noon and 2:30, 3:00 today. now that snow fading off and we're getting just light snowshowers, sort of passing heavy flurries if you will. i don't think we'll see any more accumulating snow. in the wake of that snow, on average a half inch to one and a half inches around baltimore, more south down through anne arundel county, towards southern maryland and d.c. look at these temperatures, in the row 20s. we never got out of the upper 20s so that's why every flake of snow stuck to the ground, and when you have that situation, things get icy quickly. one saving grace, very little wind and so no drifting of snow. but it's going to be icy tonight and first thing tomorrow morning. we'll talk more about the snow that we've been dealing with and also talk about the advisory that will still last until 9:00, coming up in just a few minutes. >> thank you. bring it on, old man winter! the highway administration says it's prepared for this wintry weather. jamie costello joins with us

more. >> reporter: take a look. we have shots from our highway cameras, this is the beltway right at providence road. listen to the drive times tonight. brenda left pikesville trying to make it to owens mills, took her an hour. aberdeen to glennon, an hour and 15. max left his home in west minister to towson university, took him two hours and 45 minutes! get in line. we stop at the salt domes to see how crews are getting ready. they should be out there by now. the trucks are filled with salt. the state highway administration wants to make sure the roads are not slippery. you're finding them slippery in some places. they're now mixing magnesium chloride with the salt because of the extreme cold and want your evening commute to be a safe one. >> we will keep forces until it

completely clears. we have everything treated and everything in good shape so we keep people later in into the evening. and then let people go, let the contractors go home, as things are in good shape. but we won't let anybody leave until we have everything absolutely taken care of. >> all right. again, officials will be out there to get rid of this. here's the problem, kelly. you see the ramp here trying to get off right here? that's where your problem is because all these cars are becoming up on the secondary roads, trying to get on the -- it's a mess tonight! >> thank you, jamie. as you can imagine, the snow is making the roads slick. brian kuebler is live at northern parkway, where traffic is on a day without snow some what's it like today? >> reporter: what jamie just showed you outside the beltway, it's the same here inside the beltway. if you look behind me this is northern parkway, all backed up. and it's been backed up since about 3:30, when i was trying to come into work.

and 83 south was backed up, 695 like jamie showed you was a parking lot. this is the first snow of the year, and people seem to be having a hard problem driving around in it. but the roads are very cold and so when the snow fell this morning, or this afternoon, it made things very slick. but this is what northern parkway looks like. we want to show you what most likely what your side roads are going to look like. now the city department of transportation says they have 130 pieces of equipment out right now, salting and plowing roads. they opened up their storm center at about 11 a.m. this morning. they're going to work through the night to get these roads clear. the snow out here i can tell you has stopped. but the real fear is going to be tomorrow morning. i guess when people get back no their cars and getting -- trying to get back to work. all of this is going to freeze and city d.o.t. says that is a real concern for them and they work throughout the evening to make the roads as passible as they can

tomorrow. brian kuebler, abc 2 news. and remember you can always log on to abc2news.com/weather for the latest forecast. and you can track severe weather right down to your very own neighborhood. and we'll look back at the wild weather we have seen this year, the blizzards and blazing heat, even the tornado. our special one for the record books is saturday night at 7. don't miss that! in other news tonight, the school should be a safe place for our kids. but it wasn't the case in dundalk this morning. police arrested a man who managed to sneak inside a boys bathroom and attack a child. roosevelt has more on this disturbing story. >> reporter: kiel, the child was not physically harmed but authorities say the man managed to get into the rest room even though he was challenged by a school resource officer and a staffer when he came in. and the county schools are taking a look at how all this could have happened. schools let out early today as

the snow began to fall in dundalk. parents were shocked when they heard someone managed to sneak into the school and attack a child. >> come up and get my kids earlier, but i got the -- when i was in the office wasting on her. that it all happened this morning. but -- then they gave me the letter and i read through the letter. but it's weird. >> the man came into the school at 8:30, when most of the students were piling in. they say the man came in during the confusion of the morning, but he didn't just walk in, he was challenged by a school resource officer. he gave the cop a valid reason for being in the building and the officer instructed him to go to the office. the man instead snuck into a boy's bathroom that was across from the office. >> fortunately, the situation was handled very quickly. the student cried out, staff was across the hall as well as our school resource officer heard the cries, responded immediately, before anything took place. and were able to apprehend the suspect. the student was unharmed.

