those living in ellicott city. you said what was that. you'll get new information. >> an explosion and fire ripped through a home on middle meadow home. it started just after 1:00. when fire crews arrived, they immediately pulled a second alarm. the fire spread quickly, heavily damaging that neighbor's home that was more than 20 feet away. they don't know what touched off the fire. neighbors say they thought a bomb had gone off. >> we heard about three explosions, nothing real loud but definitely explosions. one of them shook the house a little bit. we looked out the front window and didn't see anything. then i went out to the side window and i noticed the garage was engulfed in flames.

>> early calls, neighbors said they heard a noise. our investigators are still on scene trying to determine whether there was an explosion, some other aspect involved in this. >> reporter: four people inside got out safely. authorities say they're still trying to determine the cause here. roosevelt leftwich reporting. an owings mills home destroyed by fire. firefighters had difficulty fighting the fire on bridgeton court because of all the trees in the area. the woman inside the home at the time of the fire says at first it started quickly and she barely got out before the kitchen windows blew out. >> it got so hot so fast. that's how long it took the fire department to get here. this was like everybody thought it would explode. >> investigators say the home is a total loss. you can see it for yourself. now they're trying to see how it

started. here's the latest on a body washed up on shore. maryland natural resource police identified cordery. a man and a woman were rescued but the man later died. he has been missing since this boat overturned. the harford county 16-year-old accused of killing his father last week appeared before a judge. robert richardson waived his right to a preliminary hearing. outside we caught up with supporters, several bel air moms and teens believe richardson is a victim rather than a murderer and they're using facebook to pool together money to get limb a private attorney. >> reporter: what was your reaction when you saw this baby face? >> it breaks my heart.

he's just a kid. we're all moms. we want to do something for our kid in the community. >> reporter: there are many who believe richardson was a victim of abuse by his father. the harford county sheriff's office aid it had responded to the home 16 times in three year, and none for domestic violence or abuse. flags were flown at half staff around the state today in honor of a maryland man who died in afghanistan. he is 24-year-old airman first class matthew sidler. he died on january 5th when a vehicle he was in was struck by an ied. he was an explosive other nans technician. all right. let's take a look at this

weather out of kentucky. you can see several tractor-trailers flipped over and damaged buildings around the louisville area. it also knocked down trees in many places. in one county of indiana officials said there was a mild wide path of damage and a funnel cloud. our day has been relatively calm. let's check in with meteorologist wyatt everhart in the storm center with your forecast. a day of changing weather. here rain this morning. the sun comes out. temperatures shoot up to near 60. even this evening a strong wind flow. so you add those two factors together. we continue to feel the warm air. on maryland's most powerful radar, the rain is diving southward missing baltimore and heading into virginia. so tomorrow we look for sunshine on that but yet, again, a change

in temperatures. they're going to drop about 20 degrees only getting to 40 tomorrow. we talk about how things shape up in the weekend. there's a twist in the weather cup cup -- coming up. linebacker terrell suggs has been named afc defensive player of the year. suggs had an afc high, 14 sacks, seven fumbles and broke the ravens' records for sacks. congratulations to you. now the quarterback suggs will go after, tom brady named the afc's offensive player of the year and it will be the

patriots biggest test of the year. they have the best players in the history of the nfl. that's a nod to suggs, ray lewis and haloti ngata. let us know if you will be going to new england. let us know right now. use the twitter hash tag, way to inned dip and we'll post -- inned dip -- indy and we'll post your tweets. the french company that is one of constellation's largest shareholders is dropping its opposition to the merger. the company has reached an agreement with exelon. the merger still needs to be approved by the state, feds and nuclear commission. cleanup is underway inside the james senate building.

before it rained outside last night, look at it raining inside in the building when a my broke and sent water cascading on to the floor and to the third floor. don harrison shows us the damage tonight. >> reporter: fans and dehumidifiers were drying up the mess. a three-inch pipe broke above the fourth floor yesterday afternoon. when that pipe broke, the pump that runs it through the sprinkle system had been triggered forcing more water through the busted pipe. >> there was a sea of water. >> reporter: the senator and his staff were forced out. from these pictures, looks like they were filming the movie "tie tannic." >> basically we were got washed out. >> i saw a drip. within 30 seconds it was full

blown raining. >> reporter: senator coburn's chief of staff scrambled. >> a crazy hour and a half of grabbing everything off the walls, grabbing everything we could to save it. it's raining. ceiling tiles were coming down. >> disaster workers were busy with the cleanup. >> that will help dry it out. our goal was to get it dry within 72 hours. >> reporter: not all the officers were affected. the senator's office had men mal din min -- minimal damage. they tell me by friday the building should be stablized and dried. then they clan begin repair -- can begin repairs. >> no estimate has been made for

the cost of the damage and cleanup. senator miller said governor martin o'malley decided to shift costs on to the county. miller says the governor -- he would have like lad larger shift in money. looks like tourism is becoming a big business in our state. cumberland, staying in st. michaels, shopping in chesapeake. walking around fort mchenry. we have seen a 4% rise in tourism. 130,000 marylanders are directly employed thanks to tourism. before you put on your head phones and head out for a run, listen up. local doctors say those head phones could put you in serious danger. why they are the reason more people are being hit by cars

than ever before. not knowing the difference between a cold or a flu may affect you. and why this year marks the last time we may wait for the mysterious poe visitor. >> all right, jamie, 58 at bwi. almost 20 degrees above average. so not within two degrees. we'll try it again tomorrow and tack about the colder air. it's straight ahead.

