thousands of cancellations happening. airlines scrambling to keep planes out of the path of a moner nor'easter to take shape. alison: we are getting for snow. some could reach double digits. new england are bracing for blizzard conditions. chief meteorologist doug hill has team coverage as we watch the storm move closer. michelle: this boils doing to location. what we see could vary depending where you are. jonathan: "7 on your side." we have the crews across the d.m.v. to show you what is happening in the neighborhood from the first flakes to the impacts after the fact. right now let's begin with our chief meteorologist doug hill. doug: we are busy indeed. we have the reporters positioned all over the place. we will join them. they are much more handsome and a beautiful bunch than the brady bunch but we'll see them in a second to give you the background of what folks are doing to get ready for the big storm that hasn't formed yet. tell you the information you need to know

north and west, anybody in the pink color, you are under a winter storm warning tonight through the morning. east of the city, in the purple area, you are under a winter weather advisory. the reason of the difference between a minor advisory and a major advisory, we expect warm air to push in the system once it gets going. rain over southeast section of virginia now. some not reaching the ground. the air is dry. that will rapidly change tonight. what we have an area of low pressure that caused the snow out west. that is here. that is diving to the east. then the storm comes together with the energy transferring to the coast. that storm will be the major storm that will cause the blizzard in the northeast and the storm that will cause us all kind of headaches. what is interesting to realize the storm is so big the ocean temperatures here in the mid-70's. the water temperatures. warmth and moisture will be pulled in. we ne

the farthest north you go from washington the more cold air you will see. this is just one computer model we are looking at but we think it has a good handle on things here. this is for 11:00 tonight. a few tenth of an inch of snow will fall. it may begin as rain and mix at sleet at times. overnight it will turn north and draw in colder air so we will start to pile up the snow. by 6:00 in the morning, it's close to an inch in the city. two in annapolis. four in baltimore. six in frederick. in the day, cold winds coming up the north, the storm stronger off the coast. the snow could fall heavily through the midday. we think by the time we hit late afternoon we could see up to 15 inches of snow in northern calvert county. ten in frederick. it doesn't mean these are the exact numbers but it gives you an idea as you go south of town very little. you get farther north, it's heavier and heavier. we will continue to watch that. i tell you, we may change the forecast as we get through the night. we have to wait for the storm to form. plan on delays

farther north is where we send abc7's kevin lewis in gaithersburg. gaithersburg will have a lot more snow to deal with than we will here in the city of washington. kevin, folks ready? are they anticipating what is coming? kevin: it seems yeah, everyone is talking about it. it's on everyone's mind. it is bright and sunny now but we know that will change. one benefit that stands to benefit is hardware stores. a're at lowe's in gaithersburg. staff has taken out the winter staples, including the starter logs for fires. we have shovels. windshield wiper fluid. traditional firewood. there is fire pits and down the end are what remain of the salt bags. the staff here tell me they had actually just packed up and moved all of this back to their storage room. only a few days ago. then word of this winter storm came and they got the forklift to move all the pallets

out. the most interesting stat, they had 75 snow blowers sold today alone. >> believe me, this weather pattern is going to have a huge impact on our sales. we have seen incremental increase in terms of demands in the past couple of hours compared to the weeks past. i can't come up with the adjective to tell you the impact this has on the snow blowers here. kevin: lowe's in gaithersburg is planning to open its doors at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. i'm told there will be nine employees here at a bare minimum. of course, montgomery county is not alone. the district also breaking for winter weather. that is where we find our own stephen tschida. he is at a salt dome in southeast. hey, stephen. stephen: you can really feel in the a

of the looming storm. possibly a bad one. check out the salt dome behind me. you can see the salt. they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the mayor, the chief of police. the head of d.p.w. we have video of what is going on here at this salt dome throughout the day. they have been pulling it up in the truck. heading out to get the roads coated and protected from the inclement weather coming our way. this is going to get going any moment. we'll be here on hand and bring you what the mayor and what everyone has to say about how d.c. is preparing for the looming snowstorm. reporting live, stephen tschida, abc7 news. jonathan: thank you. metro is trying to get ahead of the storm. anyone with metro access plans take note. service has been suspended. no more rides today. none are available tomorrow. it comes to the rail you can expect normal service tonig

