and the first snowfall of the season came and for many of you, is already gone. we know there is a long winter ahead and this morning we're asking septa how it's preparing to keep you moving. now, some of you will wake up to see scenes like this. snow on the ground. a live look outside at camelback mountain where there is still some pretty good snow there left. for the rest of the area, though, a cold is setting in and should be a blustery, bitter weekend. good morning, this is nbc 10 news today on this friday. let's begin with bill henley and his first alert forecast. we are calling this the first official snowfall of the season but we have to remember the season is technically autumn.

>> that's true. this half of the year, we certainly saw snow at the beginning of the year, but for the end, this is the beginning. a trace at the airport. north and west, the higher elevations did get accumulating snowfall. you can see it on the streets, that's rain in cape may. a live view of beach avenue where very light rain is falling and a few snowflakes mixing in, but most of the area is dry right now. portions of delaware seeing some very light showers and you can see a raindrop or even a snowflake to start with through middletown, delaware, but quickly moving through the southeast. not going to last much longer. the temperatures above freezing for everyone with the exception of the pocono mountains and potstown is 33 and 36 in wilmington and 37 degrees at philadelphia international. that's a good deal chillier than it was recently and that chill will stay with us. by lunchtime, 41 degrees and the wind will be stronger.

so, it will feel like it's in the 30s. we'll go through it hour by hour when i'm back in less than ten minutes. meteorologist jillian mele is watching the roads. good morning, jill. >> this is 95. right at girard avenue and you see just a few drivers out there. that's the southbound side. that's where we see the volume early this morning and drive times looking good, 14 minutes both ways on 5 between wood haven road and the vine street expressway. area bridges are looking pretty good. the view from camden much different scene than we saw yesterday morning. and we do have that normal construction for drivers in delaware, 295 northbound the ramp is closed and it's part of a long-term construction project. chris? >> all right, jillian. let's look at some of the video we gathered. in chester county, the snow was falling at a good clip and it dusted the ground, higher

elevations saw almost two inches. it did not stick to the roads, though we did find this accident near glenmore. no one was injured and we asked the driver about the snow and he said bring it on. >> you think it's nice? >> i do. >> because? >> i'd like to see two feet of snow so the kids have no school and then they can really enjoy it. >> how about that. chester county emergency officials told us snow had little impact on roads in that area. snow also fell in berks county. sideway snow there. roads got a little slushy, no traffic problems reported there. a look at snow falling in new castle, delaware. and you can really see the snow sticking to the car windshields. a lot of people looking for the snow brushes last night. the first snow of the season is a reminder of how important it is for all of us to get ready for winter. we sent jesse gary to talk about

what it is to do to prepare. jesse, what is it like outside right now? no snow, right? >> a lot of the snow that fell overnight has melted. last night all coated with a dusting, but now it is all clear. very little or no snow out this morning. the return of the wintry mix coincides with septa's efforts to wints aerize its fleet. they learned from last winter what caused the fleet of thousands of buses to come to a halt. the solution? preventative measures done three times more often this year than last winter. >> we're going to change the filters, clean these components, make sure they're all functioning properly and drain the system to avoid this from happening in the future. >> back out here in upper darby and trains and subways are not

immune either. a bus getting ready to take off. what they're doing to keep all the rail bound vehicles moving this winter. jesse gary, nbc 10 news. five minutes after 4:00 now. parents can also prepare for snow and the side effects that come with it later this season. didn't cause any school closings or delays but the next time it could. now is the time to sign up for school closings at nbc10.com. we will alert you via text or e-mail if your school closes because of bad weather. new information at a barricade situation at a philadelphia high rise. a man with a knife was arrested overnight. he barricaded himselfed insidee building. no reports of anybody being injured. people are back inside a north philadelphia high rise after a fire. tenants were evacuated as crews tried to get that fire on the seventh floor under control,

which they did. no one was injured. accused kidnap delvin barnes is expected to appear in a philadelphia courtroom. barnes was the u.s. department of justice announced that a federal kidnapping indictment against barnes was being filed on wednesday. meantime, city council honored all the investigators who worked together to rescue freeland-gaither. >> i'm glad that my daughter was a friendly person and got him to being a friendly guy that he wouldn't harm her. again, i give all praise to my daught daughter. she's the hero. >> the first moments that carlesha was with his l her suspected kidnapper. fletcher called police and gave police critical information

