now "good morning maryland." critics say this guy is inappropriate. others say he is going to get people to the infield. what do you think of the preakness' new mascot. how did a officer's gun end up on city streets? that's what police are investigating this morning. is this mother nature's april fool's joke is in the calendar says it's april 1st but in some parts of the country, it locks like january and one of those areas is here in the viewing area. >> including here. rain in some areas, but justin came in through a lot of snow.

it's april 1st. let's send it over to meteorologist justin berk. >> some people think i am fooling and joking, but i wouldn't kid about this. really, snow is coming down hard. snow is sticking. it's a rough trip and i am not exaggerating that. as the road covered over on 83, near the pa line, and everybody had the flashers on and it was really an interesting scene. here's the parking lot in southern pa showing the streetlights filled with flakes, and yes it was starting to stick on some of the road and really coming down and covering up in many spots as the wet flakes gradually took over i put some of that up -- over. i put some of that up on my facebook page. here's westminster. justin, our floor director, another justin, no relation, we had ourselves a look at heavy snow e said he drove through-- snow. he said he drove through a half inch on 140 and you can see the fields covered over. # 3 right now in -- 33 right

now. wind out of northeast at 6 miles per hour. now it's 32 in reisterstown being you probably have snow there as well. kingsville a rain snow mix. it's rain wet roads for most of us around the beltway, glen burnie, and a a list 35. >> reporter: we are getting -- annapolis 35. >> reporter: we are getting word of a couple accidents but nothing along the 95 corridor. the 83 looks pretty good in terms of no incidents. but you can expect a slick and treacherous ride. not sure if the state highway crews are out there treating the roadways yet. let's look live at ann arunde county -- anne arundel county, traffic is moving well. speeds down visibility not the greatest this morning either. looking at the maps, we are getting reports of a vehicle fire in south baltimore. south hanover a car fire and police are on the street. at president and lombard there's an accident. and in parkville a. crack crash at -- a crash at being aton and

wilson. now back to you. >> thanks. hess dubbed the preakness party animal. and kegasus is creating a controversy over binge drink and he looks like danny mcbride if you ask me. sherrie johnson is here to explain. >> reporter: charley, the maryland jockey club says they are trying to attract more people to the preakness which kicks off in may and they want to sell a product. they say it's only the mascot for the infield portion of the preakness which attracts thousands of young people with a 20 dollar bottomless beer mug. a state represent sigh says it tarnishes the second jewel of horse racing's triple crown and criticized a bill to shift slot machine revenue from track improvements to operatingexpenses like television ads. >> i don't think taxpayers' money should be subsidizing stupidity. >> i appreciate what the governor and administration has done and the legislature to

help us, but we are trying to create revenue streams so we can be self-sufficient. >> reporter: the jockey clubwill stick with re -- kegasus. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. right now baltimore city police say there's -- they are trying to determine how a gun owned by one of the command staff ended up on the street. a burglar made off with the gun from a mexican restaurant on south broadway last weekend. however, police want to know how the gun registered to major anthony brown, ended up in the hands of a business owner nicholas ramos in the first place. there's no record of the gun's sale and major brown never reported it stolen. >> we are going to air on the -- e-rr on the side of holding ourselves accountable. and it doesn't moon major brown did anything wrong, but while the investigation is going on,

we had administrative suspend him as is course for us. >> police say it doesn't appear the smith and weson revolver has been used to commit a crime. restaurant owner's wife says they weren't trying to hide anything reporting the theft as soon as it was recovered. 25 minutes until 6. annapolis police are looking for a man who grabbed a 16-year- old girl on her way to school. it happened near the 800 block of chesapeake avenue. authorities say the teen was able to get free and ran away. anyone with information is asked to call police 410-268- 9000. what if your boss showed you you couldn't show up for work, what would you do? for nfl players the question is a reality during the labor stopage. now, the players are finding interesting ways to stays abouty. for instance, tommy, a rain, is back in the ring -- raven, he is back in the ring. he was a amateur boxer when he played football at notre dame.

>> it can't be a hobby because you understand how serious it is once a guy throws punches at your head. >> >> i job is not>> this guy hines ward swapped cleats for dancing shoes and you see him on abc "dancing with thestars." march is going out like a lion as we are ushering into april. up next, tornadoes and thunderstorms, people are trying to come to grips with nature's fury. we will show you the damage across the nation. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast, i could use all the help i can get. like nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast, even whole-wheat waffles, for a breakfast that my kids love and i feel good about serving. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. it's quick, easy and something everyone can agree on. ♪ nutella. breakfast never tasted this good.

thanks for joining thus morning. we are told carroll county is on a two-hour delay. something to keep in mind. that's what we are talking about. winter weather without end. the weather weary northeast right now is bracing for april fool's snow. florida cleans up and tens of thousands still without power this morning. justin will get to your weather in a bit. but first, here's emily schmidt with the latest nationwide. >> reporter: winter is getting the last laugh this april fool's day. >> still winter. when you think you are through it all, it suction you back in. >> reporter: the snowfall potential too big to ignore.

