be 36 hours out but it is time to treat those roads. this is live, with preparations already underway this morning. a few weeks ago hardware stores were selling plant. now it is all moved to salt and shovels. i'm greg argos in fairmount with the preps for this weekend's big storm. and you can call it the pregame snow down at the shore, waking up to snow on the ground like the boardwalk right there but that is nothing compared to what we are expecting this weekend. winter is here. it is thursday, january 21st i'm erika von tiehl. it looks like we cannot dodge this one, as we have dodge other systems so far, it is a coming, ladies good morning. >> like it or not. but i'm so happy for our commuters, morning commuters, evening commuters because they will miss it, it sound like, katie. so is that true. >> yes, i would say a at this point timing would peg only to begin to arrive after the typical p.m. rush hour on a friday which is fantastic news.

you won't have to be driving through grid locknessly, but you might see a lot of those grocery store shelves starting to, you know, not only just disappear with all of their products but people out trying to make last minute preparations. so you can hunker down. storm scan quiet for now. we are not watching that storm make its arrival until friday night at this point. this is one that decided it will slow down on us, that is great because it means we're basically dealing with this, majority of saturday, and thankfully, i know you do have to work but many of us don't. that does mean you'll have a chance to settle in and watch it all unfold. hopefully that means you will stay safe. heavy snow, gusty wind, blowing and drifting, coastal flooding at high tides, and maybe power outages coming in to play but it will be hazardous travel. hopefully we will keep those cars and other vehicles off the roadways. coastal flood watch do take effect friday night into sunday morning. we have a long window of coastal flooding opportunity there, and winter storm

watches also take effect with that exact same timing as the storm gets itself underway. so for now it is a great excuse to get preparations underway. this forecast is looking good. thirty-seven with sunshine in the philadelphia a area, down the shore points, 36 degrees under the the sun, and really not much wind to speak of out there today. very tranquil at least initially that is absolutely going to change for us as we move forward in this show. or in the the forecast i should say. meisha, over to you. >> season has come. we will need it now. especially this weekend out driving around. hey moms and dads get a shovel, get a shovel for kid too, put them to work, right. here's the schuylkill westbound, looking good, a lot of headlights out there on the schuylkill, basically any direction we are looking at starting to heat up as we push through the 6:00 o'clock hour. schuylkill, one of the the area is heating up and same with i-95 south at girard, we can expect that. when we look at a distance in

i-95 south you can see those brake lights, that is letting you know in some areas we are slowing down at posted speed. new jersey 42 freeway north at creek road looking g still traveling at posted speeds. we have an accident at route 273, at cranes lane just west of du pont highway all lanes are block. this is near new castle airport, your ultimate nate you could jump on i-95 legalitying you know, if you can hold off, if you can't 95 will be your alternate. all lanes blocked because of this accident. the it is more serious accident here. back over to you. thanks, katie has been telling us, it is coming that first major winter storm of the year, who is already out, treating the the roads, getting a head of it. justin finch joins us live at the penndot start yard in south philadelphia and workers go into snow mode, good morning. and, and, trucks are arriving here with salt loads

in south philadelphia and on the roads, and, all right out brining days before that heavy snow blows our way. you will see this too along your commute throughout the day. city streets department is now brining road and will transition to salting once that snow settles in this weekend. penndot joins nj dot and dell dot crewness this early stage road storm preps. officials a say 48 hour lead time is ideal for them for brining and sets road crews up for easier time plowing that snow once it gets in. with that heavy snow expect, power outages are expect too. peco is already tracking this storm and making provisions already. >> we're watching the forecast, quite closely. we want to ensure we're ready for whatever weather does come

into our service to territory, heavier, wet snow, could accumulate on trees and cause issues and power outages for customers and then coupled that with, some significant wind which also can bring down trees and tree limbs, and result in power outages for our customers. >> reporter: as you heard several potential hazard there but peco, working to prepare you for them. these trucks, you have not even them in a while. they will be out joining you on the roads, very soon here, they are brining and soon to be salting. peco also warning you to go ahead and get you're sentences in place. the the water, the food, flashlights, batteries, perhaps backup power as well, ahead of this storm while you still have time. we also know that mayor kenney will hold a briefing on city storm preps at the about 5:00 o'clock this this evening at city hall. we will bring you that here the the o cbs 36789 we're live, justin finch for cbs-3 "eyewitness news".

