>> this is a stormwatch 7 weather alert. jummy: we begin with the weather alert. a potential of severe storms in our region, our team is monitoring the areas in the half of the potential threat. we start with doug hill. doug: we are looking at a growing area, a developing area of heavy to severe thunderstorms. 100 miles west of the metro but they are quickly making progress. accept in southern maryland and everybody else under a severe thunderstorm watch until 5:00 and i expect this area will be extended eastward shortly. already

thunderstorm warning south and west of warren county and shenandoah county, south through rocking him. outside, you would think it is a great first day of march, like summer, windy, sunny, warm. the warm weather helping the development of these storms as they come across the mountains and center cross interstate 81. they have the potential to put down a lot of rain and lightning with high winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes. a severe thunderstorm warning from 12:45 to the southwest of our area and numerous showers and thunderstorms. numerous and they will wind up severe we think. if your area gives a warning, that means wind gusts of 60 miles per hour or higher and pale and frequent lightning. the possibility of isolated tornadoes. no way to pinpoint with community has the highest risk of getting the severe storms, it could be just about anywhere through the area which is wh

such a wide portion. the severe weather threat goes all the way from pennsylvania south to arkansas. i large area which will be a very active weather day, 2:30 this afternoon, based on estimates and radar that that will be win -- the time they pass the metro. updates during the afternoon. more heavy rain could fall on the backside of the system before we see a change. josh knight is headed west for leesburg to keep an eagle eye on the storms. what are you seeing as you head west? >> the biggest thing we are noticing is how much sunshine. how much would be cloud cover breakdown was a question. you have a view from the top of storm trak 7 looking behind us on the outer loop of 495, quite a bit of blue sky. we will look for the sunshine to come up

-- we are about to get on the cowrote and go towards leesburg, that line moving in from the west to east and we are trying to catch up with it and get an idea of how strong it really is. show you on farther west of the metro and track that storm as we work our way throughout the afternoon. we will bring you updates on facebook, twitter, and let you know what we see farther west and now just watching the sky. stay weather alert today and download our app, which is a growth -- great tool throughout the day. jummy: the midwest reeling after 25 tornadoes touched down on tuesday, a twister in illinois claimed the lives of two people. kenneth moton with incredible footage and the damage done. >> overnight, a tornado outbreak terron through the heartland. 21 twisters reported across five

in ottawa, illinois, funnel clouds picking up anything and everything in their path. storm chasers capturing the moment this twister forms, watch as the debris slowly circles up. the deadly tornado killing one and leaving behind a trail of destruction. reducing this nursing home to rubble and paralyzing power lines, resident scrambling for safety. >> had to get in the bathtub. my whole street is wrecked. >> that system bringing baseball wisconsin,and in many forced to pull over. in missouri, a tornado taking the lives of two people after touching down on interstate 55, tossing cars and trucks off the road like toys. >> kenneth moton reporting. stay connected with us wherever you are, today is a great day

grab our free stormwatch weather app and get updates sent straight to your iphone or android. the date is set and crowds will come early. when the cherry blossoms will peak. >> a huge moment we all anticipate this time of year. take a listen. >> the projected dates are -- --ch >> this year it is a week earlier from last year which of on march 45 set with the national turbo awesome festival kicking off march 20 and going through april 16. we are the media partner for the festival and you can get the latest information on all things cherry blossoms on our website at wjla.com. jummy:

breaking news from montgomery county, a pedestrian was struck on i 270, let's go to julie wright who has the latest. julie: this will be northbound 117, the you approach mainline shutdown. , no one can get past you on the mainline with all traffic coming from the rio, exit nine from 370 is forced into the local lanes headed northbound try to make your way to germantown. an investigation that will take place on 270. the wreck occurring at 11:45 this morning, 20 minutes ago, the investigation will take place in all traffic on 2007 -- 270 stop on the mainline. rockville,out of vale out early, 117, 118, 355, use those as your workarounds and to germantown an

northbound to frederick. southbound, your lanes open but i suspect -- but expect a delay. jummy: a lot to do again after the president first address to a joint session of congress. the speed was filled with calls for unity, some saying a much different tone from his actions during his first month in office. we have the response. pres. trump: the time for trivial fights is behind us. >> and optimistic message to the american people. pres. trump: american greatest is now beginning. in hisook a softer tone first address before congress, sharing an emotional moment with karen allen's, the widow of chief petty officer ryan owens, killed in action a month ago during a raid in yemen. the applaud from both sides of the aisle filling the room and lasting almost two minutes. pres. trump: his legacy is at -- eched into

