[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> you are looking at a live when ae of i-95 at 1:0 december 5. the snow is falling. we get a lead -- we begin with a insta-weather plus. the first significant snowfall of the season. john collins joins us with what to expect, with his snowman tie

on and everything. >> what more can we do about it? the air is quite dry about now, we were looking at some of the highway pictures, and it is blowing around on the pavement because the pavement is very cold. we are going to be on the north edge of this storm as it moves across the mid-atlantic region. that is the cold side of the storm, and that means snow. you can see on our hd doppler radar all the white and blue- shaded areas are where the snow is falling. that reaches down into some parts of northeast north carolina. the darker blue shades is where the snow is heaviest right now. we go to a pink shade, a mix of ice, sleet, and some rain mixed in. then there is some activity down into tennessee and north carolina. the heaviest parts of the storm will stay to the south. we will get something here. we will detail it all coming on- coming up in the is the weather was forecast in a minute.

it is just a one-day thing. >> the snow blames -- brings slick conditions. local officials have a handle on things this time around? george lettuce joins us from parksville. george, hi there. >> hey there, sarah. it started snowing in parksville 40 minutes ago, but in the last 10 minutes it has intensified and it is starting to stick to the pavement on the parking lot. john cullen said depending on where you are, you might have to say hello to your good friend the snow shovel once again. either way, everyone seems to be in preparation mode. at 9:00 a.m., the trucks were wrapped around the salt dome waiting to fill up. >> we did not pretreat in baltimore area, we did south of baltimore. it is a combination of a

decision on pavement temperatures and how much precipitation is coming. the prediction is not that much snow, in the baltimore area, so we should be able to take care of it pretty quickly. it all depends on when it hit. >> folks were stopping by places like home depot, stopping up -- stocking up on snow supplies many of us probably ran out of things to last winter pause record snowfall. >> cells were kind of slow, and then they said that the snow was going to come earlier, so we have seen an increased amount of traffic. we have everything available, as you can see. we are ready for the snow. >> back live in parkfill3. -- park ville. >> before you go, what are the roads like in the parkville

area? >> it started snowing 40 minutes ago, and about 10 minutes before it started, we saw that it was starting to stick. at this point things are ok, but once the first flakes fall, we are going to get on the roads and treat it right away. >> thank you so much, george. emergency plans are in effect for frederick, garrett, and howard counties. as the storm moves across our area, check the bottom of our screen for local, school and other closings. you can always track storms using our interactive radar, plus check out up-to-the-minute severe weather alerts. we invite you to become a u local member. go to wbaltv.com and click on weather. the atf says a fire has been classified as incendiary, meaning it was sent by a person but falls short of calling it

arson. >> it does not necessarily mean that we are dealing with the crime of arson. the classification of incendiary means there was human involvement that played a part in this fire. that may or may not have been with intent. >> authorities estimate damage will top $3 million. no word on any suspects. investigators are offering a $5,000 reward for information read it -- leading to a resolution in this case. if you have any information, call the atf hot line at 1-888- atf-fire. a homeless man is recovering after somehow catching on fire outside a canton grocery store. some of his possessions were left outside the store after the fire. several people brought out bottles of water from the store to put out the fire until firefighters arrived. officials are still trying to figure out how the fire started. he remains in serious condition.

general david petraeus visited the international security assistance force command headquarters in northern afghanistan today. his visit comes on the heels of the roadside bombing that struck a crowded minibus in the southern iraq province, killing 14 people. authorities say the victims were all members of an extended family. officials say two other bombs were found and defused by afghan policeman. president obama is commenting on the long awaited review of the war in afghanistan released today. the new assessment addresses the fight against al qaeda, preparation with officials in pakistan, and the success of the troop surge. kate amara has more from washington. >> the obama administration releases its latest report card on the war in afghanistan today. according to the white house, the yearlong review will show the u.s. and nato allies are making progress, halting the momentum of the taliban. >> we have seen through counter-

