breaking weather news this morning. the storm is here. you see here in this live picture from cape may, beach avenue, rain is falling across parts of the region right now. the temperatures are falling, too. first alert radar shows the massive rain moving into the area, up the entire east coast right now. in just a few hours, the snow will begin as those temperatures fall. a live look at the poconos this morning, where people here will see the first snow and the most snow. but the entire region will feel the impacts of this holiday storm that's expected to make prethanksgiving travel even more of a headache than usual. all morning long, nbc 10 will bring you new information about the timing of the storm, preparations on the roads and the rails and at the airport on

this busy travel day to get you to your thanksgiving day destination safely. good morning, everyone. welcome to "nbc 10 news today." i'm chris cato. we have live first alert team coverage this morning to help you get ready for this holiday storm to get to your destination safely, starting with meteorologist bill henley and his first alert forecast. what's the situation? >> right on schedule, we're starting with rain, as you showed in cape may. the rain is coming down, and quickly spreading across the area. delaware's reporting rainfall and beach avenue rain is spreading north and west. just rain right now as the temperature's 46 here at nbc 10, but it is a first alert weather day because falling temperatures will change the rain to wet snow. that will happen later this morning and then heavy snowfall at times, especially north and west will make for hazardous travel and potential for power outages from this storm. you can see the wet weather lines up into florida, all up

and down the east coast. it is all rain at this point as the temperatures are just too warm for anything else. the insteadest rain is in delaware and south jersey but is starting to move into the philadelphia area, even allentown, reading and lancaster starting to see the rain drops move in. the temperatures still very warm right now in philadelphia and the rest of the area, too. this is why it is only rain at this time. 50 degrees in the city, 50 degrees in northeast philadelphia. wildwood with rain is 45 degrees. for 30s, you have to go farther north and west to allentown and the pocono mountains, but the numbers will be falling during the day, so we'll start with rain. by 7:00, we should be down to 40 degrees. that's a ten-degree drop in a few hours. 9:00, the trend continues, 37 degrees but just rain, but snow will be developing north and west, and by noontime, we could see the snow falling in philadelphia. we'll go through it hour by hour with the latest future weather when i come back in less than ten minutes, but right now, let's check in with first alert traffic reporter jillian mele. it's going to be a difficult travel day, jillian.

>> yes, it is, for a lot of people. good morning, bill. you mentioned we are seeing rain in parts of the area. this is a live look in dover, route 13 at townsend boulevard. you can see the roads are wet in delaware this morning, so you need to slow down and take your time. good news is we're not report g ing any accidents and not too many people out on the roads, but that will change later in the morning. montgomery county, 422 at the pennsylvania turnpike, we had some construction on the westbound side overnight. that has since wrapped up. so, 422 is clear right now. and this is just a mess, new jersey transit has cross-honoring in effect today, so keep that in mind. road crews across the tri-state are ready to clear the way for drivers trying to make it safely to their thanksgiving destinations. nbc 10's katy zachry continues our team coverage now at the mid-county toll plaza in plymouth meeting, montgomery county. what's penndot's game plan? >> reporter: we went to penndot's control and command

center yesterday, not far from here at the mid-county toll plaza. and i can tell you that penndot crews have been working for weeks to prepare for the first winter storm. they say as soon as this storm starts, whether it's snow or rain, they will begin treating the roads. here's the mid-county toll plaza. the rain -- you can't say the rain has started, but it is starting to sprinkle, so we are feeling the effects of the storm rolling through. the temperature has dropped significantly since we started our work day. and we're typically out on the roads at this time, and i can tell you, there is a lot more traffic we're seeing on the roads this morning. on our way here, we stopped at a convenience store in conshohocken, caught up with some drivers. here's what they're saying about their travel plans. do you think more people were on the roads yesterday because of the weather we're expecting today? >> yeah, probably. >> that's probably why i hit the traffic at the time that i did, because people probably were worried about the weather, because usually at 7:00 i don't hit any traffic, but there actually was, like, an unusual

