but it's what's headed our way later this week that has a lot of people preparing. we can't stop it from coming. >> larry: tonight, live team coverage of a winter storm that's expected to dump a lot of snow in our area. >> pretty bad. a lot of snow. >> darcel: also tonight, the impact today's snow fall had on the roads in northern counties as we get ready for another round of winter weather. >> larry: and remember how warm it was just a month ago. >> 2015 for the globe was the warmest on record. >> larry: tonight, why last year's warm up was different than all of the other record breaking years. now from western north carolina's news leader, this is news 13 at 11:00. >> darcel: the snow we got today is just the beginning of what's expected to be a wintery weather event that will have a big impact on our area. >> larry: some areas could get more than a foot of snow. and we are under a winter

>> darcel: our crews and meteorologists will be working around the clock to keep you updated on the situation. what we know now is that we're expecting a significant amount of snow. >> larry: let's begin with chief meteorologist jason boyer. >> jason: all right, guys, winter weather advisories out. but winter storm watches have already been posted for the next 36 to 48 hours and beyond. winter storm watches go in to effect 7:00 p.m. thursday and ends 7 sunday. all these areas in royal blue. they extend in to charlotte, rockhill, winston salem, high point for good reason. winter weather advisories tonight until day break because of the black ice.

there in avery. henderson below freezing in greer and also gaffney. our storm, number one, check it off the list. it's gone. here comes the second one, spinning, diving to the south and east. it doesn't look like much now but this is really going to get its act together and organize itself south along i-85 or along it. that's going to be a pretty good near perfect path for us to get significant snow and ice. after sunset things get a little interesting overnight tomorrow night. 20s for you in the upstate. you're headed for 40s by the lunch hour. i'll lay it all out for you and show you what to expect. >> larry: news 13's justin hinton continues a live team coverage in yancey county. justin, what did you find out there? >> justin: really in the past

plows come through. look how much snow is out here. quite a bit covering the road. as we found this winter weather didn't treat everybody quite the same as some people got out and enjoyed it. for jacob mc cool, now's his chance. it's gotta be perfect. after all, he's not used to snow after recently moving from alabama. we'll check on him later. someone who is used to, jonathan williams sweeping off the steps for his mom. no matter how familiar or unfamiliar the sight of snow might be, this is something you don't expect to see. >> it is unrealistic, actually, until you see it in person. >> justin: an overturned semi near the intersection of madison

traffic. >> hoping everybody is all right. >> justin: miraculously they were. the driver walking away perfectly fine. tow trucks went to work clearing it from the road. a win that everyone walked away without getting hurt. back in burnsville, mc cool is hoping for a different kind of win. though, today, it looks as though it just wasn't meant to be. and they definitely all had a good time out there. now he'll get a chance to redeem himself a little later. we're expecting a second blast of snow to come through this area overnight thursday and in to friday. justin hinton, news 13. >> darcel: some mountain cities started preparing for snow and ice this morning. in hendersonville, the department of public works has already applies brine to high priority streets.

live team coverage in hendersonville near i-26. jerrika, how much snow fell there? >> jerrika: darcel, it was only a dusting here today. but i tell you what, it's friday that everyone is focused on here in hendersonville. inches of snow and ice are expected to fall. so this is only a taste of what's to come. sometimes you've gotta taste it to believe it, even if it doesn't taste like much. >> water. >> jerrika: and when there's not much to taste, families like this one actually wished for more snow. but of course, not too much. >> we were very excited to have some snow today. and we were glad it slowed down. we didn't have to hurry home. >> jerrika: getting home with a few more inches on the ground is when drivers can run in to trouble. and don't forget about first responders. city crews tackled those roads first. >> any government building, the hospital, fire department, bridges, because they freeze

>> jerrika: but today isn't the problem. what's potentially coming friday is the city's main focus right now as they prepare as far in advance as possible. >> we'll continue to watch the weather forecast and see what they're predicting to come our way. if need be, we'll put out some more brine. if not, we'll make sure that all our snow equipment, the plows and the trucks are fueled up. they're running. >> jerrika: as long as the roads are clear, people can get out to buy, of course, bread and milk. but that rush must be waiting on the snow and ice. >> it's not as crowded as i thought it would be. i thought, ugh, this is the worst day. everybody is going to run in and get the bread and milk and it's going to be gone. >> jerrika: not knowing what could hit. >> as long as it doesn't cause problems for people. as long as it's pretty and we get to play a little bit. that will be all right. >> jerrika: here's hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

