here of just where that bus landed. it landed across the road. none of the tires were off the road. there were seven kids on the bus. it happened at 10:15. they were middle and high schoolers. we talked to one student. he said no one appeared to be scared or upset during the incident. >> a safe speed, the ice got the better of us and we slid off the side. >> witnesses said the bus was going very slowly but it was alarming to watch. there is a steep drop with a creek below on the side of the road, one of the backwheels was off the road. most of the kids remained on the bus for about 45 minutes until the dot was able to salt and sand the roads so it could finally get down the hill safely. the fire department responded to the bus ride this morning.

five car accidents in this area. a lot of these drivers, like this one, the bus went off a road lower grassy branch road here. they say the fire department did -- that all the buses are off the road.road. >> that wasn't the only problem on the roads. as snow started falling before daybreak. this is just a little taste of what is to come. what is in store for us. >> we are seeing snow across the region. let's take a look at the radar as to where the snow is falling. our northern mountains, northern swainin counties still pulling in that mix as well as our western zones. the heavier snow bands expected to enter our region and light snow in the northern mountains over the upstate.

the snow. keep in mind still under this winter weather advisory. one to three inches through tomorrow morning. the rest of the afternoon, hours. all these counties now. it has been extended even into the foothills so this does include us in buncombe county. a winter storm warning for graham county, three to five inches of snow possible in that loek through tomorrow morning. look at this black mountain camera, still below freezing. started with a good coating of snow. starting to melt a little bit we'll have another chance for the snow and refreezing overnight. coming up we'll talk more specifically about how much will fall in the way of snow. we are talking about freezing rain and round two, who will see the heaviest snow, significant snow possible.

prompted many schools to close or dismiss early. lauren continues our live team coverage. parents, you spoke with were anticipate anticipating this call. >> we rode along with buncombe county assistant. we saw no snow. once students arrived, conditions changed. that prompted this early release. some parents were ready. we were here at irwin as staff worked quickly to get students on their way home after classes let out at 9:30 this morning. a light snow on the ground. most parents sitting in the pickup line were ready for what mother nature may have in store. those we spoke with say they agree to release students early ahead of the snow. >> i think it is a good call.

schools out. where we live is near hookers road, it is getting icy. and this way, it is even more icier. >> school officials say evidence is keykey. they say it will count as a student day for buncombe county. that information for schools here, we first reported that before 9:00 a.m. when they confirmed that decision. we did have that first information for you. they were able to get students home as quickly as possible ahead of the second round of winter weather. coming up, you'll hear from school officials on why they made that decision to release early when they did. >> rex hodge continues our live team coverage. how does it look out there?

within the next 30 minutes. not much accumulation wet right now, elevation is key. all you need to do is take a 10 minute ride. you can see light snow cover especially on those secondary roads. the department of transportation says there are cold temperatures, they have been able to pretreat the roadsroads. with winter weather arriving in earnest and more snow this afternoon, people have made their way to the local hardware store to pick up winter items. >> getting ready for the cold weather. trustworthy hardware. it has been a struggle. they hope the cold snowy spell

some snow is falling, more is expected this afternoon. with that winter weather, haywood has closed down totally for today. they figured as soon as they get kids to school they would have to call an early dismissal so it is their first snow day. the do the usual drill of leaving plenty of time for where you are going, plenty of room between you and the next guy, don't text. you want to make sure you have some of -- make sure you have the windshield wash because of the pattern of melting and freezing, you may get spray.spray. >> look at the photos you have shared on facebook.

a picture in jackson county. where snow started falling. heather captured a shot. you can see light snow covering the parking lot. we have photos, another show a coating on the roads. this is near sam's gap. and joy sent awes picture of the snow starting to fall on the lake on jonathan creek. send us your pictures. post them on the news 13 facebook page or e-mail them to pics at wlos.com. >> there are already school announcements regarding early release. we have those at the bottom of the screen. stay with news 13 as we follow what is happening with the snow. we will be posting updates on our facebook and twitter pages as well as wlos.com. you can download our free weather app and sign up to get traffic text alerts. tune in tonight at 5:00 for the

tomorrow. >> in other news, anchor over the water crisis is showing no signs of easing. the governor is promising to release e-mails that could shed new light on the state response flint. the governor has apologized and pledged for aid. some residents are calling for his resignation. >> i'm sorry that i let you down. you deserve better. >> rick schneider was apologize ing protesting outside the state capital capital. >> they were silent. they were staring at a public health emergency and they sat on it. >> lawyers have filed three class action lawsuits saying

acted sooner. officials apparently waited nearly five months to warn the public of toxic levels of lead when they changed the city's water source. >> we haven't had our water tested. tested. >> it shouldn't have gotten to this point. >> i'm increase the support from the michigan national guard to ensure every home we need to visit in flint gets visited as soon as possible. >> during his state of the state address in addition to more aid, the governor pledged greater transparency. this as the flint mayor met with president obama and white house officials lobbying for more help. >> president obama by the way is in michigan today visiting the auto show in detroit. while he is not expected to stop in flint, he could address the water crisis. as we learn more about who knew

