and the heavy rains to the north and west. the gusts have been the big story. out to the north and west we go. west minister at 52-mile-an-hour wind gusts. that was registered after 2:30. moss wind speeds between 30 to 40-mile-an-hour wind gusts. it is tough commute from rosedale to elk ridge some heavy pockets of rain. 70 through mt. airy, through damascus. this is really round one before another round will charge up and move in our direction. roanoke. this is sliding in our direction. that's what we're concerned with going into tonight and tomorrow morning. flash flood watch. we have the jet scream.

while the ground winds are 30 to 40 miles an hour, go up and up to the would the miles an hour. we'll talk more about the forecast and break into some of these alerts coming up. kelly? while the worst of it hasn't hit us, this severe storm has ripped through the south claiming the life of one person. we have the latest video of the damage. >> reporter: a dangerous combination of heavier rains and strong winds are winding their way through the country's south and mid-section. >> we can see circulation. >> reporter: this possible tornado seen in the sky over georgia has claimed one life. a large tree fell on the shed killing the man inside. the strong winds demolished homes, and overturned cars. further north, parts of new york are dealing with intense fog.

take a look at the george washington bridge. here in new york city, the conditions are the result of the roller coaster the country has been in lately. last week it was in the teens. today more than 60. by the and of the week dipping -- end of the week dipping back into the 20s. >> we have initially about 13 houses that have been damaged that we know of. >> reporter: a storm system packing 65-mile-an-hour winds and unseen sonnably warm temperatures. the national weather service has issued a tornado warning in tennessee. >> like a trailer ran into something. >> reporter: but in lincoln, nebraska, it's snow that's snarling traffic. >> its like a sheet of ice. >> reporter: omaha is trying to dig itself out of up to inches

of snow. everybody knows the best thing to do when a severe storm hit to stay inside. make sure all of your doors, windows and blinds are closed and stay away from them. don't shower or wash your hands. pan plumbing can conduct electricity. don't use a landline. stick to your cell phone. when we're not on the air, you can get the very latest information using one of our mobile weather apps. go to abc2news.com/download. you can find that information 24/7. new developments in the breaking news that we told you about first last nit pat 5. there is a new acting anne arundel county executive, but the suspension of john leopold is in question. the county council introduced a bill to vote leopold out of

office. this follow as guilty verdict on two counts of his misconduct in office but the county attorney said the seven members are jumping ahead of what the charter says, that a politician has to be sentenced before being ousted. >> i'm saying they would be acting outside the scope visit authority of the charter. therefore, it would be invalid. >> the council plans to vote on monday. if five of the seven members are in favor, the chairman said leopold would not have a job. the judge and attorneys are supposed to set a date for the sentencing tomorrow. we have some breaking news tonight from one of the most women known private schools in our baltimore area. the principal of mt. st. diswroa's high has resigned after admitting to inappropriate communications with at least one student. the school's president introduced a statement about

barry fitzpatrick's rest sig nation. police have not charged fids patrick but do confirm the school notified him yesterday and an active investigation is underway. not only did he see the body of phylicia barnes, he told the defendant how to get rid of. it that is some of the shocking testimony from the state's star witness in the phylicia barnes murder trial. what a day in court brian. >> reporter: the testimony lasted 40 minutes. arguably, the state's star witness took the stand after lunch today. james lee or mccrea is serving time in charles county for theft. he ran a quote underground tag and title business. that is how he got to know

michael johnson. johnson called leon his disposable cell phone looking for help. he met johnson, walked into the bedroom and saw the body of phylicia barnes. phylicia was dead. lee testified johnson killed her after scrn son sexually forced himself on the team. lee said johnson was giving him mixed signals. he forced sex on her and then she wouldn't stop crying. that, lee, said is when johnson cloaked her to death. lee testified johnson asked him how it dispose of the body. lee warned johnson of cell phone tracking not to bury the body. be careful of dna and it's best to put the teen in a contain are and dump her in a body of water. that testimony matches that of