people should watch out for black ice. i found some tonight in a parking lot. because what fell earlier today has already melted and refrozen. as for the interstate, it looks like traffic is moving slowly and smoothly right now. jerrika insco, news 13. >> larry: snow made driving tough at the higher elevations in the western counties today. it was slow going in soco gap. but it was slick, forcing some drivers to reroute. the snow means big business for hardware stores. >> that will be a real good thing. and help us out a lot. hopefully we'll get more snow supplies in here. hopefully we'll sell out of it. >> larry: remember, black ice is

temperatures drop. there were 53 car accidents reported on western north carolina roads this morning. one involved a school bus that lost control on an icy hill. a bus slid down an icy hill in the riceville area. there were seven students on the bus at the time. thankfully no one was hurt. >> i was very, very panicked. there's a river and a bank down there. and so if it goes off the side, it can roll down that hill. so yeah. and i've seen lots of cars do that. >> larry: buncombe county schools say they made the best decision they could based on the information they had this morning. they said when they decided to hold school, it was not snowing. >> darcel: despite the winter weather we're getting today, noa announced 2015 was the warmest year on record. and last month was the warmest december on record. those records go back to 1880.

in downtown asheville with more on the historic warm-up. aaron. >> aaron: that's right. it's easy to forget as we're gearing up for a winter storm but noa says that asheville's 2015 tied 2012 for the warmest on record. national centers for environmental information all the global data right here in town. 2015 was the warmest year by a third of a degree. that sounds like it's just a small amount but it's the largest margin for a year on record. despite the snow we're expecting, noa says expect temps to keep going up. >> cold days like today are becoming less frequent. if we remember back to just last month, we were exceptionally warm in december. we had one of our warmest christmass on record.

emissions and el nio. here they're gearing up. we'll stay tuned with the latest but also keep in mind what's going on in the big picture. >> darcel: stay with us for continuing coverage of this winter storm. our crews will be working overnight to keep you up to date on the situation. our coverage begins at 4:30 tomorrow morning. we will get you ready with what to expect and any changes in the forecast. be sure to check our website, facebook app and twitter pages for the latest information. the system headed our way could be crippling to the east coast. this is a live picture of the u.s. capitol. they're preparing for blizzard conditions there and could get up to two feet of snow. humvees with national guard to reach people who

philadelphia. a teen and her dog escape a burning home. coming up, how firefighters were able to get them both out safely moments before it would have been too late. >> larry: and a piece of history that had become an eye sore has been destroyed. details on what's going up in its place. >> darcel: a lot of you sent your snow pictures today. there will be a lot of opportunity for them over the

also we will have a list of >> darcel: another wild ride on wall street today with the dow jones falling as much as 566 points at one time. falling oil prices are blamed for most of the drop. the dow finished the day down 249. >> larry: a girl and her dog were rescued by firefighters in charlotte after a fire swept through her home. anaya pearson was sleeping when she smelled smoke. she and her dog blue ray crawled. she was moments from jumping out. but didn't. >> i was like, oh no. i'm about to die. like, somebody help me, please. i didn't know what to do.

i really thought i was about to die. >> larry: the home was heavily damaged. investigators did not determine what caused the fire. >> darcel: a couple of silos were brought down today. >> darcel: a crowd of spectators watched. the silos had been there since 1954. the demolition will make way for new development along a 24-acre front. >> larry: other parts of the state have been dealing with some snow issues today. a number of wrecks were reported in avery and watauga this morning. firefighters rescued two people. they had to cut the door open to get one woman out. other drivers who brave the conditions say it was a little

i almost wrecked coming from newland twice. >> real fast. i was just coming from the grocery store and someone in the grocery store said it was really slick out. so i left. >> larry: dot crews were sandy, scraping roads. jason, you have an update on that system that could really dump on us, right? >> jason: it really looks like a significant system. my confidence is really high we're going to get a snow and ice event. we'll talk all about it. time it out for you. black ice tonight is a bigger deal. warmer tomorrow. we're going to melt most of the snow that's on the ground off tomorrow. but a winter walop is coming. 20s in the morning. by lunch, well we should be in the 30s.

