co [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning and welcome back to the special edition of 11 news today. >> thanks for joining us. a lot of closings this morning. i think every school in the straight. >> we have them scrolling on the bottom of the screen and you can find them on our website. biologic www.wbaltv.com. >> we will talk to tony. what is the latest on sandy? >> it is a couple hundred miles to 300 miles east-southeast of ocean city and we think it will bypass the mouth of the chesapeake bay. i hate to say this for folks in new jersey but we wanted it to come on shore and new jersey and that is better for us. we look at the doppler and we

see heavy rain on the outer bands on the eastern shore counties. that is represented by the dark orange and yellows that you see. i will set this in motion and it is going east to west as it passes by off of the delmarva coastline. the heaviest rain should stay from baltimore east. in the western suburbs i think it will be just light rain it start but everybody will get the heavy rain eventually. we expect from two it eight rain through the evening and jeovernight. the winds are not bad around baltimore. north wind at 10 at b.w.i., gusting higher on the eastern shore and beaches. the winds will increase through the day. you may say right now nothing is going on. but by this evening and early tonight it will be gusting close to 60 miles an hour. after we have had rain all day will knock a few trees down and power lines. here is the headlines the next

48 hours. rain today, heaviest this afternoon and this evening. during the day gusts 30 to 40. temperatures in the 50's. heaviest rain is this evening and tonight. then the winds gust up close to 60 miles an hour. cold air comes in. we've blizzard warnings for garrett county and it will turn into a lot of snow in the mountains. there could be a few flakes around baltimore with temperatures dropping into the 40's. when i come back we'll go through that process step by step. ava marie is at ocean city closer to the center of the storm so the winds have been stronger and rain heavier. what is going on? >> good morning. compared to what we saw yesterday not only are we dealing with strong winds but we have the drenching rain and it is driving at this point and with gusts around 40 miles an hour i don't have a strong weekend right where i'm standing because they are along the beach where we can no longer stand

because the waves are coming in. so far we have not had many reports of damages as far as structural damage. i want to point out minor things that are happening. unsecured objects starting to move because of the wind. there was the top of a light post that you can see that came off the deck. minor things happening as the weekends pick up. now we are getting the drenching rain and that will be an added effect as away worry about the -- we worry about the flooding from the coast as the rain piles up and has nowhere to go. we are getting drenched right now and watching for the coastal flooding. and it is very cold, a very cold rain this is what i would be wearing in snow gather. we are bundled up and we are braving the elements here. now out to kim dacey in annapolis.

>> out here it is cold as well. it is usually when we do hurricane coverage a little warmer but it is colder than the normal hurricane coverage situation. the rain is coming down in a steady downpour and the wind is coming in gusts. sometimes it is pretty calm and sometimes it gusts and the rain becomes who ahorizontal. the water, officials are watching for a one to three-foot storm surge and that what they are monitoring throughout the day. the emergency operations center is open. these boats on the water are bobbing and swaying. a lot of them out there hanging out looking to ride out the storm and hopefully not break and cause damage. a couple of things to mention. if you are in annapolis or in the area city residents can come to the parking garage and park

in the city parking garages for ee. the city opened all of them because they want you to get cars off streets in case it is flooded and they need to get mental vehicles by. so if you are a city resident and ill have to show i. tkfpd. it is free. as far as the shelter, there is one in annapolis high school. if you need to leave home go there and bring your pets. cats and dogs are welcome. back to you. knew to tim tuten in baltimore city. >> good morning. conditions are similar here at the giant food store on 41st street and falls road. this is really the only place you should go if you have to and that is out to get more supplies. i noticed someone this morning driving in. you better believe the stores are open right here in there location in particular. the rain in baltimore city has been pretty steady for the most

part. little wind. the schools are closed in bullet city and the mayor as late as last week began to lay out the plan. get an emergency kit to make sure you are prepared to ride out the storm. doesn't sound like there is much going on. don't go out unless you have to. but there is store is open and employees have been here pretty night making sure that you have the supplies and what you could need for the days ahead. we will check in with traffic with sarah caldwell back at the studio. people shouldn't be out here. >> exactly. there is no need to be out there. of course, if you have gotten your groceries and everything and the schools are closed, that himself. cars on the road. the roads are just wet right now but things as we have been saying are going it deteriorate into this evening. winds are going to pick up and we will be looking at a much different scenario later on this afternoon into this evening.