another witness. the doctor who performed the autopsy said the level of decomposition was consistent with a body thats with not only in water for four months but contained and submerged. barnes pea body was found in the debris field of the conowingo dam near the susquehanna river. he is currently serving time for theft. the defense got limb to say this alleged meeting happened before christmas in twn, which would not be correct as phylicia was not reported until december 28th but the state made clear lee is not getting any deal for his testimony. lee said he wrote the letter to the baltimore city police department last year saying he

knew who killed phylicia because it was simply the right thing to do. a maryland state patrol ended up under a tractor-trailer this morning on route 140 in finksburg. the crash happened during rush hour. the state patrol was rushed to the hospital in a non-life-threatening condition tonight. it as been 24 hours since that sports illustrated story about plear plearp and the -- ray lewis and the deer antler story. >> reporter: it took him three breaths. >> i'm going to say it very clearly again. i think it's one of the most

embarrassing things we can do. >> reporter: it asal over the "sports illustrated" article that said he used deer antler spray to come back from a torn triceps. >> the reason i'm smiling is because i never took whatever he said i was supposed to do. >> reporter: though he thought talking about it was a waste of time, he took time. >> me, i'm never angry. i'm too blessed to be stressed. i'm not angry. you can use the wordage stated because i'm -- wordage tated because i'm here to win the super bowl. >> i believe ray. i trust ray completely. >> reporter: and ray trusts his team will be focused on sunday. >> for me and my teammates, i promise you we have a strong group of men. we keep pushing forward so it's

not a distraction to us. >> reporter: ray said this will not be a distraction. they are practicing at tulane university. jamie costello, abc2 news. well, this was the scene after the win. it's no surprise officials are stepping up the patrols in fed hill. fans will definitely be out. before the big game we're bringing you another live ravens special. we have coverage of the best tailgating spots plus a breakdown of this super bowl sunday. and we have an extra live hour of coverage that starts at seven, so leave it right here. until then you can find the latest including local

interviews and on abc2news.com. head to our home page and click to the link for the special ravens session. a gunman stops a school bus, kills a driver and -- the driver and takes the kindergartner hostage. what they're doing to get the boy back safety. >> new orleans may be hosting the super bowl but there are many families who are struggling to rebuild after katrina. we'll tell you how one charity is helping. >> how do you carry your handbag? we'll reveal what purse carrying style reveals about your personality. >> now we're paying for it. rain and wind through the night. i'm meteorologist mike masco. in some cases we can drop 40 degrees from where we are. we'll have the details coming up.

it's a problem that impacts millions of people. we're talking about inflammatory bowel disease, also known as ibd. today we're taking your calls. the number to call is 410-481-2222. we'll have experts until 6:30. we're joined by a doctor from the university of maryland medical center. let's talk about what is ibd. >> inflammatory bowel disease includes crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. both are conditions of the gi tract. crohn's disease can affect anywhere from the mouth to the aus in. colitis affects the colon to the rectum. those with colitis tend to have bloody diarrhea. >> this is a difficult topic to talk become the what are some of

the symptoms? >> reporter: for crohn's disease abdominal pain and cramps, nausea, occasionally volume myth. colitis tends to be bloody diarrhea or diarrhea. patients may also have cramps with that as well. >> what age group? >> we see it affecting people of all ages actually. people usually present with both in their 20s, 30s and a second group will present later in life. >> the phone bank is right next door. the number to call is 410-481-2222. the doctor will be with us for the next hour and 15 minutes and we'll talk about treatment options. we'll send it over to mike masco and get look at that sterile -- stormy weather. across town heavy rain in many locationings -- locations. go to the north and east and

we're dealing with heavy rain. we're watching this cell over 70. this is out toward the north and mt. airy. 70 has a tough go of things out toward the north, hunt valley. go up toward cecil county, rising sun. here comes the rising sun. not only is it heavy rain but there's gusty winds. there is a second balance of the back out to the west through the ohio valley, severe thunderstorm watches well to the south of baltimore. this will come in during the across of tonight. on the back side, by the way, it's snowing and it's a blizzard over parts of southern wisconsin. this gives you an idea strong and intense it s severe

weather alerts south of baltimore. the risk will remain to the south. terms of winds, sustained winds between 20 and 30 miles an hour with gusts near 52 in westminster. for that reason the national weather service has put out a high wind advisory. high wind warnings along the eastern shore near dover and salisbury and ocean city. 62 in town. that's off our daytime highs which are in the low 70s in many locations. it feels muggy. we usually see dew points in late spring. a lot of moisture in the area -- air. we have the precip. a flash flood watch has been posted. roadways could flood out.