about the kidnapper's car. >> scheduled for a preliminary court hearing later this morning. the second grade teacher charged with abusing two children in school districts. he is on paid leave from his school at darby township school. right now a big push in the health care world ahead of this weekend that's because tomorrow marks the second enrollment period for the affordable care act. katy zachary melt with health care advocates to tell us what we can expect this time around. katy, i guess the number one question is, are we going to expect to to see as many glitches as it rolled out last year? >> chris in a word i'm told no. you probably remember the first open enrollment period it was rife with problems. website glitches and i'm told many of the kinks, if not all the kinks were worked out and the system is stronger than when we started. we started up with pedro rodriguez. they tell me a lot more

confident this go than last. he's a svolunteer with get covered america. he was reaching out on the philadelphia/montgomery county line. signing up for an individual health care plan is required by law under the affordable care act. this is the second enrollment period. it's shorter this year lasting from november 15th tomorrow, until february 15th and a fine this year you have to pay if you don't sign up for a plan. >> the first time there's a tax penalty if you don't have health insurance and that comes up when you file your income taxes next year. a lot of people are coming over to me and saying the fine is coming pup look at this option right now. >> again, this is the first year that that fine, $325 will be imposed. it will be taken out of your tax return, if you don't have a health care plan. if your tax return is not that high, you'll have to cut a check to the government. coming up in the next half hour,

working on a story on what is being done differently this year to make the entire process smoother for people. katy zachary, nbc 10 news. nine minutes after 4:00. following new ebola concerns. a doctor in west africa who has been diagnosed with the virus will be flown to the u.s. for treatment. he will be treated at the same nebraska medical center in omaha where other patients have been treated. he will be flown to the u.s. tomorrow becoming the 10th ebola patient to be in this country. leaders in trenton are raising awareness. today the mayor is expected to announce plans for the trenton ebola awareness walk. that walk will take place tomorrow morning at 10:30 starting at city hall. now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> it's a cold start this morning and a bit damp in cape may where they are looking at

raindrops falling from the skies. a tail end of the system that came through last night. still tracking a few showers, some raindrops and some snowflakes in parts of delaware. the showers won't last much longer. in fact, they'll be ending over the next few hours and then going to be a gusty, cold wind that is blowing during the day. we will see sunshine, but it is going to be in the 30s or at least feeling like it's in the 30s for most of the day and on track for weekend cold, especially both mornings, saturday and sunday morning. right now, 27 degrees certainly cold in the pocono mountains and the rest of the area is above freezing and 35 in trenton and wilmington with clouds overhead it's 36 degrees. you can see a little bit of snow accumulating on some of the grassy surfaces. the snow is not going to last much longer. it is clearing out nicely in our area. so, stand by for clearing skies and a gusty wind. lock at all those arrows lining up with that northwesterly winds to keep temperatures colder. 10:00 this morning, 38 degrees in philadelphia. sunny skies, no sign of any clouds. we will see the temperatures

warm. they will be in the 40s as we go into the afternoon, not much warmer than this. 44 in philadelphia. low 40s for allentown, doylestown and potstown with gusty winds to 30 miles an hour. bundle up if you're heading out. the winds will be picking up as the day goes on. northwesterly steady 10 to 20 mile per hour with higher gusts and limit temperatures to the lower 40s today. it goes colder as we head into the weekend. the extended future weather when i come back in less than ten minutes. it's going to be a chilly one and you want that heater and seat warmers if you're fortunate to have those on in the cars this morning. first alert traffic reporter jillian mele has a look at what we can expect on the roadways after a wet and sloppy night out there. >> roads can be a little bit damp out there, keep that in mind. as chris just mentioned, leave yourself a few extra minutes to get that car started and heat going and you're going to need that. this is a live look at the blue route right near 76. it's pretty much empty.