up north in bellmawr and bradley beach crews are working on barriers up to 12 feet high. they hope piles of sand will be a defense against the the threat of coastal flooding. coming up at 6:30 our jan carabao will be live at ocean city toy see how they are getting ready for the storm. shoppers are wasting in time getting supplies they need for digging out the after the snow finally stops. eye witt the necessary news reporter greg argos went to a couple hardware stores to see what is on the shopping list. >> reporter: the sound of snow melter, filling 5-gallon buckets... might as well be a warning, a winter storm is heading our way. >> there is a lot of people that are still, in the wait and see like i don't think it is coming, you know, and they just don't get prepared. >> reporter: big gamble. >> it is a big gamble. >> reporter: if you are not gambling type fairmount hardware has plenty of snow removal supplies sitting around after a mild start to the winter season. >> we still had our plants out because everybody was still,

you know, hey i want to to get plants, i want to get plants, weather is so nice, thinking about their greenery and stuff, and then we're moving all of this and coming back to shovels. >> reporter: what do you think, do you think it is a big storm. >> i hope not. >> reporter: are you prepared. >> i'm getting, trying. >> reporter: further south the at rittenhouse hardware a similar sight. >> people panic, and so it is not like we are playing on the panic but we have to feed the need. >> reporter: folks snapping up shovels. >> how are you. >> good. >> ice melter a hot item. >> someone is watching my dog so they will to have shovel my sidewalk, and put this down for me. >> reporter: but megan haines will be in where in sight. >> i will be in florida. i will miss the snow a little bit. i'm jealous. >> reporter: trust me it is just a twinge of jealousy. >> what has it felt like this entire winter. >> it is okay, if i miss it. >> really to show how strange this has become, look at the juxtaposition. this is potting soil. this is what rittenhouse

hardware has been selling until about a few weeks ago. now it is transitioning to the the snow removal tools, winter, finally here, guys, reporting here from rittenhouse square i'm greg a argos for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> finally here. if you are like that woman that greg spoke with going to florida or anywhere else this weekend, major airlines are giving you will a break. american, southwest, and delta are among the airlines issuing travel wafers to customers ahead of this storm. so that means they are allowing passengers to exchange flights, without them hefty penalties. the check with your individual airline for more details. keep track of this storm with the cbs-3 philly weather april on the smart phone. check radar around the clock and get later forecast, down load it object itune and google play. 6:08. in other news the philadelphia police department is on high alert after a new threat, police received an anonymous phone call, saying someone wanted to shoot an officer. investigators trace that had call to an address in upper manhattan according to our

sister station w cbs tv. that was also directed at new york officers. nypd is questioning a man in connection with that threat. philadelphia police are taking it seriously. , we put out a safety bulletin so office are can be on their toes and aware of their surrounding. we are still in two person vehicles. that happened as a result of the officer hartnett being shot last week. >> the nypd say the person investigators are questioning is not the suspect caller. well, the flames may be out but the danger at the center city apartment building remains. that is where crews are working to dewill polish parts of it. the department of licenses and inspections, says that building, at 21st and locust is in danger of collapsing, with major damage in the elevator shaft. we spoke with resident todd nettell who with his fiance made it out with the clothes on their back. >> my engagement ring is

sitting right on the sink i was about to wash the dinner dishes. i cannot get that. photos, memories. >> red cross is now helping displaced residents. the cause of the fire is under investigation. still ahead this morning a heart warming update on the little girl who asked for christmas card after losing her whole family in a fire. >> we don't want people to pity her, she's encouraging, inspiring, loving. go get her. >> wish for card went viral and now card are pouring in from all over the world, you won't believe how many she has received. also a surprise storm brought the nation's capitol to a halt yesterday, it impact president owe bam's a motorcade, details on that next. we're waiting for this weekend's major snowstorm,

katie has the forecast and those snow totals. she's updating them coming up. we will be right back. ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine, i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled

