all right. we want to head over to chief meteorologist, wyatt everhart, in the most accurate storm center. we're not getting boston weather here? >> no way. boston really is the center point for who is going to get hit the hardest. here in baltimore, we're just talking about some wintry showers through the rest of the evening. temperatures have been safely above freezing through the day, so as a result, even the showers we do see over the next few years won't stick very well at all. as a result, the only county we have in the state in our viewing area with a winter weather advisory is cecil county. the elkton area, you have a possibility of picking up an inch or two. other than that, it's wind or rain. we have wind advisories up for much of maryland, coastal warnings up the delaware coast as well, because of the wind of this powerful storm.

two storms merging together. now that storm system is ramping up offshore. it's going to send a huge wall of snow into new england. we'll have much more on the storm, straight ahead. well, this storm may not dump a ton of snow on our area, hopefully -- >> but people in cecil and harford counties are going to get the worst of it. >> what does it like like right now, christian? >> reporter: the worst of it is just rain right now. you can see the roads are really wet. the rain just starting kicking up here. fortunately, as you heard wyatt mention, the temperature has stayed above freezing. so we're not dealing with any freezing rain or sleet or ice on the roads, at least not at this hour. however, state highway crews are out in force, ready to hit those roads if this indeed does turn into a winter storm event or something where they need to

put some salt down. again, that has not been the case yet, but those crews are at the ready. we're not too far from i-95 here in the abington area. state highway crews say this is the 13th time this winter that they've had to do that. we might get another near miss this time. one of those times, it's gonna hit us, and they've got to be ready for when it happens. >> all these storms seemed to have happened during rush hour too. as anybody knows that sees the morning rush hour, when it rains, the delays are far worse than normal. doesn't take much to upset the balance of our system. but we'll have crews out there again. we'll keep going till it warms up and we don't have to be out there anymore. >> reporter: we'll keep on eye on conditions out here in the bel air, abington, harford county area. we'll get nothing like they're expecting in new york and north

of that. but we'll be keeping an eye on the roads for you. the high wind warning is also in effect. we'll be feeling some of that. bge crews say they're also ready in case there are any power outages coming from the storm this evening. christian schaffer, abc 2 news. we're not the only ones getting ready for this storm. people in the east are preparing for a potentially historic blizzard. >> reporter: reports of a 19- car pileup on a highway in maine showed the dangers this giant storm could pose in the northeast. >> stay off the roads. stay home. >> reporter: boston's mayor sounding the warmer as his city braces for snowfall that could surpass the record of 27.5 inches set in 2003. in massachusetts and connecticut, states of

emergency declared, with blizzard warnings issued. >> we're going to get wind gusts from 40 to 50 miles per hour. we're going to get whiteouts. >> reporter: a powerful nor'easter also carrying the risk of coastal flooding. >> hopefully it won't be anything drastic and it's certainly not going to be a hurricane sandy. but that doesn't mean you can't get badly hurt or killed if you're not careful. >> reporter: with that concern, many schools closed. roads and mass transits shut down in some areas. and thousands of flights are now grounded. so many people now are stuck, bracing for the worst of this monster winter storm. >> this completely messed up my entire day. i hate the snow. i thought i liked it until now. >> reporter: and this is not only an inconvenient and powerful storm, it's also slow moving. some of these conditions are not expected to let up until

tomorrow. marci gonzalez, abc news, boston. you can track the storm right from your smartphone. just head to abc2news.com/download and check out our mobile weather apps. breaking news out of northwest baltimore where fire crews are on the scene of a deadly fire. >> it all started near the pinnacle race course. >> jeff hager is live with more. >> reporter: as we speak here, in northwest baltimore, police are cordoned off extended areas, blocks surrounding the house where they found a woman who apparently died in a fire this afternoon. i'm going to have any videographer try to give you the best vantage point. we can find there's a beige to light yellow home that still has a ladder in front of it. we're told someone noticed smoke coming from the house on the 5700 block of highgate drive and called 911 at 2:30 this afternoon. when firefighters arrived, the first floor was fully engulfed

in flames. they were able to make entry and start doing a search. they found a woman's body down in the basement. she had suffered a number of burns. at this point, there's no sign of foul play. we're not sure, but arson investigators and others are here on the scene. at this point, though, let me repeat, they have not found any evidence -- a tragic side note to this story. we're near the training facility, really a stone's throw away. we understand that the woman didn't live in the house alone. it was an elderly woman who lived there who apparently was at home alone while her daughter was at work. they were celebrating having purchased the house just four months ago, so certainly a tragedy here in northwest baltimore. we'll continue to bring you details as they become available. jeff hager, abc 2 news. and for the latest on all breaking news -- >> all you have to do is follow us on

twitter or sign up for our breaking news e-mail alerts. we are working for you on a health alert about the loyola university student that has bacterial meningitis. >> all you have to do is say the word meningitis, and that's going to send people into a panic. but here's more on what people can do if they came in contact with this student. >> reporter: the university sent out an e-mail to its students about this case saying most students shouldn't worry. but it's also warning of the symptoms. there is really only one form of bacterial meningitis that is highly contagious. while it is unclear whether or not this student has that specific type, she remains at the hospital in serious but stable condition. the university also told students the girl's roommates were checked out and given antibiotics if necessary, and to be on the lookout for those known symptoms. but doctors tell us in order to catch it, friends would have to be in very close contact with the patient for more than just a few minutes at a time.

