we're seeing right now. this is the eastern edge of a gigantic storm, same thing that produced a blizzard in new mexico and parts of texas. we have cloudy skies now, the temperatures above freezing across most of the area, so we're in good shape, but lehigh valley northward you see the pink, that is some sleet. most of it not reaching the ground yet, but some of it is, and it will have a greater and greater chance of doing that as it goes hour after hour and eventually saturates the rest of the atmosphere. it's dry near the ground. that's why it's not all reaching the ground. and there's not that much to the south and west. going to have to see this fill in as the night goes on and it will. precipitation is going to get heavier towards day break. that's why there's a winter weather advisory for the pocono mountains, a combination of snow, but mostly sleet and freezing rain there. lehigh valley and berks county, more of a borderline situation

because the temperature is going to be borderline. as you can see over the next several hours, we have the sleet up to the north, but it does not expand across the rest of the area. our issue, heavy rain. timing of that with the rest of the seven day in a few minutes. the poconos are welcoming the first signs of winter after a slow start to the ski season there. doug shimell is live tonight with more on how parts of the poconos and the lehigh valley are preparing for the wintery weather. doug, they've been wanting it. >> reporter: exactly, and we've got some sleet, we have ice pellets earlier, now some sleet and cold rain, but either way, penn dot says they are planning on an overnight patrol to take care of whatever starts accumulating on the ground, if anything. the lack of cold has convinced a lot of people that winter isn't coming. >> people see snow on the ground, they know to avoid travel or they are out there or drive carefully. when you don't see it, maybe

don't realize it's ice, people think it's fine, drive normally, and that can be dangerous. >> reporter: the first forecast for sleet and freezing rain in the lehigh valley has slapped drivers back into reality. >> doesn't look like it's going to be much of a plowing operation, looks like we're going to be out there salting, laying down material, going to keep the roads from freezing up. >> the wirnlt for playing catchup was nice while it lasted. >> really bodes well for being able to do preventive maintenance. >> reporter: penndot says the days of that catching up are probably just about done. they fear the real winter cycle has come back, this being the start of it. live in south whitehall township, doug shimell, nbc 10 news. >> and penndot is prepared for our first round of winter weather. more than 440 snow plow trucks will be on call in the philadelphia five-county region, and penndot has stockpiled

120,000 tons of salt at 35 different locations. the snow plow trucks are equipped with computerized salt spreaders that allow the operators to regulate the amount of salt to be distributed on the roads. track the changing conditions of the wintery weather on our nbc 10 app. download it for free to get severe weather updates and traffic alerts on your smartphone. philadelphia's district attorney wants an appeals court to take another look at a local catholic church abuse case after a church official's conviction was overturned last week. d.a. seth williams says he's asking for a rehearing of monsignor william lynn's case before the full state superior court. a three-judge panel last week awarded a new trial to lynn. deanna durante found out what the d.a.'s actions could mean for the future of this case. >> i think that we have to do all that we can to show philadelphians that we're going to protect philadelphians, especially when an institution uses institutional power to

shield pedophiles. >> reporter: philadelphia d.a. seth williams says the decision is wrong, he's asking for an entire panel of nine judges to hear the case and decide once and for all on the conviction of monsignor william lynn. >> we had to show all these other acts, all the things that showed monsignor lynn knew how dangerous it was to put a pedophile into a school, with children. >> reporter: the defense argued the so-called bad acts were unfairly admitted at trial. lynn was the first u.s. church official convicted in the sex abuse scandal. a jury found because he moved suspected pedophile priests around, he endangered children. now williams wants the court to end the debate on the case. and he wants lynn to continue serving his three to six-year sentence. lynn's attorney is asking he be released on bail pending the outcome of the case. >> a philadelphia jury of 12 men and women heard all of the

evidence, and after thoughtful deliberation found defendant lynn guilty of endangering the welfare of a child. >> reporter: d.a. williams says he expects to hear back from the superior court in the next 60 days. he says if it's denied, he'll go straight to the pennsylvania supreme court. in center city, deanna durante, nbc 10 news. new at 6:00, undocumented immigrants living in delaware have a new resource to help them get behind the wheel. a new website launched today allows delaware residents without documentation to sign up for a driving permit. there are a few requirements that must be met to qualify, but the online portal should speed things along. >> there are many, many steps before you can get privilege driving cars. first of all, two years of taxes under your belt, so if you have never been claimed on a tax form, you are still two years away from even making an appointment with the dmv. >> and that's only the first step.

