carolina's news leader, this is news 13 at 6:00. >> from rain to snow, some mountain counties woke up to a light dust this morning. >> this is video from madison county where schools closed today and roads became covered with snow. and more is on the way tonight. >> chief meteorologist jason boyer is tracking what's to come and jason, this is more of a high elevation event? >> yeah. mostly in terms of the accumulations, we're getting snow to cover the ground even in some of the valleys. lester carpet sales news 13 sky cam network will start you out at 1400 feet. notice the road right here. a little more white. boom, bursts of snow working through now. 27 degrees, come countdown in elevation to black mountain at 2400 feet is 33, but the flakes are flying. notice the road is a little wet from some rain, snow mix earlier. you can see a little more noticeably now. that's the story for many of us.

the heaviest bands working along 40. working over trust, luck, revere and madison county. and then you get over to highway 70 into mcdowell county, snow in some of the higher elevations. same thing over henderson. watch out. slippery roads this evening. that's why the winter weather morning. i'll show you how much snow to expect and when this cold is replaced by more spring like weather. >> it look a jury less than happen hour to find a transylvania man guilt of first degree murder. >> richard o'shields was convicted in the shooting death of toby mathis five years asal a rosman store. >> jon, jerusalem had the consolidate of first or second degree murder, right? >> that's right, larry. and apparently the jerusalem did not agree with the defense testimony, including experts claiming essentially that o'shields is incapable of premeditation. now, the guilty verdict was

an hour after closing arguments. o'shields has been sentenced to life without parole. the surveillance video from that dollar general store of course compelling evidence. prosecutors saying o'shields wanted to avenge his john joey's dedeh months before the shooting mathis was charged with involuntary manslaughter after joey fell out of his truck during some sort of altercation. the prosecution portraying richard o'shields as a broken man who had a stroke a also struggled with ptsd and alcoholism. >> yes, i'm disappointed, but we respect the jury's decision and of course as you've noticed, we have noted we're taking a appeal with the court of appeals and that will be handled by at pelt defender. >> you can't out run it forever. this has been a long time coming, but you have to be held accountable for this. we're not promoting that in this country, thank goodness. >> he did say there are plans to appeal.

the judge in the case did say he feels for each family because they both lost a son. so a tragedy here on so manyy levels. live in brevard, john le, news 13. >> a call about shots being fired leads to a chase and manhunt in mcdowell county. when they arrived they took off in a car. they say the vehicle stopped in a dead end and kelly was taken into custody, but franklin ran off into some nearby woods. he was caught about four hours later. deputies confiscated a gun and a large amount of money. two lgbt groups are making a call to asheville city council. the campaign for southern equality and equality north carolina want council members to pass an ordinance like charlotte did allowing transgender people to use the public bathroom of their choice. at least one asheville council member is expressing support for the proposal. and a long time transgender activist says she's angered by

opposition. >> it perpetuates the discrimination and hate. it would be just like changing the sign to white only. and that's kind of political big bigotry has got to stuff. >> the two local lgbt groups say the ordinance would calls ban discrimination by taxi drivers who may choose not to pick up a trans or guy individual. >> new state fact. things like repairs, maintenance and installation services such as taxed. as news 13's evan donovan reports, this will hit your pocketbook. >> justin harold say watch maker. he owns the watch maker shop in the grove arcade, selling, pieces.

the new tax increases. >> $15 in about 20 minutes. >> as of tuesday, that service will be 15 bucks plus 7% tax. >> i had to have my bookkeeper come in containing my tax code -- change my tax code on everything that we create invoices for, sales receipts, so it's not the actual charging more to the customer, but i have to change the way we do business. >> and that's going to cost you money? >> sure. out of my pocket. i get no return on it. >> it's not just watches. auto repairs are another industry affected by the new taxes. >> republican legislature say it's part of moving way from personal income taxes which will be cut but not until next year and the state budget will still difference. opponents say taxes on the stuff you buy and not your income are harder on lower income households. >> when they implement this new tax program i'll be paying 7% more than what i am paying today.

small amount, $32, 7%, a couple of bucks difference, but if i'm having major work done, like $1,000 or so that 7% can make or break the common person like myself financially. >> that's a big difference. well, a traumatic drop in the number of people who have died from the flu in north carolina. so far this year only four people have died. this time last year 184 people died from the flu. health officials say the vaccination this year is making all the difference. it's a very close match to the h1n1 strain, but they are seeing a late season spike right now. >> most times influenza season will spike between january and march, so i think that what we're starting to see now in the offices is the beginning of the worst part of the flu season. >> it's a good reminder, though, health officials say it's not too

but you don't want to wait too much longer because it takes about two weeks for it to kick in. >> the town of dillsboro hopes that an outdoor center will come to fruition giving the local economy boost. the outdoor center to builds an outdoor adventure center on land along the tuckaseigee river. it would include family trending kayaking and zip lining. although no agreement has been made yet, the mayor said it would help revitalize a town that hit hard times. >> it would be 24,000 people more than we have right now, so economically of course it would really be a boon to our shops and restaurants in town. >> mayor fitzgerald says there are some new businesses in the area and the great smoke mountains railroad is set to bring in more trains this summer. he is the new outdoor center

