another frontal system wednesday. bottom line is warmer tomorrow. then still mild wednesday. several opportunities for rain. it looks like after that it will settle down a bit. what a mess we have with the winter storm warnings widespread in pink, flash flood watches. all kind of stuff. heavy storms. they will diminish. we will get rain, perhaps a substantial amount of rain in next 48 hours. mid-40's to the lower 40's across the area. a very chilly day. we get through the forecast through the evening, rain will be back. spotty at first then steady rain. the temperatures will rise before you know it back in the 60's. that is the latest. back to you. leon: thank you, doug. 43 people died in severe weather over the last week. nearly a thousand flights had to be canceled today as the latest system moves north and east. lauren lister picks up the team coverage in texas. she has a look at the clean-up underway there. lauren? reporter: here in garland,

home after home has been torn up by the tornado that swept through here over the weekend. it's far from the only extreme weather event wreaking havoc across the country. >> a survey of the devastation from the air monday. >> some of the houses are barely recognizable. it's just a pile of match shticks left. >> residents on the ground tried to pick up the pieces. salvaging what they can from piles of rubble from houses with no walls or roofs. these homes recently completed now reduced to scrap. [siren ] >> that's a tornado. reporter: this is after the tornadoes blasted through a 40-mile swath of texas with winds up to 180 miles per hour. police say at least 11 were killed. the twitter descending to interstate 40 where eight lost their lives. one tried to reach his sister's car there but couldn't save her. >> we tried. we had guys trying to flip it.

i watched my sister lay upside down for hours. reporter: here is the storm that brought the tornadoes seen from space. it brought snow to new mexico. the governor declaring a state of emergency. in the midwest, historically heavy downpours producing flash flooding over the weekend killing at least 15. in missouri, floodwaters engulfed homes. shut down major highways. >> this is the worst anyone has seen it over here. reporter: today in texas authorities have been surveying the damage from the twisters. the worst here in 20 years. meanwhile, some 70 million americans are under winter alerts across the country. lauren lister, abc7 news, garland, texas. leon: what is amazing when you think about this is people don't expect to see expect -- tornadoes in december. they come back to look for

belongings and they have to be stunned. what are they telling you? reporter: the residents here are surprised and shocked. they are happy to be safe. a man coming here to get medicine described how he hid in his bathtub and didn't know what was going to happen. others coming to reclaim their items. there was a storage unit, or units rather, where we are. some people disappointed how much of the debris had been swept one their things in it. one woman was pleasantly surprised to discover her harley motorcycle was fine. leon: lauren lister reporting live from garland, texas. thank you, lauren. now, after record high temperatures, it looks like new eng land will be get -- new england will be getting snow out of this storm as well. the storm tonight could bring them up to a foot of snow in new hampshire and maine before turning to sleet and freezing rain.

you can stay ahead of any storm with the weather team. go to the facebook or twitter feed or download the storm 7 app and keep us with you wherever you go. kellye? kellye: is a developing story in chicago. dissatisfaction with the police department continues to grow. these were protests last week calling for mayor rahm emanuel to re-sign. now the calls are getting stronger after the mayor opted to stay on vacation rather than return to the city after a teenager was shot and killed by a police officer over the weekend. joce sterman has more right now. joce: with the department of justice already investigating police in chicago now have another controversy to deal with. department leaders now say they are going to launch a review of the crisis intervention training for the officer and make changes. but it's too little, too late for two people shot over the

weekend. >> an innocent lady was shot as well. i went to the hospital and my son had seven, seven holes in him. joce: the 19-year-old was shot by police in chicago. they responded to reports the teen who was home from college was threatening his father with a bat. also killed in that situation his 55-year-old downstairs neighbor betty jones, a mother of five. police say she was accidently struck and tragically killed as an officer opened fire on him who they claim was charging down the stairs with the bat. the families of both victims gathered today. they were critical of the city leaders and say they failed the people of chicago but they called for calm. >> we have our fair share of problems. police problems on crime, poverty. i feel like right now is not a time for hatred. or time for throwing stones for people.