amount. >> reporter: and coming up in the next half hour, you will hear more from the penndot spokesperson about their plan for this morning's storm, including if you have to be out on the roads when this storm hits, the safest place for you as a driver to be when you're out on the roads during the storm. that's coming up in about 25 minutes. reporting live at the mid-county toll plaza, katy zachry, nbc 10 news. >> katy, thanks. just like penndot, the philadelphia streets department has a game plan in place for clearing city streets today. workers will use 70 vehicles to spread salt and crews will also make sure the parade route is clear for thanksgiving morning tomorrow morning. a live look at 30th street station now in philadelphia. if you are taking the train today, you could expect to run into some delays. give yourself a little extra time. amtrak expects a record number of riders to head out and come into town for thanksgiving. amtrak plans to have extra trains running up and down the northeast corridor. and from trains we go now to planes and nbc 10's jesse gary

live at philadelphia international airport. jesse, what is the airport doing to get ready for this storm and the storm of travelers headed that way? >> reporter: chris, good morning. first and foremost, no problems at the airport right now, which is a good thing. we arrived about an hour ago, and we have seen the lines come and go as passengers are being dropped off, and it's also drizzling a little bit, so it's just starting right now. now, we're at the terminal e, the drop-off point. you can see people being dropped off there, and then they make their way inside the terminal here, and you can see this is where you'll see little bit more of the lines. you see southwest, delta, people checking in for their flights. i checked in with airport officials about their plans for inclement weather and the spokesperson says crews are on standby for when rain changes into snow. >> we watch the forecast very closely. we work in close concert with the airlines to make sure that everybody's on the same page and ready to go. >> reporter: and coming up in the next hour, we're going to take a look at the checkin

process upstairs by the security lines at tsa and then i'll detail how they make sure all of the runways stay operational when it starts to snow. live inside at the airport, jesse gary, nbc 10 news. >> all right, jesse. now, if you are flying out today or picking up someone at the airport, this is a handy number to keep in your cell phone to check the status of your flight. philadelphia international airport's toll-free number. and remember, you can get realtime weather information no matter where you're traveling through the free nbc 10 first alert weather app. download it before you go at nbc10.com. 7 minutes after 4:00 now. let's turn our attention to ferguson. another night of protests there, nothing like the destruction we saw monday night after the grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in the shooting death of unarmed teen michael brown. >> yes, they're smashing the windows. >> last night, protesters again torched a police cruiser, but police armed in riot gear

quickly confronted the group. hundreds of protesters faced off with police and the national guard outside the ferguson police department. 1,500 more national guardsmen were on the streets last night compared to monday night. and now let's take a live look at ferguson here. where you can see pretty calm right now. the streets are calm. police presence heavy still there. police did arrest 44 people overnight, which is actually more than they arrested monday night, even though monday night's crowd caused much more damage. nbc 10's tracy davidson is in our digital operations center again monitoring this for us. tracy, we found demonstrations in 170 cities across the country yesterday, including philadelphia. >> right, chris. here locally, they chanted and marched through the streets for hours and tensions grew when the protesters sat down. they stopped and sat down outside a police district. >> who do you really protect, huh? it ain't us! >> emotions ran high in philadelphia last night. hundreds of people marched through the streets and held a sit-in at the 9th district

headquarters. two hours earlier, another rally near temple's campus. many protesters there demanded that police officers across the country wear body cameras. >> you know, there's a lot of, like, typical logistics involved in that, but it seems like a great step in the right direction of accountability. >> police say through night two of philadelphia's ferguson protests, the crowds remained largely peaceful. now, major arteries in the nation's two largest cities were closed with protesters yesterday. this was last night in new york city. demonstrators marched down broadway and blocked the entrance to the lincoln tunnel, causing gridlock for hours there. a similar scene earlier in los angeles. intersections but generally we'll continue to monitor the live in the digital operations center, tracy davidson, nbc 10 news. >> and stay with nbc 10 and nbc10.com for the latest developments in ferguson and in philadelphia. coming up in less than ten minutes, we have reaction from both sides. we'll hear from michael brown's father and from officer darren wilson.