time at 5:00. if the snow tops six inches they have to reassess the above ground service. metro advises bus service may be disrupted tomorrow. you can get real-time updates sent to your cell phone. go to our newsroom. go to wjla.com/text. a great resource for this. alison: we don't need to have a lot of snow here to actually feel the effects of the storm. michelle: yeah. up and down the east coast the flights are canceled. the traffic is expected to be treacherous if you are heading north. abc7's transportation reporter brianne carter at reagan national airport. the options are quickly becoming limited for getting in and out of town. brianne: the clock is ticking. the name of the game is trying to beat mother nature. we have seen the folks flying out tonight or tomorrow trying to get on a flight earlier today. so far, checking the departure board in the last ten minutes.

here at the reagan national airport. no cancellation from any flight from now until 6:00. that is good news for the folks trying to get out ahead of the storm. if you are coming here to reagan national airport, the security lines are piling up. they are lengthy at this hour. earlier today we met a man trying to get to toronto. we knows how to deal with the snow. he is concerned what would happen with a lot of snow here and he could possibly be stuck. so he got on an earlier flight to get out of town. >> i know the weather can do to flights and people traveling. people get stuck here. i don't wanted to be one of them. brianne: people taking the rails and amtrak, there could be train disruptions throughout the day as well. we'll have more at "abc7 news at 5:00". reporting live, brianne carter. now a look on the roads, toss

josh: thanks a lot. we are working our way around town starting off in northern virginia to get an idea of the conditions as the system starts to move in. show you where we are. it's not a bad spot as the storm getting ready. occoquan, you can see along the river. but one of the things we are noticing the breeze picking up and the cloud cover really starting to move in. i want to show you a couple of things on the truck. what i have done is set up the weather bug to see what the conditions are in the area. i will take it full screen. 44 for the actual temperature. but you will notice here one of the magic numbers is the dew point. the moisture starting to go up in the area. that is a good sign we are getting the storm system in here closer. i want to come back out live. the temperature in the air is one thing. but i want to show you the road temperatures. this thermometer, i can point it at the road and get a reading. still, right here on the black top after the sunny day, 62 to 63 degrees. so the snow that come

first is likely going to melt. it will take a few hours for it to come down heavy enough and quickly enough to sea it stick. so keep that in mind as i send it back your way. jonathan: we are about to hear from the mayor about the battle plans for the city. listen in. mayor bowser: they started to treat major and residential roads in the district. d.p.c. suspended the street sweeping for tuesday. all scheduled bulk trash pickup appointments for tuesday have been canceled and will be rescheduled. i like to know the snow team is preparing for a full deployment. we will have 200 plows scheduled on the street. they will be at their post by 7:00 p.m. tonight. we are asking residents and business owners in the district to spre

or non-clumping kitty litter along the sidewalks to help pedestrians. we are asking you to check on your neighbors. lastly, we would ask anybody that can help elderly resident or resident who needs assistance to do exactly that. we have a list of the d.c. residents snow team members who are willing to help out a nearby neighbor. michelle: you have been listening to mayor muriel bowser running down game plan for the approaching storm for the residents. send it now to loughmiller county -- loudoun county to see how they are preparing. jeff? jeff: we are outside the giant on market street. one of the main grocery stores in leesburg. as josh knight described we have seen the cloud cover come in. the wind picked up. people are getting ready for the storm. you have lived in leesburg since 1984.