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back on "eyewitness news" and president obama returned home to a surprise snowfall yesterday. washington's winter storm caused traffic tie ups for command inner chief. listen to this, it took him more than an hour to get from joint base andrews to the white house. that trip is more like 20 to 25 minutes. the presidential helicopter was grounded because of the snow. it is one of those moments where they are just like us, getting stuck in the snow, katie. >> no kidding. >> it just goes to show sometimes these smaller

systems can wreak havoc. >> absolutely. >> when we talk about harming systems you get nice big heads up and that is what we are giving you now. i would say that the timing could be so much worse, if it is pretty much as perfect as it can be for commuters, and maybe in the so much for kid. you will in the get a snow day out of this but if you had any kind of plans to travel, it is looking like at least typically speaking it is coming at a good time. the storm only starts to get its act together but it does no look like much yet, i know, give me until "eyewitness news" at noon and we will see things looking more robust and even more so with every passing hour. for now high pressure is on your side. if you have preps to do, you heard, greg argos piece, get them out of the the way. we have a quiet weather to energy for one final day, even though we will get through most of the day tomorrow with cloud building, the storm is coming and it looks like it will come that night. generally we're tweaking window to arrive from south to north between let's broaden it

a bit here between 6:00 and midnight as it slowry drifts north but in the middle there 9:00 p.m. or so give or take depending on your location. then it just sits, spins basically, over our area, throughout the day saturday bringing in heavy snow, very strong wind, at times, there could be gust that is exceed 50 miles an hour, maybe even, 60 miles an hour for some, and then skies clear on sunday. so how much do we end up without of this? i do think we're talking about the at least a foot around philadelphia, gusts could peak as we mentioned as high as 50 must miles and hour, coastal flood watches in effect, we will see rain mixing in near shore points and because of that, very strong wind, possibility, a power outages, not to mention maybe again, coastal flooding but also a lot of blowing and drifting. here is our exclusive eyewitness weather snowfall map with our early estimates pegging 12 to 16 inches. here in philadelphia and essentially, the i-95 corridor and all of the immediate vicinity. then they all get out of here. nice quiet weather pattern in

time for back to work and school on monday. >> no problem. >> yes, exactly. thanks, guys. >> the road right now are looking g we have had one accident this morning, overnight construction projects have been getting out of our way. they are nice, dry, we will know that will change but katie says great news it will not affect my commuters. i'm so happy. i'm so happen bye that. i-95 south at girard looking g we are starting to see brake lights, letting you know you are traveling less than posted speeds, right now as we push through this 6:00 o'clock hour i will let you know this is an area slowing down just like yesterday, just as this exact same time. another place, right around 95, where this is, this is an accident on street road, a at i-95, and if you are going to get on the ramp on i-95 north. this is an accident and it the is blocking, um, a little built of both directions simply because number one we have a truck right here. it is kind of pulled off to

that left lane, so for those, travelers trying to take a right there, causing some slow downs. street road will have hiccups but hopefully this gets out sometime soon. all right. we will take a quick break. stay right where you are, cbs-3 "eyewitness news" will be right back.

garbage. that's the budget passed by the republican legislature in harrisburg. it's unfunded, unbalanced and unconscionable. it'll balloon the deficit. and cuts education by $95 million dollars. causing governments to raise property taxes. all while protecting the gas industry by refusing to make them pay their fair share. call your legislator. tell them to fund education, stop the deficit from ballooning out of control, and build a better future for pennsylvania.