>> an attack kills 20 students. armed militants stormed the university. more casualties could be inside. the taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack. >> u.s. coast guard suspended the search for 12 marines missing since two helicopters crashed. one of those are from woodruff california. the two helicopters crashed last thursday. the coast guard said it was not an easy decision to stop the search. >> coming up in our health

>> are you looking to keep your resolution to lose weight or quit smoking? the key to success may be living with you. martha shade reports a new study suggests a spouse or partner sharing your goals increases your chances of success. >> want to double your chances of success in making a positive life style change. just add a loved one. researchers found that couples who adopted a new and positive health behavior were more successful than those doing it on their own. for the study, researchers followed 4,000 married and cohas been tating couples and studied their unhealthy habits in several areas. here's what they found. 48% of men were able to stop smoking if their partner quit. compare that to 8% of partners who did not quit. for women, the success rate was half. when it came to physical activity, both had a 66% success

their partner. 36% of women lost weight if their partners joined them in a weight loss plan compared to 15% without a supportive partner. the men had a 20% success rate and 10% alone. having some support or a dose of healthy competition may just be enough to put you over the edgeedge. >> coming up, what thieves are doing to steal money from student loan programs and how you could end up paying. >> light snow, at cold springs rrch. lester carpet sales skycam network. coming up after the break, the future cast for the rest of the day and night. it does include snow but significant snow on the way.

afte >> light snowfall so far. the big event has not happened yet. that happened friday into saturday. let's talk about today first. the secondary roads. this is going to be the danger zone throughout the day and overnight into tomorrow morning. we still have not warmed above freezing at 3400 feet. winter weather advisory under the gun. all these counties shaded in this purple, one to three inches through tomorrow morning. the northern portion of the county will likely see more than the southern portion today. there is also a winter storm warning out for just one county in our viewing area. three to five inches possible in graham county. once again through tomorrow morning. take another live look at the later. knoxville getting hit hard.

rain, these northern portions of the county, haywood, bryceson, marshal, hot springs light snow throughout the day. same thing in our western zones and even down into the upstate, the possibility of these high mountain regions for light snow throughout the afternn. this is just the next hour. look at this, the darker the blue the heavier the snow bands in western north carolina, continuing to move through the french broad river valley. temperatures right now just above freezing in asheville at 33 degrees. 36 further south. here's the storm timeline, we'll have snow the possibility of a mix and rain further south for round one which is happening today. round two is friday into saturday. more of the snow event and we could see significant snow with that. 2:00 this afternoon showing decent snowands throughout the region. a mix further south into the upstate.

throughout late afternoon into dinner time, especially in our northern zones where they could pick up a decent amount. things start to clear out through tomorrow morning, we get a break, then late day thursday, start to see the mix return to the region. the snow really starts to fall at that point. here it is, it is a very important map for us. through thursday morning, you can see the key, the top of your screen, two to four inches in the pink. one to three in the blue. turquoise, half an inch to an inch. dusting, a halalf an inch. this is through thursday morning. the impact are moderate for snow and black ice into tomorrow morning. now, take a look at this. 12 plus inches in the counties shaded in pink. blue, six to 10. four to eight with the turquoise and one to three with the white. this is friday and saturday snow totals.

of a moderate to severe level for our form index. 36 degrees, rain and snow mix continues. tonight. slick late day even into the upstate. temperatures will plummet back before freezing at 29 degrees. seven-day forecast shows that chance for snow saturday. talk about these model discrepancies. some social media posts say 20 inches. it is amazing how much of a difference there is. we are getting closer to closer to this event. we should be getting a consensus. there is a major difference. i want to show you where these models are putting us. 20 inchesinches, an output through saturday evening. it is a little on the conservative side once we get to a global forecasting model. this is projecting six inches. i think after the accumulation maps, this is probably going to be where it is at over that 72

overall, this is something we'll closely monitor, the impact, that will be the bigger question, is it going to be rain, going into freezing rain possibly some of those roads having an issue, the accumulation, how much will we get, we need to be monitoring that as we make our way through the rest of the day. >> we will continue to tweet this forecast and into tomorrow. back to you.

company exceeded expectations. >> at noon the dow was down at 15534.

netflix shares up 8% tuesday after the company beat earnings estimates. the video streaming service added more than a million and a half new domestic members during the last three months of the year. netflix did add almost 5.6 million international subscribers beating that forecast by half a million. the national association of home builders remains at 60, holding steady from the december reading. it has been hovering in the 60's and any reading above 50 views conditions as good. the home builders association is forecasting modest growth for housing markets this year. a new study by the university of michigan found young adults are not getting their driver's licenses and it is raising a red flag for auto makers. more than 75% of people ages 20 to 24 have a driver's license. it is a sharp decline from 1982 when about 92% in that age group

the rise in ride sharing services are providing alternatives for many young people in dense urban areas. >> still to come, how an incident puppy was caught in the middle of a drug deal and why authorities can't find him. >> coming up tonight at 5:00, looking ahead following a pregnancy loss.

women trying to get pregnant >> a helpless puppy is traded for cash. look closely and you'll see the guy steal the puppy. he shoves it into his shirt. the puppy is still missing pu the suspect was caught by police. >> poor puppy. >> what started as a regular school day for buncombe county