digging out after the historic blizzard that hit us just four days ago. good afternoon. welcome to "news4 at 4." i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm barbara harrison in for jim handley tonight. we are scrolling a complete list of closings and delays at the bottom of your screen. a complete list can be found on nbcwashington.com. right now, the cleanup from the last blizzard continues across much of the washington reg and as you can imagine, many folks are getting downright tired of all this snow and ice and the cold. road crews have been working around the clock in an effort to clear side streets and interstates. power still seems to be a big issue for a lot of folks. homes and businesses have been in the dark for five days now. >> our reporters are fanned out across the region covering the big digout. the story everyone is talking about, another major storm set to hit us in a matter of hours. we're tracking the forecast. let's begin with veronica

johnson in storm center4 for the latest. >> afternoon, veronica. >> good afternoon, barbara and pat. the last storm system brought a lot of snow to the area. this will be different. it's going to bring sleet and freezing rain for a period. the fact is that some of the secondary roads still covered with packed snow. put ice on top of that and then more snow with the switch-over. not a good ingredient. another stay-at-me day for many of us. there is some very light snow falling. we'll get a check in just a second here. winter storm warnings cover the entire area until wednesday. until tomorrow, 7:00 p.m. that means significant accumulation of snowfall through a portion of this area and/or icy conditions. we'll have that, too, through the northern neck. chuck bell is outside with the latest right now. what's falling from the sky, chuck? >> yes, indeed, light snow now clearly falling here in

northwest washington. tons of snow around the area. if you were going to make a snowman, you had to pick a name that you really liked because he'll be in the yard for a long time. more snow already starting to fall out here. snowfall has been a very heavy, wet snow. took liz crenshaw and folks out here into the front lawn for a field trip today and cut up a square foot of our snow and that one little square weighed 20 pounds. you can sort of see the -- what it's doing to our snow shovel here. can you get a good picture of that? our snow shovel here is straight up or very, very crooked and beat up. a lot of snow shovels around the area are taking on this kind of awkward shape to them. a lot of new snow shovels will have to be bought out here. the roads have been fairly uniform right in this little part of town. but, boy, as you know a lot of

places that they weren't able to get out and treat right away, it's going to be a real issue with the more snow we'll have and the potential for icy mix to start with. it's going to be a major problem for the road crews anywhere that has not been able to be plowed down to the bare pavement. this is going to turn into concrete-like icy stuff packed on to the ground. it's going to take many, many more days for everybody to get that done. you can see here the light snow already started out here on the front lawn of channel 4. >> it's only going to pick up during the overnight period. let's look at the radar right now. i'll zoom in. areas north and to the south really have been getting it. we've been in a donut here for a while. all through the evening we're going to see the air mass saturate a little bit more. a lot of moisture down south. and there is an early look at the timeline here. the areas from the district starting at 8:00. the district down through

charles county, st. mary's, stafford will have the sleet and freezing rain hanging on until about 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. we'll take you through the rest of the timeline in a few minutes. >> thank you, veronica. utility crews have been hard at work restoring power but more outages could be coming. here's a look at the latest numbers. pepco has 7,800 customers without power. baltimore gas and electric has 630 without power right now. and the northern virginia electric cooperative is down to about 650 customers without power at this time. alexandria schools have just announced they'll be closed wednesday and thursday. a reminder, a complete list is scrolling at the bottom of your screen. several communities are snowed in today and with talk of more snow on the way, things are only going to get worse. >> our team coverage begins in northern virginia with jane

watrel. hi, jane. >> well, hi, pat. there are unlucky communities where at least i guess on the good side they have power but on the tough side, their roads have not been plowed. this next storm is the ultimate one-two punch. i'm talking about specifically a community out in burke, virginia, near lake braddock road. we were out there a few hours ago. we saw just how treacherous it is for even a car to get down the street. one of the streets was old burke lake road, did get one pass. a brave driver tried to go down there and get to his house. but the problem was he gets stuck. and none of the other streets near this particular street have been plowed. so there's been a lot of frustration. we talked to the driver. here's the tips that he offered us. >> i got over here coming down the road. it was a little ridge. it just slid right into the -- it's a good car, but things happen. it goes to prove that even with

