good morning. olympic excitement. the 2018 olympic winter games officially under way with an opening ceremony that wowed the crowd and the world. south korean culture on full display with thousands of athletes marching in the parade of nations. team usa athletes proudly sporting the red, white and blue. and athletes from north and south korea coming together in a show of unity. today, a surprising offer from north korean leader kim jong un to the south koreans hours after his sister sat behind vice president mike pence. the two never talking. now with the opening ceremony in the history books, it's time for the world's befst athletes to

show what they're made up with the first medals won and the olympic competition shifts in high gear in pyeongchang, south korea. today, saturday, february 10th, 2018. ♪ >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games. >> welcome to a special edition of "today." thanks for joining us on this saturday morning. i'm craig melvin in pyeongchang, south korea. sheinelle is back in new york holding down the fort there. dylan dreyer was supposed to be here with me in south korea today. she is a little under the weather. we are sending her serious get well wishes. sheinelle jones, what do you think of the opening ceremony? >> i have to tell you it was

electric. i cannot imagine being there in person. i let my kids stay up to watch it. it was electrici. this was my favorite part. it was the spectacle. >> it was. seeing it firsthand, seeing that part right there, watching that in the stadium on the screens was pretty impressive. of course, the olympic winter games. that's our top story this morning. opening ceremony was a spectacular show here in south korea. it was a superbly choreographed nod to the country's culture and history. filled with a diz tazzling disp of fireworks. athletes from 90 countries going for the gold. there is already some controversy in the games happening against the back drop of political tension as well. nbc's keir simmons is not far

here in olympic park. hey, keir. >> craig, good morning. as the opening ceremony got under way, another stunning development. supreme leader of north korea inviting the leader of south korea here. a key u.s. ally to visit the north. unprecedented invitation. all thou although the relations may turn to freezing after the games. with the lighting of the olympic cauldron, the olympic games are officially under way. >> reporter: friday night's opening ceremony showcased inspiring displays of korean culture of past and present with drumming and dancing and spectacle. >> united states of america. >> reporter: the stars of team usa, the largest delegation in game's history, poured into the stadium with high spirits leading her team, four-time

olympian erin hamlin. >> the thought? >> don't drop the flag is the big one. >> reporter: the opening ceremony was time to celebrate despite the frigid temperature. >> bermuda. >> reporter: once again, tonga's flag bearer shirtless like he did two years ago in rio. he switched from tae kwon do to skiing. >> we were led to believe you would walk out with clothes on. >> polynesians come from the inside out. i was relying on that. it worked. >> reporter: and in a show of unity, the olympic torch was carried by athletes from north and south korea. helping to light the cauldron. among the pageantry, tension. vice president mike pence attending the ceremony. sitting in front of kim yo-jong.

the first member of the kim dynasty to visit the south since the korean war. sharing with the historic handshake and lunch. and kim jong un reciprocated. this as relations between the north and u.s. deteriorate following a year of brazen missile tests and imprisonment and death of student otto warmbier. warmbier's father traveled to the games with the vice president sat down with lester holt. >> was it difficult to see the sister of kim jong un waving and enjoying the moment? >> no, she is in the kim family. we have to put this in context in the spirit of the olympics and why we're here. they are not participating in the olympics when you put it that way. the athletes are not exchange ideas with other athletes in the olympic village or participating. that is a political statement.

this is not political for me. they're treatment of otto is standard. that's the way they do business. >> reporter: the shadow of north korea looming over the games as the world gathers to compete under the bright lights of the olympic flame. >> craig, just time for a quick tour of olympic park. any one time, they expect 40,000 people to be here. events will be held here include speed skating and figure skating, curling and if we turn the camera over here, you will see the ice hockey. over up at the mountain, the first medals. no medals yet for team usa. gold for sweden in cross-country skiing. craig. >> keir, thank you. you can see much more of lester's interview with warmbot warmbi warmbier's father coming up on "nbc nightly news." let's turn to the olympic competition and a lot of big names to watch during the winter