through? >> i think it. will it looks like it. i think it will be a big one. >> are you ready? how are you feeling about the oncoming storm? >> i think i'm ready. i will enjoy it. i'll look out the window and stay home. jeff: good plan. she has a plan. and governor mccauley declared a state emergency in virginia so the state agencies are on hand to help the local agencies. we'll be in leesburg all night to watch for it and bring you the updates. jonathan: thank you. stormwatch7's team coverage continues soon. "good morning washington" will get bright and early. well, not bright. early. they will navigate the storm. it will be dark out. weather and traffic every ten minutes that starts at 4:00 in the morning, which is earlier than normal. coming up here at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- a look back at the storm of the century. it is 24 years to the day after the blizzard of

michelle: plus, a former mayor pleads guilty after a meth bust. many expected him to be released. we will explain why he is still behind bars tonight. jonathan: a special sendoff. the u.s. special olympic team heading overseas. the ovation. we have it for you coming up. alison: remember as we brace for the winter whiplash here we want you to share your winter scenes. take pictures and video and upload them at burst.com/wjla. we'll be right back.

jonathan: the man arrested after jumping the fence at the white house friday is in federal court. 26-year-old jonathan tran hopped the fence, told secret service when he was confronted he was the friend of the president and had an appointment. he was carrying a backpack with mace. he is facing charges for entering restricted area and carrying a dangerous weapon. alison: former fairfax mayor richard silverthorne pleaded guilty to meth charges today. he was expected to be released but as richard reeve reports you could hear gasps in the courtroom when he unexpectedly was ordered to go to

richard: scott silverthorne flanked you by his authority was free since last summer on his own recognizance but no more. >> i was shocked. richard: a packed courtroom stunned when the judge ordered him held without bond moments after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine. >> i expected to have the sentencing may or june. i didn't get to say goodbye. richard: the case began last summer when the police got a tip that he was using a website to meet men and trade meth for sexual encounters. an undercover agent set up a profile on the site and police say he responded. >> this a few days, the suspect made contact with us. richard: authorities set up a sting operation at the tysons hotel. the mayor accused of giving an undercover officer $200 of meth. >> he pleaded guilty because that's what the evidence would have shown. richard: the defense attorney was surprised at

remorseful. >> he loves fairfax city. it was his right. as a result of this, his ability to lead has been taken away. richard: at sentencing he faces up to 40 years in prison. his attorney citing the mayor's three decades of public service and clean record hoping for time served or perhaps pro base. >> he went to rehab. he is trying to get his life together. and for something like this to happen is nonsense. richard: silverthorne faces sentencing june 9. in fairfax, richard reeve, abc7 news. jonathan: abc7 is on traffic watch. julie wright is back. julie, it's the ride home before the storm so everybody is driving slower. julie: it's the calm before the storm. hopefully everyone took the initiative this afternoon to check the car for a full tank of gas. tire pressure. that sort of thing. wiper fluid. if you have to be out in the mess, it will be that. a mess. we encourage you to stay put in you can. the ride home tied up on 279, there is a crash at stewart

lane. the beltway itself, we have delays in each direction. the inner loop coming from 270 out of bethesda into college park. 27-minute ride. the outer loop slowing like a morning commute. 21-minute drive to bethesda. here we are coming across the american legion bridge north and southbound. slow go from 66 up north to 270. the same for those on the outer loop. from 270 headed back to 66, an 18-minute commute there. reminder, metrorail, a change from what we heard earlier. trains will operate tomorrow but on a saturday schedule. limited access to metro rail tomorrow. keep that in mind. metro bus service suspended through tuesday. metro access suspended through tuesday as well. keep that in mind. metro bust -- the metrobus is what i meant to say. i'll be back in 20 minutes to help you prep the car for tomorrow's ride. back to you. michelle: we have a blast from the past. winter blast from the p

the east coast, dumping several inches of snow here but a lot more up north. this prove to be historic and a crippling blizzard in new england. the storm forming now could rival that for some of the same regions hit in 1993. when you put they way, it makes you feel like run for the hills. get the milk and the bread and all those things. alison: you know you remember that well. doug: definitely. i had six hours of sleep in two days. it was fun. i was a lot younger. what happened with that is interesting. this is a parallel to this in a way. the eastern part of anne arundel, calvert county got for little snow. the district got a lot more. new england got bombed out by it. this may be similar, too. not the same storm but similar characteristics. let's get you started. steve rudin standing by in the weather center. we will g