on your healthwatch this morning a new way to screen, for dementia risk. london researchers from -- used record from hundreds of thousands office patients to develop a formula that predicts risk of being diagnosed with dementia within five years. researchers say that test worked well in people 60 to 69, but not patients over 80. also, women diagnosis with melanoma during pregnant see or year after 6a greater risk of cancer recurring or spreading, even death. cleveland clinic study looked at hundreds of medical record, researchers say that hormones or changes in the immune system during pregnancy may drive the cancer. and there is a blood test that can distinguish if a infection is cause by a virus or bacteria researchers developed what they called gene signatures, patterns that she which genes are turned on and off when a person is fighting a particular

infection. by distinguishing whether a infection is bacterial or viral, doctors hope to cut down on the over use of antibiotics. >> the more antibiotic someone takes, especially when they don't need them that does expose them to other effects on their overall health and puts them at high risk for developing resistant infections later on. so far the test is 87 percent accurate but the results do take about ten hours. 6:21 right now. still ahead a little girl badly burned and left orphaned in a fire had one simple wish. she wanted christmas card. well now holidays may be over but her wish is still being granted by people all over the world. we have a heart warming update coming up next. and katie is track ago this major winter storm for us, her forecast is coming up, we will be right back.

updating this story, reporter teresa weekly says that girl from upstate new york is still getting those cards from all over the world. >> this is from taiwan. >> reporter: like eight year-old is a fire kerry enjoys opening presents. she has mountains of them after she asked for christmas cards in early december. >> we don't want people to pity her. she's encouraging, she's inspiring, loving. go getter. there is nothing stopping her. nothing brings her down. >> reporter: a fire in 2013 killed sapphire's dad, two brothers and a sister.

i left her in critical condition with severe burns. that is why she asked for the card, in one expected her wish to make it around the world. >> we got stuff from ice land, australia, from russia. just about every where big thaw you can think of, we have stuff. >> reporter: are sapphire comes to the warehouse here frequently with her aunt whom she now calls mom. >> and on this day, lynn is getting ready to take have sapphire to boston. the this is for one of the many procedures that she will continue to have, until she stops growing. >> check out to the hospital. >> absolutely. >> from china to australia, people have found at least one thing in common, compassion for a girl in new york. >> just the hope that she's not only given me but now she's given the world. that is all we want is to people to believe that no

matter what you can get through anything, that is our whole motto. >> that was teresa weekly reporting. sapphire has received more than 1.7 million pieces of mail, and counting. coming up in the next half an her of "eyewitness news" road crews are prepping the streets and highways in anticipation of this weekend's major snowstorm, jan. erika, it is snow, not sand on the ocean city boardwalk this morning, as snow crews they prepare for yet another impending storm, county officials want to you prepare at home as well. i'm jan carabao reporting live. coming up we will look at snow and storm preparations in south jersey. and we have got an accident on street road and i-95. also on route 273 i will have those updates coming up but first we will take a quick break. stay right where you are,

good morning, you may have gotten a little snow overnight, we have a live picture of the snow covered ocean city boardwalk, our jan carabao is out there. that little bit of snow is a pregame show. a major winter storm will slam into the a area this weekend and we are timing it out for you. before we get to the forecast we want to give you a heads up in case you get snowed in this weekend, we have a fun new hashtag, hashtag cbs-3 snow. we want to see your pictures, on saturday when you wake up to that snow. >> unless you are a diehard and check out first snow flakes flying overnight you you can start shooting things as earl will i as friday night but this storm has yet to make its arrival. we have a decent window of opportunity to get your preparations out of the way. go to the store, get your shovels. >> the the milk, bread, eggs, french toast ingredient, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

>> i i can make french toast, for sure but i need someone to help me out because we will talk storm coverage all weekend long. storm scan three at the moment locally very quiet. we have a clearing sky at the moment but we have to talk about what is to come. so friday night into sunday, it is a long storm system, guys, the snow begins. we have since sort of tweaked our window of opportunity here for snow to begin from 6:00 to midnight. it moves from south to north, in other word, delaware, southern most new jersey you get the snow first and then lift north with time to creep in from south to north and get us to the poconos, no later then midnight and just keeps going all day saturday. not just heavy snow but strong wind. look at these project wind speeds, these are gust expectations but this is potent gust to knock down a power line and blowing and drifting snow to come with this as well. not to mention coastal flooding. very strong wind, but other big ticket item with this storm and there will be winter