a four-wheel-drive, you can't take anything into -- you know, you can't expect the best. >> i think that is a good -- don't get overconfident on the roads. be really careful. i will say we're here in alexandria. it is starting to snow here. so the storm is starting to move in. i want to toss now to my colleague, chris gordon. chris, what's the situation where you are? >> i'm in rockville, jane. the snow has picked up in the past ten minutes. we're on rockville pike. we dealt with some of the problems today, lingering problems about plowing main streets, which still have packed ice and snow like rumble strips when you drive down rockville pike, which is where we're standing, and power outages. montgomery county executive ike leggett came out and spent some time with us here and he'll answer those problems. this is the south woodside

neighborhood. about two dozen houses without power. jim has a generator going because he has five dogs, five parrots, about a dozen exotic fish, and he's got to keep one room warm for them. he's just about out of firewood. he is very worried about tonight's snowfall. >> it scares the devil out of me. we have half of our house right here is all flat roof. ovmy garage and library. i'm worried about my roof coming in at this point with another 18 inches of snow on it. >> and your power situation? >> as long as i can keep gas, i can get the generator going for some basics, the refrigerator and things like that. outside of that, we have no power. >> the big challenge is people without power. that's up around 9,000. we're working aggressively with pepco to make sure that we can do everything that we can do in order to get that back online as

quickly as possible. >> montgomery county executive leggett will talk about fact that some neighborhood streets still have not seen a plow. that's coming up at 4:30. now i have the pleasure of throwing it to a man who always finds fun in the snow, pat collins. >> chris, on connecticut avenue, it's starting to come down now. i'd call it flurries but you know how that works. flurries turn into light snow. then big flakes. then before you know it, holy snow plow. what a dilemma we have here on connecticut avenue. how do you measure the new snow with all of the old snow? all you really want to know is what the new snow is going to amount to. hit it, lieutenant turner! ah. before long here, we'll have a

new ground zero on connecticut avenue. it will be snow stick ready. and speaking of ready, everybody is getting ready for the second storm. the fire department in a constant state of readiness. and joining us here on connecticut avenue, d.c. fire chief, dennis reuben. how did today go, chief? >> hey, pat. very, very well. we spent a lot of time preparing for the next portion of the storm. 10 to 20 inches. we've been able to refresh, replenish, get our apparatus back in shape, hopefully rest our people. ready for round fo. >> we're all going to be ready. it's starting to come down now on connecticut avenue. we'll be back at 5:00 with more. thank you. >> all right. thanks, pat. we hope we're all ready. road crews meanwhile are reloading their trucks. they're getting ready for this new wallop. they've been working around the clock, desperately trying to clean up after the first storm.

with more snow on the way and now beginning to fall, they can't rest. not yet. drivers are starting to get just as frustrated. they're worn out, they're tired just like everyone else. >> are you ready for yet another round? >> not really, but what can we do? i'm just waiting for the sun now. you know? this snow is getting ridiculous. >> meanwhile, like last weekend's storm, a lot of folks hit the grocery stores. this morning they're out there trying to stock up on supplies. since many of the side roads are still undriveable, a l o people are depending on mass transportation. just about an hour ago, metro amou announced that its train stations have reopened. machines are still clearing heavy snow from the tracks. about 75% of metro parking spaces are available. and on the roads, metro had about 300 buses out this morning. however, with the storm starting

it could limit service tonight. amtrak is offering a limited service across the northeast area today. many northeast regional trains between new york and.c. are canceled. part of the problem is fallen trees on power lines. you can find out if your train is affected by going to ammtraks website. vre has canceled all of its trains for today. people trying to get out of town on a plane will have to wait. all of the airports are open, however don't expect to fly out until at least thursday. all flights at dulles international and reagan national are canceled for tomorrow. tonight, a majority of the flights after 5:00 have already been canceled. passengers should check on their flight status before they head to the airport. and at bwi airport, airline have canceled flights from tuesday afternoon and tomorrow as well.