minutes as we give you the complete story. hi, steve. steve: hi. doug: we'll back in a minute. i'll tell you about the storm and the temperatures now. 46 in washington. you saw josh knight take a look at the surface temperatures of the roadways. over 60 degrees in spots. so here is what will happen. the precipitation starts because of what the temperatures are like a couple thousand feet off the ground, it will start as rain. the ground temperatures and the air temperatures, it will take a while for this to change over and start falling to have an impact. so it will be messy and wet for a while. it will mix and change to snow. the areas most likely to get the snow to matter are the areas in pink. district west and north. weather advisory south and east of town. we talk about the rain/snow line where it's a huge cutoff. you might get a couple of inch or two of snow here and then you get three or four inches, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve

this is how the future cast shows it. the storm develops tomorrow morning deeply off the eastern part of north carolina. it will pull in ocean moisture, rain, sleet. snow to the north and west. colder winds change it back to snow before it tapers off. big story is the winds and the snowshowers. strong winds. that's where steve rudin picks up the weather story. steve: it's going to start to pick up as we move through the overnight hours to early tomorrow morning. winds out of the northeast at midnight tonight. wind gusts 8 to 15 miles per hour. look what happens as we move in the morning hours tomorrow. around 7:00, we will see wind gusts here around 25 miles per hour. closer to the coast. ocean city, wind gusts closer to 50 miles per hour. then the winds begin to ease as we look at the storm. beginning to move out of here. we are not the only ones to deal with the nasty storm. winter storm warning for the d.c. area, district and points north and west. head to philadelphia. the blizzard warnings to the north. ne

tomorrow. then due to a mixture of sleet, mixing in with the snow. boston has a winter storm warning. but just off to the west, they have the blizzard warning. it's a mess up and down the east coast come tomorrow morning. how much snow we see around here? we will head to doug. doug: we look to tomorrow morning. we see warm temperatures above freezing. a lot of rain and mix with the snow farther north and west. that is the steadiest, heaviest snowfall in the area until it comes to an end as the snowshowers and the rain showers late in the day. this will give us an idea. it's not absolutely for sure what will happen. a good trend. looking to midnight we have less than an inch in the metro area. piling up in the colder areas. by 6:00 a.m., over an inch we think is possible in the metro area. much more with every ten miles north you go. as you get through the day, it gets a wallop by noon. ten inches in frederick and ha

three or more in the middle of the city. so all of this again is subject to this rain/snow line. stronger the push of warm air, the more rain and sleet will mix in. that will knock down the accumulations. could this all be wrong and we get more? yes, that is possible. could we mind up get -- could we wind up getting less? yes, that is possible. but this is what we are holding with until the storm develops and starts to move. we will get new guidance and figure out something more accurate. but this will be a heck of a met in the morning. gusty winds, a little melting but the story is it will be bitterly cold tomorrow night. anything wet on the ground will freeze. steve and i will back in a little bit to update you on the winter storm. alison: we'll see you soon. reminder here, kids and parents, be the first to know if school is closed tomorrow. check the ticker or sign up for text alerts at wjla.com/text. of course, just pick your school system right there. jonathan: still ahead for us, look

bikes being blown away. how strong that wind was that literally halted a race that had bikers holding on for dear life. that is coming up. michelle: but first, a big celebration. the special olympic sendoff. we will take you to the party as team usa prepares to head overseas right aft

alison: about 150 special olympic athletes representing team usa are heading to austria this afternoon to compete in the world games. q mccray takes us to the celebration. q: boy, do i have a crew to introduce you to right now. are you excited? [cheering] q: you are looking at members of the special olympics, world winter games olympic team from the united states. everybody here is going to be taking part in alpine skis. >> we are. q: what are you bringing home? >> gold! >> gold medal. >> gold! q: this the coach. how do you get all these guys ready? >> they have various training events. we were able to take a group of everybody to vermont in december for a week-long training. then they have been training throughout working hard. now here we go. we are going to austria. two days of training there prior to the event. then we will start. q: there are 46 messages.

