk about when rain comes to an end and is what in store for the rest of the christmas weekend in you're witness forecast coming up. ahead in sports we're all of 24 hours from kick off now, the piges jackson of the year. but before that please enjoy the mount st. joseph a academy choir and their rendell of oh holy night. ♪ oh holy night! ♪ the stars are brightly shining ♪ ♪ it is the night of the dear savior's birth! ♪ ♪ long lay the world in sin

and error pining ♪ ♪ till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth. ♪ ♪ a thrill of hope the weary world rejoices ♪ ♪ for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! ♪ ♪ fall on your knees ♪ oh hear the angel voices ♪ oh night divine

♪ oh night when christ was born ♪ ♪ oh night divine ♪ oh night divine

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tonight a christmas reunion for a local map and his best friend. as sarge the dog in the er. this story has a happy ending but it is one every pet owner needs to see. vittoria woodill a has heart warming story tonight the at 11:00. a local non-profit is spreading holiday cheer with good food and friendship for those in need. "eyewitness news" new jersey reporter cleve bryan has the story from the neighborhood center in camden. >> ♪ >> reporter: it was all about the the joy of giving this

christmas at neighborhood center in camden as dozens of volunteers spent the day preparing, serving, and cleaning up a meal for those less fortunate. >> it makes me happy, yeah. the it makes them enjoy christmas, you know. >> reporter: it is not their own holiday members of the temple emmanuel bin going put up who half the site. >> i put/ane mail and people wanted to respond. they wanted people here from 9:00 a.m. this morning and until we are done cleaning up. i'm glad we're here. >> reporter: feast and all christmas favorites, turkey, roast beef and mashed potatoes all expertly prepared by chef lou williams who was trained at culinary institute of america. >> i was looking at serving christmas meal as being, you know, best time of the year to share that love, that we try to share here at the neighborhood center. >> reporter: chef lou's father also sought to feed the soul, offering christmas communion and a prayer. >> we thank you for this day and this christmas joy.

>> reporter: joyous spirit flow are flowed out zoo the center where 13 year-old williams and his friend put together take home bags full of snacks and sandwiches they made on christmas eve. >> we were trying to help the less fortunate who had food to eat when they leave from the neighborhood center. >> reporter: neighborhood center depend on volunteers to help serve their meals, daily and they say you could come as a group or individually both on holidays or really any day. in camden, i'm cleve bryan, cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> so nice to see that feeling of family and communities this time of the year. lauren, it might not feel like a typical christmas out here but people have been enjoying it. >> yeah, people are looking at a gift from mother nature, to be able to to get outdoors and enjoy this record warmth. right now, you cannot get outdoors unless you enjoy playing in the rain. we have thunderstorms out there rumbles of thunder and storms producing gusty wind as well and ominous looking scene right now on skies cam three. we are looking at, center city philadelphia low cloud looming. the the rain is falling and starting to pick up in

intensity. and storm scan three is packed in with precipitation as this moisture does move from the delaware valley. it will continue to contend with this over the next several hours, dealing with heavy pocket et cetera of rainfall a as well especially bright orange and red colors. that would be the heavy rainfall traversing through parts of the salem county, moving east/north east embedded rum also of thunder as well. salem picking up more rainfall. we have seen significant amounts approaching an inch of rainfall so far throughout the day-to-day. also another round of heavy rain moving through new castle county as these cells are training or moving over the same area again and again. so we could see some problems with localized flooding on the roadways, some ponding as we head in the next several hours in new castle county, delaware. center city philadelphia the rainfall intensity starting to pick up and especially in the southern suburbs, as well where we're noticing yellow pockets, kind of breaking out the right now with that rainfall. heavier intensity but we do notice now that the back edge

of this area of moisture so it will continue to move its way eastbound so we will be dealing with this rain, thunderstorm activity over several hours and we will quiet down as we head in the second half of the evening. we will see this moisture starting to move on out but rainfall totals we have pick up three-quarters of an inch in salem, close to .8 in mays landing. nearing an inch in hammington and picking up a quarter inch right now in kenneth square but of course, the main talker of the daytime hours was the heat, no heat. it is a third record in the day at 68 degrees, breaking a record setback in 196 46789 we also broke a record in atlantic city topping the at 72. mount pocono another record fell for you a as well but dog with some rain cooled air right now. allentown 58 degrees. we took a hit in philadelphia. sixty-five. sixty-four in ac. also elevated those dew point as they have over the last several days, i know some people have been running their air conditioning, air

