and now, from washington's leading news station, this is news 4 at 6:00. the metro area getting pummeled with rain. strong line of storms moving through right now. and we're not done yet. and a frightening sight in southern maryland as a waterspout touches down in the potomac. good evening, i'm jim rosenfield. let's begin with the severe storms. we get right to chief meteorologist doug kammerer with the latest tonight. >> we have everything out there, flooding rains, a tornado that came through parts of area and we've got that tropical storm down in the southern portions of florida. let's focus in on our area first. you can see the rain that's come in over the last six hours, heavy rain, especially into southern maryland here.

we've seen upwards of 5 to 10 inches of rain in parts of our viewing area. flood watches still in effect for most of the area, those flood watches in effect through most of the evening, in organizes of anne arundel county, a lot of the eastern shore under flood advisories. we have a tornado warning for caroline county along eastern shore in the delmarva. we had a tornado earlier around southern pargh portions of maryland, around the neck. rain coming down heavily, making driving difficult this afternoon. some areas seeing a lot more than others. if you got caught in one of heavier downpours, you know exactly what i'm talking about how about that tornado? a waterspout over the potomac, along cobb a bxb island in mary. amazing to see that kind of a

storm over our area during the day today on our sunday. as we look back at the radar picture, we show you where the rain is now. heaviest just to the west of leaseburg. you look down towards southern maryland, calvert county getting pummeled, same thing with st. mary's county, up towards annapolis and eastern shore. chesapeake, you don't want to be out on the chesapeake today. as we widen out here, tropical storm isaac, it has been trying to strengthen during the day. no strengthening just yet. it's moved just to the west of key west. you can see a ton of rain into portions of florida. 60 mile-an-hour wones as of the 5:00 advisory. take a look at the latest track. this is not what the people of new orleans want to see. the latest track does bring it up very close to new orleans as a category 2 storm with winds of 100 miles per hour. we'll talk more about that storm plus what to expect in our weather for the workweek. we have a lot to talk about. we'll continue to do it right here. >> busy sun in the weather

office. thank you, doug. residents along the gulf coast are keeping a close eye on isaac. tropical storm and hurricane watches now posted all along the gulf coast, parts of louisiana already declared a state of emergency. nbc's jay gray is in florida with more on the predictions. >> reporter: hey there, jim, good evening. isaac is gaining intensity tonight as it now turns its full attention to the gulf coast. isaac's introduction to the u.s., slashing winds and a driving rain across the florida keys. and through miami. >> around the state we've got rain, we've got wind, we've got storm surge. we've got the risk of tornadoes. >> reporter: if the current forecast holds, conditions will only get worse. >> large area at risk here, forecasting as strong as category 2 at landfall. >> reporter: an area that you whiches new orleans in southwest louisiana which could see the worst of isaac on wednesday. seven years to the day after hurricane katrina.

>> we are just on high alert. i know the anxiety level is high. the storm is somewhat uncertain. out of the abundance of caution we have begun to take these precautions. >> reporter: right now the primary focus is in florida, already feeling the effects of the storm. >> when you live in florida you have to be extra cautious. >> reporter: caution, like sandbags is beginning to stretch across the state. residents are stocking up and boarding up, bracing for impact. >> it's my livelihood. i have to take care of it and protect it. >> reporter: protection in tampa includes shifting the events for monday's opening of the republican national convention back a full day while move in the middle the gulf won't be for a bit longer. crews are being pulled from drilling platforms, part of race against the storm. >> today and tomorrow are the preparation times on the northern gulf coast. >> reporter: with isaac, gathering momentum and rushing toward the shore. fema teams are on ground here in florida and louisiana.