games. rebecca lowe is with nbc sports. rebecca, good morning to you. >> good morning, craig. >> let's start with the speed skating phenom from virginia. we were before the compound before the starting here. we watched her qualify. is she the speed skater to watch from the u.s.? >> i think she certainly is one of them, craig. you will see her in primetime later on make it to the quarterfinals of the 500-meter. her talent, craig, is without question. she came over from ghana to join her father when she was 5 years old. he took her to an ice rink. she figure skated first before they quickly realized she was way too quick. she went to speed skating and the rest is history. she made her olympic debut. if you are looking for a

personality to follow, she is the one. her infectious laugh and infectious smile. she is always happy. she is absolutely one to watch for team usa. >> she is a joy to watch. let's turn to figure skating. always a favorite here at the winter games. nathan chen. a rough go at it yesterday. falling down. finishing fourth. what does chen's fall -- what does it do for the prospects for team figure skating? >> as heartbreaking as it was to see nathan chen not live up to what he would do -- he is an olympic debutante as well. first up on the ice for team usa. the married couple who danced the short program came up well. team usa is sitting in second. we have the short dance coming

up sunday in primetime. also the 20-year-old tennell. she came in a few months ago at skate america. she will dance the short program on monday. craig, still in medal contention. >> and mikaela shiffrin hits the slopes. rebec rebecca, she would compete in all five alpine events. that is realistic? >> she hasn't committed to going in all five just yet, craig. i think more realistically is going for gold in three. slalom in sochi and giant slow la slalom. she was the first athlete to win the giant. she is the most down to earth. she was 18 years old.

down to earth and sweet natured and lovely young girl. she is a 22-year-old young woman. you will see inter fviews with r with mike tirico and katie couric. i think she will be a superstar across the board. >> rebecca lowe, so many to watch. thank you. of course, nbc is your home for the olympics. tune in for team figure skating and the always thrilling men's downhill. it all beginning at 8:00 eastern and 5:00 central. we will have more from pyeongchang. for now, back to sheinelle in new york with the stories. >> craig, thank you. back at home, more turmoil at the white house where another staffer resigned over domestic violence allegations. he strongly denies. white house correspondent kelly o'donnell has the latest. >> reporter: good morning,

sheinelle. unlike rob porter, white house officials say the second individual did a job that did not require security clearance. assigned to an office on environmental quality here at the white house. he previously worked for the republican governor of maine. new overnight, the second white house staffer is out after allegations of domestic violence abuse. speech writer david sorensen. during an ongoing back ground check, his former wife told the fbi he had been violent and emotionally abusive. a white house official responded, we immediately confronted the staffer. he denied the allegations and resigned. sorensen provided a statement. saying in part, i have never committed violence of any kind against any woman. and claimed he had been the victim of repeated physical violence. this comes after scandal rocked the president's inner circle over the handling of senior aide

rob porter's resignatioresignat. after two ex-wives accused him of domestic violence. john kelly gave me an emphatic no friday when i asked if he had offered to resign. kelly told nbc news that he was warned that porter's security clearance was held up late last year. >> in november, i got an update on the investigations. and the update was that there were some things that needed to be looked into. literally that was it. >> reporter: kelly publicly praised porter's character and insisted he found out about the abuse this week. >> tuesday night. >> you found out tuesday night? >> if the accusations are true. >> reporter: kelly called the abuse allegations true, president trump gave porter the benefit of the doubt. >> he says he's innocent and i think you have to remember that. >> reporter: the vice president with lester holt went further.

>> there is no tolerance in the white house. no place in america for domestic violence. >> reporter: there is a new development on the russia investigation. president trump has decided to not declassify the rebuttal memo written by democrats on the house intelligence committee over the fisa court. he ordered the justice department to work with them to deal with sensitive and classified information in the memo. you remember, he did declassify a memo written by the republicans a week ago. a memo he said vindicated him in the russia probe. sheinelle. >> kelly, thank you. the tension in the middle east after the drone launched in air space. the drone was shutdown on scale of a large attack in syria. certi syria responded with aircraft fire forcing two pilots to eject from the f-16 fighter jet. both survived, but one seriously injured. the storm moving across the country is blamed for a