46 athletes. 13 coaches. q: but there are 139 athletes from the united states heading over to austria to kick some butt. and bring home the gold. if you want to watch the opening ceremony, it's on saturday at 2:00 p.m. right here on abc7. that is the latest from arlington. i'm q mccray. go, usa! >> go, usa! "usausa! usa! usa! q: back to you. michelle: we're rooting for them. thanks. next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- a corner rivalry. two gas stations fight for customers. the price wars bringing down prices to under a buck a gallon ahead. alison: coming up new at 5:00, a new milestone for a d.c. centenarian who made a flash. remember the dance at the white house? we have a

announcer: countdown to spring brought to you by -- announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 4:00". on

jonathan: a lot of flowers in our area but it will change. this is several inches of snow in the midwest. that is the scene. traffic going slow in wisconsin through chicago. that was the morning commute. it was a mess. michelle: that system is part of what could bring us snow as well. chief meteorologist doug hill with the forecast. maryland bureau chief brad bell in frederick getting ready for snow as well. jonathan: jay korff is in mobiletrak7 as the evening rush hour is warming up. let's go first to abc7's chief meteorologist doug hill and the forecast. what are we looking at? doug: the clouds are increasing. you might see the strong winds out of the southeast. that is bringing in the warm air now. that is why this whole thing will get off to a slow start later this evening. later tonight, it will ramp up in intensity and kind. we have winter storm warnings for the district, westward and north. weather advisories to the southeast. later tonight the national weather service may c

advisories. we will let you know if that happens. big concern tonight is the effect of the warm air from the atlantic ocean as the storm develops. a couple of rain showers developing over southeastern virginia in anticipation of the energy from the west merging with the storm over florida. the main player is a brand new yet to be born. like watching the giraffe cam. this one will develop more quickly. as it moves north, it will bring rain and wind in. mix in the colder air. the result is snow and sleet. a look at the computer estimation of a couple of tenth of inches of snow tonight by 11:00. overnight as it's colder the snow will pile up. not expecting more of three to four inches in downtown washington. heavier amounts by noon tomorrow. over 14 inches in westminster. ten inches in frederick. by the time it tapers to the snowshowers. 15 inches in westminster. 10 in frederick and hagerstown.

because of the warmer air and more rain and sleet. is it a major winter storm? yes. but we think the biggest effect will be north of the metro area. that is where we send abc7's brad bell. he is in frederick. the last time brad and i work together he got swamped with heavy rain and a thunderstorm. now he looks like nanut from the north. what you got, brad? brad: that's what i do. i go out in the weather so you can talk about how bad it is and i show you. right now it's pretty spectacular afternoon. i have my gloves on. there is a chill in the air. mid-40s. but so many other places in frederick, the daffodils are blooming. the grass is greening up. as you look across baker park you can see the high school tennis team out here getting in a little bit of a jog. there are preparations underway. brine striping put out on the highways. we have heard from frederick school they want all

stop by 8:00 tonight. snow emergency plan is in effect. if you park on one of the number state roads you will get towed. they said that already started. this is one of the things i want to talk about. as fault path here. as i touch, it ism what. it has been -- as i touch it, it is warm. it has been in the sun all afternoon. and that's just like the highways. i have been looking at the pavement temperature sensors. everywhere i look, the pavement temperatures are above 50 and in some places even out here in western maryland i have seen 60 and 7 o-degree pavement temperatures on i-70. hopefully that aspect of this storm won't be too bad at all. with regard to the roadways we are monitor that as well. we already are. my colleague jay korff is in mobiletrak7 in the vienna area, i believe. jay? jay: indeed, brad. thanks a lot. a similar situation. we are on i-66 westboun

