things break up. we're still under a blizzard warning ing warning. across northern maryland, it's still flying. you see areas of dark blue. the are still bands, moderate bands of snow which have yet to come in. there's one even coming now into washington. our total for the month now is way up to above -- we've had 28.3 inches of snow in a week. 28.3 inches of snow in a week. look at the visibilities which come and go as the bands come through. unfortunately, still got a couple more hours. current temperature, 25 degrees with a wind gusting still 30 to 35 miles per hour. so we're going to continue to see unfortunately a few more hours of this snow and the snow bands coming through. the storm right now is still off the coast of new jersey. i'll punch that up and you can see where that is. and it's bringing snow all the way from new england now right in and around us.

historic storms. i got a little bit of history for you. there were great weather observers george washington, thomas jefferson. back on january 28th, 1772, probably still the greatest storm ever for washington, it was known as the washington and jefferson storm. 36 inches of snow, both george washington and thomas jefferson recorded. washington had a garden book that he kept, an account of the weather. so that was 36. and then the official weather records were actually kept after the civil war. but january 28th, 1772. it was snowy here this week. 36 inches from one storm. the famous washington and jefferson storm. nonetheless, the snowiest winter that we've ever had here in washington, several more hours of these bands of moderate to heavy snow with blowing and drifting continues. tomorrow morning, things will settle down. we've still got a few hours to go. >> bob, you've been at this a long time but you don't even remember tha one, do you? >> i do not. >> all right, thanks. >> both jefferson and washington

kept a weather log and weather diaries. and they mentioned it was up to the breast of the horse trying to get around. >> i guess nobody got around. >> where are those horses when we need them? >> thanks, bob. we have reporters across the metro area this evening. we'll begin with julie carey. how is it looking out there, julie? >> well, this is maple avenue to those who live in vienna. conditions have improved a little bit, but those wind gusts are still blasting the snow across the road at times. still obscuring drivers' views. we are seeing suv drivers start to venture out now. the vdot plow drivers wish you'd just leave the roads to them. at least those coming out for the night shift don't have to deal with those terrible whiteout conditions that existed earlier in the day. this is why fairfax county declared a snow emergency. and why people were advised to

stay off the roads. this is what it looked like on i-66 just before noon. >> you could see how quickly the conditions can change out here. i had visibility a minute ago and then you'll just get a huge blast of wind and snow that pretty much obliterates anything. >> reporter: and the conditions were just as bad on 267 heading to the dulles toll road and on the beltway. and on neighborhood streets. there were times even the plows had to pull off the road because of safety concerns. robert mitchell was supervising a fleet of vdot plows. >> it' frightening because, you know, you're going along and then you can't see. i mean, that's very frightening. i have stopped several times myself because i couldn't see in front of me. and i'm afraid that somebody will hit me from behind. so the people on the road need to be home. >> reporter: in spite of the conditions, vdot quickly cleared much of the new snowfall off the interstates and primary roads. they got help from dozens of plow drivers. >> it's been rough.

there's been times you ain't been able to see ten feet in front of your truck. it's a total whiteout. >> reporter: frightening moments? >> yes, very surprising and very blinding. >> reporter: as requested, vehicle traffic was light much of the day but in the heart of vienna, even a blizzard didn't keep some from venturing out on foot. this family helped shovel out a driveway for our news4 live truck. a pharmacist headed to work with a shovel and sleeping bag in hand. and these george mason university students say they are so bored they took to the streets in a guerilla suit. >> cabin fever strikes again. for those of you who have been sheltering at home today, there is a job to do if you had to leave your vehicle outside. just look at what this blowing and drifting snow has done to the vehicles left outdoors. still a lot of work for the snow scrapers and a lot of work for those plows as the snow

continues. back to you now in the studio. >> that is not a pleasant thing to look forward to, is it? >> i'm glad it's not mine. >> but, you know, we heard bob told us earlier that the wind is going to continue up until midnight or even a little later. you go out there and try to clean it off now. it's going to have more snow blow on it. wait until tomorrow morning he says. >> good idea. it was quiet in montgomery county today. chris gordon is in bethesda to bear witness to that. chris? >> did you ever hear of a whiteout in the dark? it's continuing. the wind is whipping up. february 10th, 2/10/2010. think of the numerology. it must mean something. what a day. whiteout. wind whipped the snow outside almost zero visibility. yet total visibility on tv all day. we got advice from the montgomery county police.