chain-reaction crash in southwest michigan. 16 tractor-trailers and 38 vehicles inn voofvolved in the up. no one was seriously hurt. dave price is in for dylan this morning. dave, what is happening? >> we have activity. more heavy rain beginning to roll through sections of eastern texas and through the gulf coast states. working through the ohio valley and northeast. we have flood watches that affect 41 million people who are at risk with all of this moisture slowly moving and stalled right now. as we head through the day today, there is a slow advance. flooding rain from the gulf coasts through the ohio valley and the rain begins for the northeast with coastal northeast and spreads inland with snowshower activity. keep in mind it is going to be a slow move and that's going to take us through a very rainy sunday in the northeast. we could see upwards of 4 inches of rain beginning to affect the

coastal areas of the northeast. that's a quick look at the nation weather. alhe good morning. we are looking at a rainy forecast getting to noon to 2:00 p.m., the steadier rain moves in. it sticks through the rest of the today and into tomorrow. 50 for the forecast high in center city. our high temperatures are mild. it makes for just a rainy forecast. no ice or snow concerned. 49 ocean city. wilmington the same. that's a quick look at the weather. i was on my way to korea. i went to starbucks and missed the plane. >> maybe next time. you are here with me. thank you, dave. still to come, the art of dressing the part. being on team usa. we are with the olympic athletes as they get decked out in the red, white and blue gear. and out of the world journey

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we are back on this saturday morning "the download." a look back at the week that was. >> the headlines at home were dominated by the fight over the budget deal and scandal surrounding one of the president's top aides accused of domestic violence. a lot of stories as well. including the wild ride all week on wall street. >> market selloff. >> a huge plunge for the dow to start the week. >> this is one for the record books. the dow down 1,175 points. >> the biggest one-day point drop ever. >> bouncing back the next day. >> dow soaring 567 points at the close. >> and then taking big plunges for the week. investors feared by rising

inflation. more trouble for amtrak. >> we derailed and everybody flew to the front of the train. >> the latest in the express speeding to boston when two cars separated from the train. amtrak calling it a mechanical iss issue. no injuries in this incident, but four accidents in two months. a new voyager in space. an astronaut in a tesla roadster. >> beginning in spectacular fashion. a perfect liftoff at kennedy space center. three rockets and engines simultaneously fired to lift the rocket off the pad. moments caught on camera. a scare hit a patch of black ice in connecticut and slammed into the power pole. two inside escaped without being

hurt. police asked this man for a sobriety test. he went above and beyond and attempted a cartwheel, but still failed and arrested for dui. a hungry dog in massachusetts started this fire when he stole a pancake from the stove top. everyone was okay. this dog getting a head rub from the first responder. e-a-g-l-e-s. >> the day after the eagles won the first super bowl, i was back in philly for the victory parade. >> watch the eagles fly. >> sheinelle jones, eagles got the super bowl. congratulations. >> i have never seen so much joy packed into one place. amazing. >> it was. >> see you in a second. still to come, leslie jones from "saturday night live" gives from "saturday night live" gives her take to have strength in life from "saturday night live" gives her take you need one key ingredient... confidence.

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still to come on a special he di -- edition of "today." giving curling a try. and olympic oh, that's lovely... so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless... ...his signature move, the flying dutchman. poetry in motion. and there it is, the "baby bird".

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try head and shoulders' dry scalp care it nourishes the scalp and... ...keeps you up to 100% flake free head and shoulders' dry scalp care the time is 7:26. let's get to our meteorologist with your most accurate neighborhood forecast. >> good morning. everyone with us this morning,

radar and satellite. cloudy conditions right now. if we pull this out wide, soon enough we're talking rainy conditions moving into our area. and it's not just going to be for a short period of time. noon and after all the way through sunday. s of rain really picking up across the rain. in philadelphia, 34 degrees. that gets up to 42 at 10:00 a.m. highs today in the low 50s. the rainy conditions lead to a flood watch that begins tonight. thank you. we are following breaking news this morning police say a guard at philadelphia's correctional facility shot an inmate who was just released from jail. jamar bennett tried to carjack the guard last night. they are both in the hospital. bennett is in critical condition. the guard is in stable condition. >> here's a look at the cauldron

in pyeongchang. we have live coverage of the 2018 coverage resuming today at 3:00. corey clement will be signing autographs at karl's cards and collectibles starting at 4:30. we'll be back with the full hour of news and weather at 8:00. now let's return to the "today" show. have a great morning.