the current forecast shows the storm making landfall sometime late tuesday or early wednesday morning. in north reddington beach, florida, jay gray, news 4. it's all hands on deck for utilities in florida. local crews from dominion virginia power are on their way south to len a hand if isaac knocks out power to parts of the state. they're from hampton, richmond, charlottesville and fairfax. several local red cross volunteers are also headed to florida. stay with news 4, we'll continue to track isaac as it makes its way toward the gulf coast. isaac also prompting big changes for the long-planned republican national convention in tampa, day one has been canceled. party leaders say the storm will not get in the way of their message. nbc's steve handelsman has more on the changes being made tonight from tampa. >> reporter: arriving in tampa ahead of the storm, some republicans are worried. >> you know, we've got a lot of

activities will be outside. there's going to be a lot of just heavy winds and rain. >> reporter: it's already gusty downtown, steady rain expected overnight. even with isaac tracking west of tampa, getting to a monday convention session would have been miserably wet. no choice but to cancel day one and to consider further delays. but most republicans in tampa are undaunted. >> say no to obama. >> tuesday we are going to make up some of time we lose on monday. we feel like we'll be aible to get our message out. >> reporter: trailing in national polls, mitt romney is counting on tampa for a challenging image reboot, to be seen as tougher on the president's record, but also more likable. so more voters are comfortable with romney as an obama alternative. on fox news sunday, romney said he'll take the advice offered years ago by his father, george, who also ran for president. >> and i've heard him give it to many people, which is be bold,

don't worry about what people think, just be bold, get the job done. >> reporter: as bold as romney might be in his thursday speech, he'll have to compete for the nation's attention. if isaac becomes a major hurricane and strikes new orleans wednesday. on the anniversary of katrina. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, tampa. news 4's julie carey is in tampa as the gop gets ready for the congress vengs. nbc 4 will have live coverage of the democratic national convention in charlotte next month. ahead of the november election, plan parenthood is getting its message out to voters with a battleground bus tour. the group held a rally in arlington before canvassing the area. among those in the crowd, current democratic senate tim kaine. he says it's important for congress to focus on economy and let women make their health care decisions. >> whether it was the battle

over the ultrasound in virginia or the battle over personhood amendme amendments, there's too many of these things going on. >> planned parenthood stopped in richmond today as well. the group is traveling to ten other battle ground states over the next couple of weeks. still ahead right here tonight, hop on the bus. thousands of kids headed back to school. we'll show you how they spent their last day of summer freedom. plus, we'll tell you how maryland's same-sex marriage referendum is different from other states. it's all in how the question is posed to voters. of course, we're continuing to watch strong storms moving through the area. doug will be back with another doug will be back with another he's made his choice.

but what choices will women be left with? just like mitt romney, paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. in congress, ryan voted to ban all federal funding for planned parenthood and allow employers to deny women access to cancer screenings and birth control. and both romney and ryan backed proposals to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. for women... for president... the choice is ours. i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

funeral services for the prince george's county officer killed in a high-speed chase begin tomorrow. the wake will be held at 2:00 p.m. in beltsville for 23-year-old adrian morris. another sfrs will be held on tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in wood stream church in mitchellville. morris was killed on monday when his cruiser veer off i-59 a95 a crashed. police say he was chasing two suspects. the question is posed in a different way from others we've seen elsewhere. maryland's ballots will ask voters if they want to approve

same-sex marriage. during similar votes in other states, the question asked if voters wanted to ban same-sex marriage. opponents gathered enough signatures to bring the issue to referendum and let the voters have the final say. another summer is coming to a close. that means lots of students heading back to school tomorrow. how some parents got their kids ready today for another year of learning. plus, a really important question, will they be waiting in bus stop in the rain? storm 4 meteorologist doug [ male announcer ] some think obamacare is the same as free health care. but nothing is free. obama is raiding $716 billion from medicare, changing the program forever. taxing wheelchairs and pacemakers.

raising taxes on families making less than one hundred twenty thousand dollars. free healthcare comes at a very high price. the romney-ryan plan will restore medicare funding and protect and strengthen the program for the next generation. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. alking i've been tt romney doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

but somewhere along the way, something went horribly wrong. george allen voted for trillions in debt while voting to raise his pay four times, then voted to keep special tax breaks for oil and gas companies and took over a half-million from them. worse, allen went to work for them.