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your life in beautiful bel air & main street -- on main street. that was a long lunch. wyatt will be at loonie's. researchers right here at the university of maryland say injuries to those wearing head phones have more than tripled in the last seven years. if you're outdoors wearing head phones or ear bused you're not foe -- buds, you're not focusing and could get hurt. nearly three quarters of the injuries turn out to be deadly. >> plugged up to the point you

may not hear your outside environment, things like sirens, horns and alarms, people warning you to look there's a car coming. it becomes problematic when you have these devices plugged into your ears. >> doctors say teens and young adults are affected the most. the flu season is here. how do you know if you have the cold or the flu? >> reporter: you have a cough, runny nose and congestion. is it a cough or the flu? if it's the flu, you may feel fine one hour but will go downhill. >> you can get an you a bankrupt fever, severe cough, joints aches, muscle aches, chest discomfort, and you can have fatigue up to three weeks.

>> reporter: the doctor said the difference between the cold and flu can be subtle but if you can get to a doctor as soon as flu symptoms start you can feel better a lot sooner. >> if the symptoms are caught within the first 48 hours, prescriptions can reduce the dure raising or severity. after 72 hours those medicines are not effective. >> reporter: if you haven't gotten your flu vaccine yet, doctors say it's too late. >> it takes a full week for the emunion nit to kick in once you get the shot. >> reporter: for the elderly and youngs kids, the flu can be more dangerous because their immune system isn't as strong. if you suspect the flu, see a doctor right away. >> with young kids the complications could include respiratory symptoms, even

pneumonia. >> reporter: the best way to protect you and your family is cover good hygiene. >> cover your hands -- mouth, wash your hands, get plenty of sleep. have you wondered how babies learn to talk? new research could help. researchers say infants learn to talk in the just by listening but lie looking. when babies are in the babbling stage they become lip readers. they focus on the mouths talking and researchers say infants at risk for autism follow a different development path. that could lead to an earlier diagnosis than is possible. >> abc2news.com is your's for all the health news. you'll find the headlines as well as different health categories to help you find the

information for you and your family. we start off were maryland's most popular radar tracking an area south of d.c. but this thing continues to move further and further south as we put the radar into motion. there's nothing that we're picking up. so a will mean a dry time the rest of this evening. that's good news if you have to grab the mail, walk the dog or take the trash out. 58 right now, mild evening. pleasant. enjoy this. gusty southwest winds. on the whole, it's tough to complain when you get temperatures like this. it hasn't been the best january for you. damascus through the day, wet roads. they dry out. then the clouds creep back in.

the u.s. naval academy was a quiet day on the severn. why in the take a look at middle town. this is out in frederick county, just a scenic shot. temperatures still hovering at mild levels. 53 in hagerstown. near 60 baltimore. near 60 patuxent river. those south winds bringing in the mild air. gusty at times but no wind chill factor because the air temperatures are too wrarm. highs today 20 degrees above average. statistical normal 40 to 41. neighborhood by neighborhood we'll trim about 20 degrees as cold air begins to pour. we'll see sunshine but we'll

struggle to get out of the 30s in reisterstown. showers into virginia now, missing us. there's cloud cover. could key see a stray shower, it's possible. as we take a look at the overall pattern, things begin to quiet now as the cold air comes in. our trend showing cloud cover but not much precipitation, maybe this creeps up into cambridge and that all pushes offshore. thursday additional cloud cover but any snow that we see will stay to our north in pennsylvania. overnight 37, gusty winds. it will take a while to get that cold. by daybreak 37. we struggle up to 40 as the windy conditions continue but

from the northwest. it will be a different wind tomorrow. tomorrow neat down to the mid-20s. our interesting january weather pattern continues. qoalder -- colder whether pushes in friday, could bring a wintery mix by early saturday as temperatures fall overnight. we change the saturday forecast. sunday looking mild. >> we'll take it. tomorrow night we'll be watching poe's grave. will he or won't he? that is the mystery. is this the end slough the poe toaster. we will have to find out. since the 1940s we always waited for the man who delivered a rose and cognac. we believe another man took over.

since 2009, no poe toaster. there's been a rumor that the man may have passed but we'll give this one more shot. we will await his arrival. it would be sad to say the poe toaster was never more. kelly, we had video ready on a tape that we cannot find from last year. what does that say? that's a mystery. >> kind of creepy. millions of mrns start their day by taking a sup plea -- americans start their day by taking a supplement but they're not always receipt for your body. plus, a dozen girls at the same high school come down with a mystery illness. i'm kelly swoope. we'll have have those stories and more plus a complete look at wyatt's forecast.

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check it out, clearing out nicely. a little rain will not affect us. tomorrow we'll climb up to the 30s to around 40. that's a 20-degree cooldown. each day is different this january. >> all right. we'll see you tonight at 11:00.

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