>> you don't have an emergency, please, stay off the roadway. >> reporter: we got warnings from the montgomery county fire ems department. >> very dangerous conditions as far asotorists stopping because basically their windshields are fezing over. they don't have any visibility. >> reporr: plow drivers fighting round two in the battle against the snow. this winter of our discontent. when you pullied in here, what did you say to me? >> you're as crazy as i am being out here. this is nuts. >> reporter: we saw only one cross-country skier. >> did you ever think you'd ski on river road? >> no, nope. deeper than i've ever seen it. it's great. >> reporter: and where are you going? >> we're going back home because we were out skiing and my friend's tire blew. a shoe fell apart because this snow is deeper than we're used to. >> describe your shoe.

>> the soul has separated from the shoe. >> reporte this looks like a charley chaplain movie. >> exactly. it's not that easy to walk in. >> reporter: you can see this live shot, two young ladies walking up river road in front of a closed mcdonald's. it's been closed all day and it's not that easy to walk in. well, we've been here since 7:00 in the morning. and i can only say this. when an entire community, d.c., maryland and virginia, goes through an experience like this together, there's no place a reporter would rather be than part of it. so i'll send it back to you in the studio. >> all right. that's some comment after all day out in that blowing, freezing snow. >> right. thanks, chris gordon. >> nice job. well, as we've seen, quite a few people ventured out of their homes today in spite of the awful conditions out there. pat collins spent the day at connecticut avenue in northwest washington. he has met quite a few characters in his -- from his vantage point. pat, what's going on?

>> well, doreen, it's still snowing. it's still blowing. and it's still cold. here now, some sights and sounds from our snow day at our post on connecticut avenue. on my tombstone, scott, i'm going to have patty stand by, you're next. you've got a sweater for stanley. and you have a rain coat. >> we do. even in -- even stanley gets cold in this weather. >> so he's got the sweater and the rain coat. >> he's well taken care of. we should have gotten him boots for his paws. >> maybe next storm. >> yeah, exactly. >> all right. >> sam, what brought you out? >> i was hungry. >> the refrigerator empty? >> yeah. i ate all the food from the last storm. nothing there right now. >> so you went and got the pizza? >> yeah.

>> what did you get on the pizza? >> there's cheese and green peppers and mushrooms and black olives. >> and this will last you how long? >> probably an hour. >> i've had donuts today, i've had a sandwich today, i've had cookies today, i've had a cheeseburger today, i've had fries today, i'm on my third cup of coffee today. it's only 2:00. >> this is too much. i'm moving out of d.c. just because of this. >> whoa. where are you? i'm just going to eat my way through this snow. uh-huh. oh, my goodness. and another pizza. anonymous donuts from a mystery donor. now, if you're ted of seeing me talk about snow, go to our

website. there's a guy on there, justin haver. he does pat collins almost as good as pat collins. doreen, back to you. >> maybe you could send him out into the snow so you could get a break, pat. >> maybe he couldick up the update. >> let me tell you something, there's absolutely no substit e substitute. there are probably many imitators but none can ever, ever eal the real deal, pat. you know? >> thank you. >> you're the one and only, man. look at him turning red now. i've embarrassed that old man. >> i think you have. >> thanks, pat. >> he's been having fun doing it. we appreciate your helping us all find a smile in trying conditions today. thank you, pat. >> have a good one. there are thousands of power outages and delays of course at metro stations and at airports. we'll have more on all of that

as we continue our coverage of this blizzard of 2010.

we've had storms around these parts over the last few

years, but never one like this. big, big winds out there today. so much so hthat a big tree fel over on to a car in northwest d.c. it also landed on power lines. that took out power in the area. no injuries are reported. there are still thousands of people without power all over the area. here are some of the numbers on that now. pepco has 4,500 customers affected by power outages tonight. dominion electric reports 2,100 customers without power. baltimore gas and electric has 3,900 customers out now. and the cooperative reports 200 people without electricity. the southern maryland electric cooperative reports 1,300 customers who are now suffering power outage. this weather is affecting metro service. and it's affecting lots of

trapti transportation all over the area. what is the latest on the status of the roads and things in your area? >> well, the state highway administration has been able to keep up pretty well today. and we want to thank motorists for staying off the road. i think that has led to much of the success that we've h during the second storm. our goal had been to keep one lane passable on all the interstates. for the most part, we have been able to exceed that. again, i think it's because very, very few motorists have been out on the roads today and the trucking companies had also asked for the trucks to stay home if they could. that has helped tremendously in cleaning the interstates. obviously the secondary roads and all of the local and residential streets will continue to be a challenge for several days. >> all the wind that we're having, do you expect your