and be sure to stay with news4 and nbcwashington.com for the latest on this second round of winter weather. quick programming note here. "news4 today" will begin at 4:30 in the morning with the latest on your forecast, your traffic and those school closings. school closings and cancellations are coming in by the minute. fauquier county schools have announced they're closed for the rest of this week. a complete list is scrolling at the bottom of your screen. our continuing coverage of the winter weather continues. how the aftermath of the blizzard of 2010 was responsible for this trail of destruction. and we'll hear from the maryland department of transportation with a look at how they're getting major

making your way around the roads in maryland, these conditions can be pretty stuff. the side streets are tricky, too. a number of neighborhoods have yet to be plowed. >> joining us live on the phone is dave buck with the maryland state highway administration. thanks for joining us, dave. >> hi, good evening. >> let's start with the latest update on snow removal efforts in the are still hearing from pe who are really frustrating. the governor earlier today encouraged residents to be patient. do you have any good news for them. >> well, we're different than vdot. vdot maintains all of their roads. we maintain the interstates, 27 495, 355, route 28. so most of urroads are in decent shape. we definitely still have work to

do to push back what we've got in some areas. 35, 40 inches of snow that's ice-packed now. again, motorists are doing a great job. our crews have been going five days straight now. >> dave, you mentioned pushing back the snow. is that what you're doing orior you having to pick up and move that snow somewhere? >> well, actually the plows become relatively ineffective when you have ice packed down there. what we have to do is come in with graders that we've brought in from new york, chop it up and take it out one dump truck load at a time. it's very slow. it's a very tedious process. we take it to state highway maintenance yards. we take it wherever we can on state property and dump it and start all over again. if it takes you three hours to shovel out your car, you can imagine how long it takes a grader to do these on all of the roads. we maintain 17,000 miles of road. this is a historic storm. it's measured in days not hours. >> dave, the transportation secretary says you're going to move more quickly to close

highways and major roads if conditions become too treacherous with thi next storm. how is that going to help you? >> well, again, with so many schools being off and the federal government being off, it's helped us just in terms of traffic. what we don't want to have happen is wha we saw happen on saturday and sunday. the light of day came up, people saw that it's not that bad, and our crew spent way too much time dragging people out of ditches. i mean, there were literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of disabled vehicles, overturned suvs that were out there that should not have been on the road. we can't stress that enough. it's going to be blizzard-like conditions tonight and tomorrow. for anybody to think of venturing out, it's a bad move and you're going to put your life in harm's way. >> let's talk about your manpower. how are your crews fairing? >> all i can say is extremely overly tired. but they know they have a job to do. we have 2,700 of the most

dedicated men and women. they have not been home since friday. they've spent 20 and 22 hours in their truck. the few that i've talked to, they have their pillows and their sleeping bags. they catch a couple hours and they go again. it's relentless. it's been an historic winter from december 18th until tonight. it's been very difficult but it looks like we've got another two or three days ahead of us. >> we appreciate their work for sure. >> we do. dave buck with the maryland state highy administration. thanks for lot for joining us. ahead on "news4 at 4," much more on the winter weather and tips on how to survive the storm. also, liz crenshaw is going to explain how long food lasts in your fridge and your freezing and what's safe to eat during the storm if you lose your power. and we're beginning to see snow in alexandria. there it is. we're back after the break.

with all of our focus on snow this week, it's -- you may have valentine's day is just a few days away.

one couple got a reminder of how much their marriage means to them. they were digging their cars out of the snow on sunday when his wedding band flew off his hand. they searched for hours in the snow. they couldn't find the ring, but they were determined. they went out and they bought a metal detector. still no luck. then just about as they were ready to give up, there it was. and there it is. >> and there it is. >> their marriage saved. >> exactly. >> congratulations to them. >> the wedding band, anyway. we're going to talk about the weather. no, we're not -- we are talking about the weather now, aren't we? >> veronica johnson has the latest on the storm. veronica, we're starting to see flakes fall out there. >> we've got a live shot out of alexandria. more than just having to count the flakes here. it's starting to come down and it's only going to pick up. could get 8 to 12 inches by