no accidents on the blue route. drive times looking good, 17 to 18 minutes and between 76 and 95. this is just a heads up for drivers later in the morning, especially if you have a flight out of philadelphia international. close between 9:00 and 3:00 because of construction out there. keep that in mind, the girard point bridge is your alternate. heading into delaware right now, bill had mentioned some flurries in that area, especially in middletown. doesn't seem to be impacting the speeds too much. same thing on 13. and 55 is what we're seeing right now on 95. chris? an eye-opening e-mail in the penn state sex abuse scandal. what it shows about the school's football program. plus, accused cop killer eric frein wrote his parents a letter while he was on the run. what it says about his reasons for the ambush. death with dignity. two weeks after this terminally ill woman took her own life, new

jersey is considering its own laws for patients in the garden state.

4:15 on friday morning. new information in the jerry sandusky scandal and how close penn state came to having its football program shut down. a two-year-old e-mail shows that the organization favored giving penn state football the so-called death penalty in the sandusky case. but the university cooperation and transparency saved the program from being suspended. sandusky a former assistant football coach is now in prison for molesting ten boys while top administrators are still fighting charges of a cover up. the man accused of killing a

pennsylvania state trooper is now facing terrorism charges. eric frein told investigators he shot one and wounded another because he wanted to "make a change in government and wake people up." authorities also say that frein wrote his parents a letter while he was on the run in which he said he was trying to start a revolution. prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. happening today, we will learn more about the first arrest made in that delaware homicide case. on tuesday a body was found near a public pool in eden park. the victim appeared to be a man in his late 30s and early 40s. the mayor and the police chief will announce details of that arrest later this morning. in philadelphia, look at this, a heist along jeweler's row in center city. four suspects who are wanted for breaking into the jewelers on saturday. two men and two women cut the front security gate, broke out a window and stole rings. they then ran to a white inifity

was parked outside and drove away. a state assembly in new jersey passed a bill that would allow doctors to give life-ending drugs to patients who are terminally ill. she's the terminal cancer patient who moved from california to oregon where she had the choice to die with her doctor's help. it would offer a choice to patients with incurable patients who have less than six months to live and protect those who want no part in it. >> that's what this legislation is about. personal choice and control of your circumstances. >> it's not clear when or if the senate will vote on the bill. governor christie has said in the past he will not support such a measure. happening today in washington, the house of representatives will vote on whether to build the controversial keystone pipeline. it is expected to pass and then go to the senate, which could take up the bill on tuesday. that would get to the

president's desk by the middle of next week. that pipeline was at the center of a six-year debate. some have raised environmental concerns because it will carry oil through the u.s. the president could veto the proposal. critical security failures are being blamed for the white house security breach back in september. a texas man armed with a knife climbed a fence and got into the white house, actually, after running across the grounds. homeland security viewed what went wrong and found a list of failures including alarms and radios were on mute. obscured views and unlocked doors in the white house and an officer who was too small to take down the intruder. the report did not specify any disciplinary action. it was the first snow of the season and, yes, this time lapse from our video camera atop the melon bank building.

you can see the ice that accumulated and slowly melted away. things are melting this morning as temperatures are above freezing and the freezing temperatures back into the area however tonight. right now, clearing over philadelphia. that's a nice, clear view right across the delaware. 37 degrees with winds that are now at 14 miles an hour. makes it feel like 28 degrees in the city. look at the snow. this is in the pocono mountains. snow is on the ground. that's preview of ski season coming our way. snow has ended for areas north and west. but to the south, we're still tracking a few showers through delaware and into south jersey. this is running into warmer air, so, we're seeing snowflakes change over to raindrops and you'll find raindrops right along the coast. cape may, sea isle city and the tail end of the system and just rain in toms river. just cold and blustery during the day today. gusty winds and temperatures that will warm into the lower 40s this afternoon. winds gusting to 30 miles an