♪ we are back on this saturday morning, february 10th, 2018. a live look at the cauldron there in pyeongchang, south korea where night has fallen on this olympic host city. i'm craig melvin here in pyeongchang. coming up in a minute, we are going to talk to ice dancers madison and evan bates. in addition to being the most america's famous ice dancing duo, they are funny. they are the first athletes we are talking to on "today."

sheinelle, that is the hallmark of our coverage. we talk to them before and after even events. >> i have to tell you, we have been excited about it. after the opening ceremony, that is when you feel it. i'm looking forward to the coverage. >> the excitement is palpable. >> we'll take it. craig, we will have more coming up. first, let's begin this half hour with the check of the headlines and dazzling show of display during the opening ceremony. >> fired up. >> what a magnificent moment. >> fireworks fill the sky over pyeongchang as the xxiii olympic games roar to life with a spectacular opening ceremony. korea culture on full display followed by thousands of athl e athletathlet athletes marching in the display

of nations. >> getting misty? >> for sure. striking gold. sweden takes home the first medal in the biathlon. a second transparenump administration staffer resigns overnight as the president blocks the release of the democratic memo. gone too soon. >> the truth is you will never been president. >> tributes pour in overnight for reg e. cathey. the actor known for husbais rolf "house of cards." cathey dead at the age of 59. and l.l. bean scrapping the lifetime return policy. saying some taking advantage of it. a lot of l.l. bean fans fuming today. saturday, february 10th, 2018. i hahave to tell you, if i had

coat that was 20 years old, i would not think to return it. >> no, no, you wouldn't. you are a better person than that. >> take it away. also this morning, you know, it takes hard work and practice and it takes a lot of determination to become an olympic athlete. while becoming one may take years, looking like a true olympian only takes a few hours thanks to something called team processing. it is a boring name for something that is a lot of fine for the team usa athletes. deep in the hotel in seoul, an army of volunteers at work. their mission? make the american olympians look the part. >> you will want to hit everything on this list. >> check list in hand. athletes hit the changing room. chloe kim tries on the podium outfit. >> i'm sweating. it feels good. >> while figure skater adam

rippon tackles the gear from ralph lauren. >> i'm in good shape. they are pinning in extra small. >> from cowboy gloves. >> i never had gloves to give me bangs. >> to the heated jackets over $2,000. the red, white and blue outfits making it official. they are now part of team usa. >> it hits you when you put on the stuff and look in the mirror. i'm actually here and doing it. >> it only gets more real with the olympic rings. >> shaun white getting the fourth ring for the fourth games and eyeing a fifth. >> i hope to see you in japan. >> while kelly clark has him beat with pyeongchang. she has one for every finger. >> i have gone all in. it's worth it. >> the most popular item on the

list. the least glamorous. >> this is the hottest. the team usa onesie. you can dance. go to the cafeteria. whatever i want. >> after two hours of dress up. >> this is great. thank you. >> the hoodie, footie and items packed in two big bags. destination? pyeongchang. that is an olympic size swag bag, folks. meantime, the ice dancing competition is getting under way in pyeongchang shortly. evan bates and madison are on team usa. they will be on the ice together. before we start talking, this is an olympic snuggie. i assume you have one in the swag bag? >> yes. >> have you rocked in around the village? >> yes. >> yours is huge. >> i got a woman's? >> i didn't realize it until we

got tottenvil tho the village. it fit me perfectly. >> i got a women's medium. one of these is yours. >> you finished eighth in sochi. the next year, you win the world championship. how do we feel about our chances in pyeongchang? >> wonderful. we are so excited to be here. the top three american teams have been in close contention all season long. we feel we have a good chance for a medal. >> you have been dancing together since 2011. a little birdie told me last year you started to see each other off the ice as well. how did that come about? >> well, i pretty much told maddie i loved her. >> oh, my. >> that's what happened wit. we had known each other for more than ten years. we went on a date for her 16th birthday nine years ago. here we are so many years later

skating together and going to the olympics together. last year i told maddie how i felt. that changed things a lot. >> madison, how did that change things on the ice? or did it? >> it did definitely. we have a stronger connection now. we spend so much time together. more than before. it brought us so much closer than i could have imagined. >> you also have a poodle together? >> two poodles. >> what are the poodles names? which one is this? >> in that is stella. that is henry on the right. our two little fluffy nuggets. >> what is watching the poodles? >> my parents. >> best of luck. we enjoy you guys. >> thank you. >> you will be here for valentine's day. any special plans? >> we will be here for valentine's day. no special plans at the moment. maybe when the day arises we