tomorrow evening. it's not going to be all snow through the area. you've heard us say earlier in the hour, sleet and freezing rain for us. let's get a temperature check right now. it's 36 degrees right now in the district for georgetown at 36. tenleyto tenleytown, too. snow pretty much showing up on the radar everywhere. you've got that pocket left empty. fauquier county, rappahannock and stafford county, too. or culpepper y shouldsay. moisture has made its way east and northeastward across the area. the spots south down through the northern neck up into stafford county. that's where there could be sleet and freezing rain hanging on a little longer. and the fact that the secondary roads again are covered with packed snow could become pretty slick as we get the freezing rain on top of that. and then changing back over to snow later early tomorrow morning. lots of moisture coming out of the carolinas there. spots throughout eastern north

carolina and south carolina today getting over an inch. look at the winter storm warnings. up to new york and boston this time where there is likely to be some delays. some of the major airport hubs coming up tomorrow. that's the big day where we'll get most of the snow and even some wind. right now just in chicago, running at about an hour and a half for a delay. a tremendous amount of moisture coming out of the south, but nothing like the last weather system. let me show you what's been happening down south. we'll get through our area here. burlington, north carolina, with over an inch. almost an inch and a quarter of rain. with the last system, i saw amounts of 2 and 2 1/2 inches. fayetteville, north carolina, over a half inch in terms of totals. the other thing we were fighting today, the fact that the air was dry. 36, the temperature. the dew point temperature going from 18 now to 21 degrees just over the last hour. amounts down south where it has been raining pretty heavy, 52 in wilmington. 45 in atlanta. let's talk about what we can

expect out here. low-pressure system will really deepen. that's why we're expecting that moderate and heavy snow for early tomorrow morning between maybe about 7:00 and noontime. then the system pulls away. we get the wind and the snow comes to an end by 6:00 or 7:00. more on the timeline and what you can expect starting this evening. here's bob ryan. >> veronica, this is by 8:00. the one feature with these -- this storm, it is very, very tricky. a bit different than the last one. the re-formation, the jump to the coast, will be taking place a little bit more to our north. as a result, at the levels of four, 5,000 feet there are strong winds, 20 miles an hour. we'll be seeing a period of the mixture that is unfortunately freezing rain and sleet, which is still going to be adding tons and tons of snow to everybody's roof and moisture. by 2:00 in the morning, that's when the cold air really begins sweeping back in, changes anything back over to snow.

so for tomrow morning's rush hour, i'm afraid we're still look at moderate to heavy snows for you folks in montgomery county, frederick county and where it does remain all snow, that is across northern maryland. those are the areas once again that looked to be under the bullseye. that is 10 to 15, 20 inches of snow. baltimore into frederick county, maryland. even northern parts of montgomery county. right around washington. i do think we're seeing that mixture for a time and southern maryland. keep accumulations down a bit. remember, even though the accumulation of snow is down, the total loading for the roofs and everything else is still going to be as though we're getting another 15 inches of snow. the other thing that you mentioned, too, veronica, the winds will be even stronger with this storm probably around the washington area than they were the last storm. unfortunately, have to prepare for power outages. >> exactly. it used to be tt preparation meant getting the snow shovel, the food together, some activities. now it's that and kind of

getting our head in the right place because we're just so tired of the significant snows that we have been getting of historic proportions. another 8 to 12 on top of this. >> thanks, veronica. there's much more ahead on "news4 at 4." >> we'll have live team coverage from d.c., maryland and virginia on what it's lik out there on the roads and in the neighborhoods. and we are tracking your forecast for you. we'll have up to the minute developments as another round of

♪ many thousand people ♪ living all here together ♪ ♪ on my island in the sand ♪ ♪ where the beaches are ♪ ♪ just as white as snow ♪ ♪ and the people live...♪ is every song in aruba about friendship and happiness ? what about themes like "broken hearts" "losing your house" and "growing old alone" ? ♪ ...peace and harmony ♪ ♪ sha la-la, la-la-la ♪ ♪ la-la-la ♪ sha la-la, la-la-la... ♪

welcome back to "news4 at 4." i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm barbara harrison. just a reminder we're scrolling a list of closings and delays at the bottom of your screen. another list is found at nbcwashington.com. and now to the latest on another winter storm that is beginning to bear down on the washington area. veronica johnson is expecting some parts of the region could get upwards of 15 inches of snow. >> this isn't welcome news for residents still digging out from the blizzard of 2010. our team of reporters working the streets, covering every sangal of the cleanup effort. we'll get a live report from all of them in just a couple of minutes. but first we want to update you on the latest power outages. utility crews race to restore

