was the third most powerful storm to hit the northeastern. a continued impact is the school closing. only d.c. public schools and alexandria city schools are open tomorrow. alexandria schools will open two hours late. we are awaiting word for the federal government plan. metro is running the full weekday schedule. maureen? maureen: the effort to make the roads and the sidewalks safer by removing the snow is now creating its own unique hazard. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg joining us from alexandria to explain. jeff? jeff: maureen, it's the mountains of the snow. we have seen them making turn on the main road. the snow piles up. this one is relatively tame compared to the others you will see in a moment. the other issue is the sidewalks. a lot of them still remain covered in snow and ice creating challenges for the pedestrians to make it clear we are not yet done with the

storm. by this point most of us have seen or made the move. peeking around the mountain of snow before holding your breath and making the turn. >> it's very dangerous. >> snowy hills are creating plenty of problems for pedestrians. like brian flynn in arlington. >> it's a challenge. what can they do? >> many crosswalks and the sidewalks still covered in snow, flynn spent several days having to walk to the road. and he says, drivers are yielding to him. >> people are accommodating me. everybody is. >> people need to be more aware of what is taking place. >> the arlington police sergeant rich rodriguez realizes it's far from ideal for people to be walking in the street. but under the snowy circumstances, it is a reality. >> we are asking for motorists to be extra vigilant for people in the roadway. >> i had to carry her over the snow. >> and ellen kim aren't thrilled the snow is still

hanging around on the walk back to work in arlington. >> four or five days out, it should be cleared. >> white decided not to hang around with it. >> i am taking a week vacation and go to l.a. to get some sun. they are saying to go slow and inch your way out until you realize you have daylight and it is safe to drive. the good news is the mountains of snow will be gone at some point soon. certainly that is the hope. live in alexandria, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. leon: thank you, jeff. tonight we are seeing more effect of the blizzard. canopy at the herb gordon volvo dealership in silver springs collapsed from the weight of the snow. two feet of snow on top of the canopy. several cars were damaged. good that no one was hurt.

the dealership will remain open while repairs were made there. tonight mobile track 7 patrolling the roads to look for what happened with traffic in the region. now if mobile track 7 finds any serious problems we'll alert you immediately. maureen: we are watching the temperatures tonight as we face the possibility of yet another refreeze overnight. chief meteorologist doug hill has a look at what to expect. doug: we could have a refreeze but nothing to the extent we saw this morning because temperatures won't be as cold. get you started. clouds outside the belfort furniture weather center. 37 at the last check at reagan national. we will still have melting for a while but the temperatures will go below freezing. calling if a low of 28 in germantown. 32 in brentwood in the city. little refreeze. a possibility. through the morning tomorrow

cold front moving through michigan. it could bring us flurries. bring us gusty winds and the sunshine in the afternoon. the winds could gust up to 30 miles per hour. i'll have more of what to expect for the weekend and beyond in a few minutes. that you got it. leon: the political world revolving around donald trump. this time is his decision to skip the last republican debate before the iowa caucuses. we sent our chief political correspondent scott thuman to cover the debate. you are covering the donald instead. this is something else. usually this is political suicide for most candidates only seems to strengthen trump. is that the case this time around? scott: it is possible. he has a political midas touch that you think what he is doing is contrary to beneficial campaign.

instead it turns out to seven him well. the poll numbers growing for him in iowa in the last few days. so this is just one more example of many people scratching their heads. perhaps donald trump pulling another politically genius move here. he decided to host a benefit and this event for the military veterans at the exact same time as the g.o.p. debate kicks off. obviously he will be here, not there. he is holding his across town at drake university. jumbotran and the satellite truck and barricades are all here, typically we'd all be at the debate. the debate isn't covered. with we have a crew there as well. but we are covering all the bases. donald trump throwing the political world for a little bit of an upside down twist here. leon? leon: before we let you go. let me ask you this. have you talked to anyone about whether or not fox network even cares that donald trump is not coming tonight? scott: it's so interesting. fox issued a couple of