dmv has a list of requirements for the permit on their website. make sure you read them before making an appointment. from our lehigh valley bureau, a murder-suicide is under investigation tonight in berks county. police confirmed to nbc 10 that the bodies of a man in his 50s and a woman in her 30s were found by a relative in mount penn today. nbc 10 learned the man and woman were a couple. pennsylvania governor tom wolf says he will make an announcement tomorrow about the state's budget. efforts to pass a bipartisan budget package stalled last week. instead, the senate sent wolf the main appropriations bill in an effort to get money flowing to schools and social service agencies again. the bill includes hundreds of millions less than what governor wolf wanted for schools. the pennsylvania house and senate have no plans to return to harrisburg this week. governor wolf tweeted "the gop budget underfunds schools and will lead to a $95 million

cut in funding." count on nbc 10 to bring governor wolf's announcement from harrisburg tomorrow. amazon has a new way to move packages. the lehigh valley airport is part of the project. according to the morning call, amazon.com is conducting a pilot program at the airport that could change the way it distributes packages around the globe. the secret operation is called aerosmith. the program could make amazon less reliant on fedex, ups, and the u.s. postal service. happening now, a rally for justice nearly one year after police in cumberland county shot and killed a black man after a traffic stop. some demonstrators are gathered in honor of jeremy reid. two police officers shot and killed reid on december 30th of last year. reid had his hands up, but ignored police when they told him to stay in the car. a grand jury decided earlier this year not to indict the officers. reid's family called for a

federal and civil rights investigation after the decision. new at 6:00, auto service giant bridgestone has two weeks from tomorrow to complete the purchase of philadelphia-based pep boys. the deal would give bridgestone pep boys tires, fleet service, and warehouse businesses, plus more than 800 pep boy stores and other garages. the sale could put hundreds of jobs in jeopardy. the future is looking bright for a group of kids in south philadelphia. a popular playground is about to get an entirely new look. mayor michael nutter, councilman johnson, and philadelphia eagles connor barwin took part in a ceremony on south 24th street. the 7.5-acre site will soon include basketball courts, playground, fitness trails, and multipurpose field surfaced with new turf. taking a live look from the blue cross riverrink at penn's landing, the conditions are better for ice skating than they were last week.

in just three nights, crowds will gather to ring in the new year. nbc 10 is helping your family celebrate 2016 with fireworks along philadelphia's water front. this year's sugar house new year's eve fireworks display will be televised live on nbc 10 and telemundo 62 at 6:00 thursday night. it's going to be a cold start to the new year, but not before the temperatures go back up again tomorrow. i'm tracking the changes, plus the system bringing the mix of snow and rain and sleet in my exclusive first alert forecast. she heard, oh, crap, they have a dog. and took off. >> two would-be burglars didn't make it very far when they came face to face with a family dog. how precious the pit bull stepped in to save a local family's home next on nbc 10 news at 6:00. plus, did you receive one of these for christmas this year? so popular. how a local family's hoverboard destroyed parts of their home

and what you should do if you have one under your tree.