will find something romantic to do. >> that's your cue. >> i know. >> evan and madison, good to see you. good luck. >> thank you. >> team usa ice dancing. by the way. if you want to get an outfit we were talking about and look like a team usa athlete, you can head to today.com for more. sheinelle and dave. >> these outfits? >> i look like an usa athlete. >> that's a small. >> that's a snuggie. >> this is the most comfortable piece of clothing. >> it is comfortable for me. i can fit about 11 other people in it. this is what happens when you don't go to the fitting room. you just order online. >> this is what happens. >> all i'm missing is a diaper. >> can you do the weather? >> here we go. set for the emmy reel. i'll take it from here. come on over. let's look at see what is happening as we get ready for the olympic games.

we check out the venues. gangneung, the olympic park, right by the coastline. temperatures should be terrific. comfortable. lots of sunshine. a lot of indoor arenas and skating complex. we journey into the mountains. this is interesting. watch the temperatures rise. that is going to effect snow conditions as we head to the end of the week. we could see melting and grandular conditions. we will keep an eye on that. for the nation's weather, rain working to the northeast and the messy mix as we head to the central and northern plain states. that's a quick good morning. we are looking at a rainy forecast particularly noon to 2 p.m. the steadier rain moves in and sticks through the rest of the today and into tomorrow. 50 for the forecast high in center city. our high temperatures will be mild. that makes for just a rainy

forecast. no ice or snow concerned. 49 ocean city. wilmingt wilmington, 52. and that's a quick look at the weather. i'll take a nap and see you later. >> i looked at the monitor. comfortable. coming up, "saturday night not at all pets are created the same so naturally not all pet food is either. at petsmart, we understand that different pets need different food. that's why we're always adding new brands like rachel ray nutrish! real food recipes, inspired by rachel ray's kitchen. so, our wide assortment including science diet, blue buffalo and pro plan just got even bigger! petsmart has everything you need for these guys. why shop anywhere else? right boots? petsmart - for the love of pets. let's talk about thisd when we meet next week. edward jones came to manage a trillion dollars in assets

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and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. tide and downy together. we are back on a saturday morning. we're doing our first "trending" ever from pyeongchang. >> how about that? >> dave and sheinelle, you ready? >> ready. >> winter games. they start, of course, and so has leslie jones. she became a smash hit at the 2016 summer games with her absolutely hysterical commentary. the snl star is back at it live tweeting and snapping and

instagraming her olympic gold medal worthy nar atiration. >> all of my meniscus left on that slope. i need to know who is picking these dam on outfits. what the -- is he a little dutch boy? you see the beading in his top? that is magnificent. this is an outfit right here, son. what is this? is this the black panther? >> we will hear more from leslie jones. she is heading to pyeongchang as an official olympic contributor for nbc. >> seriously? >> yes. >> we're all excited. she is coming. >> official situation? >> yes. >> this will become tradition. >> this started in rio. she is brilliant. first of all, no filter. no filter at all. >> and that works.

>> we had to clean up some of that. other olympic trending news. team usa athletes may be looking for love in between the events. that is if a new instagram page is to be believed. check this out. called tinder pyeongchang. it is compelling the olympians on tinder while they are here. so far the account has shown ski jumpers and skaters and snowboarders and bobsledders all looking for love in pyeongchang. >> i'm sure love happens. don't you think? >> oh, love happens. there's a supply of a lot of things. >> #lovehappens. craig. coming up next in south korea, i'm going to head out on the ice for a lesson in curling from a very unusual teacher. but first these messages.