for now we are focusing on what to prepare you for later on this afternoon into this evening. we are checking our speed sensors and speeds are down as you would expect. b.w.i. airport has canceled all 10:35. after there are a few select flights on time prior to that but everything after 10:35 is canceled. in terms of mass transit, marc m.t.a. and amtrak not operating. wind restrictions in effect at bay bridge. some other area bridges will have them shortly once we get further into this storm situation. let's give you a look at traffic and we will update the area of green spring. it is wet and a lot of wet leaves coming in on the roads so that makes it more slick. later on this afternoon into this evening we will see downed trees and power lines.

we will monitor the situation throughout the morning. back to you. >> 53 degrees at the airport at 4:37. still ahead more coverage of hurricane sandy. >> here is a live look at -- i believe we are going to take one. >> ocean city maybe? >> your guess is as good as mine -- there you go. there is the waves of the hamden. aplçlçéd.ñ.ñhrókññoo[

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ben's protected our medicare and veterans' benefits. and he's helping my 13 grandchildren afford college. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i'm honored to approve this message. >> that is virginia beach. the storm is a couple hundred miles east. it is in the 50's here but it will hold steady and we will get probably a little bit of a jump. we should make it into the other

50's today. this is not the typical hurricane situation. everybody is dressed in winter gear. we have blizzard warnings in the mountains. i can't recall -- i have never seen blizzard warnings in effect a the same time we have tropical storm or hurricane warning. it is amazing to see what is happening. weather-wise we have heavy rain on the eastern shore counties. that is spilling across the bay now on to the western shores so we have some moderate to heavy rain around towson, cockeysville, hunt valley spreading in baltimore. not a lot happening in the with respect suburbs, just light rain. this will continue to shift to the west because these are the outer bands of the hurricane. you will see what i mean when we put everything in motion on the computer. you see the bands push off the ocean city coast. you can see the circulation the

there. what is wrong? i thought somebody was talking to me. we have heavy rain on the eastern shore counties. these are the outer bands. it 200 miles east-southeast of ocean city right now and continues to drift in that direction. wind speeds are gusting up close to 40 miles an hour. 38-mile-per-hour gusts in ocean city. winds around baltimore will pick up later. there is the center justify shore. we want it to go in that direction. we thought it would come up the chesapeake bay now we feel very confident that it will miss this and come onshore in new jersey. that is not good for them but good for us. this is one of the models and this is where the storm is 300 miles east-southeast of ocean city. as it transitions into a nor'easter it will get stronger and will transition from a

tropical system to winterlike system so by 5:00 to 6:00 when it comes on shore it will have a storm surge of 10 it 12 feet. at the same time the cold air starts to get pulled back in. that is why there are blizzard warnings in western maryland. the worst part of the storm around baltimore will be this afternoon and evening. the winds will pick up into the afternoon and tomorrow in the morning the storm will drift into southern pennsylvania. this will start to weaken at that time. so it won't be terrible tomorrow. it won't be nice. it will be breezy and cold and temperatures in the 40's and do could be some snow around baltimore. heaviest rain today this afternoon and evening. wind gusts 40 to 60 miles an hour later today. right now they are not that bad. total rain accumulation from two

to eight inches with temperatures in the upper 50's this afternoon. seven-day forecast, through the middle of the week windy and cold tomorrow with highs in the 40's. heavy snow in the mountains, maybe a mix of rain and snow around baltimore. into halloween i will say scattered showers. trick or treating should be ok. it will be chilly with a high of 55. ava marie is live down at ocean city and we have been saying she is pretty close to the center of the storm. the winds have been kicking up. what is going on? >> we found some shelter and we are on the south side of our hotel building and having the weekend blocked from us. behind me you can see what is happening. let's look at the waves. i have personally never seen waves this big. i'm from colorado and we don't have ocean out there. look at those waves. they are incredible. you would not want to swim in

that ocean. they are from nine to about 15 feet. they are continuing to push onshore. where we were standing last night is covered in water at this point. they push toward the restoration area where they have been trying plant a lot of shrubs. i'm afraid some of that will be washed away. this is the point where well see the worst flooding in ocean city approaching high tide and the storm is just making its way paralleling the coast. it will track north and then it should get a little better but the heavy rain will be a major problem. i want to show you this street. excuse us, our light keeps flickering out. the rain is driving and no one is on the streets. the southern part of the city south of 17th street has been evacuated. that was a mandatory evacuation. everyone else is being cautious. anyone who is riding out the storm is inside trying to be safe. we have been hearing a lot of