statements and they have said it's not a big deal. they don't care. candidates like ted cruz and marco rubio will be glad to have the stage to themselves. but the same time, last night there was a bizarre exchange between fox news' bill o'reilly and donald trump. he was essentially begging donald trump to change his mind. he was citing the bible, that you should forgive and forget and turn the other cheek and come back to the debate. donald trump stood strong and said no thanks. fox news may be publicly saying this is just fine. we can have a debate without trump. we will do okay. clearly some inside that building would like it not to be the case. the last point here, we were efforting to interview donald trump. we have been informed the schedule will prevent it tonight. we are granted one in the near future. we'll have it for you sometime. leon: scott thuman reporting live from des moines, iowa. we'll talk at it tomorrow no

doubt. maureen: break-through today in the fight over virginia gun laws. governor terry mcauliffe, democrat, and republican leaders will unveil a bipartisan deal tomorrow. the republicans will agree to prohibit subject protective orders from having firearms. also, at gun shows, state police will be required to provide voluntary background checks on the gun purchases. leon:still ahead at 6:00 -- a special local connection to the disaster 30 years ago. maureen: plus, what happened on d.c. street that sent water gushing to the freezing roadway. [mother] yeah but this neighborhood,i feel like

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leon: a gusher of a problem this morning in the district. what was first thought awater main break was a fire hydrant that was ripped off by a plow. took a while to get it turned off and a new hydrant put in place. ja sixteens facing assault charges following a flight at a metro station this morning. it was caught on surveillance video on the red line at gallery place. 35-year-old man was getting off the train when he got in a confrontation with several teenagers on the platform. one of the teens punched a man who fought back and that is when the other teens joined in. five boys and one girl between

16 and 17 years old. leon: reporter jason rezaian freed from a year and a half of captivity in iran welcomed back to the "washington post" today. he thanked the colleagues for the effort on his behalf. >> knowing the lengths you went to, to keep my story alive make us all proud to be part of the future. >> speaking at a dedication ceremony for the post new headquarters. iranian authorities accused him of espionage which he denied. he was released this month as part of a prisoner swap arranged by secretary of state john kerry. maureen: still ahead at 2:00 -- chief meteorologist doug hill breaks down the risk of a refreeze and flurries that stands between us and the weekend in the 50's. mike: i'm mike carter-conneen outside arlington national cemetery. today, nasa leaders and family members remember the lives lost in "challenger" disaster 30 years ago today.

coming up up the sight and sound from somber ceremony.

we will never forget them nor the last time we saw them as they prepared for the journey and waved goodboy and slipped the bonds of earth to touch the face of god. leon: memorable world of ronald reagan. today marks 30 years since the loss of the "challenger." three decades later americans pause to remember where they were and what they saw that day. maureen: at arlington national cemetery today nasa held a cemetery. mike carter-conneen found a women and her son with a connection to the tragedy. >> they gathered a the arlington national cemetery for 30th anniversary of an american tragedy televised around the world. >> reminder to be vigilant.

mike: she was inspired by an aunt she never knew. >> what a difficult day for her. >> on the day of remans, laid -- remembrance, laid a wreath. >> they are national heroes. >> many are too young to remember the day. some were not born. >> i don't have member to grow one that. >> today is corey's 30th birthday. >> born at 3:00 in the morning. got back in my room and turn the tv on and saw the terrible thing that happened with the "challenger" blowing up. >> now a math teacher, corey feels a special connection to

krista. >> having gone into education. >> he makes a point to visit the memorial. mike: this year is no different. mike carter-conneen, abc7 news. maureen: you might know on this week each year nasa and the nation remember the deadly accidents. january 27, 1967, the apollo 1 command module was consumed by a flash fire in a launch pad test. all three astronauts were killed. we just told you on this day from 1986 the "challenger" exploded after lift off. in 2003, "columbia" broke up killing all crew members on board. >> our area and we at abc7 have a unique connection to the "challenger" tragedy.