alerts that take effect friday p.m. by friday night, we are in the blue shaded area indicating winter storm watch for us but bulk and brunt of the storm is likely to happen just to our south and west. now today just not a bad day, we have got some sunshine, chill in the air for sure but definitely a quiet day ahead, if you have any preparation toss make now is the time. the good news for our morning commuters, right now to take roadways are looking nice and dry. what you are seeing right behind me though is we have an accident. this is an accident on street road approaching, the ramp for 95 northbound. the it is blocking the left lane. it looked like it was blocking multiple lanes. now it is getting better easing some tension but you can still see crews are there trying to get that moved out of your way. i-95 southbound coming around that s curve you are slowing down ever so slightly. as i'm looking at this take a look right there brake light,

letting you know you are in long are traveling at posted speed. we are looking at girard a little bit ago and looked the same way there as well. not too far. ninety-five south is looking busy. 422 taillights in the eastbound direction at valley forge looking good, steady. traveling at posted speeds you will be slowing down. accident in delaware route 273 both directions at lane. west of du pont highway. this is is near new castle airport. use an alternate. jump on i-95. erika, back over to you. we know it is more than 24 hours away now but crews are busy preparing for this years first major winter storm. eye witt the necessary news found road crews outputting brine down overnight. peco is getting ready. the utility is on full alert activating all resources. peco does not want a repeat of the 204 winter mess where more than 600,000 customers lost power. >> we have all available service, personnel, ready to

respond both in the field and back office and we have secured additional personnel from our sister utility in chicago, commonwealth edison. >> peco also advises customers to prepare for the storm by stocking up on bottled the water and batteries. while power companies are trying to keep lights on, communities at new jersey shore are trying to protect homeowners from coastal flooding. "eyewitness news" reporter jan carabao joins us now to see what they are doing. they have a taste of the snow behind you, jan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the that is right. several communities will be waking up to snow to take. we have pass aid few locations on the atlantic city expressway as we made our way here to ocean city. look at this, what a beautiful boardwalk, so quiet, peaceful and covered with the dusting of snow. after a weak system moved through this a area has moved out overnight. now nj dot is ready for whatever comes next. the department has 450 trucks to plow snow and spread salt. they have power to call in

2300 contractors, asbell, and nj dot has added to its application fleet this season and increased salt and brine storage capacity. preparations are underway in south jersey. big concern of snow but bigger concern for shore points, of course is coastal flooding. video you have been looking at is in north jersey those shore points, bulldozers busy building bermness bellmawr and bradley beach this will play a big role in the defense of coastal flooding on saturday. leaders there have learned a hard lesson during sandy. they have required the necessary a equipment to fend off mother nature. once complete those berms will be one and a half miles long and stand 20812 feet tall. >> we are better prepared for this storm then anyone before it. >> we do not take these things lightly especially after sandy. >> reporter: that is right, shore points are getting

ready, so are road crews back here in south jersey. we have seen quite a few, month trucks and salt trucks spreading the salt. always good time to remind drivers just to give these work crews some space, to work. now county officials in the meantime are asking people at home to start preparing by buying that food, water, battery, flashlights and getting their pets ready and medicationness place that they may need. while they don't necessity exactly what exactly we will get at this point they are saying that the shoreline and south jersey will be i am pennsylvania pack with some sort of precipitation so it is best to be prepared. we are live in ocean city, jan car way owe for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". be sure to stay with "eyewitness news" for latest developments as we have a major wind are storm heading our way. we will have the the latest forecast on tv and web site at cbs philly.com. right now 6:36. regulators identified the top threats investors are likely to face in 2016. cbs news business analyst jill schlesinger joins us from insuring to explain findings

and also how you can protect yourself against these scams. it seems like seniors are typically most vulnerable group here. do you think so. >> reporter: yeah, by the way, i want to mention you cannot control markets. the this is something you can protect yourself. criminals tend to go where the the money is and that means targeting older americans who are nearing or perhaps already in retirement. but i want to mention we are all actually targets. according to the financial industry regulatory authority, fraudulent people go after people of all ages. they focus on those that are college educated, have higher incomes and possess some financial knowledge as well as those who may have had a reese only health or a financial change. promises of high returns with little or no risk are classic red flags. fcc warns they should be careful about solicitations through social media if you see a tweet that mentioned or direct message or e-mail error