>> parents were told what happened. but that's little consolation to parents and children. they say at any other time visitors are monitored from the office and have to be buzzed in and show i.d. and how this guy managed to get around all that is very unsettling. >> somebody should have asked for his. d. >> as soon as they seen him? >> as soon as they seen him! and that just freaked me out he is able to go in and hide and -- that's what i'm upset about. usually it's a very good school. you love the school. we never have too many problems. we never have nothing like. that but this is unbelievable. >> i thought they were like -- they tell them to go to the office and sign in. and they didn't. like, he would never came in if they didn't like ask him who he was. >> police have not released the suspect's name, will only say he's white in his mid-20s, facing charges of second degree assault.

>> thank you. tonight the northwood animal hospital is caring for a pit bull left on the porch of two students. he is in pretty bad shape, starving and unable to wash with serious gashes to his front legs. they found the bully crew, a rescue group raising awareness about pit bull abuse. now they're raising money to cover his medical costs. they're offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. and listen to this -- michael vick hopes to own a dog and the head of humane society says he is fine with that, once vick is off probation. but philadelphia eagles quarterback was convicted of running a dogfighting ring. vick says he generally cares for animals andone day hopes to have a dog as a pet. he would be a big step in his rehabilitation process. he served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2007

2007. she is called a boy bag lady today, she tried to save her colleagues now has the most famous handbag around. clay duke fired multiple shots after board members in florida tuesday but each of the 14 rounds missed. he only stopped when school security officer mike jones shot him and then duke turned the gun on himself. school board member jim tried to stop him sooner, with only her purse. >> wish you had who stuff in that purse? >> actually, i do. i either needed to have a better swing or a brick or two, and i think i was a few bricks shy of a load on that one. >> she became a cult hero, complete with a facebook fan page. a spokesman for wikileaks

julian assange says he will be under virtual house arrest in a british country mansion now that he's been released on bail. he is fighting efforts to extradite him to sweden for questioning in sex crimes cases. wikileaks says the mansion has a good internet connection so assange can work from there and continue to coordinate the publication of leaked u.s. diplomatic cables. >> very good. >> tonight hollywood is mourning the loss of director blake edward. he's best known for his film breakfast at tiffany's and the pink panther comedies. he died from pneumonia last night in santa monica. his wife were by his bedside when he passed. he had been using his wheelchair for the last two years. he was working on two musicals, one based on the pink panther movies. blake edward was 88 years old. a good samaritan jumped into action to help a police officer in need. coming up tonight at 5:30, her

identity was a mystery until now. we'll hear from the brave woman. and some local students are working on a freak project. also new at 5:30, how their gingerbread houses are help those still recovering from katrina. plus, we are dealing with freezing temperatures across the country. and ohio, how the weather turned this lighthouse into an ice sculpture.

look what you're doing, look at all these toys you've been dropping off here at the studio here. david lavine joins us now. cfg bank is for the community, you do it for the money and you do it for the community? >> and for the kids. >> absolutely. this is what it's all about. >> yes. we're thrilled to be here for the second year. >> tell me the location. >> we're on york road and towson, east lumbard, forest drive in annapolis. we'd like people to double down between now and tuesday and finish strong. >> again, this is good just going to tuesday and we start delivering them. they haven't been together since four months, so i'm glad we brought you back for the

reunion. what do i say tonight? >> merry christmas! be good! >> very good. mr. claus? >> we're checking the list twice. ho-ho-ho! >> you're in there. all right. we'll be back with more on this -- it online.

check out you. one rior operations due to the check this out -- 1, water and freezing temperatures turned this ohio lighthouse into an ice sculpture! the cleveland pier lighthouse sits at the edge of lake erie. it's been a beacon for ships entering the river since 1911. parts of the state have seen more than a foot of snow in just the last few days. and the southern and western regions of new brunswick, canada pounded with rain,

storms and rising floodwaters. in st. george, this river poured over a dam, leaving a number of homes underwater and shutting down the highway. the government is rallying to help people forced from their homes. wow! >> yeah. that is incredible weather there. >> things could be worse. >> it's interesting, i mean one of our lightest snowstorms in recent memory when you think back to last year, with on average a half inch to maybe two inches down through anne arundel, howard county. but that's all it takes when you've got the ground at freezing. >> for several days. >> half inch of snow and all of a sudden people are skating around like ice skaters on the world. >> took me 15 minutes to get here. >> someone made the comment, anywhere with a hill. those hilary areas, ah! it will be icy tonight. tomorrow morning, midday tomorrow before the salt trucks get just about everywhere. so drive with care. all right.

