raining. but the ground is frozen solid after two weeks generally below freezing in that deep freeze so do be careful. untreated roads will be icy. so that winter weather advisory continues from philadelphia until 9 o'clock and areas point north and west. it's lingering longer along the coast. the winter weather advisory in effect until midnight and again temperatures really key on what's falling from the sky. for more details on that let's head over to meteorologist melissa magee. >> yes, cecily, and the temperatures are certainly varying in different locations. so as we look at what we can expect we have got that winter weather advisory as cecily mentioned. 26 for allentown, same thing for reading. 24 up in the poconos. below freezing by 1 degree in the city at 31. above freezing in atlantic city 36 and 36 degrees in dover. we'll talk about what we can expect. for the past two weeks now, temperatures have been well below freezing, well below zero when you factor in the wind chills so the ground is frozen so even if the air

temperature tonight goes above 32 degrees like it is currently in south jersey and delaware, you can still get some icing and that's the concern for the rest of our evening commute. we'll talk about what we can expect, like wintry mix on the way ending from the northwest to southeast direction. it clears the coast by midnight. any untreated surface will be slick, the driveways, the sidewalks and those secondary roads. but some good news is also headed our way. here's future tracker6. you could see 3 o'clock thursday afternoon, milder air rushing back across much of the eastern half of the u.s. by that time, it's 45 in the city, 59 degrees in cincinnati and we have a bit of a january thaw on the way by later this week. more details coming up with the accuweather forecast, jim. >> thank you melissa. let's switch live to west chester and "action news" reporter walter perez. walter, what's the story there? >> reporter: well, jim, i mentioned during my last live shot that i almost fell on my backside getting out of the news van. it seems the bigger issue are the untreated sidewalks and

parking lots. but that's not to say that the roadways are free and clear of slick conditions. the sleet and freezing rain across the delaware valley has been arriving at a slow and steady pace but enough to keep the salt trucks busy. >> we're going to have just about 350, a little more actually trucks out there probably be salting as soon as those first flakes start to fall so they'll be ready on their routes an hour or two before this storm starts and as soon as those flakes fall they'll be running. >> reporter: so far, though, the precipitation has been more icy than flaky. officials from penndot say they didn't brine the roads beforehand primarily because of all the residual material already on the roadways in the wake of winter weather events over the past few weeks. the bigger issue has been the arrival of these icy conditions during today's evening commute. >> as the volume builds our routes slow down. so, we're not going to be able to run them as effectively. there could be some ice

accumulation. we're going to lay down as much salt as we can. we ask people to use caution as well. >> reporter: untreated sidewalks and parking lots turned icy quickly. once the sleet and freezing rain arrived this afternoon. we spoke with a few men walking to work tonight who put a decidedly positive spin on the situation. >> we have to so we just have to be careful how we go about doing it. >> slippery but i guess what you have to do is have fun with the weather. you got have -- be positive and be careful about it. >> reporter: and the people we spoke with also expressing relief the temperatures will rise above freezing this week. reporting live from west chester, walter perez channel6 "action news." jim. >> all right, walter, thank you. "action news" reporter annie mccormick is live in the hunting park section of philadelphia. annie, what is the streets department's strategy for handling this kind of weather event? >> reporter: and jim, they are prepared ahead of time. i can tell you in this section of hunting park we've been

seeing steady precipitation for several hours but i want to give you a look at their roadways here. one thing that has been a major help is the volume. you've seen significantly less volume than you normally do during the rush hour and that's because of a number of early dismissals with schools and also a number of work places in the city. ahead of the predict edwin treatment, drivers gave their thoughts on how to handle this winter grind now only into the second week of january. >> well, what i'm doing, i'm taking my time. i'm very much taking my time out here and not trying to rush to get anywhere 'cause rushing you'll cause an accident and somebody can seriously get hurt out here. >> reporter: he says he's learned the hard way to be prepared for the effects of plunging temperatures and icy road ways. >> i had a problem one time with a battery so i had one just in case anything happens because the cold be cutting the batteries, too. >> reporter: the city streets department began a salting operation today prepared with 70 trucks ready

for whatever comes their way. 35,000 tons of salt is at their disposal. crews will be on duty through the night and overnight. but they're waiting to see how the forecast plays out to see how big of a salting operation this will be. >> gives a little bit of traction. it's the cold ground the untreated asphalt. if that hits it's just going to freeze and it's going to give a little slow going until the salt gets to it. we have a lot of residual salt from this past weekend's snow event. >> reporter: and the problem you'll be seeing now jim is if you're heading back from work and taking public transportation or on the sidewalks. now the sidewalks that are actually around the septa stops or the bus stops because we're told by septa that the employees that they do have working overtime and the employees that work on pretreating those areas, they've already been working overtime because of the winter that we've had so far. for now reporting live in hunting park, annie mccormick, channel6 "action news."