unsolicited regarding a investment opportunity use extreme caution. >> good advice. >> also, are there certain products that scammers are really highlighting this time of the year, this year in particular. >> absolutely. the last year we talk about the marijuana industry, this year we're talking about interest rates because interest rates are still really low and criminals are, pedaling the promise of high interest bearing promisery notes. they tout them as alternative toss cd's. these legitimate notes are marketed almost exclusively to sophisticated investors but now we also see a new set of scams that are related to the the high interest notes. also, scams related to real estate, this is kind of a real estate market has gained some traction and we have seen scams related to non-traded real estate investment trust or reits, time share resales or brokered mortgage notes. the these products carry lots of risk, if you think you have been defrauded or someone has

taughted something that seems kind of fishy, do file a complaint at fcc dot golf/complaint. >> back to the old adage of the it seems too good to be true. >> yep, absolutely. >> thanks so much. still ahead some disappointing news for star wars fans. we will tell you what it is. hoverboard injuries they are on the rise and now new rules could crackdown on some is hoverboard riders, to make them safer. tracking snowplows for the the first time you can see where these salt trucks are and which road have been treated in real time, is there a new app and we will shoal you how it works. >> ♪ snow is coming our way and thinks a massive storm, we have been talking about this all week long but now katie has some more specific details, those snow totals. she's updating them. we will detail them when we come back, good

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welcome back slip slide ago way. i hate when that happens. she fell in a slick road in washington d.c. now she was pretty lucky coming dangerously close to that moving cars. drivers say it was a big mess on the road. >> i'm's not used to driving in snow. it was rough driving home and it took him a while to get 4 miles but we decided to walk and it is pretty icy on the roads too when you are walking. >> now washington is expecting anywhere from a foot up to 2 feet of snow, with this weekend's storm. katie, you have been tracking the totals for us as well and that snow is finally forming. >> absolutely, starting to form, as we speak over the plain states and gets here. for now we are bying our time weighing for things to happen. now is the time to get your preparations out of the way.

we have a quiet pattern for. that we will check with our eyewitness weather watcher network dawn from downingtown 19. andy in dover at 23. teens in low to mid 20's around the region as a whole. in southampton gwenn is at 25. david is in clementon the at 23. the list goes on here. you can see that is where we will fall, with all of these observations. we have quite a few right now. guys, thanks for sending them in. now is a great time to sign up because we will have lots to observe in the next couple of days here. let's have our go next at is what happening on storm scan. we just talk about that little disturbance that wreaked havoc over the nation's capitol. it pete's way. it is pretty much gone at that point. we did end up with a light dusting of snow in our southern shore communities especially but here's the storm that makes the big headlines for the tail end of the week. it doesn't look like a heck of a lot just yet. give it time. it will blossom and gather strength and it will have major impacts on us. now it looks like snow starts

to move in as early as friday night but wind is a very big side issue with this. essentially through the day saturday and sunday morning we will see northeast persistent push of wind as high as 40 miles an hour sustain. we have seen indication that we could peak with gusts as high as 60 plus miles an hour. if you are one of the residents in the cher towns, secure any loose objects, bring in the lawn chairs from the deck, possible power outages, can the not rule out and interior sections of the area could see strong gusts too that blowing, drift that snow around. if you can, hunker down on saturday. the just ebb joy what will happen through the course of the day. this is a computer model rendering of what we expect in terms of snowfall. i would say 12 to 16 inches is possible for i-95, and the immediate vicinity on both end and some lighter totals as we go in the outskirts but saturday is day to watch for sure. we will see that storm arrive as early as friday night. >> good thing it is on the

weekend. no excuses. you have to shovel. kid are home. give them a shovel as well. good morning. happy thursday. this is an accident on the platt bridge, westbound, toward the airport. you can see it is causing some significant slow downs. we are having reports that the right lane is block. i can assure you by looking at the sheer volume of back ups right now that it is probably more than that. it is if nothing else you are getting gaper delays there. if you can avoid it right the now i sure would. this is where we had an accident at street road at i-95 north on to i-95 north on to that ramp there but it has been cleared. i might see flashing lights but overall that left lane whatever is prom compromised now that is getting cleared out of your way. schuylkill taillights moving in the eastbound direction toward belmont avenue both directions starting to heat up but still looking good. and then an accident is cleared in delaware on route 273, that was closed in both directions, that is great news there. and we have an accident lansdale valley forge, skippack pike. erika, back over to you.

