jean jadhon. it's not something to take lightly, 7 days of extremely cold temperatures is expected. first alert meteorologist brent watts is here with what we can expect. tonightor her own or are aging user we get maybe one or two days of the tomb the cold conditions it warms back of this is not can a be the case were also have added win soon soaks we have what's called windchill that for you take the wind factor in the temperatures cold air and that's what it feels like so windchill advisors have been issued for all the areas easy here and paint a pretty much include the rona valley hiding one quarter or new river valley and all the way up across the allegheny highlands this is where it's going to be the coldest what you factor in the temperature along with the when still in a exact is you look at your thermometer in the morning when you wake up it may say no five ten fifty degrees but which is step out into it juergen a field much much colder than that so these

when you wake up early in the morning at the busstop it's can a feel almost like two degrees in royal oak roanoke almost 10 below across hot springs in the theater doesn't warm-up that much all day with that added windsor even in the afternoon it's can feel like ten to fifteen degrees as we go through the afternoon so does make sure you keep data my and just know that you can get hypothermia in a very short amount of time, along with frostbite sue got a keep data my over the next couple days city and a favorite among residents and visitors. now, the hotel is part of hilton's curio collection, something that may attract even more people. wdbj7 anchor, nadia singh is live at the hotel with more. jean, the hotel has been a double tree property for years which is owned by hilton. this will be the first curio hotel in virginia. a distinction that brings a more upscale and luxurious feel. gary walton/general

finding unique, select, independent hotels that have great character, great story, great history." everything this majestic property is known for. the hope is the distinction will draw even more people into its 130 year legacy. chris nassetta/hilton president & ceo "it's a perfect match because the hotel roanoke is such a unique hotel, you walk in, it has an iconic history, well over 100 years, the team here is amazing." curio was launched about 2 years ago and hopes to highlight some of the most distinctive hotels around the world. chris nassetta/hilton president & ceo " the idea with curio is really taking hotels that have really unique attributes, like the hotel roanoke that are almost like a brand onto themselves." and, bring more corporate business into the region, a win-win for everyone including the local economy. david bowers/roanoke mayor "we're in competition with raleigh and greensboro and washington and other locations, williamsburg to bring visitors here for conferences and conventions." with the new distinction comes renovations to all of the guest rooms, the jefferson board

executive lounge. everything from carpet, flooring, fixtures and creature comforts has been alloted for and compliments what has become part of roanoke's identity. imagine driving down i 581 and not seeing that iconic, gothic, st. andrew's catholic church or this tudor style hotel roanoke." the lobby will stay the same and the 6-million dollar renovations, which are being done by local contractors, should be done by summer. but, some bad news for some now. because the double tree name is going away, you won't get those iconic chocolate cookies at check in anymore. i'm told the replacement will be just as good.

continuing coverage now: lawyers are prepared to call 23 witnesses to the stand in ashley white's trial- she's the mother of noah thomas who was found dead in a septic tank near the family home. opening arguments are set to begin in the morning in the case which will now be decided by a judge, not a jury. late last night her lawyer requested a change of venue. after an hour and a half, judge bradley finch agreed to that. move, the commonwealth's attorney offered to change it from a jury to a bench trial- meaning a judge will decide the case.. everyone agreed- and that means the trial stays in pulaski county. that decision came after the two days of jury selection. a longtime giles county lawyer not associated with this case says it is a rare series of events. richard chidester/giles county attorney: "just the change of venue is unusual. you normally only have that in a high profile case that gets a lot of publicity." "it's the first time i've ever heard of a case where the court granted that motion and then everybody argreed on a bench

he says keeping it in pulaski county also saves taxpayers money. white initially requested a jury trial. coming up at six, find out why white may benefit from a judge deciding her case. the altavista police department is trying to repair its relationship with the community, following the arrest of its former chief. kenneth walsh is facing 20 felony counts. state police accuse him of embezzling money from the police department, forging public documents, and obtaining drugs in a fraudulent way according to search warrants. walsh worked at the altavista police department for 15 years and served as chief from two - 20- 13 until last march. as walsh waits to go on trial, new leaders are revamping the altavista police department. wdbj7's tim saunders shows what they're doing to regain trust among the people they serve. when sergeant gary penn patrols

necessarily looking for crime. sergeant gary penn/altavista police department: "i go into stores and speak to just about everyone that i can. i laugh and talk with them." penn's efforts are just one way the altavista police department is trying to build a bridge between itself and the community. penn: "i want the citizens, the visitors, and the merchants to know that we are more than just police officers. we are fathers, grandfathers. we're just plain people." interim chief mike jones/altavista police department: "in altavista, policing is truly personal." since taking over as interim chief last fall, mike jones has pushed every officer on the force to spend more time talking to people and learning about their concerns. jones: "we've had this issue of being the warrior cop. the warrior cop in altavista is no longer in existence. we now have the guardian cop." part of that includes a new beat system. officers now have an assigned area to patrol, which allows them to build connections and learn about problems before they happen. each officer is also required to fill out a