you know what that means. for parents in d.c., montgomery, howard and charles townties, they're getting ready to send their kids back to school tomorrow. derrick ward caught up with students and parents enjoying this last day off and others, well, they're getting ready for the busy year ahead. >> reporter: it's the time when summer comes to an end and the vestages of the warm and sunny give way to three rs. it's not all gloomy for some youngsters. some are looking forward to st >> i am. >> reporter: what are you looking forward to?

>> to see my friends. >> reporter: though you'd have to say the school year will have a tough act to follow when you've had a summer experience like this little lady. >> one of them is much kaing salamande salamanders. >> reporter: monday bombry county schools are among those opening this week. in that county, we found one family group for whom there is a tradition this time of year. there's the back-to-school shopping but that just starts it. >> have a movie, get something to eat, have some fun. >> reporter: maybe the back-to-school routine is less fun than it used to be. >> it's much more expensive than it was as little as five years ago. >> reporter: there's still time for fond remembrances of what was this summer. >> went to the beach. >> reporter: there's time for looking ahead for what will be. >> i'm going to get all as. i'm going to be on top of the class. i'm not going to joke around or anything were we adults will have to make our own adjustments to make the rigors of the school

year. >> school starts at 8:15 and 8:30. it's getting out in the morning. >> now it's time to get back to work. but hopefully, you know, their work is more fun, more fun than work. >> reporter: derrick ward, news 4. i like that young man's plan, get lots of grades, good grades -- >> head of class. >> and not fool around. that was my approach, too. >> good guy. >> big day in your household. >> my son starts kindergarten tomorrow. he'll be at the bus stop and guess what he'll have with him? >> a rain slicker. >> and umbrella. i think we have a chance of rain even during the day tomorrow out there. take a look. we'll show you how things are going. this picture says it all right now. this is looking down to the south and east right now. you can see heavy rain shower making its way through portions of maryland off towards the east. as we look across our area right now, we're sitting at 73 degrees. look at that rain coming down. that's called a rain shaft. 73 the current temperature. winds out of the east at 9 miles an hour.

we have clouds and rain around that part of the region. over the last six hours we've been inundated with rain, storm after storm coming over the same locations that's created the potential for flooding. you can see big-time storms. southern merrill still getting hit very, very hard. over the last 12 hours, about 1.8 inch into southern portions of montgomery county. 4.9 inches of rain over the last 24 hours in central calvert county and over 9 inches along the eastern shore. that is doppler radar estimates. again, an incredible amount of rain. that's why we have a flash flood watch that continues to be in effect right on through the night tonight in through 10:00. that includes washington, leaseburg, waldorf. and much of eastern portions of anne arundel county had under flash flood warnings. here's the shower we're looking at right now, right along the beltway here. we'll continue to see these moving up toward the north.

another heavy shower into southern calvert county and big-time storm down towards southern st. mary's, moving towards the eastern shore, bringing extremely heavy rain, torrential downpours. once again, this one moving in towards portions of jefferson county into west vir i have. let's go the to south and talk about a tropical storm. this is tropical storm isaac. it is making its way away from key west. looks like it's trying to get its act together to become a little bit better organized here. a ton of rain in miami and ft. myers. 2 to 4 inches of rain so far. take a look at the storm over the next couple of days. track changes again. just a little bit to the west. the latest advisory has winds of 60 miles an hour, moving to the west/northwest at 16 miles an hour. that puts it in over the gulf of mexico. strengthens this storm. comes close to new orleans as acategory 1 with 90 miles an hour. is expected to make its way onshore, the official hurricane center says it will bring it to a category 2 storm with winds over 100 miles an hour. the gulf coast states need to