thank you. when we hit the road we will see traffic zones in delaware. "eyewitness news", and, they have a story of, which road and highways, and. and department of transportation is getting where the massive snowstorm, and the region. in the next couple of days. >> and, 450 salt trucks will soon be canvassing, more than, and, and, we will able to track their every move. >> and look at a the real time locations, the snow plows from delaware, and, so if you are wondering how or we are using our resources or where plows are. and, look for where the the plows, are. >> reporter: dell dot will october straight snowplow on thursday. >> down load the app by being able to trace in real time, the the highway, and state road, tackled, and delaware department of transportation officials, are activating this

technology and hoping it will navigate a safe path. >> our ultimate goal, to keep people off the road. and information, so they will stay home and not be driving, on the the snowy road. i think that is a great idea. >> it is a great idea to be honest with you. a lot of people travel around in roads that they have in the even touched. it is a good thing. >> i think it is great that people will be able to determine what route they want to take if they wanting to out. >> reporter: while most drivers seem to be embracing the idea of tracing a a plow truck throughout, others, questioned it's effectiveness. >> snowplows are only allowed to go on state property, or streets, state maintain roadways and things like. that so people that live in private communities they see snowplows and they get upset. and so if they are not allowed to do it. now with the app it will be even worse i think. >> reporter: dell to the expects to use, 13,000 tons, during, it, and, in the event, snowplow happens, and, and, ahead, of the impending

snowstorm. in new castle delaware, natasha brown, cbs-3 "eyewitness news". 6:49. time to see is what coming up on cbs this morning. let's check with charlie rose up in new york with that preview, what are you up to, charlie. >> and, millions and all of the other major news of the day, but if you donate, money to politicians or to bedrooms, people you you want to, and cbs news investigate. also this, melony on what new discount options mean for the future of department stores. and we will talk with the chief astronomer from the franklin institute about the the discovery of a possible ninth planet. all of that and more, the news is back in the morning. we will see new about ten minutes. >> we love derek pits, tell him hello for us. >> he is great, i will tell him you said hello. >> we will see new ten minutes. >> bye. hoverboards were a hot holiday gift and now that legislation will be introduced in philadelphia a city council

requiring children to wear protective gear which reading them. forty year-old mike keller of prospect park was seriously hurt after falling off a whoever game the day after christmas. he had a blood clot in his brain and serious swelling. now, he is learning to walk again with the help of the kane, and his brain slowly recovers. >> my two daughters, are almost, you know, fatherless, my wife is almost husbandless. my mom and dad are almost lost a son, which is very, very difficult for me. >> there have been other issues with hoverboards catching fire. and now because of the safety and fire hazard issues, amazon says that they will offer full refunds to anyone who bought a hoverboard on its web site. the consumer products safety commission is calling on other retailers to do the same. despite the decision amazon does still sell hoverboard on its web site. if the hoverboard isn't for you, how about a pope mobile? famous fiat 500l used during

pontiff's visit to philadelphia will be auctioned off during the philadelphia auto show black tie tailgate on the 29th. another pope mobile will be used during the philly visit will be on display during that show. all money raised will go to the philadelphia archdiocese. >> it will allow to us raise much needed fund to help care for our communities most vulnerable and most marginalized members. >> reporter: it the is saturday january 30th until sunday february 7th. a box office hit set in the the galaxy far, far away just got farther away. disney has moved release date of star wars episode eight from may to the summer of 2017, a few more months. the there is no official reason for the the postponement. the force awakens opened last month breaking several box office records. disney is hoping for a repeat success. we will let you know when we know more. celine dion is scheduled to return to her las vegas stage show february 23rd. her husband died of cancer last week at the age of 73.