terrorism success at degrading al qaeda, senior al qaeda leaders. >> the report comes a little more than a year after president obama authorize the deployment of more troops to afghanistan. >> it is of our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 u.s. troops to afghanistan. >> will troops come home in july as promised? it is concern from members of the president paused own party. >> the american people deserve to know, it is july 2011 still a realistic time frame? >> when the war review will not change plans, but -- insurgency havens, that pakistan has done little to address and oppose threat to security. >> the only way to get a stable solution that will not just collapse the minute we removed our security forces is if we can

reform governance and create an alternative to the taliban. >> kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> a massive tax package negotiated by president obama is headed for a house vote today. the senate overwhelmingly passed the package yesterday, despite democratic complaints that the bill is too generous to the wealthy. house democratic leaders plan to pass the bill. but first they will hold a vote on posing a higher estate tax than the one negotiated by the president, who is urging the house to pass it without changes so he can sign it into law. meanwhile, the senate will get one last chance to dismantle the military don't ask don't tell policy before going home for the year. it would and the 1993 law forbidding troops from .cknowledging they are dgay there might not be enough time on the legislative calendar. no time is left for a senate vote on repealing that policy.

they have been rocking the stage for the past two weeks. now the finalist on "the singoff" join us live. in and your pet questions to wbaltv.com but first -- and that obviously mr. -- >> obviously he came here with a purpose, with extra magazines and extra rounds. >> the attack at a florida >> the attack at a florida school board meeting was

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>> the engine of an amtrak passenger train caught fire passing through ohio. the train was on its way to new york from chicago when the fire broke out as it was approaching a station near cleveland. officials say all three engineers on board the locomotive got off safely. amtrak says none of the 120 passengers was ever in any danger. police investigating the shooting of a florida school board meeting say they now have evidence that the gunman had been planning the attack for some time. the wife of 56-year-old played duke is speaking out on the event that terrified the school

board members. >> the economy and the world got the better of him, and along with his bipolar, it just set him up for this horrible event. >> investigators say duke had posted a talent -- circled two -- circle tuesday's date on the calendar inside his mobile home. critics warn that watching it a response. and daniel anthony from the animal hospital will answer your pet questions. >> there is the first significant storm for the winter season to come through the area. we are collecting some snow. we will see how much of the

insta-weather plus forecast. it is 22 at the airport,

>> now, double-team insta- weather plus. >> the storm is here. i hesitate to call it a storm because we do not have all the elements of wind and everything that would make it unbearable. but we know what last friday did with the slippery conditions brought by the last snow, so this thing will be a problem in some regards, at least for rush hour. we are on the north edge of this entire thing. the north edge of the storm is in pennsylvania. the heaviest snow is falling in virginia and west ridge in your right now. we will keep tracking this all afternoon. -- and west virginia. we will keep tracking this all afternoon. more on what we can expect from this storm. >> what a day to start when snow is moving through the area.

it certainly is cold enough to snow outside right now. we were talking earlier about the colder temperatures -- 24 degrees downtown, pretty much 20's surrounding the city. but as you head out west into west region yeah, into the mountains, western maryland, you can see strasbourg at 17 degrees. here is the storm at hand. we are seeing this low system, pretty much going to move on out to sea as we head through the day. we are on the cold side of the storm, so it is cold enough to snow in our area. once the system moves out, there is another system that we are talking about which could bring us some brief as we head into the weekend. when you talk about -- some grief as we head into the weekend. when you talk about cold temperatures, we are talking about cold air masses and we are caught in the mix of this. 22 degrees for the greater baltimore area. 24 downtown. this arctic air mass is what we

call a snow-maker when it comes to cold temperature and wind. how much snow? one to 3 inches is what we are thinking right now in the greater baltimore area. as you head into the day, the southern part of the area, we may get a little more of that in the d.c. area and into virginia. maybe around 3 to 5 inches. for today's forecast, we are talking snow showers and a 27-30 degrees. the wind out of the west at 5 miles per hour. 1 inch to the north, 3 inches to the south. for more on the seven-day forecast, let's head over to john for more on that. >> we will show you the seven- day forecast, calling for another storm coming over in the weekend. that will be more of a miss than the present storm. we have the snow today, one to 3 inches in our area, 29 degrees the high. the sun will break through friday. scattered snow showers saturday into sunday.