to get to the vienna exit, the nutley exit traveling westbound. everything looks great. as you can see, there is the brine stripe that you are seeing up at mdsha puts down in maryland. of course, they also have here vdot. they do it all over the area for their primary roads. also for a lot of the -- excuse me. for the interstates and a lot of the primary roads. this looks like a northern rush hour in northern virginia with plenty of folks on the road. i have been driving around a lot. i notice that everybody is runninger -- running the errands. they want to get everything done before the precipitation hits. we will keep you up to date on how things are looking throughout the evening. back to you. michelle: thank you. check this out. d.c. plows are deploying today. abc7 is getting a ride-along. you can see the driver ready to go. as they prepare to treat the roads. the positioning cr

to roll. they will have much more from d.c. coming up at 5:00 this afternoon. earlier in hour we heard from the mayor. jonathan: follow or stormwatch7 team on facebook, twitter and wjla.com. also this is great. you can download the stormwatch7 app for the latest forecast wherever you are. all right. you get a search warrant pinned to your door. that's a scary thing to have happen. tonight a "7 on your side" consumer alert. the warrant, bogus. michelle: consumer investigator kimberly suiters shows you how to spot a fake. kimberly: michelle, the d.c. attorney general is warning consumers, especially in immigrant communities about fake i.c.e. warrants. the fear here it could be a scam that will develop into an extortion situation for money or information. here is one of the fake warrants here. the problem this supposedly comes from the u.s. district court. but then they have an i.c.e. logo. it's a mismatch. the case number is a fake. it doesn't ex

this i.c.e. special agent would normally have a badge number. this is a giveaway. "affidavit" is misspelled. they are missing the court time and date stamp and the judge's name listed is not a d.c. judge. the judge works in maryland. the families received these and didn't know they were fake. they were frightened. one woman was paralyzed. she felt she couldn't work or go to school. the attorney general wants you to call the office or a non-profit that helps offer legal services to figure out if a warrant is real or fake before you act on it or you pay anyone to help you deal with it. reporting live, kimberly suiters, abc7 news. back to you. jonathan: this is very real. gas price have been dropping but it's ridiculous in houston. wait until you hear this. the number in a second is 79 cents per gallon of unleaded gas. that is no joke. the supervisor at this station said they dropped the prices because the gas station acos

prices. >> i couldn't believe it. but i think it's great. we haven't seen the prices in god knows how long. >> if this is a gas war, i hope it goes in the city. we need it in these times. you know what i'm talking about. jonathan: yes, we do. we hope our stations do this. both stations at 79 until the competing station and took it further to drop it to 78 contracts a gal -- 78 cents a gallon. the biggest winners are the drivers. michelle: very nice. if you think it's windy here. check this out. the week riders blown away. how strong the gusts were that knocked them off their seats. jonathan: wow! michelle: now here is veronica johnson with a preview of stormwatch7's early start on "good morning washington." veronica: thanks, michelle. tomorrow on "good morning washington," we are on a stormwatch7 winter weather alert across the d.m.v.

stormtrak7, snowtrak7. >> get the latest impact on the morning commute. >> keep it here for traffic and weather every ten minutes tomorrow morning starting extra early at 4:00 a.m. on "good morning washington."

jonathan: check this out. this is in south africa. they called off the bike race and for good within. michelle: too windy

of the bikers. wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. you can see the riders just struggling to hang on to their bikes. let alone stay on them. jonathan: didn't work out so well. michelle: all right. now to this. this was no sunday drive. nascar sprint car race turning into a melee after a wreck. jonathan: all you have to do is take left-hand turns all day long. lagono took out kyle busch. look at the scuffle on pit road. pennzoil against m&m's. michelle: that doesn't look good. jonathan: busch walked away unhappy and he got the worst of it. we see this. the emotions are high and you get touched by another car going 190 miles per hour. you end up in the infield or the wall. lagarde to the inside -- lagono to the inside and gives him a tap. michelle: crush the m&m's. buried for three millenniums. that is a lot of time.