now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> well, it has begun. the rain has started to fall in the area, and we will get a rainy start across the board for all locations. but it's not going to stay as rain, as the temperatures will be dropping. and these falling temperatures will change the rain to snow and heavy snowfall, especially likely north and west. and that's where we'll likely see the first snowfall this morning. right now, the temperature's just too warm for anything but rain. clouds over reading. you heard katy zachry mention a few sprinkles in the city. 50 degrees right now in philadelphia, but rain is falling in atlantic city, where the temperature's down to 44 degrees. that 50 will not last. the signal's breaking up a little bit, but you can make out beach avenue in cape may. it is a rainy scene this morning. maybe that isn't a breakup. maybe it's just water on the lens. so far, no rain or snow in the pocono mountains. they've done a great job clearing off -- well, they

probably didn't have any snow to begin with on the picnic tables. most of that is manmade at camelback, but we will have a clear view of the accumulating snowfall during the day from this live camera. look at the moisture. philadelphia starting to see the rain move in, but it lines up well to the southwest. this storm system is going to be with us all day long and into this evening. and by later in the afternoon, it should be all snow for philadelphia and areas north and west, but there's going to be a period in between where it's a mix of rain and snow. rain falling through new jersey, into delaware, and the sprinkles have started in philadelphia and quickly moving towards reading and lancaster. at first, there is dry air, so some of it is evaporating before it hits the ground, so that changes. we'll get rain. future weather, hour by hour. 7:00, all rain. 8:00 this morning, all rain. now, look what happens between 8:00 and 9:00. here comes the first snow in the northern and western suburbs as the temperature cools and we will see snow maybe mixing with some rain at that time.

but as the cooling continues, look at the snowfall from the northern and western suburbs. that's at 10:00 this morning all the way into the pocono mountains, and the snow will continue to accumulate during the day. so, it's going to be a messy situation, getting worse as the day goes on because of this, falling temperatures. 40 degrees to start with because of the rain and then dropping down into the low 30s, hovering right around the freezing mark this afternoon. when i come back in less than ten minutes, we'll take a look at what this storm system will leave behind when it comes to snow. >> and of course, it hits on the busiest travel day, one of the top two, at least, busiest travel days of the year. we saw katy zachry earlier showing us it looks like more cars are on the road this hour. first alert traffic reporter jillian mele has an update on what drivers could face. >> it looks pretty empty here in the lehigh valley, a live look at route 22, right near 4th street and the toll bridge. you can see cones are set up in both directions, so we have some of the normal construction out there that we're used to seeing in the overnight hours.

all of that construction hasn't been put to a halt as preparation for the storm. 76, just a few minutes ago, we had construction. we had a road crew blocking the left lane on the westbound side right near girard. that construction just cleared in the last few minutes. it's actually heading west on 76 right now located right near montgomery drive. that's kind of a roving crew that we have on 76. but you can see drivers out there pretty typical for what we're used to seeing at this hour. and speeds are looking pretty good. they're average right now. that's what we're dealing with. 55 miles per hour you can see is the average speed on 76, on 95 and then 64 is what we're seeing right now on pennsylvania turnpike. chris? >> all right, jillian, 4:13 now and our coverage of the holiday storm continues next. we have a live interview from delaware. we're going to ask del dot what's the best time to travel through the state today. plus, ferguson police officer darren wilson breaks his silence about shooting michael brown to death. will is lay on his conscience? his answer may surprise you, next.