>> he was talking to compromise when it came to immigration. pres. trump: i believe republicans and democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades. >> committing to his promises, like building the wall on the mexican border. pres. trump: a great wall. >> repealing and replacing obamacare and increasing the defense budget. for,e agenda they voted the majority of the americans feel is the right agenda is the right agenda president trump is advancing. pres. trump: we have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption. >> getting boos from democrats with chuck schumer saying he does not by the change in tone. >> his speeches are totally detached from reality. president ofhe saying he is one with the people but not following up that talk with action. the commerce secretary was en

the speech last night. the president speech getting traction on social media, becoming the most tweeted about state of the union or address to a joint session ever with 3 million tweets. penguin random house has signed the obama's to a crative book deals, they plan to write about their time in the white house in two separate books, the financial times reporting that the publisher will pay more than $65 million for global rights. no confirmed date as to win the books will be released. coming up at noon, like a scene out of dukes of hazard, a truck goes airborne in louisiana. why the person behind the wheel went from driver to daredevil. christians around the area celebrating ash wednesday, where you can go get your ashes on the go. wet weather headed our way, how bad will it get?

we will check in with them but first, angela foster. heard, julie wright has told you the big traffic issue for this midday is the closure on iq 70 northbound through gaithersburg, let's head to the traffic lane cameras and give you a live perspective of what is going on. the accident has all of the main lanes blocked on northbound i 270 into gaithersburg and passing i 370. before west diamond, be alert, all northbound lanes blocked and police are diverting traffic to the local lanes. the local lanes are open although they are barely moving. a crawling pace northbound i to 70 in the local lanes -- i270. southbound lanes are open but a lot of rubbernecking delays. i crash on the capital beltway. in prince george's county

between morgan side and forth to bill, the grass on the left side has travel lanes -- residual delays.

>> you are watching abc 7 news at noon. on your side. jummy: we must-see video out of louisiana, a high-speed police chase finishes with a truck going airborne and landed on top of another car. it started when a deputy stopped the driver of the truck for speeding and the driver spoke to the officer outside, the passenger got in the driver seat and took off with the suspect and escape work-release participants. recklessly, no one

story, aeveloping major jewelry company facing a number of sexual assault allegations. sterling jewelers is a multibillion dollar company running k jewelers, over 100 former and current female employees claim they were told to perform sexual favors to get promoted or keep their jobs. for sexs propositioned in return for a promise to be brought back to this district. i did it, i am not proud to say. jummy: the testimony says it is a widespread culture of harassment come allegations part of a massive class action arbitration that includes more than 69,000 former and current employees of those jewelers. bombe midst of recent threats at jewish community centers and schools nationwide, one community in rockville has decided to take a stand against the hatred. suzanne kennedy

>> when more than one dozen jewish schools and community centers across the country were targeted with bomb threats on monday, a group in our community came together to show solidarity . the demonstration this morning was felt in rockville, people held signs that said united we stand and never again. it took place in a shopping center parking lot across from the upper school of the charles e smith jewish day school. that school one target with a bomb threat just as the school day was starting on monday. other schools including the school andsh day fairfax received similar calls. all schools were safe for students to return. demonstrators who showed up today say they are upset and frightened. >> it is about standing against hatred. about who we are as a community, who we are as a country. it is about not letting this happen here and not letting it happen

>> a lot of threats and it only takes one. i hope they just stay where they are but nothing bad happens. scared. >> the schools in our area targeted were not the only ones impacted, there have been 60 similar threats across the country since early january. in rockville, suzanne kennedy. jummy: let's talk about the top story, which is the severe weather that has the potential to come this way this afternoon. doug: it is coming this way but for now sunny and warm in most areas like early summer but that will change quickly over the next couple of hours. the big picture, everything in pink is a severe thunderstorm watch, all those jurisdictions until 5:00. the watch will be extended i think eastward shortly. the area in yellow west of interstate 81 are severe thunderstorm warnings in effect as we speak. this is the