>> so sometimes these two phenomenon. climate change versus el nino. coming up. what is to blame for the rollercoaster of a winter season we've had here in the mountains. >> water for life and hope.

helping the people of flint, >> new tonight, a community effort under way to help the people of flint, michigan. abccm and nazaratl are taking water donations for the people in michigan. the water crisis prompted local leaders to try to help. they parked a trailer on the church property and will collect donations of water, warm clothes and food until the trailer is full. one pastor says it's a crisis that demands action people are color are actually sometimes overlooked, not valued, because

kind of political clout and influence to get the kind of services that other more affluent communities might get. >> abccm and some local churches are calling on businesses and people to donate as much as possible. the trailer will stay at the church until it's full and then go on to charlotte before heading to flint, michigan. >> it's been a rollercoaster winter season here in the mountains. >> so far we've seen record-breaking warmth and record-breaking snow. >> it has left many of us asking what is behind these big swings. >> tonight meteorologist zack green breaks down terms like el nino and climate change to find out which one is really the culprit for this rollercoaster winter season. >> shorts and t-shirts at christmas. >> we might have to exchange our coats in turn for t-shirts and shorts. >> then just a few weeks later,

>> i have on a t-shirt, i have on a thermal top. i have on a hoody. i have on a jacket. i have to a vest, hat, gloves. >> but what is to blame? this count of el nino or is it something much bigger, climate change? sometimes these two phenomenon act together to give certain outcomes for a location. >> jake crouch a climb toolings from the data center in nashville says we're experiencing a real strong event. >> right now we're experiencing the strongest el nino we've seen in a period of record. >> while el nino has impacted the weather it is not interchangeable with climate change. >> it is separate from that. it doesn't necessarily drive the el nino pattern. >> every two or three years, increase at a drastic rate. the result, a distinct separation between winter months. >> and with the strong el nino we start to start winter pretty warm and then we end winter on a cooler note. >> and wetter. that's exactly what's happening

>> the weather has shifted and done a flip-flop. >> december 2015 was the hottest on record since 1895. over 12 degrees above average in asheville. just a month later on january 22nd, single day snow records in asheville were broken. 10.6". >> that was just amazing. mind blowing numbers coming in. the big extremes in a short timeframe, that's all el nino. however, long term you're also seeing the effect of climate change in the mountains. >> the past 12 years in north carolina are pretty representative of that. >> the year 2015 as a whole across the entnte u.s. was one of the hottest ever with four states recording the warmest year on record. >> we are warming the world. we are warming here in the u.s. there is no doubt in the data. historical data that climate change is happening. drought. from may 12th until october 8th of 2015, the north carolina

abnormally dry conditions and even moderate drought with deficits exceeding 5 inches. so what's next on this rollercoaster of weather. >> global temperatures have risen to record levels and we've seen that repeatedly throughout the years. i think that's the kind of cycle we're in here in western north carolina. i don't see anything slowing down . and we can expect more extreme to the weather here in the mountains. >> zack green, news 13. >> so much research is still ongoing. >> the research is there and there's certainly plenty of evidence that the globeal warming temperatures were it's still going to be something that we look at for the rest of our time. it's something that's not going to stop being researched. >> well and you don't lump in the daily weather into that climate right now. that's a longer term thing. here's our viewer photo. ashley revere, madison county,

>> the snow is on the ground there. more mountain snow is coming. i'll show where you most of it is going to fall and the frigid winds. what's all this nonsense about balls? pink balls, blue, yellow, red. it's hard to keep the whole thing straight. and all these sosoalled deals? well, they come with a lot of deal breakers. like when you leave the city the signal goes weak. u.s. cellular built a network to give you a stronger signal where the other guys don't. and as for deals? how's $300 back for every line you switch?

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>> now your news 13 skywatch weather. >> yeah, it's a whiteout in some places. look at this. lester carpet sales news 13 sky cam network. in the black mountains at 3700. 26 degrees and look off here. you have a good view there, but, whoa, the snow is coming so hard now you can barely see some of the ridges in the distance. that visibility being greatly reduced now and the snow is continuing to fall and add up there. so it's much morstead did i and heavy in the black mountains of yancey county and up into madison too. we have some lighter snows happening here over the balsam area. jackson county, 28 degrees. notice the roads still just wet. even the secondary roads along the blue ridge parkway, so not much of a concern at this point, but the temperatures will be dropping and even the wet roads my turn a little icy in spots, thus the winter weather