jim, back to you. >> thank you so much, annie. we're were going to show you a live picture from mobile6 which is on the roosevelt boulevard northbound near ninth street. as you can see, traffic light, light to moderate in this area. and there are indications according to matt pelman that a lot of people got on the roads earlier today to get home maybe a little bit early to avoid what they expected to be a traffic problem and so on the boulevard, things seem to be reasonably good but let's check in with matt pelman who has been monitoring the whole traffic situation all day. matt, has this weather created any specific issues with the commute home? >> it has in a few spots but on most of the highways, jim, that have been well treated and well traveled on this afternoon, at this point conditions are just wet. so, it's other things that are slowing us down. we've got a jam here on the westbound side of the vine expressway approaching the schuylkill. it's because of this, a broken down vehicle that won't run in the westbound center lane so police and penndot are here now but this is not weather

related. although as you look at the road, it's a little bit shiny. it's going to be slippery and in a few spots, especially on the secondary roads, you could find icy conditions. we're getting reports of those especially in chester county. crashes closing westtown thornton road and an overturned propane truck is closing kennett pike route 52. we've seen a ton of salt trucks out and about this afternoon. that's been helping us out on 42. at this point just moderate traffic and mainly wet conditions. but over confidence is the enemy as you head out this evening. don't be overly confident. take your time and allow plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. jim, back to you. >> matt, thank you. another water main break causing problems tonight. this time at the fairview senior care center in springfield, montgomery county. officials say a pipe burst on the first floor of the building and there caused flooding. and because of the cold temperatures, all the patients and residents are being relocated to other local nursing homes. thousands of students were sent home early today before the wintry mix moved in.

children were let out of elementary in wynnefield at 1 o'clock this afternoon. the philadelphia public school district and many others chose an early dismissal to keep their students safe. as always, "action news" will be on tomorrow morning beginning at 4:30 to help you navigate any slick roads and to keep you up to date on any possible school delays. coming up on "action news" tonight, authorities uncover $22 million worth of cocaine in south jersey. plus, we'll find out how a university of delaware police officer is helping a nine-year-old cancer patient. meteorologist cecily tynan with the seven-day accuweather forecast. and you won't believe what we're going to have in just a few days. that would mean warm weather. >> whoo-hoo! >> right. [laughter] that and more when we continue in just a moment. >> ♪

>> there is word tonight of a major drug bust in south jersey. u.s. customs and border protection officers discovered $22 million of cocaine hidden in furniture shipped from puerto rico to a sea port in pennsauken. this is the agency's largest cocaine seizure in philadelphia since 2007. they're still investigating where the drugs came from and where they were going. mourners bid farewell today to former new jersey governor brendan byrne who died last week at the age of 93. he was remembered during a memorial service at the paper mill playhouse in millburn. governor chris christie delivered the eulogy to a man he called a mentor and a friend. other former governors also paid their respects today.

>> he was a giant. he was personally to me a hero. he was a friend. gave me advice when i was -- long time ago when he didn't have to. >> byrne was a two determine democrat known for leading the charge to establish casino gaming in atlantic city. he dedicated 30 years of his life to public service. the philadelphia fire department has announced funeral arrangements for lieutenant matt letourneau. the 42-year-old died saturday when part of a burning row home collapsed on top of him on north colorado street in north philadelphia. a second person was found dead inside the home. a third victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. a funeral mass will be held for letourneau this friday at 11:00 a.m. at the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul. there was another deadly fire today in west philadelphia. neighbors say a woman in her 60's was killed when the fire erupted at 3:30 this morning on the 800 block of north

holland. the cause of that blaze is under investigation. the u.s. postal service is reminding customers to help clear the walkways for mail carriers. sidewalks and areas surrounding mailboxes should be shoveled and deiced. all of this is to help keep postal workers safe on the job. if your mail area looks too dangerous, letter carriers have been told to skip your delivery. >> ♪ a detective at the university of delaware is asking for the community's help not to fight crime but to fight cancer. corporal bill wentz has taken to social media asking people to send letters to his friend nine-year-old danny feltwell. danny is from the middle of a second battle with a rare and aggressive none hodgkin's lymphoma and the cards and games and coloring books are a bright spot during his long days of chemotherapy at a.i. dupont hospital for children. over the weekend about 100 pieces of mail arrived and

there are more on the way. >> he loved it. he was -- so send all the letters. send the letters in and it may put a smile on danny's face. all we have in life is memories so just want to give as many memories as possible. >> if you want to send danny a note of encouragement we have posted the address and all the details necessary at 6abc.com. that where you get your medicine matters. and they come to cvs pharmacy. for advice and ways to save money. including copays as low as zero dollars. switching is easy, call 1-833-cvs-medd and transfer today to cvs pharmacy.