, pockets of heavy thunderstorms, some severe, moving eastward, lighting at about 40 miles per hour. based on that, they will probably arrive 2:30. until 12:45effect south of the metro and in the north, many more warnings issued this afternoon as these storms get closer. we sliced horizontal view at some of the storms, looking at the development and at they are picking out -- at the height, no pale, the greatest threat will be wind, there will be hail and obviously heavy rain but no pale reported now as the storms are continuing to grow -- no pale reported now -- hail reported now as the storms are continuing to grow. based on the direction of travel of this line and his configuration, this is the

afternoon. that is to hit the metro at about 2:00, a little bit after and probably about 2:30 in the metro, baltimore area. the distance from the line is about 90 miles away, taking two hours to get here, about 45 miles per hour it is moving which will continue to push eastward and the sales will continue to develop and get stronger and stronger. this line is huge from way up in pennsylvania way south, deep into the southern part of the country, not quite but almost to the gulf coast, probably tornadoes a big concern father southwest, talking 900, 1000 miles southwest and in our area cannot rule out an isolated tornado with this line of strong storms moving to the region at 2:30, most of it through baltimore metro, one mile solution on the timing but anywhere along the line, anywhere in the viewing area, the storms to pop up so pay attention to individual warnings in your area

even adobe mainline well east of here by 6:00 this evening, some southern storms could brush 70 -- other in areas with heavy rain later this afternoon and evening with a little bit of clearing later tonight. the risk for these storms, a slight chance of isolated tornadoes and wind gusts 60 miles per hour possible and hail possible and frequent lightning with this system. once we get through this, big changes, tomorrow, fairly pleasant, breezy, 54 degrees, friday, a clipper system and maybe some light snow or rain in the morning. otherwise partly cloudy and breezy and chilly on friday, chilly saturday and warming up sunday with a warm up monday and tuesday before things settle down for more normal early march temperatures by the middle of next week to. jummy: a little bit of everything, severe storms, snow, warm weather. doug: a case us busy -- it keeps us busy. jummy: 70 minutes you had to get ou

so are some homes burning much faster and what is driving dangerous attic fires with a bypass your smoke detectors and create flashover fires and trap you and your family and the people trained to save you. at 11:00, our consumer investigator reports on hidden home hazards and what you can do to protect your family, watch the report of 11:00. a preview of tonight on abc 7 news at 5:00 -- 5:00, you know the old saying, try it and you might like it. a talented young man performing at the kennedy center young deaf tonight who changed the face of ballet by giving it a try, his a compliment are impressive, broken barriers and proven that you never know where your dreams

jummy: millions celebrated ash wednesday around the world, today the start of lent for christians and john gonzalez catching up with several people who got their ashes to go. >> gospel choirs replaced by the sounds of trains and buses? >> i can just come in conveniently. >> we heard of breakfast to go poke what about religious ashes to go? >> an opportunity to participate in the past service if they are busy. a great idea. >> and to dust you shall return. now and ash wednesday ritual that was once exclusive to places of worship is now being performed at a metro station. >> a little bit different but i know that i have made a little bit of an effort. >>

quinstreet metro station offering ashes to commuters. this clergy member imposing ashes next to the newspaper guy at the metro station and making himself available for a short, simple, and outdoor prayer of confession. >> i have to do it at church. i cannot do it at the metro because it is not very religious. >> does it replace mass? >> for those who can, you should, go to church so you have a full and deeper experience but for us this prayer is a beautiful opportunity to be able to take that time and have that moment of confession and that moment of time with god to receive your ashes and start your lent even in the midst of a busy life. >> in alexandria, john gonzalez. jummy: dry for now

headed on the way, a final check on the forecast after the .

doug: severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 5:00, the yellows areas a severe thunder from morning with more coming our way and a live update at 1:00 and more sooner if needed. stay with us all afternoon as the storm's approach. jummy:

>> they say the number-one thing that married couples fight over is money, but if things go well in these next 30 minutes, the newlyweds on our show today may never have to fight about money again, unless it's about where to keep all of it. from world-famous bally's, las vegas, this is is "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ♪ hey, welcome to newlywed week here on "who wants to be a millionaire." you guys ready to go? [applause] hailing from texas, our returning newlywed lives by the motto "go big, or go home." and he definitely went big when he proposed. from college station, texas, please welcome back zack butler. [cheers and applause] what's up, zack? how you doing?