this is an opportunity to get past the difficult time together. joce: the officer who fired the shots is on administrative duty pending an investigation. the ongoing d.o.j. investigation is looking at whether chicago police make a habit of violating the law. starting with the 2014 death of a black 17-year-old teenager shot 16 times by police. as for mayor rahm emanuel, his office said just a short time ago he is cutting that family trip short to deal with problems at home and he is expected to be back in chicago by tomorrow afternoon. joce sterman, abc7 news. kellye: new a 4:00, prosecutors in cleveland announced they would not charge the officer that shot tamir rice. the boy was carrying a pellet gun. he was taken it from the waistband to show it wasn't real or hand it over to police but there was no way the officer could have known that. leon: we have new information

on the fate of a 102-year-old statue honoring kwon fed rate soldiers in -- confederate soldiers in rockville. they voted to locate it away from the courthouse. it will moved to the historic park if the city council signs off on the deal and certain conditions are met. >> washington scoops it up. deangelo hall. kellye: the skins clinch it in dramatic form. leon: next stop the playoffs. playoffs! erin: who would have thought? leon: what alternate universe are we living in? erin: a fantastic alternate universe. i'll take it. the redskins have the day off today. they are celebrating after they claimed the first n.f.c. east title. now there are questions fans have on their mind as the red red prepare to pay the cowboys in dallas. will jay gruden rest the starters in a game that

doesn't count? or play them to keep the momentum going in the playoffs. the other question who will washington host in the playoffs? there are a few scenarios. we have broken them down here. if green bay loses to minnesota sunday the redskins will play the packers. or they could play the vikings if seattle loses to arizona and arizona loses to green bay. it would be a 2012 rematch with the seahawk. if the cardinals beat the packers, beat the vikings. tickets for the first playoff game will go on sale for the season ticket holders january 2. everyone else will have to wait until the 4th. >> i don't think it matters who they play. people are happy to be back in the playoffs. second, the way the team is playing right now -- erin: they are peaking and getting hot at the right time. kellye: is anybody concerned about dallas? erin: it has no meaning.

skip it. leon: we still want to stomp them. as erin said the first trip to the postseason since 2012. john gonzalez went to catch one excited fans. john: happy and excited. not nervous a bit. you knew they would win the whole time. >> i knew they would win. john: gene has the burgundy and gold on. exciting time. because it a -- it's the holiday season and they have won the east. we'll add holiday cheer to you morning with a christmas favorite. here we go. it was the night after christmas and to say the least the skins battle philly for the n.f.c. east. >> the giants were hoping that philly would win so the giants might make the playoffs again. john: dallas was quiet, they didn't hear a clatter. so after all they were already out so it didn't matter. >> too much for the eagles' d.

the skins were champs of the n.f.c. east. john: so the redskins win, they are in the playoffs. merry christmas to all fans and to all you like that -- >> you like that? john: the redskins in the playoffs. they haven't won a playoff game since 2006. let's be serious. what do you think? do we have a shot? >> any given sunday. leon: let us know what you think and the run up to the playoffs. we'll read a few of the comments later on. kellye: this weekend's bombshell report about another nfl quarterback and drugs may be unraveling. leon: we explain that and see

why virginia g.o .p. landed in the donald trump's sights over the weekend. kellye: then later, good news in the fight against childhood asthma. >> this house is a total loss. coming up, we will give you the unique look inside a prechristmas fire. i'm suzanne kennedy. that

kellye: a 90-year-old bridge in pittsburgh is a pile of dust and rubble. look at this. crews blew up the greenfield bridge this morning. it had been closed to traffic since october as they prepared for replacement. clean-up began immediately after the dust settled. a new bridge is scheduled to take its place by may 2017. leon: devastation of another kind here. flames burning at more than 500 degrees tearing through a house in chestertown. inside a firefighter captures it all with the camera attached to his helmet. suzanne kennedy went to chestertown to speak with that firefighters about what happened. suzanne: this is the house that burned to the ground a week ago here in chestertown, maryland. it is a total loss. the cause is improper use of a space heater. the chestertown volunteer fire company is offering a unique look at the two-alarm blaze that happened days before christmas. you can see the fire from the point of view of a volunteer