>> i wouldn't be surprised to see some location get up over 10 inches. >> reporter: the problems started in florida with warm wet air that turned dangerous. the storm crippled a canopy that protects train cars and caused a work delay on the space shuttle endeavour at kennedy space center. lightning came close. foam damage was reportedly minimal. >> it looks minor. >> reporter: major damage at an air show that attracts half a million people a year. priceless planes flipped over. >> the roof was going up and down and there was hail here, and rain and suddenly it just blacken out and we were hiding on the corner. >> reporter: in new england, there's no hiding from approaching snow. >> can't wait until it's over. it's too cold. >> reporter: public works crews are reinstalling the snow equipment. towns in western massachusetts are tens of thousands of dollars over the winter snow removal budget. snow will be falling on some ski slopes that had closed for

spring. that april 1st irony is not so funny here. >> where was the snow at the beginning of the season? we could have really used it then. >> reporter: there are winter storm warnings in six northeastern states, and it's likely not the last we will see of winter. the northern plains could get up to a foot of snow sunday into monday. emily schmidt, abc news. >> as a reminder, it's opening day for major lees league baseball -- major league baseball that started yesterday. we showed you cleveland and parts of new york. they were threatened by snow. and now we are getting snow. >> absolutely. and everybody has some memory when they are in the stadium with snow falling on them in april. let's see what's going to happen and maybe justin can let us know about our opening day on monday. justin? >> i will do that in a bit. people thought i was crazy when i said it would snow. and for the last couple weeks, we had warm weather. but you go too warm too early, the bottom has to fall out and balance everything out. westminster is in that zone

with a two-hour school delay. we have been talking about your snow and many around the beltway and south didn't believe it. we have pictures to show it. watch the bottom of the screen. as the snowfalls in front of the lens and winter mill's and you can see it mile up -- pile up. justin has been on his way in. that was 3:30 or four they had a half inch. they can get 1 to 3 inches and it's been sticking on the roads. 33 at winters mill high school. we are looking at the winter radar. it's not doing a great job highlighting it, but the snow is there. be careful on your commute. let's talk about that ride in with kim brown. >> reporter: well, the weather is not affecting the mta, buses and trains on time. no reported service interruptions for light rail, marc train or mobility service. in dc, a heads up affecting the blue and egg line and entrance escalators not work at the

foggy bottom. 95 at 195. advice it is not greatest. it's not-- visibility is not the greatest. southbound 95, 7 minutes from white marsh to the beltway coming around the west side of the outer loop. 8 minutes from 795 towards i- 70. earlier accident in parkville isgone but we are dealing with two incidents in baltimore sety. police and fire on the scene of a vehicle fire at hanover street and we are working with police direction at the intersection of lombard and president street from a earlier crash. now back to you. what set a car careening into a church's day care center. >> the chain of events that led to the bizarre accident. look at that.

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now "good morning maryland." 35:46 right now. he is a-- 5:46 right now. he is a baltimore legend. this morning we are saying pray for brooks robinson. linda so is live to tell us how he is doing in the hospital this morning. >> reporter: well, the latest isa statement from the hall of fame here tells us yesterday from the hospital that he is doing fine. his number 5 a legend in baltimore.

and we are hoping he will pull through. the 73-year-old was scheduled for a outpatient procedure yesterday but night before that, he developed a fever and infection. his doctors aggressively treated him and brooks says he is responding well. he released a statement saying i am pleased to say that i continue to remain cancer free after my you can seesful treatment for prostate cancer -- successful treatment for prostate cancer. i ask you give me privacy and look forward to a full recovery and thank you for your prayersp i played from 1955 to 1977 for the -- played for the o's from 1955 to 1977. he made 18 all star teams and won the m-vp award in 64. he played all 24 seasons his major league career with the orioles. as the o's get ready to open on the road, we are all praying for a speedy recovery for brooks robinson. linda so, abc2 news. >> thank you. time is 5:47. major league baseball kicked

off the 2011 season with a smattering of games but good tv. tonight, though, that's when it matters. buck show walter and the orioles are set for a first pitch around 7:10 for the 57th season on the road in tampa bay against the defending al eastern division champs. the o's will send gutherie to the mound against price. i am going on record right now megan. buck, orioles, al wild card winners this year. >> wait and see. now maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weatherate. >> all right. april 1st, but this is not an april fool's joke. i hope you understand how serious the event was with the quick turnover and heavy flakes and stickage causing problems. heavy wet snow northwest of baltimore. early in the morning it was the turnover around 2 or 3:00. and it started to stick on the road with the heavy wet flakes