we'll talk all about it as the flake-o-meter is maxed out. stick around. >> darcel: and later, a mother takes on three people trying to steal her car. and it was what was inside that

back. >> now your news 13 skywatch weather. >> jason: if you didn't have a chance to prepare today for this

you still have the time. time will be limited tomorrow night in to friday. buy bread and milk. many of you have already done that. buy a sled. the flake-o-meter certainly high. storm threat greatest with snow and ice. those are the two events. the snow is going to rapidly strengthen. brings us more wind along with that. that's going to cause some power outages, no doubt. winter storm time line. thursday overnight, icy mix rain and sleet. by friday morning, most of us going from an icy mix to snow. friday afternoon and saturday it is periods of snow and heavy at times. be prepared for dangerous travel. don't get out unless you have to. if you do get out and you absolutely have to be out, have an emergency kit.

phone, the blankets, the water, the shovel. be prepared for power outages. that's certainly going to be a given, especially rural locations. here's our more likely storm track. ice down in east asheville. certainly significant icing on the onset of this event for the foothills stretching up towards greensboro. it's mostly snow northeast. everyone gets that snow on the back side of this system. so we're looking at 8 to 12 inches in the dark blue. that encompasses much of western north carolina. this pink area is going to be more than a foot of snow. possibly up to 18 inches in high elevations blue ridge north, transylvania, haywood, jackson county. down here towards macon county, you get in to the lighter amounts, especially the upstate. a lot of this is going to depend on how much this falls. the freezing rain and sleet. you can see the significant icing potential here.

freezing rain in some places south. that is a crippling ice storm for some folks if it does come to fruition. let's hope it doesn't. 20s for lows tonight. watch out for the black ice. highs should top out in the 40s. the warm before the snow. yeah, look at this. 35 at best on friday. and that's certainly going to be the bulls eye for the heavy snow and wintery mess. then we get in to saturday, snow again still likely through the early afternoon. and we'll stay on the chilly side so everything is going to keep on freezing back up. and we're in to the 40s sunday to begin the melting process. 50s by next week. you're looking at chill, too, and wintery mix. closer to 50 in the upstate by then. so you're certainly going to see

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>> darcel: the fbi is investigating a college professor in ohio for potential ties to isis. julio pino is a professor at the university. pino has denied any wrongdoing and has denied supporting isis. >> larry: take a look at this

a mother fought off three people trying to steal her car. it happened at a gas station in florida. the woman and her kids were in the car. she wasn't going to let anyone take them. the suspects took off. they were caught by police a short time later. >> darcel: the health department is investigating a chinese restaurant after a deer found dead on the side of the road was brought inside by the manager. he says he was going to eat it himself and it was not for sale. he also apologized to his customers and said it wouldn't happen again. >> larry: the asheville bulldogs put their first place record on the line tonight at high point.

made the biggest difference in >> luke: unc asheville men's basketball team has been on top of the big south conference standings for several days now. but the bulldogs would need a win tonight on the road at high place. pick it up on the first possession of the game, amad thomas breaks down his defender lead. will weeks to thomas to kevin who scores three of his 16 points.

will weeks gets in the lane and finishes the baby hook with a feather touch around the rim. 26 points. high point beats asheville 73-69. that means the bulldogs and panthers are now tied for first place in the big south standings. the unc tar heels continue to dominate the competition in the acc. carolina entered the day in first place of the conference. heels hosting lake forest in chapel hill tonight. unc was ready to play in front of home crowd at the smith center. kennedy meeks who makes the short jumper off the glass. heels would jump out to a big lead in the first half. two of his 27 points. he also had 11 boards. unc remains unbeaten in the acc as the heels beat lake forest 83

>> our offense, we get in the habit of but we got to at some point turn it up because we hit february and the schedule gets real. >> luke: the next game for north carolina will be sunday night at virginia tech. north henderson high school football coach dimwitty stepped down from his position. just a short time later, tc roberson announced that dimwitty would be the head coach. he replaced the previous head coach of roberson who resigned last month. their first winning season at north henderson since 2000. the panthers just a few days away from playing the biggest game of the year against the cardinals. cam newton has been the driving force leading the team all year

offensive player of the year. this is not the official nfl mvp award but it's still big time. newton the first to ever have they'll certainly be ready to go on sunday night. we'll see how the panthers do. looking forward to it. >> darcel: hopefully they'll win. >> jason: all right. here we go dealing with the snow again. how many times have we talked about it. but you have to reiterate. be careful tonight -- i should say tomorrow night. a lot of snow falling across a large part of the region. >> larry: we'll have thursday to get ready for it. thank you for joining us. remember you can always check us out on wlos.com.

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