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a reminder that we are connected for life. we are penn state, making our mark on the world. i'm first alert meteorologist bill henley. it is a windy start this morning and rain is moving in. those are northerly winds that are going to cool things down during the day. so, even though we're looking at rain right now, it will be a snowy scene later on. right now 49 at 4:16. and as we know, road crews all over the area are preparing to deal with whatever this storm brings to the roadways. joining us now live on the phone is jim westoff with deldot. jim, it's been at least march since we've talked to you. are you ready this early in the season? >> yes, we're ready. our trucks are inspected, people are ready to go. we have a lot of salt, a lot of supplies. our folks are ready and we're good to go. >> all right, so, what do you

expect in delaware today? i know you're watching the radar and the forecast very closely. what do you expect and when do you think your trucks will get out there on the road and start doing some preparation? >> well, this is a challenge because it's starting as rain and moving from rain to snow, so we can't pretreat the roads because we put salt down, it will just wash away with the rain. we have to preposition our trucks throughout the state and immediately when it starts to switch to snow, we have to immediately start applying the salt. >> so, you have to be poised there with your trucks, just ready to attack once that starts falling. jim, even without this storm, this is one of the busiest travel days of the year, so what times would you suggest for drivers that are driving through delaware? what are the best times to avoid getting into a jam? >> they should leave as early as possible, like right now. we're talking about, you know, the snow showing up later in the day, so as soon as you can get on the road, please do. and when you do get on the road,

please give yourself extra travel time so you can relax and not have to speed and drive unsafely. >> great advice, and i'm certain drivers are heeding that this morning. and those who can't leave early, it may be best for them to wait until everything passes, wouldn't you agree? >> yes. it is going to be a relatively short event, i think, in terms of the snow. so, we can maybe hold off until the roads are a little bit in better shape before we head out. >> we know you'll be getting the roads in shape. jim westoff with deldot this morning, letting us know about preparations in delaware. thank you. >> thank you. >> we have just a few, a handful of school closures this morning because of the approaching storm. you can count on nbc 10 to alert you if your child's school closes or gets out early or starts on a delay, not just for this storm, but for any bad weather. just sign up for school closings at nbc10.com and we will alert you via text or e-mail. 4:18 now. and calm has returned to the streets of ferguson, missouri. a live look again as you continue to see the police presence there, police

patrolling the area after a second night of protests following that grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer for the shooting death of michael brown. last night's protests were not as violent as monday night, when looters broke into stores and people set fire to at least 12 buildings, set police cruisers on fire. there is no excuse for that destruction. that's what president obama said about the arson, rioting and looting in ferguson. he says those responsible should be prosecuted. >> and to those who think that what happened in ferguson is an excuse for violence, i do not have any sympathy for that. i have no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities. >> and the president also said many people are frustrated because they feel laws are not always enforced fairly in communities of color, something michael brown's father agrees with. >> it just lets me know that where we live is not what we

thought or what i thought. is what people have been saying all the time, that this was a racist state. >> officer darren wilson's supporters claim he followed his training and the law, but federal investigators are looking at whether officer wilson violated michael brown's civil rights. officer wilson broke his silence last night. wilson said his confrontation with michael brown will not haunt him. he said "the reason i have a clean conscience is because i know i did my job right." our coverage of the ferguson protests continues at 4:30 with the change happening in a new jersey town following the grand jury's decision not to press charges in the michael brown case. now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> rain is moving in, wind is picking up, and wind is going to bring us colder air during the day. you can see the flags blowing in front of 30th street station. a few sprinkles in the city, steadier rain in delaware and south jersey. 50 degrees right now in

philadelphia. that's why we're only looking at rain. but there's some colder weather already moving in north and west. just a steady rain for cape may. in fact, that's where some of the steadier rain is this morning, but that will move into the rest of the area and leads to some heavy snowfall. northeast philadelphia also at 50. look at the middle 40s for new jersey, and to the north, trenton is at 44, 47 in wilmington. but north and west is where all the action is going to be today. 40s right now for brandywine and fair meadow farm, but look at coatesville, down to 39 degrees, and not alone. gl glenmore is down to 37 degrees. currently 39 in chester springs. the temperatures are already cooling to the west, and that's why we're going to see snow start there, and that's where we're going to see the greatest accumulations as a result of that colder weather. satellite shows this is a massive storm system up and down the east coast. there is the rain that's moving in. it's only rain to our south, but look what develops as we go through the morning. 11:00 this morning, snow from