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with three extrairst absorb channels.r shh! they stay up to three times drier so babies can sleep soundly all night pampers ♪ we are back on saturday morning. craig, although you just got to pyeongchang a few days ago, you did not waste time trying out an olympic sport. >> i barely landed and headed to the ice to give curling a try. it is my favorite winter olympic sport. not to oversimplify it. athletes are using brooms to get a giant stone down the ice.

i did gnot get a lesson from th olympic athlete because they are competing. i got one from an nfl player. vernon davis. the star tight end for the redskins has become the biggest and unlikely fan of curling. >> i don't think i'm ready. >> you are not? >> the fact that vernon davis is a curler is still. >> you sound like my teammates. >> it started years ago when a reporter encouraged him to give it a shot. >> she said come out and try it. i go out on the ice and fell in love. >> now he is the honorary curling team captain for team usa. showcasing his skills in music videos that promote the sport. ♪ teach me how to curl >> and now vernon is teaching me how to curl. >> you look like a ballerina.

be more smooth. >> we start with sliding. >> you want to go like this. you want to be in the lunging position. >> see and doing are different. >> one, two. >> let's go back. >> one, two, three. >> there you go. little more. >> at long last. some progress. >> there you go. that's better. that's going to make it. you want to sweep it. there you go. >> oh! >> next, we bust out the brooms and tackle sweeping. that's what they're doing here. looks easy enough, right? >> sweeping 101. basically you want to sweep. put as much pressure as you can just like this. fast. really fast. >> why so fast? >> because the ice is pebble and you want to melt the ice. >> there is one thing vernon left out. >> go, go, go.

come on. >> the yelling part. >> the screaming threw me off. with a growing crowd, we give it another go. >> let's go! let's go! stop, stop. >> perfect. >> wow. >> now thanks in part to an ambassador who fell in love with the obscure cold-weather sport, curling is cool. >> man, you think i'm ready for team usa? >> i think you're ready, buddy. >> i don't think so. >> i think vernon davis lied to my face. >> i think so, too. >> you watch curling on television, dave and sheinelle, it looks easy. >> it is like a swiffer on ice. >> that's the stone. it is 40 pounds. >> he tells you to hurry and you fall. >> he scared me. by the way -- >> those were not good looks for you. >> there was a south korean

curler who fell too. >> when you are scraping the ice, what is it doing? >> you are melting the ice. it helps the stone to move faster across the ice. >> all right. i'll watch it this year. >> i'm looking for you in four years. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

that is going to do it for us on saturday morning. before we go, a quick look at the medal count. south korea just won its first gold medal of the games. coming in first in the short track. here is a look at the medal count right now. netherlands have four. norway. then germany. and south korea. tune in to nbc tonight to see the men's downhill skiing competition and figure skating as well. it all starts at 8:00 eastern.

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worth up to $114. now available at macy's. good morning. >> just ahead today, we are following a breaking news story this morning. gunfire outside a local jail after police say a just released inmate allegedly tried to commit a crime. we'll have the details from holmesburg. and right now it's just clouds. not far from now, rainy conditions. we're talking a soaker for the weekend. we'll look at how much rain you'll see in your neighborhood coming up. welcome to your all access pass to the winter olympics here. i'm going to show you the opening ceremony like you've never seen it from the eyes of our local olympians. and for eagles fans, the moment was priceless but the parade had a cost.

this morning we're learning more about the final total. those stories and much more. >> coming up on nbc 10 news at 8:00.

right now a shooting outside of a philadelphia jail. a newly released inmate tries to carjack a guard in the parking lot. the olympics underway. this morning we'll catch up with local olympians and their families as we look at the opening ceremonies and a look ahead of what's next. first alert radar shows wet weather on the way. when it will reach your neighborhood next in the forecast. nbc 10 news starts now. all things considered, i'm glad we're getting the rain this weekend as opposed to earlier in the week. good morning. this is nbc 10 news today. >> it's now 8:00 on this saturday morning. meanwhile here's a live look at the flags on top of a building

here. a flood watch has rain moves into the area. >> our meteorologist is tracking it. >> yeah. what we're looking at is a quiet picture. there's not a lot going on yet. but we are going to see a big change in what we see currently versus this evening when the rain starts to move in. look at the wider picture. don't be alarmed by the pinks and purples. snow and ice stays to the north. be worried about the green, yellow, red, orks. that's pockets of heavy rain moving in our direction. the southwest flow keeps temperatures mild today. we don't have to worry about anything other than rain. but a lot of rain we will see. temperatures already above freezing. 48 in atlantic city. 36 in philadelphia and 35 in allentown. these numbers just continue to go up with the south wind flow. going to punch the numbers into in some spots the 50s later today. check out the hour by hour

model. through about a