let's look at maryland's most powerful radar. you can see right here at the end loop things quieting down. most that snow now confined to basically the lower part of the eastern shores, still getting snows here through salisbury, ocean city and even down into southern maryland. for the most part, northern and central maryland cleared out and just light snowshowers that will blow in. we'll still see blanks fly but most of the accumulating snow is done and we'll have updated snow totals coming up for you just past 5:30. so stay tuned for those. winter weather advisories still up through 9:00, because of the icy conditions and also because we will still see a few flakes flying out there. take a look at baltimore right now. the roads not beautiful. but people are getting where they have to go, just taking a long time. and boy, have to leave yourself extra time with the stoplights. 24 degrees right now. and some cases salt really doesn't work very well below about i think it's 26 degrees

or so. so we need a chemical mixture of road treatment out there and that's going to take awhile. maryland's most powerful radar closer in view here now. where is some of that light snow still coming down? you've had higher totals here. d.c. two inches plus in that direction. still some snows coming down there. check out our high-definition weather net cameras today. capturing the snow coming down in ernest, after midday today. and then beginning to get much light fleer the afternoon. but boy that, quick burst of heavier snow being felt across the region, accumulating snows here, good solid inch or slightly above in some cases. and also take a look at glen oak. you see that roted get snow covered very quickly, traffic getting much worse through the day. and now the roads are partially cleared and we know there's going to be refreezing and ice overnight because in the low 20s, it's tough for even salt to do much a job out there.

highs today only mid-20s, that did not help the cause with getting the roads clear. and there it something, the main bulk of that storm coming through between 11 a.m. and three or 4:00 this afternoon. still some significant snows down on the lower eastern shore. behind this storm there's not a lot out there. we've got brief high pressure, skies will clear tomorrow behind this storm as it ejects off the coast. and our future-cast basically indicates some clearing conditions overnight. some sunshine tomorrow. even though i don't think we really get above freezing in many spots, the sun, insulation, will help melt some of that snow. that will be a good thing. clouds begin again saturday night and we're watching carefully as the storm will ride up the coast to be a close call right now looks like delmarva gets the lion's share of the storm saturday night and sunday morning. not so much baltimore. 23 tonight, snowshowers. tomorrow we clear out but icy spots early. watch out for ice on the roads! tomorrow night 22, partly

cloudy. very cold again. weekend not changing much. we still have that chance of coastal storm to spin a few snowshowers. heavier snows to the east coming in saturday night and sunday morning in the entire outlook is frigid. low 30s for most of the days. >> thank you, wyatt. it's a big day here and we've got special guests, as we help santa fill up his sleigh for children in need. jamie costello joins us with more on how you can get involved and why this is so special. >> reporter: we're all squished in because there's nowhere to move! santa is going to try out for the globetrotters. this is ray cook, ray runs on our shoulder -- can i lean on yours? >> sure. >> you hurt when people hurt in our city. >> i surely do. when young people are victims of violence it. hurts a lot. >> you always out there helping. >> i sure am. >> why not this effort? >> yes. this is a great effort because tears of joy and the smiles that come on these kids' face

when they receive the toys it. really means a lot. >> santa has all those stories about delivering coming through the chimneys. you are taller than i thought. grew a couple inches. but i want to you take me inside somebody's home. yuck person that deserves a christmas and all of a sudden the toys on their lap. >> well, when you walk into the home, when you see them already sitting there, when they think they're not getting anything, then when you see them receive these toys, man, it's just brings so much happiness to you. and that's what this is all about. and this just to get that gift. whether small or large it. means so much. >> here's a man who volunteers his own time, founded this 10 years ago. >> 10 years ago. i started due to a lot of violence in the street, and violence in my own family and i just got tired of it. >> got tired of it. but look amount the effort. strangers, people we know just dropping off toys here. and david, thanks to your bank community bank helping us out. that's what it's all about. >> that's right, community. we're located at 5100 denmore