trucks will be out there all night long? >> we've only had to pull our trucks off the state highway system for an hour this morning. so we anticipate that they will continue working throughout the evening. we hope that with the drifting thate will be able to keep up with this. >> where are you having your most problems? >> well, we've had a great -- a greater amount of snow in the baltimore area today than in the washington region. but even there we've been able to keep the beltway looking pretty good. i-95 at various times has been a challenge. but it's really very -- >> all right. beverly, we appreciate your help. hopefully we'll talk to you and have good news for us. >> yes. thank you so much. good evening. >> there's still no word on when the runways will be able to open back up at area airports. right now, reagan national, dulles and bwi airports have no flights coming or going. crews have been out on the runways all day trying to remove snow.

airport officials hope they'll know more byomorrow morning when they can begin to reopen. we'll continue our coverage of the storm. when we come back, bob will be in with an ebtendxtended check e forecast. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: did the waltons take way too long to say goodnight? mom: g'night john boy. g'night mary ellen.

mary ellen: g'night mama. g'night erin. elizabeth: g'night john boy. jim bob: g'night grandpa. elizabeth: g'night ben. jim bob: elizabeth: g'night jim bob. jim bob: g'night everybody, grandpa: g'night everybody. jim bob: g'night daddy. vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more.

we're back now with continuing coverage of this winter storm. bob has been around here for 30 years. and then 10 or 15 more than that up in boston. have you seen one like this before? >> one storm was the blizzard of '78 in boston. for a single storm, that's still the greatest. but for a week, these amounts -- by the way, folks up in baltimore with 40, 45 inches in northern parts of montgomery county for the week, that's what the blizzard of '78 did in boston in northern parts of rhode island in one storm, in one storm. but we've had especially a week of storms. so it really is unprecedented to have that, especially around this area. if it makes you feel any better, our total now for the winter is 55 1/2 inches ofsnow, which is the greatest winter ever. on the other hand, syracuse in an average winter has 115 inches. so we're half of what syracuse

has. 31 degrees our high temperature. there we are for february, closing in on 32 inches. here are the storm headlines. we still have several more hours of these bands of snow. i know you're seeing it blowing and drifting. we're still under that blizzard warning until 10:00 for you folks across northern maryland, which have been really getting the heaviest snows. 25 degrees, our current temperatures. lookt the current wind gusts. as hard-working as the road crews are, the drifts tom reported earlier when he was heading home of six feet drifts up in upper parts of montgomery county. lesser amounts of snow into the southwest. look at maryland. here are the historic winters. here we are now. number one. snowiest winter ever for us here in washington. let me show you the doppler. you can see those bands of snow coming down unfortunately still a few more to go. and it really i think now won't be until we get into about 11:00

that finally all of this will be moving off. but there's that one next band. there's one around germantown. en burnie, spots like that. and when these come through, they come through with more gusty winds. look at that one area of moderate to heavy snows once again moving through montgomery county, about ready to pass over the potomac. you folks around vienna and mclean, falls church, you'll see that over the next hour. veronica, i think you're joining us. there is something from the snowiest february ever. we're closing in on that. 1899. >> that's right. we're in second place right now with over 30-some inches of snowfall. this, again, the images from the blizzard of 1899. we've got another one to show you there from crowley's. this is columbia avenue with the big mounds of snow. we have surpassed that with over 55 inches. you mentioned syracuse. i looked at what other cities average around 55 inches.

hartford, connecticut, 50. minnesota, rochester, st. cloud in minnesota, 50 inches. and right down the road, beckley, west virginia, they average around 60 inches. their elevation is so much higher than ours is right here. >> a lot of folks thatave moved here from out of town say it feels like oer winters. look at the area that it's still under a blizzard warning. that storm which is intensifying continues to intensify off the jersey shoreline. unfortunately, it's still throwing back that moisture in over us. so overnight tonight, what we'll be seeing -- it's because of this strong southern branch of the jet stream that we've had associated with an el nino. really unprecedented to see these storms come up and really intensify right over us and the combination even with some of the sleet and freezing rain yesterday. still produce a tremendous storm. northwesterly winds still tomorrow but not as strong as they have been. and then at least we'll get a couple of days of sunshine to