electricity to the thousands of customers who have already been left in the dark. they've made some good progress. pepco has now about 1,500 customers effected. dominion has just under 500 customers in virginia. baltimore gas and electric reporting about 500 customers still without power. the northern virginia electric cooperative has 729. and outages are now impacting just six customers with the southern maryland electric cooperative. but more outages could be coming. there were two additional shelters now open in montgomery county for residents who need a warm place to stay. one is at the gwendolyn community center in silver spring. the other is at the seneca valley high school in germantown. a reminder, pets are not permitted at any of the county's warming shelters unless they are service animals. in maryland, there just

don't seem to be enough crews or supplies to plow and treat all of the roads. today a ship filled with salt made a massive dump in baltimore. all that salt is being loaded on to trucks and shipped out to the roads that need it. chris gordon has been out patrolling the roads all day long. chris, what have you found so far? >> actually, montgomery county told me that this county has sent 100 trucks up to baltimore to pick up additional salt and ice that was just shiched pped . normally they have about 350 to 400 snow plows on the streets. today they had 900 pieces of equipment on the street. but still, there are some neighborhoods that have not seen a plow. the neighborhood roads are proving to be a real challenge. let's show you. let's take you to bethesda. berkshire drive. one half of berkshire was plowed. the other half, not at all.

and a jeep wrangler was trying to get -- trying to get up the street. she gotstuck. he had to admit after some help, she had to admit the agony of defeat. >> she hasn't seen a plow at all. not once. my big plan with my vehicle that i thought could handle it is to pack it down for the vehicles that couldn't do it as well, but i don't think that is going to work either. >> the only road that has conquered me so far. i'm pretty mad. >> we're working in the neighborhoods. we'll finish those by the end of today. we're trying to do that to prepare our selves for the storm that could dump 10 to 20 inches in the montgomery county area. that's a real challenge for us. >> now, i asked if he was satisfied. he says he would give the county's efforts a b-plus. there are some others who might be less generous in the grading.

back to you. >> thank you, chris. and because supplies to treat the roads are dwindling in maryland, governor martin o'malley and state officials are urging drivers to stay home if they can. >> i'm not sure how much firmer we can be except to say if you do not have to drive, do not drive. do not go out on the roads. do your civic duty by keeping your car off the roads so that emergency vehicles and the plows can do what they need to do. >> governor o'malley also says closing state roads is not an option since it would use up too many state resources to turn drivers away. one thing we all have in common it seems is finding ways to clear away all of that snow that's out there from roofs, driveways, the sidewalks, porches, vehicles. snow is everywhere. this is a bird's eye view of the roof being cleared at maryland intermediate school in manassas. don't you wish you had equipment like that? when it comes to clearing away

snow, there are several schools of thought. jane watrel joins us live from alexandria with some of those schools of thought for us. hi, jane. >> hey, barbara. well, you saw a bird's eye view, but we're right on the ground. i want to show you the mounds of snow that people are contending with throughout the metro area. we're in the parking lot of a shopping center. naturally this snow bank is going to be much higher than what people are seeing in the neighborhoods. nevertheless, they are seeing a lot of snow that's been cleared from the streets and pushed up against their homes. or their driveways. we met a pennsylvania man today who had a very unique way of digging out his dad. >> yep. what you do is you get in it. it ain't too bad once you go, but you've got to hit it from three different sides here. it's kind of -- that's kind of what i'm doing. and then it will break loose. i've gone through three pair of gloves. then you just grab her like

that. and then i'm not sure what to do with it right now. >> no one is really sure what to do with it, but how is that for a solution? you get a saw, you saw through the snow, you lift it up. the gentleman we talked to, his name is kerry fisher. he is buildin an igloo in the back of his dad's home. how about that? >> that's one thing to do with the snow. >> sounds like too much work for me. >> i was thinking the same thing. thank you. >> whatever works for him, though. thanks. well, when you're out shoveling your sidewalk, don't forget to clear snow andce away from your mailbox. the postal service wants to remind customers that your mail carrier needs a clear path to deliver your letters and bills. if there isn't a safe, accessible way to drop off the mail, that carrier may skip over your house. be sure to stay with news4 and nbcwashington.com for the latest on the second round of

winter weather. a quick programming note, "news4 today" will begin at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow with the latest on your forecast, traffic and school closings. and just ahead on "news4 at 4," more on our winter weather. the weather that's moving through the washington region now.