avenue in the heart of where there's a lot of despair and hardship. but this means so much, and i want to really thank you for just creating this effort to help us do this, because you never know that the hands that help these children that they don't know come from, it really means a lot. >> i know ray cook, and ray -- 12, 13 years, he never thought he would be in this position, never. >> never. >> look at him. look had he's doing, turning a negative in a positive. that's why we're here. we'll be back here, live from now until 6:30 tonight, telling you all the good things tonight at abc 2. everybody is on our website at abc2news.com. drop off the toys. we have until next tuesday so time is running out. thank you, everybody. kelly. >> thank you, jamie. the baltimore ravens are also getting involved in an effort making the season brighter for needy families. today their better halves teamed up with sam's club and the salvation army to do some shopping for 10 deserving families.

six ravens' wives purchased everything from diapers to tvs for the families. and they say it's an important effort. >> i think that all of us are extremely blessed in our lives, and i think it's really important to give back and remember people in the community out there supporting our husbands and supporting our families. and it's important to remember all those people and treat the city like we would our own family. >> and deserving families will get their special gifts tonight. this is something here that's been a tradition going on for 20 years at the senator theater. bring a canned good and you get to watch it's a wonderful life on the big screen. the theater has a new owner now, and people worried the tradition would end. but they're keeping it alive this saturday and sunday morning. you can see the movie for free if you bring in a food donation. there's also a showing on christmas eve morning at 10. they're calling it a social

burglary. police turning to facebook in hopes of catching this bold thief. plus -- forget battling the mall parking lot and racing through stores for gifts, we've got a look at some mall tips.

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in tonight's health alert, for nearly two-thirds of our grandparents who suffer a stroke, the chance of survival just one year later are grim. in a new study authors call for better understanding of the patterns and causes of death, hoping to avoid the ones that are preventible. here's abc's dr. timothy johnson. >> reporter: over three- quarters of a million americans will suffer a stroke this year. and the majority of them will be medicare recipients, age 65

and older. stroke is a leading cause of not only death but disability, in the u.s. and now a study published raises the question, what is the outlook for people particularly those on medicare, who survive a stroke? the authors analyze records for over 90,000 medicare beneficiaries, who suffered and survived a stroke, to see how they fared one year later. almost 62% of patients had either died or been rehospitalized. those rehospitalized were not limited to strokes, but included various diagnosis such as cardiovascular problems and pneumonia. because there have been no improvement s&p in death or readmit answer rates for medicare patients with acute strokes, now for several years, the authors say this study underscores the need for better interventions and systems of care that will ultimately improve patient outcomes. with this medical minute, i'm

dr. timothy johnson. some area kids hard at work to build sweet homes. they can't keep their left-hand side offer them! and the full forecast coming up. great spots for auer toy drive. david lavine here. why did do you this? 72 couple -- we believe in the community and nothing could be more important than making sure a chile has a gift on

christmas. >> how long you number business? no we acquired the bank two yearsing. >> and things are going swimmingly now i hope? >> we hope -- >> don't use that term. >> are you from basketball to baseball two. sport animal. these toys around here, this is what it's all about. community coming together. >> absolutely. >> give me your locations. >> we're on east lombard, forest drive, york road and bare hills. >> that's a play everywhere. cfg, reach out and touch their banks so help us out. 12th annual toy drive going on live tonight through next tuesday. see you then! ÷ [ male announcer ] little oliver had a fog horn nose. it shattered his tissue with hurricane blows. no person or place was safe from the spray. but his mom had new puffs ultra soft & strong to save the day. with lotion-free pillows to cushion the force. puffs holds up better than value tissue of course.

next time oliver blew his horn, he reached for puffs ultra soft & strong. a nose in need deserves new puffs ultra soft & strong indeed. when you prefer a lotion tissue, try puffs plus lotion. we have a live web -- it's snowing and it's making the ride home a really nasty one! we're getting hit from facebook from all over. elizabeth, slick roads there. lori ann in carroll county, slippery. and kenny says dundalk is a mess! good evening again. the big question is, when will the snow get out of here? wyatt has a look amount the first forecast