>> generally, household contacts, people living in the same house or often eating together, domiciled very near each other, that would be the case. >> reporter: doctors stress casual contact like being in a crowd won't be enough to contract the infection. still, the university stressed to its students, meningitis is a serious sickness and its symptoms can mimic the flu. if any student who has had contact with this patient feels like that, they are urged to seek medical care. >> thanks, brian. symptoms of meningitis typically start appearing anywhere from three to seven days after a person is exposed to the infection. some of the most common signs include nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and even confusion. but symptoms can be a bit more subtle as well. some people just feel a fever, headache, or a stiff neck at first. anyone who thinks they have meningitis should see a doctor immediately. annapolis police sifted

through more than 100 tons office trash to find the body of a two-year-old girl who they say was admitted to her mother. chelsea booth admits to killing the toddler by smuggling. she claims her husband put a muslim curse on her and she thought her daughter was possessed by an evil spirit. neighbors were stunned by what happened. >> it hurts me, because i've known her, and she was a real close friend to me. and just -- it's crazy. >> booth is now being held without bond and is facing several charges, including first-degree murder. the deadly stabbing during the victory parade are trickling in. police believe smith and the killer knew each other, but they are still working out exactly what led to the stabbing. we are still waiting to find out when the man accused

of killing a pregnant woman will go before a judge. >> jeffrey shiflett is charged with first-degree murder in the death of katie hadel. police say shiflett stabbed her to death on tuesday night. last night, we told you that that katie hadel had an order against the man who killed her. >> most of the time, if somebody gets an order, the person will follow it. if they don't follow it, they can get arrested. they get charged criminally. and then that will keep them from violating it the next time. if it doesn't, they'll get arrested again. most people get the message that they can't be breaking this order, that they need to stay away from this victim. >> shiflett is being held without bail at the baltimore county detention center. the teenager accused of opening fire inside of perry hall high school last year will

be tried as an adult. attorneys for robert gladden asked the court to try him as a juvenile, but the court denied it. he brought several rounds of ammo to school in august and opened fire. if convicted, gladden could face life in prison. well, dry winter weather makes your skin a mess. the heartbreak of psoriasis. >> it's terrible. it's also no friend to your hair. how to stop the static. >> wish i had that problem. police say one of their own is on a murder spree. the race to catch him before more people die. and these girls say they were abused by police officers. we want to know what you think. does it look like that to you? and we continue to track our powerhouse storm. there will be some impact for parts of maryland. the details on exactly where you could expect some snow, straight ahead, on abc 2 news at 5.

nobody wants bad chocolate on valentine's day. so we're here to help. >> we're trying to see which one is the best. >> before you ask for any sweets, find out which chocolate won our taste test, monday at 11.

static electricity and the winter go hand in hand, especially here in maryland. this time of your, your hair can be impossible to deal with. but there are some ways to control it. suzanne shows us how. >> reporter: whether we blow it or just let it be, hair can take a beating in winter months, especially when it comes to static electricity. >> the cold, dry weather really strips our hair of moisture, and coupled with the heated environment inside, it doesn't help at all. >> reporter: good ways to avoid static hair? >> in the cold winter months, you need to cut your shampoo regimen in half. >> reporter: and pick your shampoo carefully. >> choose shampoos that are sulfate free and nonfoaming. >> reporter: and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. when getting out of the shower, blot your hair. don't vigorously dry it with a

towel. >> when you shake it dry with a towel, you are roughing up -- roughing it up, which will only make the flyaways worse. >> reporter: perfect tips for perfect hair in the new year. and now, maryland's most accurate forecast. >> we'll start off with maryland's most powerful radar. you can see just a little bit of banding coming out of the northwest. the main system continues to be off to the east right now. large, powerful storm swirling out to sea. we're picking it up on maryland's most powerful radar. a little bit of wintry weather here near harford county. winter weather is actually coming down as light rain. but there may be some embedded sleet, maybe a few flakes. cecil county is one county that you have a winter weather advisory continuing into the

evening. here is where we think there could be a little more banding, on the very back edge of this large, large storm system that continues to churn off of new england. i want to show you a little bit of our camera action across the state and take you up into boston. first, in baltimore, obviously ugly. wet conditions. that's been the deal throughout the day. how about further north? yeah. take you up to red sox stadium. there's the snow, pounding the lens. and the snow just keeps coming up there in bean town. looks like a bad camera there. i do want to be take you into parkville as well, again, just the opposite of boston, with all that snow, rain. now a few wintry showers coming in through the rest of the evening. 38 at bwi. humidity is high. winds beginning to pick up, especially east of the chesapeake bay. windiest weather of the state on delmarva. any snow showers we do get are going to melt pretty good as they make contact with the