firefighter. the helmet camera video gives you a sense of what it is like to fight a dangerous blaze that could have been prevented. >> the space heater was put up on a pool table. that is not a smart idea. it's made of wood. if it shorts out there is a lot of fuel there to use to ignite a fire. suzanne: coming up at 5:00, we will tell you what the firefighter who was wearing the helmet camera says the most important part of the video is. in chestertown, maryland, suzanne kennedy, abc7 news. leon: time now for a check of the traffic situation for monday. joy ponds has details. joy: it has turned this afternoon. it's falling apart. we have a crash northbound 270 live look approaching falls road. we have a report of two accidents, that is not helping the case 270 back to the beltway. it looks like normal afternoon rush. live look at northbound 95.

they are big in nature. we have a four-car crash. westbound 4 donald driver. and the accident clean-up at wakefield. chapel road. watch out there. we have delays making your way even from greenbelt toward tysons. not looking at that very well. you will have to hang in there. things are changing quickly here. taking a live look at beltway and the bradley boulevard. be careful. a lot of people are getting on the roadways looking like a tough an. back to you. leon: thank you. the streets in milan, italy, belong to the cyclist. until wednesday night. they are banning the use of private cars for three days to combat the pollution problems they are having there. to violate the car ban you will face steep fines.

kellye: in northern england the region deals with floods. some areas were drenched with a month's worth of rain in one day, forcing the government to issue 24 severe flood warnings. >> flooded, it's a terrible experience anyway. even more so when it happens at christmas or new year, a time when people are meant to be at home with their families and celebrating. kellye: the storm left 8,000 people without electricity over the weekend. the prime minister says the government plans to spend 280 million pounds. leon: country in south america with similar conditions. flood in argentina, parkway and uruguay forced people from their homes. parkway was hit the hardest. 130,000 there had to be evacuated. heavy rain is attributed to el nino that tends to drop severe weather on the west coast of south america. what a mess there. kellye: we have had our own roller coaster weather here. doug: it is not going to

change anytime soon. today we are chilly in the low to mid-40's. tomorrow is 50's. mild mid-week and in the weekend we have chilly but sunny days. it's real. today, 44, 45 degrees out. but it feels colder than that because we are just climatized to the warmer conditions. it's crazy. let's get started. never a boring moment in the weather department. live look at the conditions from the tornado factory in alexandria. gray skies. a sprinkle oral a spritz of rain but not much more expected for the next couple of hours. later tonight we have a few more showers as warm front comes our way. the same rain that bring us the cooler air, it will go north. the numbers will be warmer tomorrow than right now. 43 in falls church. 42 in potomac. aspen hill 41. 45 in anacostia.

we will stay chilly for a few more hours. overnight the temperatures will be warmer than now. the warm front is coming through. lots of fog and rain at times overnight to the morning. the wind direction will change from the northeast to the southeast. that will bring milder air to the region. a look on the doppler radar. patches of rain. nothing in the district inside the beltway showing up now. there could be scattered showers. later tonight, previous chance of showers coming through. this is a big complicated storm system. southwest. brought tornadoes to the texas-oklahoma panhandle. now severe weather. now heavy rain is moving across tennessee and kentucky. storm is causing heavy snow from the upper midwest to the great lakes. we'll get rain. a fair amount of it. we will get a break through the afternoon and the evening

hours. nur year's eaves and new year's day looks good to me. breezy and 47. there is the trend. saturday, sunday, monday, sunny and chilly. the highs in the low to mid-40's. will next week stay cold or is there another warmup in sight? i have the answer to that question in mere moments from now. well, in ten minutes. kellye: all right. leon: we will be here. all right folks, coming up at 4:00 -- >> nothing will stand in our way. leon: the power of the dark side. look at the records falling as the force awakening. kellye: pe