with round two already upon us, let's get another check of our forecast. >> give us the timeline, veronica. >> it started snowingutside. you know what? we'll look at the radar here. then i'm going to toss it to chuck bell who is standing out on the front lawn there. aspen hills to silver spring, mt. vernon, mitchellville getting light snow. you've seen the live shots where it is snowing lighty. we'll show you that to the west of us, prince william county, fauquier county, not much going on. areas further south, you can see the pink shading there. sleet, freezing rain. could be hitting areas of fredericksburg before long. a little bit of mixed conditions there, even some rain before

switching over to snow. chuck bell is outside. chuck, is it still snowing out there? >> well, if i lean my head forward, does it look like it's snowing out here? yes, indeed. a couple of snowflakes. plenty of gray hair mixed in, also, unfortunately. also, as i'm standing out here looking around, you can hear light rain and perhaps even some sleet mixing in with the snowflakes out here. there's still plenty of snow out here. there's a little bit of that sleet and rain mixing in. this is going to be a very big problem for anybody who needs to shovel or treat any kind of a road or a driveway out here. any kind of a mixed bag of precipitation to begin with is going to stick. anything that's snow-covered on the ground is going to ice up harder before the next layer of snow falls down on top of it. that's the observation, veronica. mostly snow but some rain and sleet mixing in. >> our higher totals come tomorrow with 8 to 12 inches through d.c.

more further north. most of the snow and wind hits tomorrow. well, the snow is leaving some people panicked and anxious. maybe even lonely. but experts say all of these feelings are normal. trying to find groceries in stores with empty shelves, cleaning off your car for the 100th time. it's all enough to drive you mad. washington hospital center psycholost desi griffin says that the snow is increasing our stress levels. >> it can impact in a lot of different ways. creating any kind of stress will help -- will make someone not feel well. ey may withdraw further. >> now, dr. griffin say if you are snowed in and if you're feeling bad, schedule some activities. find something to do. take the time to do things that you wouldn't normally do like clean your garage or read a book. stay connected. if possible, call or e-mail or friends and family. remember this isn't going to

last. the snow and the cold weather will soon be gone. long gone. maybe not soon enough, though. >> yeah. it will soon be august and we'll be complaining about the heat. >> that's right. when we come back on "news4 at 4," more on the winter weather set to hit our region. liz crenshaw explains how long food lasts in your fridge and your freezing and what's safe to eat if you lose

as we brace for round two and the wind that will come with this storm, we may see even more power outages. >> liz crenshaw is here to tell us how long food lasts in your fridge and freezer and what's safe to eat. >> if you stocked from the storm, the last thing you want to do is have your food spoil. your freezer, if you keep the doors closed, the freezer will stay at freezeic teing temperat will stay for two whole days. if you refreeze, they will be safe but the quality may not be as good. now, on to your refrigerator. when you're dealing with refr refrigerated food, it will b safe as long as the doors have been closed. the magic number is 40 degrees. certain foods should always be discarded if they warm above 40 degrees. what foods should you worry

about? meat, fish, poultry, dairy, egg products, soft cheeses, beans, rice, potatoes, sal oddads, custards. is it safe to eat a frozen maea that has thawed if you cannot heat it? i spoke with food safety folks. they say frozen meals are problematic. many are not fully cooked so they must be cooked before you eat them. you do have to read the package. only eat it if the package specifically says fully cooked simply reheat. those will be safe to eat. all other frozen meals must be cooked before eating. and another viewer wanted to know if she could eat canned food without heating it. yes, all canned foods are safe to eat without cooking. all bacteria are killed in the canning process, so opening and eating canned food is okay. i don't think it would be terribly tasty, but if that's