try and get on top of things. still more blowing and drifting after we get through 9:00, 10:00, 11:00. some bands finally break up and move off. partly cloudy, very cold. breezy even though it will be 15 to 25 miles an hour. then we get into the weekend with partly sunny skies. temperatures a bit above freezing. that's what we really need is a slow melt. remember in '96 we had a tremendous storm and then rains and rapid melt with terrible flooding. at least the good news is while we may see a little more snow in this wintry pattern, not a big storm on monday. we'll see -- have another also future forecast for the upcoming winters, jim and doreen. this is from bob in clifton. he says he predicts we will not get any more than a dusting of snow for the next two to three years because he's just bought a snow blower. so that will help. >> now, here, bob, is what i want to ask you.

even those of us who are snow-lovers are getting sick of this now. is there a global weather pattern at work that would not preclude us seeing more of this before this winter is over? >> no. >> there ain't no such pattern at work? >> the pattern we have right now is one -- i saw sort of a change in the pattern when we were looking about the winter outlook. but there's nothing to preclude that we could see yet another coastal storm before this winter is out. not for the next week, but the pattern is still one where we get this moisture and get this energy in the jet stream. it's very strong. the southern branch near the gulf states, we have the cold air still coming in from canada. it's a cold, snowy pattern overall still. >> and i want to ask youred avites, bob, for all those folks who are wondering when to get out and shovel. some people are seeing breaks in the snowfall, but if the wind is still going to be an issue, what is your recommendation? >> i think after -- it depends if you have 20, 30 inches of

snow like in montgomery county and -- you may want to get on top of it. if it is a fluffy snow, but it will be some more winds of 20, 30, 35 miles an hour overnight tonight. lighter winds tomorrow. i think i'd probably try to do it in stages if you want to. give it a couple more hours because then that will be the end of the bands which are still almost like lake-effect snows, the bands of intense snow that come through in prince george's county and up toward howar county and baltimore. >> okay. thank you, bob. we'll be right back.

we're back now with our continuing coverage of the second blizzard to hit the area in less than a week. >> the storm created whiteout conditions for parts of the day. was really difficult to see in front of you. thousands of people are still without power. most of the major school systems have decided to shut down for the rest of the week. john has b been out in maryland all day talking to those who came out to play in the snow. john?

>> well, jim, there haven't been many people out here playing in the snow. the whiteout conditions you talked about, we still have them here. we've not really had a chance to get a break from this storm. we've been in our live truck for most of the day just trying to stay warm and stay awake from the elements. it's like being on a ship with our mast so high up in the air. with our wind blowing, our crew car has been rocking back and forth. this storm is packing a lot of punch. let's look how the roads are looking now and see what's going on out here. this is 301. as you can see -- [ inaudible ] we talked to maryland state highway administration. they said they put out warnings for many people to stay off the roads because of the near whiteout conditions. look at the snow out here. it's just blowing sideways. the wind starts picking up here. the other thing the highway administration said for people to watch out for, pedestrians. pedestrians because the sidewalks are so blocked off,

many of them are walking through the roadways. you can't see any out here now, but earlier today they were out here. people had had to be careful about that. the other thing is that many people are doing business. we talked to one guy delivering pizza. he says he's loving it right now. how long are you going to be working today? >> oh, maybe until 11:00. >> what time did you start? >> 11:00. >> so you're just loving this. you don't care. you're making money. >> yeah, man. i need to pay my bills. >> what has business been like since the storm hit? >> we've been extremely busy. everybody around this area run out of power. and they're coming here. we are open. we have the full-service restaurant. we are working. >> how much more business would you say you're doing this week compared to other weeks? >> increased 90%. >> really? >> yeah. before the storm, we went every

day, 10%, 15% in occupancy. now we're 100%. we're sold out. >> what was the biggest tip you got today? >> today my biggest tip, $20. but i had -- [ inaudible ] >> they saw that so they appreciated it, right? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. so nice. >> a lot of nice people out here in the area being kd to the people delivering their food. i've got to put the goggles down. if you're coming out here, be careful. conditions are pretty bad out he. reporting live, sending it back to you guys in the studio. >> thanks, john. >> john, thank you. today martin o'malley thanked people for staying off the roads. crews continue their work on the main highways. it could take a while to clear neighborhood roads. >> so stop already with the pave my street -- or rather scrape my street down to the pavement. that cannot happen there the next 72 hours and we ask that you be the great citizens, great