leon: one of the most famous athletes of all, the harlem globetrotter passed away yesterday in scottsdale, oklahoma. meadowlark performed from the mid-1950's to the late 1970's. he was 83 years old. kellye: peyton manning is battling back against a report accusing him of using banned substances. a documentary accused the nfl

quarterback using the drug while he recovered from a neck injury. but as elizabeth hur reports the story is no longer holding water. reporter: nfl quarterback fighting back after the al-jazeera documentary made accusations against him. it called "the dark side" who showed charles who claimed he was a pharmacist assisting manning and other proathletes to get performance-enhancing drugs. hi is the same institute that helped the super bowl champ rehappen after he broke his neck playing for the colds in 2011. he claimed peyton manning was sent performance enhancing drugs under his wife's name. >> we will send ashley manning drugs all the time. everywhere. florida. it will never be under peyton's name. always under her name.

>> it's completely fabricated, complete trash and garbage. sick to bring ashley into it. reporter: in a video posting online, charles is recanting the story claiming he was testing the reporter. >> the statement on any recording or the communication are absolutely false and incorrect. >> the guy insinuated i cut corners and i broke rules to get healthy. it's a joke. a freaking joke. >> the institute adding he was a three-month unpaid intern in 2013, a time when manning was no longer being treated. al-jazeera investigative reporter debra davis responded that manning doesn't address several questions including how much growth hormone was shipped to his home, the date and how much was spent on the drugs. in new york, elizabeth hur, for abc7 news. leon: coming up at 4:00 -- >> getting ready for the iowa caucuses but donald trump is taking time to lash out at

political leaders in virginia. republican political leaders. i'm jeff goldberg. what he had to say coming up. >> abc7 news just obtained a police report shedding light on an underage drinking party that led to a crash.

kellye: right now the misery index for folks flying is pretty high. this is the map on flightaway.com, tracking delays and cancellations. you can see the storm in the

midwest is having a big impact in chicago. at home, spotty showers today. get ready for more rain to head our way. chief meteorologist doug hill is in the storm watch 7 weather center with a check of the forecast. doug? doug: let's talk about this for a moment or two and what we'll see for the remainder of the day. a chance of a few showers at times. that is the story for the evening hours. if you're far enough west, maryland shown in orange. good chance for freezing rain. locally the showers are pretty much intermittent around the area. as we get through the overnight we will see a better chance of the steadier rain coming our way. this is drawn out ahead of the storm system that is causing snow to head through the great lakes and minnesota, especially. milwaukee, madison, you make it. all kind of delays. we get off easy locally. it should clear off in the afternoon and hit 63 again.

wednesday will start with sunshine. the rain could be heavy. new year's eve, 56 degrees. heading to the weekend and beyond, we will be in fine shape on the chilly side. 43 or so for the highs saturday and sunday. 50's by next week. leon: one of the leading candidates in vote 2016 took aim at virginia this weekend. donald trump went on a twitter tirade against the loyalty pledge. jeff goldberg in the newsroom to explain what is going on with this. jeff: this is all about the statement that the republican voters have to sign before catching the ball let in the pry -- ballot in the primary. my signature below indicates i am a republican. donald trump does not like this at all he believes it excludes democrats and

independents. he took to twitter firing up several messages against the republican party of virginia. one of these, saying my signature below. yesterday he fired off tweets like this one. straighten out the republican party of virginia before it's too late. stupid r.n.c. then this one -- will not allow the desperately needed new voters. suicidal mistake. r.n.c. must act now. the republican party leaders are not commenting today. the executive director said this, reasonable threshold. to participate in the primary and in the place for one reason, to select a republican nominee. donald trump made his opposition widely known on twitter but the decision on the statement was made in december by the republican party of virginia.

one person said trump is lashing out because he is scared he will lose the primary. >> they knew about it and now trump decided he needs democrat votes for the election and he decided to go on a rampage. jeff: we have been trying to get a response from the trump campaign. so far we haven't had luck. we hope to have the story for you at 6:00. kellye: 22 high schoolers and a man playing host. that is a new report that set the stage for underage drinking party that led to a deadly summer crash. kevin lewis is live with more on this. kevin? kevin: we have widely reported on the wreck that killed two high school students but until now we didn't know much about the party the kids just attended on this street.

