madison county as well. temperatures in the 20s and 30s. we're right at freezing in asheville. it haseen brutally cold all day with the wind. a little less in boone. typically find a lot of wind there. we're going from air temperatures in the 20s at 7 to the mid 20s by 11 and the wind chills will be in the teens all evening long here in asheville. and your wind chills will be in the 20s up in the upstate. bundle up, folks. and check on those pets as well. we'll talk about chances for warmer weather in the near term forecast. stick around. >> frank: many people in the northern mountains woke up to a light dusting of snow. >> karen: the christmas decorations still up in downtown burnsville this morning.

we saw plenty of snow covered land and wet roads in both yancey and madison counties. yancey and madison county schools did let out early. that was a nice surprise for one mountain heritage freshman. >> i thought it was funny because it's been sunny and stuff and we get back to school and it starts snowing. >> karen: alexa says she plans to catch up on a little more sleep. meanwhile, dot crews are out in full force and they are urging anyone in the northern mountains who is going to be out driving tonight to be very careful. any moisture on the roads definitely freezing tonight in the form of black ice. i'm karen wynne, news 13. >> frank: wintry conditions also made things difficult on the roads. troopers say there were several wrecks across the area.

of them on i-40 that had traffic cked up near the fines creeks exit. now your on time traffic report sponsored by debruhl's used cars. >> larry: here's a current look at the traffic. this is a live look at i-26 near brevard road. so far no issues for drivers in this area. >> tammy: in asheville, there's planned construction on tunnel road. watch for workers in this area. >> larry: dispatchers from across the mountains say the snow has not impacted traffic yet. they do urge drivers to be cautious tonight on the roads. >> tammy: president obama is meeting with u.s. attorney general today at the white house about gun control. he is proposing tighter legislation in response to what he calls an epidemic of gun violence in america. rex hodge is live outside a gun store in waynesville. rex, how are people that you spoke with reacting?

>> rex: very strongly one way or the other. many people here see gun control as a violation of their second amendment rights. the president is taking action even without approval of the congress. kenny walker sets his sights at the offering. >> i'm going for the assault rifles because i think they're the ones going out first. >> rex: expand background checks is the reason for this trip. >> i want to go ahead and take advantage of it before our rights are infringed on. >> rex: these guns are sold legally. >> bought at gun shows without background checks. you can buy them anywhere. >> rex: the president's plan would target unregistered

background checks. rebecca gibson supports the use of executive power. >> i like the idea a whole lot because i think it's just too loose. i think we have too many guns. like semi-automatics. those kinds of guns. >> constitutional rights. >> this is america and we have the right to own guns. >> rex: keeping citizens safe from gun violence is the premise behind strengthening gun laws. gun murders between 2006 and 2014 in the united states have gone down 20%. despite the statistics, the debate over gun control is likely to continue. especially in a presidential election year. >> i don't think private people need things like semi-automatics. >> rex: now under the president's plan, there will be tighter control over

and that includes online. >> tammy: governor pat mccrory declares january as stalker awareness law. alison's law went in to effect on the first. it makes gps tracking illegal under a cyber stalking initiative. stalking is the most common form of violence it sees. >> more than anything else, we need awareness. the technology that we have that makes our lives simpler now can really often be turned against us and used in ways that we don't think about. >> tammy: there are likely more than 2,000 people in buncombe county who have experienced stalking. >> larry: a neighborhood blames the city of hendersonville for a crumbling retaining wall.

news 13's john le is live in flat rock this evening. john, the city says their water line is not the reason for that collapse. >> john: that's right. you have a tale of two retaining walls. on the other side, we're going to show you what used to be a mirror image. as you can see this wall is very much about half of what it used to be. you can see why neighbors here are at odds with the city. >> somewhere about the middle of november, the city's water line blowed out. >> john: the possible domino effect is concerning to dwayne hill. 25 foot hall off summit springs drive blocks water flow to the creek. >> the water can't get through the creeks been 10, 12 foot

deep. >> john: driving a wedge. this. >> john: the damage could cast 18 property owners some $100,000 to repair. to wash out. it's just a matter of time. >> john: the only road in and out of summit springs. >> it wasn't like this before their water main broke and this is what we're stuck with. >> john: they've filed an insurance claim but were told the city is not neglect. >> the problem would be there regardless of whether the water line was there or not. >> john: as a precaution, the city will move a stretch of that line. >> trying to anticipate a potential catastrophic failure, which would leave them without water as well. >> that dirt was all the way across even. >> john: but dwayne and other home owners are not satisfied.

>> now we have a damaged road and potentially no road. >> john: prepared to take legal action to force the city of hendersonville to pay for repairs. >> we're left holding the bag. >> john: so the city will start the work of relocating that line very soon, they say. once they do it will take about a week to complete that work. but in the meantime, the dispute retaining wall. that doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon. john le, news 13. >>arry: a new change, new experience will be part of the wnc nature center's makeover. >> tammy: shattered previous attendance records in 2015. the spring guests will see equipment move in. but it will not affect visitation. >> this is a great year for us, mostly because the weather was fantastic. as people know, until recently,

and months that we typically see good attendance, we've seen a great attendance. months like november and december this year were way ahead of last year. >> tammy: the center plans to change its name to better reflect the zoo logical experience that it offers. a mining like experience that will allow visitors to search for fossills and other plant and animal life. >> larry: coming up, the return

why ethan couch is still in >> tammy: we have new details surrounding the case of the so-called aflunenza team. it could be two months before he . >> larry: a judge ordered a temporary stay. he disappeared while on probation for killing four people in a drunk driving accidents. >> tammy: the fbi is now investigating a standoff involving a group of militia men

>> larry: the third straight day. >> reporter: the fbi is now stepping in hoping for a peaceful ending in this standoff. they've taken over a federal wild life refuge led by aemon bundy. >> they're coming down in to the states and taking over the land and the resources. >> reporter: the group claims this land does not belong to the federal government and they're ready to defend themselves should officers move in. the standoff started saturday after this rally in support of ranchers dwight and steven hammond. the two have been ordered to serve a 5 year sentence. >> i'm going to jail for 5 years for 127. overkill.