americans that you are and bear with us through this emergency. >> the national guard has deployed throughout the state to help emergency workers get to those who need help. from maryland to virginia now. let's check in with jane watrel. she is in alexandria. how is it looking over there now, jane? >> it's looking good, doreen. it's nightfall now. there's just a light breeze with snow flurries going. nothing like the winds that we experienced earlier. we've got the great signs of life. we've got snow plows. this is obviously a private contractor behind me. the city of alexandria's snow plows have been going up and down the streets, clearing things out, getting things ready. we talked to the mayor. they'll be out here all night clearing roads even though there won't be schools tomorrow and a lot of the services as far as like city hall services won't be going. i want to show you what things looked like earlier today with near whiteout conditions. i want to show you video that we

shot of the masonic temple, which is a huge symbol that can be seen for miles in old town alexandria. the masonic temple, which is on a hill, was -- you could barely make it out. you could barely make out the outline of it. and also driving around the city was very treacherous in these conditions. fortunately, most people stayed off the streets. there were very few people out. we've been out here for six hours. since the wind ceased and i'd say that's about an hour ago and the snow stopped and it seems like conditions are starting to improve, we've seen more and more people come out on the streets and they're shopping. you can see people walking up and down the sidewalks as you see snow being removed down the street. so it looks like there are signs of life here as people are slowly getting out. but i think there's a lot of respect for the crews that have to come out and do their job, respect for snow removal and things like that. oh, look at this.

can you stop a moment? this is really cute. can you turn around and show this? what were you doing today that made you come out? >> i actually opened my store today. i was walking home with the dog and he can't walk in this weather. >> what kind of business do you have? >> i have a yarn store. we sell knit and crochet supplies. we've had customers today. >> that's amazing. that's great. what kind of dog is this? >> he's a very deformed italian greyhound. he's old. he doesn't handle the snow well. >> thank you for stopping to chat with us. have a safe walk home. >> thank you. >> well, there you see it. a little tale, so to speak, from the city. >> that dog is not loving it. >> no, he's not. >> get me out of here. >> you could have left me home, girl. >> thanks, jane. jane mentioned the maryland national guard is out. the d.c. national guard is also

on alert and helping out all over the city. the guard is helping law enforcement officials and emergency responders among other things. they pick them up at home and get them to work. they're also helping out military personnel and health care professionals. even members of the guard say that conditions out there are pretty bad today in spite of those huge humvees that they drive. d.c.'s mayor, adrian fenty, said that tonight will be quite tough. >> look for plows to come down your street. but know that you're not going to clean up all of this mess in a couple of hours. it will take time, but we'll work as hard as humanly possible to have the city back up and running as quickly as humanly possible. >> the mayor says peoe should expect to see plows onajor streets and even the side streets that have not yet been plowed. check on conditions now in the district. tom sherwood is down at freedom plaza where he's been all day,

northwest d.c. tom, how is it looking? >> jim, it's pretty quiet down here now. some people have come out and are taking pictures. but now people have gone back inside. we just heard from mayor fenty about what to expect. just a very short time ago we talked to the director of public works. he's the person in charge of all the -- all the trucks out here doing all of the work. let's hear what he has to say about what to expect tonight and tomorrow. it's been a rough day and a rough couple of days, but you're going into the night tonight. what can people expect tonight looking to tomorrow morning? >> now that the storm has stopped, we've been able to get bare pavement on the major roads. we've been -- we've always been in the residential. once we get the major roads, we'll be able to put the heavy trucks in with the light plows and start getting it to the residential areas as well.

>> but, again, part of the problem with getting into the residential areas is that people will have their cars partially dug out and sticking out into the streets. if you're on a street where the car is sticking out into the street, no plow is going to come down that street. jim and doreen, back to you. >> gethe car out of the way if you can. we have news now regarding metro. we've just learned that metro will only run trains underground tomorrow. there will be no service at above-ground stations. metro bus and access are expected to remain suspended tomorrow. we've got more on all of this. stay tuned, please.