current prince george's county teacher dave was a semi-finalist to be the teacher on board that flight. we learned today that krista mccullough once taught school in prince george's county. fascinating stuff. the entire interview is on wjla.com. maureen: momentum day for all of us in the media. doug: in that newsroom nobody wanted to talk. everybody was in a state of shock. maureen: humbled. better news from the weather department. we won't have a widespread refreezem technically it's

below average. the morning low of 25. average is 44 and 29 degrees. another day below average. there is 15 somedays of below average temperatures this month. 13 above average. wind up close to being month and a half above and below the average temperatures. upper 30's. the numbers will drop. they won't drop in the teens and the single digits. clouds will come in. little areas of ice. be careful in morning. if it looks wet it could be icy. it will improve in the day. gusty winds tomorrow. chance of flurries to the mid-to-late morning hours. the winds will gust to 30 miles per hour at times.

the sun and the wind will dry things out. we could have heavier snow along higher elevation in the western slope and the mountains to give the elevations a couple more inches. but nothing more than a flurry. a nigh warmup is headed our way. partly cloudy and blustery. winds turn out from the northwest behind the cold front. 10 to 20 miles per hour. gusting to 30 miles per hour. 42 degrees. the wind chill does not affect if we melt off more snow. we will do that. in the next seven day what is we have is the warmup. 46 on saturday. 53 with sunshine on sunday. monday upper 50's. warm front comes through and maybe showers. tuesday is mild. 55 degrees. 57 degrees. groundhog day. phil will come out to take a

look to see if he sees his shadow or not. we'll find out what he says. really wild weather on wednesday with the gusty winds. temperatures in the 60's with the showers an the thunderstorms. i think another cooling trend will set in by the end of next week to get cold again next weekend. all i have for now. robert: the question is will bradley beal play tonight? we have to wait to see. he has to wear a protective mask after monday's collision with the celtics. it should be a crazy night in college park. number eight versus number three. scott abraham previews tha

announcer: and now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealer. robert: the wizards will host the nuggets tonight. no word if bradley beal will play. game-time decision.

we know another injury to the nba. a forearm to the face in a loss to the celtics and left with a broken nose. he says he knows what he can and can't do. >> i can't touch my nose, i can't sneeze. i can't pick my nose. just leave it alone for four to six weeks so it will heal completely. i'm going to wear the mask and make sure i'm cautious. as much as i can protect it. robert: on the college level big matchup for the terps tonight. they host the hottest team in country right now. scott abraham has a preview of tonight's showdown. scott: all eyes inside the xfinity center. number three iowa comes to town with a big-time showdown with maryland. this is a big-time game for the men's basketball program. a great opportunity for us.

playing great teams, playing as well as anybody in the country. just killing teams. the games aren't really close. so it's a great opportunity for us. we won't put that pressure on us. we want to play well. scott: over the course of the last two seasons, maryland is 9-0 following a loss. student section ready to go. we have the newspapers in place. this place will be rocking in a little bit. we will have highlights and post-game tonight at 11:00. reporting at the xfinity center, scott abraham, abc7 sports. robert: thank you. the capitals has a player added to the roster for the all-star. he is replacing ovechkin who opted out due to lower body injury. doug: coming in tonight, steve rudin will look at the temperatures for slick roadways in spot and warming trend on the way heading to the weekend. give you details at 11:00. maureen: look forward to that. "world news tonight" with david muir up next. oh remotes, you've had it tough.

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breaking news tonight. trump versus fox. donald trump, a no-show this evening. holding his own event up against the debate. and his fiery moment with bill o'reilly. >> i told you, up front, i said, don't ask me that question. >> taking aim at megyn kelly, too. fox says, the show goes on without him. at this hour, authorities racing to the scene. that standoff with an armed militia. it comes after a deadly shootout already. the alarming new headline about the zika virus tonight. authorities say spreading explosively. dr. besser with what american families need to know right now, women in particular. how long does it stay in your system? the scare today. no smell, no warning until students and teachers began falling ill. a student unconscious. and the dramatic moments. the bank robber, the manager,