according to a six-page police report released by montgomery county, though, homeowners kenneth saltsman let nearly two dozen kids enter his north potomac home and it was right before his teenager daughter flew to costa rica for community service project. the report says someone placed pillows over the basement windows to conceal the party, which included a beer pong table. the teens pulled their money and used a 21-year-old and a fake i.d. to buy several bots of vod -- several bottlings of vodka and two 30-pack of natty light beer. they charged saltsman with two counts of allowing under age drinking that police say led to the double fatal crash. last month the 49-year-old pleaded guilty. he paid $5,000 in fines but did avoid jail. >> i don't think justice has been served. and parents should face

exposure for jailtime in a situation such as this case where their bad decisions become tragic. kevin: the newly released report makes mention to a joke that saltsman made to a teen two brought booze to his house for the party. that is new at 5:00. we're live in north potomac, kevin lewis, abc7 news. leon: thank you, kevin. developing now, rescue effort underway for the miners trapped in eastern china. so far one minor has died. seven people rescue and four others escaped. 17 people are stuck under ground. rescuers drilling holes and trying to lower food to them. it's unclear what caused the collapse there. police identified the man killed in an a.t.v. accident in prince george's county. jerome odom of capital heights. it happen on walterville road last night. a 12-year-old girl was also injured in the crash.

sam sweeney tells us what led to the deadly crash and concerns from the area. zach the intersection has reopened. the only thing left is the ash from the flare that surrounded here as the police work to try to figure out what happened here. an s.u.v. waited to make a left-hand turn in walkerville and waterford road. when the a.t.v. came up the street where the tow truck is, never stopped at the intersection. then hit the s.u.v. the driver flew off of the four-wheel drive vehicle and was pronounced at the scene. there was a passenger on board, a 12-year-old girl and the driver's stepdaughter. she was seriously injured and flown to the hospital. neighbors say they are sad to

see it happen and they are not surprised. >> even if you call the police and let you know they are riding around with the a.t.v., on the street right here. they come down and they will ride on the wrong side of the road. come at you head on. no regard for traffic. >> sam: the operator of the a.t.v. has two other children, a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old. he was recently married. for the s.u.v., we are told nobody inside of the car was injured. reporting in prince george's county, i'm sam sweeney. abc7 news. leon: breaking news now where a body has been found on a playground at an elementary school. it's on 97th avenue if you know the area. no details yet on the circumstances surrounding what happened. we have a reporter on the way to the playground now. kellye: coming up at 4:00 -- >> that one is open. got one open. kellye: put to the test, a

look at how easily some kids could get access to pills. leon: but first, good as gold. check these out. invest in plastic bricks instead of precious metal. kellye: tomorrow night, tune in for a special. we take a look at sanctuary cities. that's tomorrow at 8:00 on abc7.

nothing will stand in our way. leon: nothing is standing in the way of the "star wars: the force awakens." it crossed $1 million in worldwide box office and did it in 12 days. the fastest of any film in history. "star wars" won't even open in china, the second biggest market until next week. amazing. "star wars" fans are a passionate bunch as i'm sure you know. we know about a fan that took his love to a franchise to the next level. hans sharter spent a year to build his own version of the millennium falcon with legos. he constructed it from

scratch. it has 7,500 legos, and the finished product weighs 22 pounds. 32 inches long. his pride and joy. kellye: he's excited. were you a lego killed? leon: i was. kellye: have you seen the movie yet? leon: i haven't. kellye: get to the theater soon. if you don't want to spend the time building a model from scratch, boxed lego sets may be the way to go. the ultimate collector millennium falcon sold for $500 in 2007 and is now worth more than $4,000. legos don't have to be "star wars" related to be a worthy investment. hotel set sold for $135 a decade ago is know worth more than $3,000 today. others are worth more than $2,000 each assuming they are still in the box. you don't have any left over? leon: not at all.