good evening. bob ryan, storm center4. still snowing in washington. i know some of the folks out to our west, fairfax county and even out towards centerville, take a look at doppler. earlier it was -- you're looking out and saying, oh, no, it's started again. we're getting these bands coming through. there's one around manassas and centerville. it still will be several more hours before these finally break up enough to begin to move off. there's the overall view of that storm with the snow in over us. again, you can see that the bands do come through. this is really leftover bands with a lot of wind. tomorrow, temperatures into the

teens. doesn'that look nice? sunshine with temperatures above freezing. that strong february sunshine will help if you've got a south-facing roof. it may begin to help compact things. there's not going to be real rapid melting as we get into tomorrow rather than the howling winds. still with winds of 30, 40 miles an hour. look at frederick maryland. earlier today, winds gusted to 50 miles an hour. it's still -- that's the current wind. 34, 39 miles an hour. up in frederick, maryland, with a windchill of 3. so obviously all of you folks that have this powdery snow around, the blowing and drifting continues. and over the weekend, some mixture of clouds and sunshine. temperatures above freezing. still in the 20s at nighttime. no rapid melting for sure. this will be one of those starms as we so often see with these huge storms that doesn't want to release its grip. still several hours of these bands of snow coming through. 10:00, 11:00.

that should be really finally all out to the east and the eastern shore. back to you. >> thank you, bob. sometimes a man needs to get to the post office. no matter the weather conditions outside. this guy did so today. he got on his skis. you'll see him in a minute. there he goes. he got on his skis, went to the post office, found that the post office was closed, so he made his way over to the mailboxes, took care of the business that he needed to take, and then went on about his business. >> why not? >> why not? there was another snowball fight in washington. this was the scene at dupont circle this afternoon. some people braved the elements for a little competition. i doubt there's anybody there over 25. got a lot of energy when you're that young. got to use it up some kind of way. does not appear that this particular snowball event attracted quite the crowd, the thousands and thousands that were out for the snowball fight

over the weekend. >> this new snow is kind of fluffier. it's harder to make snowballs out of it. >> you go down deep enough, you can get ice. we'll continue our coverage of this winter storm when "news4 at 6" continues.

snowboarders took advantage of the unplowed streets in georgetown by snowboarding down wisconsin avenue. by the looks of things, they are not ready for the olympics. not the vancouver ones anyway. give them time. >> they just want to have fun. in maryland, elaine reyes is in rockville all afternoon taking a look at conditions there. elaine, how is it looking? >> you know, i think -- big wind gust, guys. just in time for the shot. it stopped snowing, but this wind that you just saw tearing through here is just pushing all the snow all around us. it's coming off of the buildings and the snow drifts around us. montgomery county even pulled its snow plows off the roads earlier today because the conditions were so bad. take a look at this. late this afternoon, though, they did make some of them go back out. some of them were able to come back out on the roads and do

some work. most of the business, though, along rockville pike, normally very busy, were closed all day long, including most of the shopping malls in the area. we did, of course, find a few folks braving these crazy conditions today. and here is what they had to say. >> come here from jougermantown. the roads are rough. you have to have a four wheel drive to get around. >> we just wanted to get out. we wanted to take the dogs out. >> for six hours we didn't see much of the plows on the road. however, in the last hour i've seen a lot of commercial vehicles out here, private and public. they seem to be doing a good job, at least in ckville. i was on earlier rockville pike. i've been on route 28, georgia avenue. it was clear. but these winds in a matter of minutes, it can be covered up again. >> and here is interstate 270. here in montgomery county, one or two lanes open throughout the

day. a few cars making their way along 270, but, again, those road conditions were just horrendous. not just the road conditions but the visibility. now, late this evening, we noticed that after those plows came through, we do see asphalt on rockville pike, which we haven't seen all day long. just a few minutes ago, we saw a pepco truck drive through. hopefully maybe a sign that things are getting better and that the worst is over. we'll see. reporting live from rockville, elaine reyes, news4. >> thank you, elaine. all this heavy snow has caused several roofs to collapse. looking at pictures now from the smithsonian museum support center in prince george's county. it's a warehouse that stores artifacts not currently on display in the smithsonian museum. no word on what, if anything, was damaged there. prince george's county firefighters are reminding everybody get out of any

building if you start noticing the ceiling bulging or cracking or if you hear any sounds that might lead you to believe that building might collapse. that was, in fact, the problem at george washington university today. a fraternity house there with a flat roof was evacuated when the roof showed signs of collapsing. officials say seven people were removed from the town home. it's on 22nd street. nobody was injured there. authorities determined the house was unsafe. the four men who live there have been relocated to a campus dorm tear. those students will not be able to go back into that house for a week. one men told the paper that their fraternity has lived in that house for 35 years now. this huge amount of snow is causing all kinds of damage across the area. trees are snapping and uprooting in many places. liz crenshaw has answers to questions that viewers are asking. hi, liz. >> hi. we've been fielding viewer