let's shift to the bay to coastal flood advisory from havre de grace, high tides this will run one to two feet above normal starting at 8:00 around parts have you annapolis going up toward the harbor. you'll be dealing with the high tide. if you live in an area prone to bay flooding you need to move to higher ground. there's one more push of the wind and rain. 50 to possibly 60 miles an hour. we drop off 40 degrees. it as eight in the southern plains. so one more push for the overnight. this is out of here by the commute. chilly air settles in and a flurry action by thursday neat, talk about whiplash. maryland's most accurate calling for heavy rain. be prepared for the possibility

offed fromming -- for flooding. 30s tomorrow afternoon. 26 with light snow developing. 33 is all we can get to on friday. teens, low 20s. seasonal sunday and monday and maybe into the weekend saturday night into sunday that's another system we'll have to watch, very, very light systems. it is wild that we're talking 70s. >> my head is spinning. >> everybody is going what is going on out there. it's whiplash. let as talk about the system at -- let's talk about the system at 5:30. a serious story today. a 6-year-old boy is still in danger tonight being held hostage by a man who has already killed one person. we have more on the standoff with the police. >> reporter: a tense hostage situation is unfolding in

midland city, alabama, 24 hours after a a gunman kidnapped a little boy. the suspect murder the driver. >> he started telling him he needed a kid, something about the law coming after him. he shot the bus driver. >> reporter: police sources identify the bus driver as jimmy lee dikes. where dikes is hold up in an underground bunker with the young boy. >> a moon man. >> reporter: the 65-year-old is a military veteran who missed a court hearing today where he was to face charges of menacing his neighbors. police radio traffic captured the chaos. >> just had a bus driver shot, possibly deceased. >> reporter: parents of other children on the bus panicked. >> nobody called and told me anything. so i'm going to look for my son.

>> reporter: police said dikes took just the one child, the boy who happens to need special medication, now stuck in a hole difficult for s.w.a.t. teams to reach. >> it's a tricky situation. i suspect that's one of the variables it's going on to this hour. >> reporter: more troubling, we're told he has enough food in that bunker to last weeks, even months, reporting from new york. >> that's awful. a manhunt underway for another person. a gunman who opened fire at a phoenix office building this morning. three people were wounded. one of them is in critical condition. police do not believe the shooting was random. minutes ago we're told a s.w.a.t. team surrounded a house they think could be connected. coming up, a sinkhole swallows up multiple buildings sending them crumbling to the ground. find out what police are doing

to keep people safe. >> plus we'll tell you about a bizarre sign that popped up at a dunkin' donuts and tell you where it happened.

house calls with the doctor from the university of maryland. doctor, when do you know surgery should be an option when it comes to ibd. >> they are typically treated with medications. when patients have complications is when we need to do surgery. about a third of people with colitis and two thirds of people with crohn's will need surgery.

because you developed a blockage or bleeding or the medications aren't controlling the symptoms. >> for how long a period? >> at least a few months of trying the different regimens to see if you would have an effect without surgery. >> the phones are ringing. we'll be here until 6:30 with the university of maryland medical center, talking about ibd, a very sensitive topic. the number to call is on your screen. 410-481-2222. the experts are standing boy to take your calls and to answer your questions.

we have video of buildings crumbling to the ground. it happened in china. first a three-story came down and then another one came down. local police have evacuated nearby buildings as a precaution, moving 300 people from their homes. they have also closed down

traffic. well, america will want to run from dunkin' with signs like this. a sign at a dunkin' donuts in the poconos says this. buy a doughnut or god will kill a kitten. the sign was taken down. they are aware that the employee inreportly altered the sign and the employee has been suspended, pending an investigation. new orleans may be hosting the super bowl but the city, as we all know, hasn't recovered from katrina. we'll show you how they're getting a helping hand to rebuild. >> and what the baltimore county chief had to say during his visit to capitol hill. >> we will take a look at maryland's powerful radar. we'll be right back.