different reports about damage in ocean city. we have been calling the emergency operations center and they have not had any reports of major damage or injuries in ocean city. that is great news at this point. well continue to check in with it see if anything changes. for now we've the driving rain, wind gusts at tropical storm force and getting the raheavy rain. two inches have rain has fallen so far. ava marie in ocean city. back to you. >> there is no report of major damage it is still early. >> the storm has yet to arrive. >> while maryland is preparing for hurricane sandy other areas are in for a stormy few days. >> new jersey could be one of the hardest hit areas when the storm makes landfall. the board walks and oceanfront f sea siside heights is a ghostown. they went door to door trying the get the last performance out.

state officials couldn't say if or when they would shut it down. >> officials in plum island, massachusetts, issued a voluntary evacuation which is about 100 miles north of boston. schools and businesses will be closed due to the storm but beach erosion is a big concern. authorities say the critical times will be high tide this afternoon and this evening. officials urge everyone to stay away from the water. >> you can track the movements of the hurricane on our interactive radar and fell it on www.wbaltv.com and our mobile app. 47.it is 4: 53 degrees at b.w.i. thurgood airport. more team coverage on hurricane sand kwreufrplt this is re hospital -- rehoboth beach. [ female announcer ] having grands biscuits

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then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. >> sarah caldwell with an early look at the morning commute. fortunately not a lot of cars but the roads are wet and we are watching as conditions continue to deteriorate. we have an accident just past mountain road in the left lane of 95. stay to the right and you should get by. we encourage you to stay off the roads if you can. but those who do have to be out we will monitor the situation. we are 42 miles an hour on the east side of the beltway approaching 95. not bad on the entire beltway. we are looking at 47 miles an hour on 195 toward the airport and we want to remind you b.w.i.

has canceled all flights after 10:35. there are a select few on time prior to that. you are going to be going out call ahead before you do so. wind restrictions in effect at bay bridge and not tracking problems there but we will monitor the situation there. let's look at a couple of cameras. sandy point up to bay bridge no delays at the toll plaza but wind restrictions in effect so keep that in mind. keep speeds down. 95 south of aberdeen route 22 not bad here. roads are wet around the area. winds are not even that bad yet. that will change later on. we want to let you know that marc trains, m.t.a. and amtrak all are not operating this morning. now we will check in tim tuten in baltimore.

good morning. >> what the difference 15 minutes makes. the rain is picking up here. it has been steady. we are it hampden and the word has gone out not to go out but the bread man just showed up so you are out of bread we are here at the giant in hamden. but schools are out. i was trying to check if anybody is in and i'm not sure there is anybody in the state that is taking the chance of getting kids on the road. we are treating this like a snow day and you basically make precautions and say we won't have school because of transportation and the like. so, in kiss there are students -- in case there are students wondering, there is no school. the emphasis in baltimore city is to have an emergency kit. the mayor said to help out neighbors. make sure your neighbor is ok. check on someone down the

street. check on family. a family called me from florida to say how are you doing up there in maryland. the weather is about the same. you can see the rain is more steady and we know it will change as time goes by. >> before the worst rivers officials from the better business but recommend an emergency document packet. you should compile social security card, birth certificate, passport and include contact information and will and medical directives. insurance cards, financial accounts, car documents. just to be on the safer side. it is 4:53. 53 degrees at the airport. stephanie rawlings-blake: voting for question seven is an...

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>> we found this report from baltimore county. >> we are along the river in essex. i want to show you what is happening out here with the wind. blowing and been blowing most of the afternoon. the temperature is in the mid to 50's or so but it feels a little colder than that. that is because of the wind blowing out here through the trees and along the waterfront. we are outside the mali but beach bar and they were a little worried about flooding because during isabel water came into the bar level. so they will watch how the levels rise throughout this

storm event with other folks who live in these low-lying areas of eastern baltimore county. along the middle river in essex. >> 4:57 and 53 degrees. in the next hour, continuous coverage of hurricane sandy. >> we will go step by step to let you know what to expect the next 24 hours. weather is next. >> we will check back in with ava marie, kim dacey and tim teutim tuten. >> and we will be checking the area roads. one accident already on i-95 harford county. we will have details coming up.