conditioning, during the christmas who will take with those dew points up there in the lower 60's indicate ago this muggy factor and that will stay with us overnight tonight. showers and thunderstorms especially before midnight and then areas of fog, low dipping down to 50 degrees. tomorrow we are cooler 55, we will not get to a record. sprinkles possible with the east northeasterly wind at the 10 miles an hour. future weather showing us as we move in the first half of the evening, still dealing with showers and thunderstorms. quieter and quiet conditions as we wake up tomorrow morning. still some clouds in place. we will see some sprinkle activity develop, as we head into late day tomorrow, keep that into the the link, big game washington and it is here on cbs. a few sprinkles possible. kick off temperatures not too bad at 51 degrees and more record heat into sunday, 70 before you cooler by monday. 49 degrees. then tuesday it the looks like a soaker we are watching possibility of some maybe some

sleet in the morning on. stay tuned. >> get used to that all over again. >> lauren, thanks very much. sports is coming up but first a special performance from the philadelphia boys choir. enjoy. ♪ sleigh bells ring ♪ are you listening ♪ in the lane ♪ snow is glistening ♪ a beautiful sight ♪ we're happy tonight ♪ walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ gone away, is the bluebird ♪ here to stay, is a new bird ♪ ♪ he sings a love song ♪ while we stroll along ♪ walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ in the meadow we can build a snowman ♪ ♪ and pretend that he is parson brown ♪

♪ he'll say are you married ♪ we'll say no man ♪ but you can do the job ♪ when you're in town ♪ later on ♪ we'll conspire ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ to face the unafraid ♪ the plans that we've made ♪ walking in a winter

>> ♪ >> ♪ ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪

>> ♪

the philadelphia eagles remain in playoff contention with you such is life in the nfc east. it is week 16. eagles are six-eight and they need two more wins to get in the post season starting with a victory over washington tomorrow. it will also be desean jackson's second trip back to philadelphia a since chip kelly let him walk. he will face his unknown as byron maxwell is questionable, to play because of a shoulder injury. but desean doesn't care who is on the other side, he maintains it the is just another game. >> it is just another game. i mean, i thought bit, highly anticipated but i will not make it more than what it is. we have a game to do and go win and that is really all that matters regardless of what team it is, or name on

the jersey, we don't care about that. we have a game to go in. it is a must win for us that was courtesy of the washington team site. well, thinks it, eagles win they stay alive. if they lose, they are out, birds host washington in a battle for first place on a saturday night. don well, leslie van arsdal and myself will get you ready for the the action at 1:00 with the saturday addition of kick off. game will for at 8:25. christmas day that means nursing the hang over, screaming children at 6:00 a.m. and nba hoops all day long. the let's begin pelicans and heat in overtime, heat are up by one, chris bosh with the running hook. miami would win by a score of 94-88. the bulls and the thunder, derek rose with split d but throws up a an ugly runner, paul was there to clean it up. chicago a winner 105-96 over oklahoma city. from ohio, to florida, seventh annual surfing santa only in co companies beach, 37

santas, jumped in from the the sky, that started the day which was, a perfect beach day, mid 07's in the water, and for a good cause, last year they were able to raise 20 grand for florida surfing museum and grind for life which helps people with cancer. >> i like how they parachute in there. >> it looks dangerous. >> that is less intense. >> so is surfing. >> yes. >> they are doing it for the good. >> for the good have of the people. >> thanks very much. we will be

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thanks for watching "eyewitness news" at 6:00. we're back at ten on the cw philly. we're back here on cbs-3 at is 11:00. up next, cbs opening news. tonight jim axlerod anchors from new york. merry christmas, everyone.

>> axelrod: deadly tornadoes took everything from them, but still, they're grateful. >> i don't even know how i'm alive. it's a miracle, a christmas miracle. >> axelrod: no day off for the folks making last-minute disiferries. a singing santa's rosy cheeks reveal a dangerous condition. and steve hartman with the detective who found what he wasn't looking for. >> when you're single, you don't realize what you're missing. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. scott's off tonight. i'm jim axelrod. survivors of the deadly storms in the south spent this christmas day cleaning up wreckage and giving thanks just to be alive. unusually warm weather spawned an outbreak of tornadoes wednesday that killed at least