of tonight into tomorrow. more blue showing up than anything else here from trust luck down through sandy mush, vines creek over to crestmont. this is good snow, this dark blue coming over from east tennessee into areas of northern haywood county. that is coming down heavy and steady right over i-40, so through the areas, the tunnels, it's getting messy on those roads i'm sure. secondary roads most impacted. highway 70 into mcdowell county just west of marion. some good snow happening there. highway 221 affected there too and impacted up into lynnville gorge. it's snowing from black mountain, north of the city down through the southeast corner as well, down i-26 into henderson county still snowing pretty good and some bands of snow working through transylvania county. not as heavy as most of the snow we're seeing here elsewhere in the high country. the next several hours these bands will work through and quickly add up in the mountains. again the amount of snow that does accumulate in the valleys and on the grassy surfaces won't be as impressive as the high

temperatures will keep this from really adding up to a lot. 38 degrees. still melting as the snow does touch the ground in most cases. northwest wind, 13 and a wind chill of 30 years. >> the wind is going to be stiff from the northwest for the rest of the even courtesy of the big area of low pressure up in canada, so it's hundreds of miles away, but we still have the effects of it from the wind and the cold being plunged over here. high pressure will turn east and bring us the southerly wind into the weekend. enjoy that. midnight tonight, still snow showers over the high country. but do expect snow showers even down to i-40 in buncombe county. some flurries thereafter and then everything kind of dries up tomorrow afternoon. back into sunshine by the lunch hour and by 6:00 in the evening, still some breezes. other than that a few high clouds overnight into saturday. so snowfall amounts, most impressive again in the high country. here the smokies, western end of madison, 2-3" of snow. asheville the same thing.

tonight. it's going to be chilly. yeah, we'll see highs tomorrow only in the 30s. for the northern mountains, low 40s into the french broad river valley from ashley southward and you'll find 50s over the up state with more sunshine there. our sunshine is back in full force by sunday and our temps really respond to that. how about that? 62 degrees. >> okay. >> sunday into monday, 60s as well. >> when does meteorological spring begin. >> march 1st. right around the corner. march 1st. >> several students at brevard college are working very hard to achieve a big goal. we'll tell you the two reasons these young adults are on their way to glory next in game changes. >> you have all your equipment on and you still can't get people's attention, it's a problem. >> driving with both ears. that's right. ears on the road. tonight at 11:00.

new ways to get your attention in a brevard college working very hard in a unique sport to achieve some ambitious goals.

students in this week's game changer. >> there's something special going on in brevard. >> it's taught me amazing things and it's brought like an entire community of people that i never thought i would be involved in with. >> a group of 18 brevard college students is climbing its way to big things. >> i joined this year because i really -- a lot my friends are on the team and so i really rapidly became involved. >> any student although brevard college can join the climbing team as long as they pay a small fee and complete anywhere from one to five hours of community service. this service fits in well with the message of the school. >> we want students who are well invested in the community, not just on campus, but they branch out beneath the walls of the campus and get out into the community. >> travis gray started the climbing team at brevard when he was a student a couple of years ago. he's proud of the progress of the team as they work towards their goal of hopefully becoming a varsity sport. >> we would like to reach out and recruit more students from around north carolina who are fresh out

that and around the country just so we can one day hopefully have a national champion, that's kind of the goal. >> that is our main goal. besides going national, yes, becoming an official athletic team. like, we will be considered like the cycling team. we will be climbing team. >> it actually gives us a lot more recommendation with the school and they see we're not just a climbing club but on our way to becoming a climbing team. >> the next competition will be next saturday, march 5th at ut knoxville. i'm news 13, sports. >> that first step got me. >> basketball continues tonight. only one game postponed because of the threat of bad weather. a their going to play friday at 6:00. >> one of the mountains high profile prep football programs has a new coach. asheville high led the last 16 years by danny will kins. before that another legendary

burdette as the new coach. he's been there for the last 15 years. he was part of the twat three state championship staff. also a math teacher. 46 people applied for that position. congrats and good luck to david, a well respected coach. >> they tip-off at seven. asheville one game behind first place with two cog. also tonight western carolina trying to hold on to six asheville, tough task tonight, they will be hosting and walfork. last but the heels rally to win and they take the victory, but not before cat barber scared them to death. he was wonderful, 16 points in the first nine minutes. a 13-point lead, but carolina comes back. they wynne this 180-68.

>> and you're a winner if you like snow, because it's snowing. all right? if you like that kind of thing the snow is on the ground in the high country, even dusting some

for more legal breaking news. we're on the scene, the deadly tornado outbreak. at least eight dead, including a 2-year-old.

to pennsylvania. homes destroyed. this truck blown over on the gw bridge in new york. the coast guard trying to save this boat. the showdown tonight. is this the last chance for the other candidates to try and take down donald trump before super tuesday? and, the eye-opening new poll tonight from marco rubio's own state of florida. is trump unstoppable, even there? just 24 hours after our exclusive with apple's ceo, tim cook, the fierilyreery moments on capitol hill today. and just tonight, apple answers the judge. new reporting tonight after a passenger jet slams into a runway. the emergency evacuation. and sylvester stallone, coming back into focus. will he deliver a knockout punch at the oscars? we have stallone, right here tonight. good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. and we have several developing