track calls for he makes the information available to the public in daily reports. important because citizens have a right to know." jones is a gretna native who spent many years with the capital police in richmond, retiring as chief. while jones is only on site a few days each week, he's assisted by full-time captain barry stocks. captain barry stocks/altavista police department: "i am the eyes on the ground." together they're trying to rebuild the department as a place where officers can spend their entire career, and citizens can place their trust. jones: "we are their police department and we want to be more transparent than ever before." in altavista, tim saunders, wdbj7. new at five: two sheriff's deputies are in the hospital and a suspect is dead after a shootout at a shopping center in maryland. authorities say it happened after a deputy responded to a call for shots fired inside a panera restaurant. that deputy was shot and the suspect ran away. another deputy was able to catch up with

exchanged gunfire. the suspect died on the scene. officials say no one else was hurt. so far we don't kow the condition of the deputies. rocky mount police are still looking for the man they say robbed family pharmacy at gun point. investigators are looking for joshua cundiff - they believe he skipped town after robbing the pharmacy around 5:30 last night. a state police helicopter was called in and police searched four hours for him. if you have any information about the robbery or know where cundiff's is call police. dozens of people had to evacuate the j-c penney at valley view mall after the sprinkler system malfunctioned. it caused water to flood parts of both floors of the store. fire crews say they got the call around 2-30 this afternoon. luckily, the problem was only contained to the store and not the rest of the mall. they're still working to figure out what caused the problem. the new hampshire primary results have already changed the field of republican presidential candidates. after disappointing performances there, both new jersey governor chris christie and carly

suspended their campaigns. meanwhile donald trump says his victory in the primary will not be his last. he says his campaign is shaking up politics as usual. dt: "i can change the game because i really have a chance of new york, i'm going to win virginia. i'm gonna win certain states. i'm going to win michigan, as an example." cr: "are you going to win south carolina?" dt: "oh, i'm gonna win south carolina." democrat bernie sanders is also working on keeping up the momentum from his win over hillary clinton . analysts say his next priority is wooing african american voters. he met with the reverend al sharpton today for guidance. there may be a compromise soon on the white mill dam in danville. danville public works has asked city council to approve getting rid of the dam saying it's unsafe. as wdbj7's danielle staub explains, others say its historic and should stay. nat water --- the sounds of the water falling over the white mill dam on the dan river is part of danville's historic downtown but

asking if it's time for a change. lee vogler, city councilman "people have grown to love it over the years looking at it." russell carter, parks and rec "i would be one of those people that would say, oh it's been there forever i'm used to seeing it. but, there are a lot of things that could happen here that could really just be amazing and be new history." one of those ideas would be turning this area right next to the river and dam, into a park. carter "it definitley would be an asset, a benefit we would love to see that happen." me: carter says bids to develop this land into a park are in the preliminary stages but this area would be a great access point for river sports, if this dam was removed. carter "it will improve the life of the river, it will improve the life of the fishing as well as there would be a little more kayaking opportunity. but there may be another option, that fits well with those for and against removing the dam. vogler "you create what they call a stepped down stream. which is, it keeps the dam in place but you add structure next to it so you have a gradual

and so you remove that drowning hazard which is one of the main reasons it's been brought to council." city council has asked multiple departments to do more research, to see if there are any other options before the issue is brought back up in march. in danville, danielle staub wdbj7 an update tonight on plans for a new medical school in martinsville. and some firefighters are sporting a new look to show their support for a boy in galax. you'e watching your

leader, wdbj7. (scal): good day, m'lady! i am sir-can-a-lot, here to save you from another breakfast bore. wake up those eggs with glorious spam! see what spam can! do... at spam.com plans to fund a new medical school in martinsville are moving forward. by the end of the week, leaders at the integrative centers for science and medicine will know whether they move from applicant to candidate status with

medical education. this comes after, governor mcauliffe did not put aside money in his yearly budget for the school. however, leaders say the state funding is not critical for the school's success, since the school is both a private entity and non-profit. a little boy fighting for his life is getting a lot of support from his whole community. especially from emergency crews who are doing what they can to help him through this. wdbj7's eamon o'meara has the story from galax of all the help he's getting. four year old max brown and his family learned in january he was in for a rough fight. he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and has been at brenners childrens hospital in winsten-salem north carolina since his diagnosis. uncle - chemo treatments :13 but through everything, the town of galax has been there for max. uncle - what's been donated. :13

uncle on shaving head :09 firefighter on giving support :11 max may be too young to understand everything, but just as the firefighters and police hoped, their act brought a smile to his face. uncle on max's

in galax eamon o'meara wdbj7. find your pets warm spot indoors this week. extremely cold air is here to stay. complete details of your first alert forecast

nextor scattered so showers will continue nice little coating or dusting of snow in wytheville it's a blue sky keep it out that's what wariness see over the next set couple hours as more snow showers begin to move in from that upper-level low nothing widespread main story will be the cold conditions overnight here's your overnight low temperatures with those partly