what you've got to do, go for it. coming up, what will and will not be covered when it comes to your homeowners insurance and damage during the previous and upcoming storm. >> all right. see you then. >> good advice. thank you. the snow is stressing a lot of you out. the bad weather is stressing out our rooftops. many have collapsed under the weight of the snow and ice. before your roof caves in, buildings usually exhibit a few signs that the roof is in distress. here are the symptoms you can watch for. look for cracking, splitting or sagging in your ceiling. also, doors that pop open or are difficult to open. other signs your roof may be in trouble, if utility pipes attached to the ceiling begin to bow. if you have any suspicion that your roof may be overstressed, evacuate immediately. have a building engineer or other professional check it out. >> not a good idea to get up there and try to shovel snow

off. ahead on "news4 at 4," preparing for this storm. >> how folks around the washington region are getting ready for the latest round of winter weather. some coming down right now.

d.c. mayor adrian fenty in a live press conference. let's listen in. >> that is the 12-hour full

deployment shifts. every person we have available up to about 750 people, every truck we have available including 200 government trucks, 70 private trucks, all being put together in a full deployment. so thank you, thank you, thank you to the hard-working workers. let's give them another round of applause. all right. we want to talk about a couple of things. first of all, the district of columb public schools will be closed tomorrow. we know that for sure. we will not make an announcement about the rest of the government probably until tomorrow morning. so stay tuned for that. that will affect trash collection. if the government is open, then we'll continue to collect trash at people's fronts.

we encourage them to put in -- put their trash into bags at their front door. if the government is closed, there will not be trash collection. we will just move on to the next day. we are now in a snow emergency, which means that all of the snow emergency routes are -- need to be cleared from cars parking on them. that started at 4:00 today. and it goes all the way through probably at least through thursday at this time when we'll be picking up snow. we'll come bk and keep updating. but please, please, get your cars out of the snow emergency routes, which are either evacuation routes or the routes where you have rush-hour parking restrictionsr they are easily designated. metro has advised that tomorrow they will only be below ground

on their rail. and we don't know yet about the buses. and that's the same for the kirkulakir circulator bus. i think for the most part, those are announcements. we really are thankful about all the progress that was made today. we still will be out plowing. but now it's going to start to be a combination of both picking up the snow that fell starting february 5th and then starting to plow the snow that's falling today. we just thank everybody for their patience. our region has been hit pretty hard including washington, d.c. but we think that we faired -- >> we've been listening to d.c. mayor adrian fenty in a live news conference where he just told us the d.c. public schools will be closed tomorrow. d.c. public schools closed tomorrow. snow emergency in effect. move those cars if they're out there.

just a few moments ago, adrian fenty announced that d.c. public schools will be closed tomorrow. another update on school closings, montgomery county closed for the rest of the week. as well as fauquier county schools, closed for the rest of the week. you'll find a complete list of the closings scrolling at the bottom of your screen.

log on to nbcwashington.com to get a complete list of closings. that's "news4 at 4." thanks for being with us. stay with us. "news4 at 5" continues. . live tonight we have our ey on the skies once again. our entire region is facing a second round of major winter weather. here's what it looks like in maryland at this hour. out in virginia tonight, here's a look at the conditions here. whatever hasn't been plowed or shovelled will have more snow packed on top of it by the end of the night. in the district, downtown d.c. cleared out nicely on this road. crews work to get ahead of the latest battle against mother nature. and good evening. welcome. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handley. ready or not, here we go, folks. we have a team of meteorologists watching this approaching storm from the track to the amount of snow we'll be seeing to what conditions look like outside at this hour.

we have it all covered for you. we begin with bob ryan. bob? >> jim, it is another indeed major winter storm. if this were an average winter, this would be the storm we'd really be concerned about. after two, this is another one. this is a bit different. while we're all under -- it's not a blizzard warning. that's just a winter storm warning through the area for tonight and on into tomorrow. this one, though, is coming in with some stronger winds from the south and the re-formation of the storm will be more to our north. meaning that we are going to be seeing a period of sleet and freezing rain. as a matter of fact, it's even mixing with rain right now outside. there's the area that is under the winter storm warning and once again, it's a bullseye for washington. but at the heart -- and as this next storm which is moving through kentucky reforms late tonight, it will be just off the new jersey/delaware coastline. it will become another inte