the i-95 corridor north and west to the pocono mountains, while a steady rain in new jersey and delaware. by later this afternoon, might see some mixing during the afternoon. that's 5:00 this afternoon, while steady snow continues north and west. this system is going to drag in some warmer air aloft. so, even though at the surface it's still going to be cold, it will make for a slushy mess. and as this pulls away from our area late this evening, look what it leaves behind. that snow is going to be heaviest to the north and west. so, the forecast is calling for rain and then snow as the temperatures fall. we'll see it hovering near the freezing mark for much of the afternoon, but a very mild morning with winds gusting to 30 miles an hour. stand by for that wind to keep the cold air in place for tomorrow as well. anything on the ground will be frozen to the ground, as temperatures will drop below freezing overnight tonight and stay chilly during the day, but we will see a dry day for thanksgiving. so, if you have to get out and

about, it shouldn't be a problem. but this morning, right now is probably the best time to move out. >> and you gave us your briefing in the newsroom before the show started. it was interesting, i thought, that we may see the snow falling, and then it may stop, but that doesn't mean it won't come back, perhaps later in the afternoon. >> we'll still see precipitation, but there is going to be a period where the storm system is trying to bring in warmer air, probably in the early afternoon. so, we may see kind of a mix of rain and snow or snow may be falling and then back to rain and then back to snow. that's in the i-95 corridor. those northern and western suburbs, it should be all snowfall for most of the day, and that's why we're seeing a significant snowfall there. >> yeah, some pretty impressive totals up north. all right, thank you, bill. more from you later, obviously. our nbc 10 first alert meteorologists will be tracking this storm all day. we're ready for it. if you can't be in front of your television all day, which, obviously, we prefer, but if you can't do that, you can still get the information you need. follow our team on twitter. you see all of their twitter handles on your screen.

you can get expert advice and updates anywhere you are. also get expert advice on traffic by following jillian mele on twitter. she's always putting out stuff. nothing on your feed right now, hopefully. >> nothing too major right now, chris. it's still pretty quiet, as we're used to during the 4:00 hour. center city, philadelphia, the vine street expressway, notice the roads are not really wet, but they are definitely starting to get that damp glow that we can see there. that's a good indication that that rainfall is coming down, maybe light right now in philadelphia, but it's definitely the roads are getting wet in the philadelphia area. now, we do have something i want to mention on the pennsylvania turnpike eastbound, right at ft. washington. we have the two right lanes blocked. there was an accident that happened around midnight. the accident has been cleared, but as a result, we still have some cleanup work going on, so just watch for those crews if you are headed out in that direction. parts of south jersey, roads are really wet. this is route 9 at route 50. what a difference from philadelphia to south jersey and portions of delaware. one mass transit note to pass along. if you are planning to use new jersey transit this morning, in

fact, all day today, systemwide cross-honoring is going to be in effect. chris? a local attorney is accused of having a 14-year-old sex slave. next, what the girl told a grand jury that has them wondering about other victims. plus, a lawsuit against a popular restaurant chain. why customers klain t.g.i. fridays isn't being honest about its drinks.

4:27. a philadelphia lawyer faces years in prison, accused of paying for a 14-year-old sex slave. brian meehan turned himself in yesterday. prosecutors say meehan brought the girl to his center city office more than 20 times in 2012. prosecutors say the girl testified to a grand jury that

meehan knew her age and said he also had sex with a 12-year-old. >> i believe there is a very special place in hell for men like brian meehan that rape 12 and 14-year-old girls. >> authorities say a germantown couple actually forced that 14-year-old and four other girls into prostitution. all of them are now safe. as for the couple, they're in custody as part of a separate grand jury investigation. now your nbc 10 first alert weather. >> rainy start this morning. rain will be moving into the pocono mountains, then changing to snow. significant accumulation of 8 to 12 inches for the ski resorts. right now 49 degrees here at nbc 10 at 4:28. jillian mele is watching traffic. good morning, jillian! >> good morning, bill. and before we see that snow, we have that rain in portions of the area. a live look in delaware, route 1 at the dover toll plaza. the roads are wet, but they are clear. coming up in a few minutes, i'll check some of your drive times.