temperatures what your thermometer says will be rent seven and hot springs sixteen royal oak at about fifteen in danville which factor in that windchill is can a feel a lot colder than that. these are the windshields of it feels like temperatures and lots of the busstop in the morning around six degrees is what it's can a feel like by noon we feel like fifteen so tomorrow you data make sure you cover-up all that exposed skin even just from house to the car in the car to to watch so does nature you do that wind speeds right now i have been sustained at about ten to fifteen but you notice very got some gusts of twenty to thirty miles per hour and again that is making it feel lot colder than it 20 to 30 mi./h and again that is making it feel lot colder than it actually is the bull's-eye the cold air below zero and hot springs right after like zero bluefield fourteen degrees and rona can feels like twenty two in danville snows of the feels like temperatures that were talking about social you will but of this earlier a more deaths occurred cold weather and hot weather sue got a take this seriously you can get frostbite in less than thirty minutes if you're out in the stop without covering up so

be on extra cautious over the next not just one day but the next five to six days thecoldest of air coming it over the weekend. now will watch of the next few days is the snow showers taper off in the mountains but will be a low-pressure system the develops off the eastern coast will be one of several of these development one of friday doesn't look that impressive. we could have a few isolated snow showers as it comes in that will secondary low bring some colder air and the we can right now over wall the rest of the week those look fairly dry thursday drive a blustery cold i temperatures running in the low to mid twenties in the close to thirty degrees as you had towards danville now we been talk about this of the passable days watching it closely the started become a little bit more at together for the potential for some wintry weather for monday and sunday this coming up monday and european model has this coastal storm coming into that very cold air the gfs american model has a little bit more to the south of us but either way

potentially have some wintry weather early thoughts on that's a couple inches of snow but you could also be followed by some sleet and some freezing rain so that's why would got that area peak and in airspace across the south side with this storm coming in from the south i know it seems to be mild that it would be coming into this extremely cold air the nothing that snow but it brings it's own warm air with it soaks it's not out of the question we could have some snow and in transition to more of a wintry mix it even some freezing rain out with the on monday and it those look like enough that we could do is you weather impact day for that coming up for monday up for monday. no aside from that it's all about the cold temperatures through the rest of the week against looking sunny mornings low 6 that's the coldest of air over the weekend with highs only in the twenties but the when should not be quite as strong storm dealing with tomorrow morning is that sluggish a you he you

hometown hoops weekly. zac glover heads to lynchburg in this week's edition to find out why liberty christian academy is becoming a barber

he'll explain next. liberty christian academy's jay barber has committed to continue his basketball career in lynchburg, at liberty university. and while he still has a year- and-a-half before officially becoming a flame, he already has a special connection to the university. zac glover explains, in this edition of hometown hoops weekly. zac glover: lca's jay barber has worked countless hours to perfect that shot. but he hasn't done it alone. jay barber, lca shooting guard: "it's crucial to have somebody in your life who's going to push you regardless, like on the days that you don't want to work you the truth. like, 'you need to go work out today, you need you're not going to achieve your goals, or your dreams.' so i would say that is a plus for sure." jeff barber, jay's father: "he committed at eleven years old to play division one basketball, that was his goal. he said, 'dad, i'll do whatever i need to do, because i want to play division one rebounded two million shots for him over time. he puts up shots, and i'm in my neck tie rebounding opportunity." he's not rebounding shots for jay, jeff barber has

down the road as the liberty university athletic director. and his son, jay will soon be making that same, short trip down the road to play his college ball with the flames. jay barber: "coach mckay and his staff fit my personal interests the best, just being christian coaches. i really believe that they teach you to be more than just a basketball player, but how to develop your life as a man." jeff barber: "he also loves the guys on the team. he said, 'dad, i'm a good fit with these guys. they're the kind of guys i want to ride buses with, and i want to be on the team with, and stay hotels and travel with." zac glover: jay had interest from other schools, but decided this year as a junior, to go ahead and commit to liberty. a decision that made his dad happy, and also a bit nervous. jeff barber: "i'm always feeling pressure for the coaches and for our staff to win games, and then as a dad, you feel the pressure for your son to do well. so when i put those two things together in college, i've already told the team doctor i'm reserving a seat beside him." zac glover: but jeff says he can handle to added pressure if it means spending more time with his son. jeff barber: "i'm extremely proud. i couldn't be

put in the extra work, he wouldn't have this opportunity." jay barber: "we have serious moments, where he'll sit me down and tell me i'm not working hard enough, and we have joking moments, where i'm like, 'dad, when i'm at liberty, you have to make sure we're playing this team, or make sure i get this gear, and stuff like that. so, basketball is just like our thing. it's what we do." zac glover: and the barbers will continue to "do" basketball for as long as they can, together. in lynchburg, zac glover, hometown hoops weekly. the market saw a mixed day on wall street. the dow dropped 100 points. nasdaq up 15. s and p fell just

for the latest weather anytime, turn to our webpage at wdbj7.com and be sure to follow us on facebook and twitter for weather headlines and more at wdbj7weather. thank you for choosing your hometown news leader, wdbj7.