no doubt fancyinger to support her whenever she does take the stage again. adele is returning to the grammy stage, the the recording artist announced yesterday that the ten time grammy winner will perform during the show. other performers include kendrick lemar and the weekend. in case you are wondering adele is not eligible to be nominated for her hit album, 25, until next year. just wait for that. don't forget cbs three is only place to watch grammys on february 15th. coverage starts with a live red carpet special at 7:00 o'clock. then the performance packed show starts at 8:00. we will be right back.

before we go we are in snow mode gearing up for first major winter storm of the season. check in one more time with justin finch at the penndot salt yard in south philadelphia. finally put ago this salt to use. justin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we have seen that salt come and go throughout the morning. penndot and city street crews have begun brining area roadways ahead of the weekend storm. lets go to video we got earlier this morning an "eyewitness news" camera was rolling as we saw a truck brining on the area roadways. look for that to continue as we transition into snowfall, come this weekend, that is what salt trucks will take over and start hitting the roads. penndot, nj dot and dell dot crews are all road tripping early, some 48 hours in advance to make sure that salting is easier once that

snowfall peaks between friday, and saturday. peco is also calling in extra resources from chicago, with heavy wet snow likely to compromise area power lines. they are asking their customers to begin stocking up on the basic, water, food, batteries, flashlights, et cetera to be ready for the storm. as we see trucks outside on the road we are asking to keep your distance so they are asked to do their jobs. back over to you. and one more head up if you live in philadelphia, you cannot save parking spots along the street during the storm. how many times have have you seen this? chair out, you know, the cone? police are asking if you see somebody saving spots to call them and report that location, and using that hashtag no save. >> you take effort to clean off your spot the but unfortunately not fair that way. >> cbs-3 snow hashtag. >> yes. >> we will get, here we go.

>> very nice. >> why i. >> that is coming up, on saturday with all that snow. >> i have a feeling we will see snow men, and snow angels, maybe snow eagles players, whatever it might be. >> yes. >> absolutely. >> we're looking at this point like things will be fine tuned here, friday night is with when things start to unfold and then through the the day saturday. here are early estimates, 12 to 16 inches guys for the i-95 corridor and good portion of the vicinity outside that but we could see six to 12 in that lighter blue shaded area. bull's eye off to the southwest, that goes down toward d.c., baltimore but we may end up with half foot of snow out toward shore points and that includes the fact thaw will will see mixing with ice and rain down that way. coastal flooding another concern, that is the thing, it is in the just snow and definitely not just rain but win, very big deal with this storm. now we will just looking at a beautiful sunrise, guys in the live neighborhood network. the beautiful.

>> yes. >> it will not last too long. >> we know that sometimes contact slow us down. we have an accident, that has been cleared on the platt bridge moving in the the westbound direction causing significant slow downs. glueing there. i-95 south approaching cottman, i meade need my glasses, looking pretty good. i will say you come on that bend to cottman you are slowing down less then posted speed. another area, thinks the vine at i-95, it is a cool bird's eye view looking good there. and then go to the speeds though, schuylkill at 26, 25 on i-95 southbound, and 25 miles an hour on the vine street expressway. but still 55 on the the blue route heading in the northbound direction. >> and also heads up for parents, kids are hoping to get that snow day tomorrow. it is looking clear. >> yes, it is looking good right now. it doesn't look like any snow will arrive until friday night. >> sorry. >> yes, do that homework. >> next up on cbs this morning ma's new plan to open discount outlets and what this could mean for future of department stores. saving money. all right. reminder we're here bright and

reminder we're here bright and early every morning on captioning funded by cbs good morning. it is thursday, january 21st, 2016. welcome to "cbs this morning." a monster storm threatens millions with heavy snow. but already washington, d.c. is paralyzed by just an inch. >> breaking news. russian president vladimir putin is implicated in the poisoning death of a former spy. >> are your donation to support veterans or politicians reaching the people you want to help? cbs news investigates. we begin this morning with a look at today's "eye opener." your world in 90 seconds. we got snow on top of the ice. you start sliding. you can't get it going any more. >> yep. that's is