iand i like these award-winning cheddar puffs.

first place. both events? booyah! we're an awards family. you'll like them both but love our price. award-winning organic cheddar puffs from aldi. simply smarter shopping. >> okay, we know who the opponent will be the atlanta falcons. matt ryan coming home for a tough game. >> yeah, tough game for the eagles, that's for sure. saturday afternoon at the linc. the eagles can you believe it are an underdog, two and a half point underdog to atlanta. some find that news surprising. others do not. yet you still have to play this football game. jaime apody sizes up the matchup. >> reporter: get ready for the battle of the birds. of course the falcons will be looking for revenge twofold. for one they came into the linc last year and lost.

but need we forget they also went to the super bowl last year had a 21 to three halftime lead and blew it. >> they've been there. they fell short. at the end of the day that has nothing to do with us. our goal still remains the same and we have to beat a very talented football team. >> chris long played against them last year in the super bowl and watched them upset the rams in the wild card game. >> a touchdown. >> we've got a pro bowl quarterback two really good running backs. offensive line has been together largely. they can do a lot of different things. we got to be on our a game. >> let's talk about disrespect. for the first time in nfl history, a number one seed opens the playoffs at home as an underdog. yes. your philadelphia eagles. >> just put a big chip on our shoulder. just add fuel to the fire and that's what this team obviously has been going off of all year, big chip on our shoulder people doubting us every week. we just want to show those

doubters up because at the same time we are the only people in this locker room that believe in us. >> reporter: with the eagles jaime apody channel6 "action news." >> college football will crown a new national champion tonight. former temple running back paul palmer is holding the most prestigious football his career. he's been named to the college football hall of a fame. palmer was a dominant force for the owls in the mid 80's. he's moved by this honor. >> thank god there they thought enough of me to... that they thought enough of me to be in this incredible, incredible -- with this incredible group of people. i'm blessed and i'm humbled. >> college basketball after week out of the top spot villanova is back where it belongs. the cats regained the number one ranking. wednesday nova hosts xavier. sixers got in one last practice this afternoon before heading across the pond. thursday the sixers will face the celtics in london. for the sixers this trip will combine business and pleasure.

>> everybody's got an extra seat to bring whoever they want. mums are coming brothers are coming, wives are coming, friends are coming and we're going to -- we're going to walk that line of making it a family thing, a very collective enjoyable trip with still the mind-set that we're going to beat the boston celtics. >> jo-jo meets big ben. sounds fun. >> that's a nice arrangement. >> yeah, cool. >> very nice idea. eagles took a break from preparing for saturday's game to give back to the community today. some of the players and cheerleaders visited children's hospital of philadelphia this afternoon. they took pictures with some exciting young and excited young patients and their families. they also sat down to play a few competitive rounds of bingo. don't forget to keep sending us your eagles pride. especially as you get ready for the game on saturday. here are some of the pictures and videos fans have already sent us. just post them on twitter or insta gam using the hash tag

6abc action. you can also put them on the 6abc facebook wall. >> ♪

excuse me everyone! paul? paul? this is three million dollar mega multiplier the new game from the pennsylvania lottery with top prizes of three million dollars! three million dollars! did you win? i don't know. i'm so excited about it. this could be a big winner! just had to share. carry on. sometimes the moments before you scratch are as exciting as the moments you do. keep on scratchin'!

>> we are on the brink of a january thaw. we have a thaw almost every year or thereabouts. >> typically. it's hard to sustain arctic air in our region for a long period of time but we've had about two weeks of it. >> what is the science behind a january thaw. >> it's all about the jet stream. jet stream rising up to the north warmer air flowing in and then the opposite will happen out west where they get a trough. they have much colder air moving in out west and they've been pretty warm lately.

it's kind of a seesaw pattern. >> it's the old trough. >> it's the trough. i know you like that word. tonight we've got some of that freezing rain out there. let's go to sky6. taking a look at philadelphia international airport where we do have a 47 minute ground stoppage. so definitely call your carrier if you're heading there to fly out or pick someone up. they're doing a lot of deicing out there. drew posted this photo from waterford township camden county new jersey of that light glaze that's causing a lot of problem on the secondary roads. the major roads have all been treated really well. but as far as winter precipitation, it all depend on the temperatures. really at several layers in the atmosphere. if you have cold air all the way from 5,000 feet to the surface during the winter it's a no-brainer, you get snow. however if you have a shallow area of warmer air kind of higher around 5,000 feet, what happens, those snowflakes melt but then they refreeze when they move into the colder air closer to the surface. that creates sleet.