tracking our first signs of

winter weather making its way into the area. camelback resort making snow on the mountain. the poconos could see real flakes of snow tonight. chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is tracking the system and what you can expect. his full forecast in just a few minutes. a dog named precious saved the day for one delaware family saturday night in newcastle county. a pair of burglars apparently missed the beware of dog sign and kicked in the front door. the home owner's sister was alone inside. she opened up precious' crate and the pit bull chased the burglars away. >> my sister said she heard, "oh, crap, they have a dog." and took off. >> the would-be burglars left in a light colored sedan with tinted windows. if you have any information you should, of course, call new castle police. one of the hottest gifts on christmas wish lists this year

is apparently too hot to handle. this is what we're talking about here. a jersey shore family found out the hard way when their son unwrapped the popular hoverboard and it exploded. nbc 10 jersey shore reporter ted greenberg found out what you should do if you received a hoverboard as a gift this year. >> i saw pieces flying everywhere. >> reporter: 11-year-old craig says he was terrified when the smart balance wheel he had just gotten for christmas exploded and burst into flames in the living room of his family's home around 8:30 last night. >> they were just on fire, it was huge flames. and i was really scared, so i just ran outside. >> it sounded like an actual bomb went off. >> reporter: craig and his mom say the $400 device often called a hoverboard was being charged at the time. their older son put out the fire with an extinguisher, but not before the blast and flying debris burned the carpet and

part of the kitchen floor. luckily, no one was hurt. >> you think it's not going to happen to you, but it can happen. this is a very dangerous toy. >> it appears an explosion occurred somewhere in the area of the batteries that were on the charge to the unit. >> reporter: that is consistent with similar reports from across the country of the hugely popular self-balancing boards exploding while being charged. the consumer products safety commission is now investigating 22 reports of hoverboard fires in at least 17 states, including new jersey and pennsylvania. >> we have the user manual here, there's a warranty card and other information, but nowhere does it tell you an address or the manufacturer of this product. and that should raise some concerns immediately. >> i would advise any parent to send it back to the company. >> reporter: experts are urging people to charge the board in dry, open areas, preferably outside, and only when they can be closely watched.

i'm ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. unseasonably warmer temperatures mean profits for some businesses, while for others it's cutting into the bottom line. they had to lay off two employees because of business is so slow during this time of year. the company relies on snow removal and truck repairs. >> you have your trucks and equipment sitting around, you know, and the more they sit around, they are not making money and you're paying on them. >> meanwhile, golf courses are making a profit thanks to the warmer than normal conditions. more people taking advantage of those late season tee times. we have at least one more day of mild temperatures before a cold start to the new year, and parts of our area could see sleet tonight, glenn. >> yeah, jacqueline, we're also going to be seeing a big change in the weather pattern. the winners and losers are going to get reversed, i think, through the month of january. it's going to actually be winter around here. we have some snow and sleet

around the area tonight, mostly sleet for those areas to the north. i don't think there's going to be very much snow. we're tracking heavy rain, some of it for the morning rush, and that may be the main problem for the morning rush. and we're going to be seeing the cold new year out there. we have dry conditions across most of the area. once in a while we get a little raindrop or ball of sleet, but the temperatures well above freezing, it's 43 degrees in philadelphia. it's an east wind at 13 miles an hour, wind chill is 36. if we had a north wind or northeast wind, be a little bit more concerned about the temperatures. it's 38 in westchester, 37 in pottstown, 39 in allentown. so now we've gotten down into the 30s, and now we see how low they are going to get during the night tonight. have to watch them closely and see what's going on at 11:00 tonight. when i'll be back to take another look at that. 38 degrees in westchester.

we're not only going to get to 32, in most cases we'll have to go below that because the roads have been so warm because it's been so warm. we're in the mid 40s elsewhere. 20 to 25 degrees colder than it was at this time yesterday. and we have a couple more weather advisories, one for the poconos, that one looks like it's a pretty good bet there are going to be slippery conditions and temperatures well below freezing, sleet, some freezing rain, more marginal berks county and the lehigh valley with the temperatures kind of critical. the only place on the ground of the official airport stations reporting anything, lancaster, light rain right now. a lot of this that you see on the radar is not reaching the ground yet, low levels of the atmosphere are pretty dry. as you can see, that's a significant area of sleet, and if it hangs around long enough, comes down, saturates the rest of the ground, and all of a sudden it's reaching the ground. this is, of course, the heavier