no. we used to step on those things. then curse the person who created them. holiday spending rose 8% from last year. industry analysts say the savings from the cheap gasoline helped fuel increases. online shopping saw 20% increase in last year. sales of large items like furniture and travel went in the right direction. of course. kellye: okay. coming up on "abc7 news at 4:00" -- taking deep breaths. a new study about asthma and kids. leon: unusual christmas visit. we'll tell you where he stopped by to say hello.

kellye: "7 on your side" in health matters. a new warning for parents this holiday season means travel for grandparents and the medication. so little ones might find their way to medicines not in child resistant bottles. dr. besser put toddlers to work to see if they could open the containers. >> a sound no little kid should be making. clicking open a pill box. child resistance can'ts are designed to keep kids under 5

from getting in medications. what about pill boxes and organizers? in 2012, more than 600 children went to emergency room because of medicine cases and in many case the medicine belonged to a grandparent. we got kids together to see if they could open medication contaries -- medication containers. not one toddler in the group of 2 or 3-year-old is able to open the child reanalysis about the bottle -- child resistant bottles. but getting into pill organizers that are meant to be easily opened by elderrously a different story. this 3-year-old opened the pill box in nine seconds. does that open up? >> let me see. >> try another one. >> experts say the eye-catching boxes look like toys. >> use them for storage of toys or the small trinkets or

for arts and crafts. >> three out of the five kids broke into the boxes in under 15 mex. >> this 4-year-old opened and every 4-year-old opened it up in under 14 seconds. >> i am surprised he could open this one. i didn't think about it. >> maybe they should go to a higher shelf. >> the kids caught on fast. if you find this at home who should you tell? your mommy, that's right. or your daddy or a grown-up,

right? >> you don't take it out of their room. don't touch. kellye: children's asthma rates are down this year but they are not sure why they are dropping. they doubled in 1980-1985 and continued a slow increase until 2014. now the latest study in the issue of the journal "pediatrics" find 8% of kids under the age of 17 have asthma. leon: google released the top-trending topics from 2015. in the d.c. area the most searched topics were sports, selects and movies -- sports celebrities and movies. bobbi kristina brown grabbed the number two spot. followed by at american schneider" caitlyn jenner and "jurassic world." the skins are probably big topics today.

heading back to the playoffs. kellye: people are talking about the win that sent them there on the wjla facebook page and are focusing on the errant kneel at the end of the first half. leon: what was he thinking? kellye: kyle writes there had to be a vintage redskins moment. happy to see they overcome a blunder like that. kathy said he did not kneel down, he tebowed! i like that. leon: and he said the kneel was psychological warfare and it bent the eagles' brains so they lost focus on the game. join the conversation yourself by going to the facebook page. kellye: a driver in japan was probably looking for a beauty shot when he took a camera to a local bay but he didn't expect to see this. a giant squid that was found swimming in the arena on the bay on christmas eve. normally you can only find the creature in the ocean. they estimated that the

mollusk was 13 feet long after he made his way back out to sea. thank goodness. leon: how many sushi rolls is that? kellye: ohhh! doug: man! leon: huge. doug: ready for weather changes? leon: this is the craziest winter. doug: look at what is coming up. we start with a new year's look ahead. thursday in the day, new year's eve is nice. we get sun with a hay of 56 degrees. we get to the evening, it will turn cool. it's clear and dry. that is good news. new year's day, partly sunny in the mid-40's. the weekend itself the first weekend of 2016, chilly. but this is exactly numerically, statistically where we are normally in early january. highs in low 40s and the partly cloudy skies and no humidity. we have missed the entire month of december. so put it together for you. another mild day returns

tomorrow. low to mid-40's today. tomorrow, lower 60's. 90% chance of rain for the morning rush. i should end by the afternoon with peek of sunshine. wednesday we start with sun. maybe good chance of rain in the afternoon. highs of 58. we clear out for new year's eve and new year's day. chill for the weekend. monday we start another warming trend. we have a normal afternoon rush or lighter than normal? let's find out with traffic with joy. joy: there are a lot of cars. volume now. northbound 95 to the occoquan, heavy and the slow traffic there. a mess from springfield to fredericksburg. southbound 95, had an earlier accident at the shoulder at the ackerman. be careful -- at the shoulder at the occoquan. be careful there. another problem northbound 270 causing problems near falls road at northbound 270. a tough stretch from the