unearth the infamous pharaoh archaeologists believe this honors next. >> it may be the perfect storm at the tidal basin. we are days away from peak bloom. yet the temperatures are expected to dip in 20's for several nights in a row. of course the snow. i'm cheryl conner. coming up, the latest on how the weather may impact the cherry blossoms. jonathan: also we'll let you know we will update the forecast in a few minutes. but you can get track, keep track of the storm in the palm of your hand. just download the stormwatch7 weather app. it will send you alerts when the

michelle: wedding rings are a symbol of love and unity. an orlando woman is proving the love for her family is worth more than the wedding ring. megan showed up to exchange her ring for $5,000. just the amount she needed to help pay for her husband's medical bills after he took a nasty fall at work. during the meeting with the potential buyer, the person took off with the ring faster than she could get

>> the fact that he could take advantage of somebody like me, i can't believe that people would stoop that low. michelle: she wasn't the only victim and they encourage people to meet for exchanges to meet at a police station. jonathan: that is pretty low. you have to see this video. archaeologists unearthing massive statue buried under cairo. it may be that of ramsey, the second most powerful pharaoh in all of egypt. he ruled 3,000 years ago. look at the condition of the statue. it looks beautiful. the 26-foot tall statue pulled from the mud friday. today the torso and the lower part of the head also being unearthed. michelle: that is a huge find. jonathan: you can understand their excitement it has been there for thousands of years and the condition it looks to be in looks amazing. michelle: very cool. jonathan: it will be fascinating when they put it back together. that will

talk about what is happening on the tidal basin. the cherry blossoms have two big challenges. first, the snow, and then the cold temperatures. michelle: we could go from a peak bloom prediction to no blooms at all. that would be the worst case scenario. cheryl conner has the latest on what could be unprecedented year at the tidal basin. >> it looks like it's about to pop open. >> they planned a trip from portland, oregon, to visit their daughter for her birthday. they all were hoping the cherry blossoms would be a gift. >> i have been telling them how it can be 80 one day and then 40 the next day. and then 7 o the next day and 20 the next day. cheryl: now the governmented trees going for a roller coaster ride. the peak bloom pushed back to sunday. but there is a chance we won't see them at all. >> anything around 27 degrees we can see damage from the blossoms or the blossoms killed off. cheryl: the temperatures could dip in the low

teens. several night this week the snow is a factor. the national park service says it's not as much of a nuisance as the cold. >> this is first time we are looking at the potential of having a number of the blossoms coming out. cheryl: he is hopeful because it didn't get as cold as they expected this weekend. >> it's good to see this in person. cheryl: this is most of the trees you see around the tidal basin. if they die off, the other trees are in bloom two weeks later. the snow and the worst air come for the worst time when the blooms are coming out. >> now they have to experience this crazy weather tonight. cheryl: at the tidal basin, cheryl conner, abc7 news. jonathan: it's not just the cherry blossoms either. you go around and you see the lilies coming up out of the ground, the plants and the flowering trees are doing their thing. now

start of spring. here we go. steve: i saw dandelions when i walked my dog, daffodils. goodness. now we have snow. depending on the location you may see hardly anything at all or a ton of snow in your neighborhood. we will talk about that. temperatures are in the 40's. it will fall this everything and overnight. the winds kick up. look at the latest on the winter storm warning. it includes district, alexander fairfax, montgomery county, washington county. panhandle of west virginia. head further south and east. prince george's county, charles, stafford and orange under a winter weather advisory. could these change? absolutely they could change. this is what we have from the national weather service. the snow totals are iffy as we move across the

of what we expect for the capital beltway. this is what we have. notice we are looking at sleet and rain for the immediate metro. all rain for delmarva. the further north and west we are looking for snow. heavy snow from new york city and boston. moving to the midday hours tomorrow. we will get all of this out of here. by wednesday, it's windy. cold here. temperatures are well, well below average for this time of year. this is what it looks like at 6:00 tomorrow morning. rush hour commute. there is cancellation. heavier snow from frederick to hagerstown. this is all lifting out of here by mid-morning. a few snowshowers remain for noontime. the winds will begin to kick up with the wind gusts upward of 25 to 30. how much do we expect to see in the immediate metro area? we could see two to six inches. could we see the lower end of that? absolutely.