if you have that warmer air that's much farther down, it creates freezing rain. it's rain that refreezes right before it hits the ground and then if you have that warmer air all the way to the surface, you just have the rain. we do have just rain in parts of delaware and south jersey. the problem, though, is the fact that the ground is so cold, it is freezing on untreated surfaces. but there's light at the end of the tunnel. actually a big pattern change begins tomorrow where we have the warmest day in two weeks. by friday close to 60 degrees. it will come with a price, though. not looking at a bright and sunny friday. it will be rain. could get a pretty good soaking one to 2 inches of rain on friday, no freezing rain, no snow just rain. double scan showing we have that freezing rain along i-95 into south jersey and again that rain across southern new jersey, interior delaware -- i should said central delaware but again, that's freezing over. so, this shows you it's ended

in norristown, it's ended in malvern, coatesville it's all over but we've got that line right over i-95. that's the freezing rain. it continues across south jersey. heavier in hammonton parts of elmer. cape may county, also dover, delaware, again, it looks like rain but with that ground below freezing, it's frozen solid. do be careful. may look like rain but it's going to be icy. right now 31 degrees in philadelphia. we hit a high of 32. allentown, reading stuck in the 20's. we got a little bit of snow earlier today. atlantic city airport in pomona 36. cape may 34. and dover 35. so, satellite and radar showing what's moving through, it's not a big winter storm. it's a pretty quick hit. again, the northwest suburbs, it's shutting off. it will be lingering in philadelphia probably until about 8, 9 o'clock. future tracker showing around 8:30 we're just on the edge. moving off the coast by midnight all done and it will be dry tomorrow morning but the problem tomorrow morning, temperatures in the 20's. use caution a good idea to

treat your drive ways, your sidewalks tonight because there will be some lingering slick spots. again, i think the main roads will be fine but the secondary roads that haven't been treated be careful. but then here comes the big weather pattern with our change coming last two weeks we've had that big dip in the jet stream. that cold arctic air over us. as we head toward the end of the week we get this big ridge pulling up that milder air and that will last into the first half of the weekend, then cooler air returns. so, the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, tomorrow the sunshine is back with some clouds, warmest day in two weeks, 42. wednesday 39 degrees. on thursday, we cloud up with a warm front, 48 degrees. could have some late drizzle. friday's that warm day, 58 degrees but periods of rain, one to 2 inches. saturday for the eagles playoff game, not bad. 50 degrees. could have a lingering shower or two ahead of a cold front. behind that front it's blustery and colder on sunday, 33 degrees. dropping back down to 31 degrees for martin luther king day of service but after

this weekend with temperatures in the teens even 31 is not going to feel that bad. >> thank you cecily. another broadway show is coming to the stage in philadelphia. and today young actresses were trying out for the part of lulu in the tony nominated musical waitress. the auditions were held at the kimmel center ahead of the show's local engagement at the forest theater. the character of lulu will appear in the production's final scene. abc's "world news tonight" with david muir next on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with brian taff, sharrie williams, adam joseph and ducis rodgers. and then please join us for "action "action news" at 11:00 here on channel6. for cecily tynan ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00. >> ♪

your daughter wants to stay organic. your husband wants to stay free from artificial ingredients. you want to stay free from artificial preservatives. and your debit card wants to stay on a diet. fill your cart with small victories like giant's nature's promise brand. great prices on over 1,300 items. eat well for less. only at my giant. el: broke, homeless, selling my body to get high, locked up, a slave to heroin - that was my life. married, a homeowner, a professional, recovering and thriving - that's my life now. i got help. you can too.

new years means a new day for those struggling with addiction. don't suffer. don't wait. choose help. call 844 reachnj or visit reachnj.gov

tonight, not again. this time, two storms hitting tonight on both coasts. and already, turning deadly. the dangerous commutes. the ice, snow and rain. the pileup on an icy highway. alerts at this hour from d.c. to philly to new york. and in the west tonight, evacuations under way right now. heavy rain, high winds expected. ginger zee with the new track on both storms. the white house tonight. will the special counsel, robert mueller, soon be questioning president trump? what we've learned tonight. growing concern this evening amid the deadly flu outbreak in this country. tents set up in the west. emergency rooms packed across the country. where it's hitting hardest and how effective is the flu vaccine? and should you still get it if you haven't already? what surprised us today about that. the urgent manhunt at this hour for a suspect. the deputy kille