beltway. check out the beltway. it will be heavy and you are looking live at the river road and bradley boulevard. trying to recover. we have an accident in the d.c. columbia is shut down between 15 and 16 street. now back to you. leon: thank you. coming up at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- polar vortex to record warmth. kellye: we look at the year's wild weather coming up next.

leon: look at the map. 830 delays and 205 cancellations nationwide. with will have more at 5:00. kellye: tornado sirens fill the air from alabama to texas in the last few days.

2015 is ending on a warm note. it took less than a month for 2015 to land in the record books. reporter: that was the beginning for new england. nearly every week for three months straight, they blanked the streets, buried cars and strained people's patience. >> everybody is fed up. reporter: boston had the snowiest season on record. 110.6 inches. it all finally melted in july. >> inside! inside! reporter: in the spring, several large tornadoes ripped across texas.

then the flooding. >> laura and her husband and their two children were insides that house. >> this is so high up. >> her husband is the only one who survived. at least if people died in the may floods -- 23 people died in the may floods. in south carolina -- >> this will be a historic rainfall event we have ever seen before. reporter: relentless rain in october shattered records in charleston and columbia. some places saw as much as 20 inches of rain. historic flooding shut down more than 500 roads and brims and caused at least 11 dams to fail, prompting hundreds of water rescues and killed at least 17 people.

hurricane patricia howled in the record books in october as the strongest hurricane ever. in 2 hours patricia went from a tropical storm to a 200-mile-per-hour category five hurricane. before making landfall to mexico's west coast. karin caifa reporting. kellye: you can download the storm watch 7 app and get it at the itunes or the google play store. leon: tonight, fire guts a maryland home. the intense video as the firefighters battle the blaze inside. the common household item that caused it all. plus, tornadoes touch down and cold is coming. the severe storms and the deadly damage across the nation. >> it has been a roller coaster. leon: a couple willing and waiting to adopt a child. why their phone is causing a complication. announcer: now "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side.

>> it's a tornado! leon: up first tonight dealing with devastation. a powerful storm system left destruction in the form of tornadoes, flooding and snow. all the way from new mexico through the midwest. 24 people have been killed. in our area, we are breaking for more rain and another temperature shift. chief meteorologist doug hill is standing by in the weather center. where are we going to see the worst of the rain? doug: late tonight and overnight in the morning and wednesday, afternoon, evening and the nighttime hours. no rain outside the belfort furniture weather center now. spotty skies but the doppler shows a couple of patches of rain west to 81 and the valley. another area to fredericksburg. it will be later tonight when more rain forms up. it will be coming from southwestern, virginia, northwest carolina and approach of the big line of rain that is sweeping east of nashville right now. the north side of the system is a big winter storm. look across the map there. this goes from extreme northeastern corner of kansas

up through the portions of the minnesota, wisconsin, across michigan, even the northern maine. those are the winter storm warning. the purple areas are the winter weather advisory for the possibility of freezing rain and sleet. on the bottom, the area near us is no longer severe. it's just rain. we could get a fair amount of rain in the overnight hours. warm up that the temperatures will support rain only in our area. temperatures are now below mid-40's. will rise a few degrees tonight. wake up to temperatures, lower 50's southeast of tongue. mid-40s north and west of the city. morning showers and 51. warmer when you wake up than now. 58 with the sun breaking through at midday. 63 by tomorrow afternoon. get ready for more changes in the weather. more changes in the temperature. as we head through the next seven days. that is the latest on the weather center. leon: you got it. now weather problems in the middle of the nation are slowing things down at the airport. at one point in the afternoon, flights to chicago were delayed more than two hours. we will take a closer look at the severe weather in a few