most of this will be south of us. it is possible that second storm over the weekend could be almost a complete mess in the area. we will see what happens for the ravens game on sunday. the temperatures stay cold next week. way below normal for the season. we will have a recap at the end of the show. >> thank you, john, and thank you, lowell. the nbc appel a hit show "the sing-off." the finalist join us with a look back at the season heading into the finale. how is everybody doing? i bet you guys are excited. what is it like to reach this point? >> scary. to say the least. >> i would imagine so. go ahead. >> it has been thrilling. it has been really hard work, having to work without a lot of

sleep, but overall it has been an amazing experience. >> it has got to be a whirlwind. i do not know how many people have a true appreciation for singing a cappella. how difficult is it? >> i would say it's really difficult, especially when you are trying to sing pop music, r&b. there is a lot of instrumentation behind it, but a lot of music nowadays, there is a lot of studio instrumentation and a lot of piano, organ, drums, and everything. it is a challenge, but we stand here, we are up for it. we have been making it through. >> you have done a great job. joanna, how has this experience changed your life? >> i have never done anything like this before. i have never been on a television show before, only

doing a cappella for a couple years. this is a lot of talk appellant now, and i am learning so much about all the different things you can do with it. it is always a blessing to work with such amazing musicians and also in an environment that is so friendly and supportive of each other. >> i am sorry to cut you off. you guys are all fantastic. we are out of time unfortunately, but you can catch the finalists singing their hearts out in the two-hour life in l.a., next sunday, right here on wbal-tv 11. dr. daniel anthony from the animal hospital is here to injury -- dr. danielle anthony from the animal hospital is here to answer your pet questions. you brought a rat, really? >> he is a pocket pet, and he is very overweight. i think he is getting over said on the rat pallets >> does a

snake go blind if it is about to shed its skin? >> they will lose their spectacles as well, which is their coating over the eye, so it will go sort of translucent. it is like looking through a frosted glass window or something like that. so i recommend leaving them alone, leaving them in the tank, let them do their thing so there shed goes quickly, easily, and smoothly. >> i have heard that ferrets are subject to the adrenal disease. >> it is common in ferrets. they will usually be seen as first losing all their hair. that's probably your side to take it to the veterinarian. it is a genetic issue, so there is nothing that you can bet. >> we are out of time. nice to have you and your rat. e-mail your pet questions to put questions -- to petquestions@

wbaltv.com. coming up next, the maryland lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. and we'll get

>> tonight, despite losing the war on heart disease, new numbers suggest americans are winning the battle. we will explain. and we are watching the forecast as snow moves across the area. tonight, live team coverage and more when you join us for 11 news at 5:00.

now it is time for america -- for your american lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. >> time for the pick 3 numbers, folks. here we go. 3. 5. the final number is -- are you ready? it is a 6. 356. this is your favorite retailer today and scratch gifts off your list. pick 4. 1. 4. 0. the final number is 8.

1408. the maryland lottery. let yourself play. >> lowell melser has completed his course work and is now a meteorologist. >> thank you, thank you. we will get to the advisories in the area because that is what everyone wants to know about. it is important to point out that this snow is not the good snowball snow, it is the powdery snow. it is too dry, so pretty much the whole state is under a winter weather advisory board to keep that in mind as you head out today on the roads. >> 37 tomorrow, and we will see some sun. it will be one of those dry snow as we can sweep for the most part. another storm passing to the south saturday and sunday, the snow chances minimal with that. but we will keep an eye on them for you. it stays cold for the next seven days. >> good to have you both. thank you for joining us for 11 news at noon.

have a great day. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.nc