overcoming the warmer ground. carroll county a two-hour school delay and interstate 83 in southern pennsylvania, very bad conditions as it is covered up and leading to icing and slipping and sliding on the roads. the snow trying to sneak further south and east. and, it is possible to get snow on the first of april. and baltimore almanac says we should be at 60. we have had records that range from 15 on the low end to 88 on the high end. but the record snow for date and for the month in baltimore 9.4 inches. that was back in 1924. that will not be challenged today but just forsake it's possible to happen. heavy snow in new england near boston and heading through central mass. through the capital district of new york and interior sections northwest of the new york metro area. some of the places will wind up with a foot of snow. it goes back to the poconos. the snow extended all the way down through york pa, westminster and near the baltimore area.

take it closer. not doing the best job highlighting where the particular line was. we had to extrapolate that further just north of baltimore. you go 15, 20 miles north, and that is reisterstown and westminster, the highest rain getting stickage in snowfall. the cold air is catching up to the storm and pulling up towards new england. our future radar highlighting the fact that it's there and the rain south and east just wet road, i-95, eastern shore, annapolis, no worries. this gets out of here and could have showers in the rain variety in the afternoon. another system could sneak in with showers heading in through saturday afternoon. warming temperatures and the warming trend continues up through early next week. 48 in the afternoon temperature. problems with a mix elsewhere. but north and west, that wind reminder is there. back down to around 33 around the beltway and look for the weekend outlook, temperatures modify 5 # saturday and 56 sunday -- 5 # sunday and 56

sunday. -- 52 sunday and 56 -- saturday and 56 sunday with rain on opening day. >> reporter: even though the road are wet, most of the pavement temperatures are at or above the freezing mark this morning. so traffic is able to pass through the wet conditions without a lot of problems. looking live at 695 at liberty road, everybody is taking it easy and keeping the speeds down. obviously because it's slick. we are lucky we don't have accidents or major problems to report around the baltimore beltway. 95 and the 83s also incident free. but as justin mentioned, north and west baltimore expect to see more -- west of baltimore expect to see more slick conditions. baltimore city has a vehicle fire at south hanover. police and ems are on the scene. and police directions are at the intersection of lombard and president street because of an earlier accident. use fayette or central avenue to get around that incident. now back to you. >> kim, thanks. a startling sight in texas. an s up v crashed into a -- suv

crashed into a children's learning center at a church. the vehicle went into the brick wall. for the netly no children were in-- for the netly, no children were inside at the time. the -- fortunately, no children were inside the time. time is 5:52. it's a tragic shooting that left 6 dead and 13 wounded. >> today the youngest victim of the shooting will be remembered. how the community plans to remember a 9-year-old girl christina taylor green. plus, what a school nurse said about a special ed student that has her looking for another job. details coming up. achoo! the seasons change, but we still may suffer from nasal allergy symptoms. they can hit you year round... indoors or out. achoo! oh to have relief.

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five minutes away from six. making headlines this morning, a memorial statue do remember the youngest victim of the january shooting in arizona will be erected today. the statue of an angel in honor of 9-year-old christina taylor green will be unveiled in tucson later this afternoon. pieces of steel from the world trade center and the pentagon that was from flight 93 was used in the creation of the statue. it will be placed in a park where green played little league. truly disturbing remarks coming out of arkansas war

school nurse -- where a school in your has been fired. according to a letter written by the superintendent. maryland snyder told staff and faculity members all special ed student need to be euthanized and wiped off the face of theearth. parents are outrage and paul has been -- has an 8-year-old son with a tim. listen. >> the thought that he should be put to sleep like a dog, wow. >> the public school board held a hearing and voted unanimously to fire the school nurse. snyder says it was a bad choice of words and her quote, heart is broken." after nearly a week of searching and waiting, workers of the bronx zoo have found that missing egyptian cobra. she was located inside the reptile house all along. she didn't go far. the exhibit has been closed since the creature disappeared because its venom is so powerful it can kill a human in

15 seconds. she was twittering i know that. she had a twitter account but wasn't at yankee stadium after all. you know coming up in news, the japanese continue to closely monitor the effects of radiation leaking from the fukushima plant. up next, the latest on what's being done to bring it under control and prevent further exposure to residents living around the plant. plus a.17-year-old is dead. how a false 911 call led officers on a chase that probably should have never been. you will see the story. kids had a special debut last night. how they teamed up with the baltimore symphony orchestra for a great special performance.

now good morning maryland the greatest third baseman of all time and hear what brooks robinson is doing and saying about his em