e-mails all day. a popular one, what about the downed trees? this is the 400 block of allison street northwest. a stree toppled on top of a car. many people wonder will the insurance cov this damage? the answer is yes if you have comprehensive insurance. now if you get into an accident, liability insurance is what's going to pay. but if you hit something else, you've got to have collision insurance in order to be covered. remember that. also, today viewers have contacted us about something called gas vents buried in the snow. the vent of the gas meter was covered with snow. it's very important to keep those meters, clear. do not use a shovel. it can damage the meter. it would be very dangerous. the gas company recommends that you use your hands or a broom to clear off your outdoor gas

meters. mary said remember to clean the snow off your heat pump. if a heat pump is covered by ice or snow, it's not going to work properly. that was the problem brenda had today. she found her heat pump filled with ice and the blades were frozen stuck. he turned the unit off and she's hoping she prevented further damage. be wary of those gas meters. think about things like keeping the area around your foundation clean as we start getting melting. we want to get this water to work away from the foundation and not end up with water in our basements. that will be next. >> let's hope not. >> thanks, liz. >> and we want to thank you for all of the pictures that you've been sending us. you can send us your shots from the show. just e-mail them to isee@nbcwashington.com.

let's get one more check on the roads out there.

we go to ashley linder. how is it looking, ashley? >> hey, doreen. it's kd of a mixed bag. things are starting to refreeze around the area. let's look. now this is some of the worst stuff. 270 around father hurley. doesn't look like it's seen a plow. because of that wind if you focus on the light right there, you can see the wind is just whipping the snow back into the roadway. things that have been plowed are no longer clear. this is the pace right south of father hurley at germantown. the pace gets a little bit better as far as who is on the road. still roadway conditions not very good. now, different news. look at the beltway. this is the american legion bridge. snow still coming down. people are going slow as they should given the conditions, but just slushy out of virginia. as you make your way up toward connecticut avenue, you can see the blacktop, but you just want to stay out of the way. he's going way too fast. you've got more snow coverage on

the roadways. you still have a lot of plow convoys to deal with. if you choose to go out this evening, which isn't suggested, keep out of the way for salt and plow trucks and also the grinders that are just trying to get rid of the massive amount of snow that we have around the area. doreen and jim, back to you. >> thank you, ashley. one more time, bob. are we done? >> we are almost done. i know many folks are saying, that's it, i'm done. with the snow, but still several more bands. look at the temperature, though. 26 degrees with a windchill into the teens in tillman island. folks say, what is going on with the weather and the weather patterns? look at this. this is from the folks at noaa. it shows the temperature anomalies. where the blues are, temperatures much below average. look at greenland, right now -- right now greenland, the temperature is 47 degrees.

47 degrees in greenland. strangest things happen with the weather. their temperatures are 35 degrees above average. we still have the blizzard warnings. just about to come down for most of us. but look at the winds gusting. unfortunately, we are still getting these bands that you can see coming through. there's another one now. even up into frederick county that will move through fairfax county. slowly this will begin to fall apart. i'm afraid not until 9:00, 10:00 before we really can say good-bye to these snow bands that come through and can dump another one to two inches. look at the visibility in hag s hagersto hagerstown, one mile. folks up across northern maryland really hard-hit. by the way, you can always send us your pictures. we'll show them. veronica will be here while i'm taking a little break. we'll share your pictures with everybody else out there and around the country and the world for that matter. there's that area that's still getting hit so, so hard. there's the storm beginning to pull away but in back of it and

because of the upper-level wave coming through and still coming through us, it's really squeezing out the last of the moisture. overnight tonight, temperatures dip into the teens. the winds will diminish a bit. tomorrow it will just be breezy. 15-mile-an-hour winds. there will still be blowing around. but it will be sunny. we'll see sunshine into the weekend. there will be high clouds coming in. temperatures into the 20s. daytime into the mid to high 30s. and for tomorrow morning, partly cloudy. very cold, still breezy. temperatures 20 to 25 degrees early tomorrow morning into the teens. again, give it a few more hours. by the time i see you at 11:00, we'll have updates. we'll see finally all of this super storm number two end. back to you. let's head to greenland. >> thanks, bob. this storm is historic in many ways. not the least of them the fact that the federal government is closed again tomorrow for the fourth day in a row.