ground. that will hold down really any accumulation. winds beginning to pick up toward atlantic. very windy through ocean city as well. wind and rain will be primarily what we're dealing with out of this system. look at the winds on the eastern shore, gusting to 25. winds will ramp up for all the state of maryland, through the night and into the day tomorrow. you can make out that well- defined area of low pressure. look at that circulation, about 3- to 400 miles off ocean city. all the winds are drawn into that system. at one point, we thought more snow would be drawn into it. but you can see how sharp that cutoff is. that's what we were talking about yesterday. the potential is there for a few inches. there will be a little more wraparound activity, potentially through the overnight. the circulation is just amazing off of new jersey there. the wrap around it, a sharp cutoff. by 11, 12:00, i don't think

we'll see any more precipitation in our state, not even in elkton. a windy cold day on saturday. sunday, just a few clouds. but basically weather will remain fairly quiet. but what a powerhouse this whole thing is, with the heaviest snows impacting new york up through the boston area. basically blizzard like conditions. anywhere north of new york city through tomorrow morning. locally, at most, about a half inch to an inch, up there in cecil county, looks like. here's your seven-day forecast, as we push forward into the weekend. mid 40's on tap for sunday. beyond sunday, into the workweek, looks like a mild start with temperatures pushing 50 monday and tuesday. very wintry scenario across much of the northeast, even here tonight we'll be very cold and windy on early saturday. but then, a milder trend sets in. >> i like those 50's.

that means no snow. >> not gonna snow at 50. it could snow in the upper 30's to 40's, but it melts. >> tell me you're not just a little sad that we're not getting more of this. >> i'm not. >> when we think of three weeks ago, they're going to get -- they actually need two or three more of these to get the winter we had. >> we'll just let them get it. hundreds of police are following up every lead in an effort to find christopher dorner. >> he's the former l.a. police officer already accused of killing three people. brandy has been following the manhunt all day long. >> reporter: the manhunt continues. >> we're going to continue searching until either we discover that he left the mountain or we find him, one of the two. >> reporter: christopher dorner's burned-out truck was found thursday in snowy mountains east of los angeles.

but he has vanished. after 24 hours of door-to-door searching, that abandoned truck may have been just a diversion. they say dorner killed three people in revenge for being fired from the lapd in 2008. in his alleged manifesto, he's threatening to gun down more. >> officers are concerned about themselves and obviously about their families. >> reporter: dorner claims he was fired for exposing abuse within the department and writes, i will utilize every bit of arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training i've been given. >> it's very likely, until he is shot, you could see more police officers hit in southern california. >> reporter: the expert marksman is calculating, patient and claims to have a 50- caliber rifle capable of slicing through armored cars from a long distance. even his ex-girlfriend now fears for her life. >> it is a scary situation. i have the phone on 911 when i open the door of my apartment. who is next?

you don't know. >> reporter: with dorner's picture now posted nationwide, false sightings continue to pour in. police are confident they'll eventually hunt him down. just one day after he celebrated his sixth birthday with family, we're getting our first look at home movies of ethan. the little boy was held captive for days in an underground bunker in alabama. ethan's older brother is speaking out for the first time since his brother's rescue. you can catch the full interview right here on abc 2, and we'll be on at 11. no ordinary dinner preparations. >> absolutely not. bartenders leap out of the way as an suv barrels into their florida restaurant. and a little too much to drink lands them in handcuffs, but it's what police say that they did at the station that started a whole new investigation. bad dancing. abc 2 news is a proud

partner of susie's cause.

bartenders setting up for the dinner crowd jumped out of the way as a man crashed his vehicle right into their restaurant. it happened in florida, with surveillance cameras capturing the moment. no one was hurt. the restaurant is closed. i would imagine so. crews clean up the damage and try to rebuild. maybe they'll have an outdoor patio. two sisters busted by police in florida have landed in even more hot water because of their antics at the police station, or lack of dancing skills. michelle and angelina are tourists are canada. back in december, they got busted for, what else, public intoxication. that's when the sisters claim they were roughed up.

when they got to the police station, they turned it into their own dance floor. >> they were making fun of us, saying we don't have a father figure. we're canadians. so they called me fat miss piggy. >> we have video and it's obviously a different story. when we brought them here to our holding cell, i think the video speaks of itself of their actions and their behavior. >> ah, police stations are not a place to dance. miami police released video of the dancing sisters to show officers really didn't do anything to the ladies. they paid to swim with the dolphins in hawaii but they got a lot more. tourists got a close-up look at a humpback well. the whale even gave the group a dramatic wave with his tail and then ate them all. no, not really. flights are cancelled. it's an emergency situation.

plus, the counties in our area which could see snow. and the bush family's e- mail is hacked. find out the information that may have been stolen. and dating in the digital age, what a game. when is it too soon to be facebook friends? >> one of the big questions of our time. weather-wise, we continue to watch wintry weather through parts of maryland. the big storm up north. we'll talk about how your entire weekend unfolds, straight ahead.