>> reporter: while the hammonds and bundys have many supporters, some feel uneasy. >> i don't like the militia's message. >> people having guns. >> reporter: president obama has been notified. >> the fbi is monitoring the situation. >> reporter: he was also involved in this confrontation with the government two years ago over grading rights. but say their actions here will be peaceful. meanwhile, dwight and steven hammond say they don't support the militia's message and will report to jail. >> tammy: wow, today was a shock to the system, wasn't it? >> larry: it was. it was kind of nice, though. >> jason: sure. are you out walking the dog for 15 minutes? >> larry: no, but i look out the window and admire those who do. >> jason: wind chill conditions. teens here in most lower

check on those pets as well. we sit in the upper 20s.

more than snow when w guitar music it's not monday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday - it's tuesday. tuesday! the very first tuesday! tuesday! t-t-t-tuesday! tuesday, first tuesday, it's me and it's yous-day, us-day, the very first tuesdaaaaaaaaaay!

now your news 13 skywatch weather. >> jason: you've got your snow and you've got your cold, no

i'm just kidding. bursts of snow still coming over the high country in to the valleys. most of this is going to taper off here later on this evening. you get south and it's all about clear skies pretty much over the upstate. quite a difference. but it's still chilly. leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network looking down on greenville. a few clouds banding about. cataloochee ski area. all the way to the top opened up. enjoy it. forecast, we're talking rain, though, not snow. after today, very few flakes in the forecast, folks. 10% chance wednesday. 50% thursday. late in the day. 70% of showers returning friday. it gets warmer and wetter. you've heard that before, haven't ya? flurries in asheville. 29 degrees.

it feels like 18 degrees. bundle up. in fact, today's high of 37 is the coldest h hh temperature we've recorded since february 25th of last year. nearly a year ago, folks. it's been a while. 37 in greenville. your wind chill down to 32. the strong wind that we have going on now is going to weaken slowly but surely. the first to see it weaken will be the south. the last will be up here in the mountains, especially asheville. slide over the atlantic drawing moisture and down through south carolina. rain and very kind of blustery weather there. first clouds thursday, then rain late day thursday, more so in to friday as we get another push of some warmer air to come along with it. lows tonight, teens pretty much anywhere you go in the mountains. from mid teens, boone to

newland. 40s for you tomorrow down over the upstate. not bad. mid to low 40s. highs in the 30s valleys. chill to thrill is what we'll call it. of course you won't be thrilled if you want the snow fall. 50 on thursday for the high. look what happens friday. rain comes, 51. saturday the pick day of the next seven. upper 50s dry. we get rainy again on sunday. chilly by next week down to the 40s. i think this is going to be a very common theme where we see seesaw after seesaw. 60s by saturday then cooling down again in to next week. so get used to hearing about those roller coaster rides. i think january in to february is going to bring a lot of these. >> larry: interesting 2016 already. >> jason: already. but no major storms at this point.

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because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! yes! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. plus $400 in promo cards. >> larry: left untreated, acid reflux is not only painful but it could also lead to bigger problems, even cancer. >> tammy: one local woman battled the disease for most of her adulthood. as jay siltzer shows us, a medical procedure helped save her life. >> i was having trouble with my

>> reporter: that was the first size margaret had a bigger problem. >> it would fit in within 30 minutes from the time you eat, you are in burning. >> reporter: margaret came to dr. alan broadshaw after years of diet modifications. he recommended at mission health, a minimally invasive laproscopic surgery. >> get it back beneath the diaphragm from where it's supposed to be. it's called repairing the hiatal hernia. >> reporter: diagrams show how the stomach has been wrapped

>> i have not taken an acid reflux medicine since the surgery. >> for gi symptoms, it's 90-95% successful. >> that high? >> mm-hmm. >> no pain, no trouble, nothing since that day. >> reporter: a day that proved life changing for the 66-year-old. in asheville, jay siltzer, news 13. >> tammy: some studies show it most often diagnosed when a patient is between 60 and 70. >> larry: still to come, an update to the periodic table.

that >> tammy: chemistry textbooks are now officially out of date. >> larry: that's because new elementments are being added to the periodic table. they're being recommended by pure and applied chemistry. the seventh row of the periodic table is finally complete. >> tammy: it's the first time the table has been updated since 2011. >> larry: coming up, eblen charities giving another helping hand. >> tammy: what the organization is doing with its heating assistance program. news 13 at 5:30 starts now. we seen the flames coming up. >> frank: safety concerns after several homes and fires in buncombe county. the common cause in some of

those fires. plus a witness recounts a dramatic rescue of a child. >> jason: snow beginning to taper for most across. i'll show you what to expect tonight. it's just the wild west and anybody can do anything on this land. and we don't think that's a good way for people to protect their property values. >> anchor: local slivers of land that belong to no county or city. why it's a problem and how it may be fixed this week. now from western north carolina's news leader, this is news 13 at 5:30. >> frank: chilly temperatures led to some snowfall in the mountains this morning. >> anchor: a news 13 viewer sent us these photos from mitchell, madison and yancey counties. >> frank: as you can see some folks have more than just a dusting. the sky has cleared in the mountains and the upstate, but the chilly temperatures are sticking around.

>> anchor: more on how the