hour. sunshine will be around for part of the weekend. and then things change towards the end. got the seven-day forecast coming up in the next half hour. >> all right, bill, it is 20 minutes after 4:00 and our snow, most of the roads are clear. we didn't see any traffic problems last night because of it. find out if there are any other obstacles out there. jillian mele is in now. jillian? >> good morning, chris. a good start to this friday as far as the commute goes anyway. we're still not reporting any delays and no accidents out there. very quiet look at the boulevard. headlights southbound as drivers make their way from fox street to 76. speaking of 76, all is quiet here. in fact, the entire length of 76 is looking pretty good. drive times between the blue route and the vine that is where things get heavy in the morning is about 14 minutes in both directions. a very average start as far as the majors go. same thing for drivers in new jersey. making our way northbound passing route 55 as we approach

the bridges. you can see average speeds now in the mid-50s. chris? this transportation news, as well. septa will continue running septa trains despite a hefty price tag. keeping the trains rolling costs about $34,000 more than the night owl buss the trains replaced. but weekend business is booming. an average of 15,000 people road those trains through the end of october, according to septa. happening today, del worth park will have a new attraction. a grand opening for the ice rink. the ceremony was at noon, the ripg will be open to the public through the end of february. another place to skate in the city. pretty cool. today drexel university for a program that feeds the hungry and takes care of the environment. drexel culinary students created a food recovery program and as part of that program students develop products and recipes

aimed at reducing waste at local soup kitchens and homeless shelters. they try to make sure the food is used at the shelters fully and not thrown away. you know, sleeping in may not just be for the weekends. for thousands of local students, next the schools that could soon change their start times. and a pledge to serve. we'll tell you how this group of new employees is working to keep philadelphia safer.

and there she goes. new video from wilmington shows this building implosion that happened last night. the building was vacant for several years. at one time, though, it did house several law offices along

with a comedy cabaret. 37 new inspectors will soon be on the streets of philadelphia. their goal to ensure building safety. the inspectors were sworn in yesterday. these new hires were made possible by an extra $2 million added into the budget. they're part of the changes that were implemented after that fatal building collapse on market street last year. >> public safety must always be our number one goal in virtually every department and agency of our city government, but certainly the department of licenses and inspections. >> and the mayor went on to say that the overhaul is not finished. middle school and high school students in new jersey may get to sleep in some day. even on school days. lawmakers passed a bill yesterday that calls for a study of school start times. the american academy of pediatrics recently recommended that the school should start at 8:30 or later. the average start time in many districts is 7:45.

the bill includes a pilot program that would test later start times in some schools. new government figures show that teenage kids are latching on to electronic cigarettes. a national sursway shows their use by high school students have tripled. ecigarettes began in the u.s. in 2006. philadelphia, new jersey and delaware banned the sale of those to minors with a similar ban proposed in pennsylvania. now your nbc 10 first alert weather. >> skies are clearing out. the wind is picking up. and a gusty wind will be blowing through the day. and riding in on that wind is cold air. 37 degrees here at nbc 10 at 4:26. jillian mele is watching traffic on a friday morning. good morning, jillian. >> a live look in philadelphia. the vine street expressway right near 76 is clear in both directions and the entire length of the vine is clear. still no accidents coming up. i'll take you into delaware. why dozens of penn state

fans may be turned away from this weekend's game.

the first snowfall of the season. here's video proof. it came and for many of you, it's already gone. but we do know a long winter ahead and this morning we're asking septa how it is getting ready to keep you moving. >> a live look now from the poconos. many still have snow on the ground and other places not so much. but the cold is settling in for everyone. that's for sure. 37 degrees outside. good morning, this is nbc 10 news today. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm chris cato.

and on top of the snow, congratulations, we made it to friday. that will make a lot of the snow melt. meteorologist bill henley is standing by with his first alert forecast. good morning, bill. >> we are watching snow melt. the one exception the pocono mountains where it's in the 20s this morning and snow is on the ground. the rest of the area is drying out quickly and a gusty wind is blowing. lots of sunshine today, but don't look for a big warm up. this morning, watching for the last few showers in delaware and south jersey. see some light raindrops falling right along the coastline and a few spotty light rain showers moving through dover and into salem and cumberland counties and this rain ending shortly and then temperatures clear out and skies clear out, the temperatures will come down a little bit more. millville in the 30s this morning. 37 degrees at philadelphia international. factor in the wind that is already blowing and it feels like it's in the 20s.