rain, way back to the west. and as we go through hour by hour, you'll see these temperatures in the 30s and getting closer to the freezing mark as we go toward the middle of the night. and the precipitation gets heavier. that's when we may have the issue. watch what happens, go toward morning, it's warming up. it's 42 degrees in allentown by 7:00 a.m. still freezing in the poconos, but that's the issue, and look at that rain. that's pretty significant, and by 9:00 a.m., 67 degrees in dover. it's 43 degrees in allentown. tremendous contrast across the area tomorrow. now the rain developing tonight, that wintery mix generally a high of 76, 48 degrees by morning in philadelphia, 35 north and west. i think the computer may be overestimating the warming, but it's still going to be warm enough. and near 50 before it starts getting colder tomorrow, 70 in southern areas. rain in the morning dries out in

the afternoon, another system with rain late wednesday and into early thursday, just rain, and then we start getting colder. just in time for the new year's day and it stays cold, seasonably cold after that. thanks, hurricane, i'm john clark. coming up, chip kelly says he is not the gm of the eagles. very interesting comments from chip today, plus why the dab should be dead. that is next.

this is sports desk brought to you by xfinity. change the way you experience tv. hey, i'm john clark from comcast sportsnet. the eagles season finale sunday

is not meaningless. the loser goes to london, will have to travel to london next year for a road game against the rams. chip kelly's eagles are going in the wrong direction. since chip came to philly three years ago, the defense is giving up 388 yards a game. that is the worst in the nfl. they've given up 89 touchdown passes, only the redskins have given up more. the offense is scoring less and less and since last season the eagles have the most turnovers in the nfl. the eagles are 6-9, so chip, isn't this a bad football team? >> it didn't go our way, but i don't think we're a bad football team, not by any stretch. and i can point to plays and i think we're not consistent that we need to be consistent and i don't think we've done a good enough job to put them in position to make plays. i don't think we need to revamp this entire group of guys, because i think we have really, really good guys. >> chip got full control of the football decisions this past off-season. listen to what he said today.

>> i'm not the general manager, so i don't run our personnel department, i'm not in charge of scouting, i didn't tell our scouts where they are going, you know, ed does a great job of that. i was in control of the roster, now of a 90-man roster, but all the decisions made in season, we always went over who was available. my job has never changed. >> chip is in charge, believe me. sixers tonight in utah without jahlil okafor, his knee is sore. they do expect him back wednesday night. sixers are 1-6 with smith. the reporter says she stands by her story. ryan's lawyer says he will sue over the false claims. flyers gave up two power play goals last night in anaheim. a lot of flyers in the penalty box, flyers lost 4-2, like a phone booth. back to the nfl, it was cool

when cam newton was doing the dab, but they've got to end it now. here's the evidence. exhibit a, redskins general manager celebrating after their win over the eagles clinching the division, that is ugly. then andy reid going to the playoffs again in kansas city, but big red, this is really jumped the shore, hasn't it? the dab has got to be dead. take a look at this, yesterday rams punter taking a cheap shot, when an opponent isn't looking, pushing avril to the turf, but on his next punt, watch him. he's going to cower here and take a look on the next punt, this is great stuff. look at this. oh, oh, and michael bennett says he squealed like a little girl. like when your brother comes up, takes a shot at you, then when you run after him, he goes tomommy. i'm john clark, we're right back.

the 70s are long gone. >> that's right, we have a wintery mix in the northern

areas tonight and heavy rain for the morning rush. >> for glenn "hurricane" schwartz and all of us here, i'm jacqueline london. the news continues now with "nbc nightly news." good night. . tonight, triple threat. blizzard conditions, tornados, flash floods. 100 million americans at risk with a storm that has already killed dozens. no charges. a grand jury does not indict the rookie police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old tamir rice. tonight many are outraged. the first look into the chicago home where police accidentally killed a mother of five. now embattled mayor rahm emanuel cuts his vacation short to face the fallout. peyton manning hits back. the nfl superstar telling nbc sports he may take legal action over doping allegations while the reporter who accuses him will not back down. and flight risk. dozens of deaths lead