especially further south and east toward southern maryland where you may see looking at rain mixing in with sleet. windy for the afternoon. highs in the upper 30 to 40. here is your ten-day outlook from storm watch 7. it's chilly for the week. st. patrick's day is something to look forward to on friday. temperatures are 45 degrees. middle 50's. as they move in saturday. we head to the week next week, we look at the upper 50's. welcome julie wright to the afternoon. i can't fid in here. i have to lower this. let's see. camera is set for you. here it is in perspective. go ahead. julie: either i'm up late or you are up early. right now a couple of things to keep in mind with the pending snow coming our way. train stop on saturday schedule, every 12 minutes tomorrow. the metrobus service changes likely tuesday. metro access suspended through tuesday. keep that in mind. the belt

the bridge looking good. to utter loop is where we had the crash. the winter tip for the cars. if the battery is three to five years old the cold weather will zap the juice. check your tire pressure. have spare keys. don't forget the emergency kit to be on the safe side. that is the traffic watch. jonathan, back to you. jonathan: thank you for that. coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- vacation! but there are fees on top of fares. you know it. and there are three things you need to know when you fly the next time. they are driving the price of the ticket up. you might want to know.

john: you found a great $50 flight? don't celebrate. the new fees could add $50 to $100 to the fare. discount airlines have been charging extra for a carry-on bag in the overhead bin. for 2017, united and american are adding the same bag fees for people who purchase a basic economy ticket. add to that, checked bags. $the at most airline -- $25 at most airlines. booking by phone, $15 most airlines. changing the economy ticket is now $200. in-flight wi-fi is $5 to $10. but from doesn't that stink file, the most hated of the new fees, the fee for your carry-on. allee gent, frontier and spirit, the three

discounters charge between $10 and $75 to use the overhead bin. with united and american adding that fee to some seats. you may say doesn't that stink? air farewatchdog.com say the basic economy seat may not be the best value. even if the fares are $50 less. know the downside so you don't waste your money. i'm john matarese, abc7 news. larry: tonight with the time running out, winter finally gets the act together. we are in for a case of winter whiplash soon with the snow totals up in the air. who is likely to see a wintry mix and who is bound to get dumped on? announcer: now "abc7 news at 5:00". alison: so months of mild weather, one week before spring and winter isn't ready to give up just yet. larry: that is right.

merge. it will spell snow for most of the area. we have team coverage of the winter whiplash starting with the stormwatch7's chief meet meet -- chief meteorologist doug hill. get us started. doug: we have an indiation of rain starting to fall -- indicate of rain starting to fall. the air is dry and it won't initially reach the ground. i will dry up. but that is the leading edge. a hint of what is to come here. the warning in effect from the national weather service. the district points north and west, the winter storm warning. these could be changed based on the warm air. winter weather advisory purple east and south of the metro. we expect timing to come through the carolina coast. the system is starting to get its act together that will intensify and

the closer it gets the more dramatic the impact will be. as it draws in warmer air overhead off the atlantic ocean. we think it begin at rain as many places. then change over to a mix of snow and sleet. it could turn to snow in some areas overnight. this is the latest forecast. south of the metro area, eastern shore. less than an inch. one to two in the area suburbs of calvert county and southeast of the city. we get more in the district. progressivelymore farther north. we have two or three in -- two to six in the district. we don't how far the snow line will come. if it's too far it will be on the low inch. any way you cut it, clearly the farther north you go you hit the bigger snow totals. ten inches to a foot. you get in pennsylvania and beyond it's probably a foot and a half to two pete in spots. that big of a storm. steve rudin and i will join you and give you information on impact and the morning rush