watch pout for this in new orleans, pensacola, now under hurricane warnings as are the florida keys. this is definitely going to be one storm we will be watching closely for you right here. areas of heavy rain and thunder across area this evening. some of the rain will be on the heavy side. tomorrow if you're sending your kids out to school, 6:00 a.m., 72 degrees, 82 by noon with a few showers. most of the showers will be to the east. tomorrow afternoon, a high temperature of 86 degrees. here's the next couple of days, showing the 82 on tuesday, 84 on wednesday and it does look like temperatures will heat up. could be chances of showers during day tomorrow, too. heads up to that are. >> all right. thanks, doug. >> yep. coming up in sports, the nats getting confused against nats getting confused against the phillie

i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the the ppresident on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars. get the facts.

this is the xfinity sportsdesk. do we call this a rough patch? what do we call it? >> don't be concerned. >> okay. >> for the nats fans don't be concerned. >> all right. >> do not be concerned.

>> you worried? >> no. >> you shouldn't be either. every team goes through rough patches during the season. the nats had a five-game slide in april and a four-game slide in june. there are and there is a ray of hope at the end of these highlights. to south broad street, the philly phanatic calm. citizens bank park explodes here. a two-run shot, 3-0 phillies. jordan zimmermann, a rough one. five innings, five hits, three earned runs. top of the seventh now in an interesting play developing. jayson werth on second. adam laroche crushes a ball. it looks like a certain home run. look again. it did not clear the small fence over the wall. that ball is in play. laroche thought it was gone. he's tagged out.

werth only makes it to third. play reviewed and upheld, no homer. that's just how it was for the nationals up in philadelphia. very next batter, tyler moore, a double to left, werth would make it in on this one but it wouldn't be enough. the nats fall 4-1 to the phillies. the ray of hope that i mentioned, stephen strasburg is pitching next against the worst team in the division on tuesday against the miami marlins. o's and blue jays postponed today due to rain. yesterday's 30-17 redskins wins over the colts shobed us a number of things. rg3 doesn't turn the ball over. santana moss returning kicks shows that you better be able to play multiple positions. top overall pick andrew luck and second pick robert griffin iii, good as advertised as fedex field. but alfred morris is the man who

stole the show. the sixth round pick, a 17-yard gain down to the 2 right here. where did they find this guy? on the first and goal, morris punches it in for his first touchdown of the game. redskins are on top early. andrew luck, man, this guy is good. we were in the press box saying, wow, this guy has all the skills. he finds t.y. hilton for a 31-yard touchdown. ties the game at 7. luck, 14 of 23 for 151 yards. rg3 says i want some of that action, not in my house. rolls right, and will find santana moss for the touchdown. redskins go back on top, 14-7. rg3, 11 for 17 for 74 yards. rex grossman will come in later. he gets bunches of boos but those boos would turn to cheers when he finds josh morgan. 8 for 8, 127 yards for rex

grossman. redskins win, 30-17. afterwards, rg3, all he wanted to talk about was his fedex field debut. >> it was fun. i've never had a personal -- my own introduction, ever, high school or college. so that was extremely fun. you know, with the smoke and everything. you feel like you're in a movie. so to come out to that and have a team to rally behind you when you're coming out was pretty cool. to have the home fans, you can tell when it's a good play. i'm carrying out my fake and i hear a loud scream, that means something good happened. usually a big run. those guys did a good job. i thought our fans were really into the game, for a preseason game. nascar last night, irwin tools 500 in bristol, tennessee. there's not southern hospitality. tony stewart in car 14 trades pain with the matt kenseth. look at this, guys. does he not like what's going on. throws his helmet.

>> what? >> he says to kenseth, when i see you later, it's going to be on. another wreck getting ready to happen. danica patrick bumped by reagan smith. she wags a finger at him. don't do that. denny hamlin and joe gibbs racing avoids the helmets and the finger wags and wins the race. >> like a hockey game or wrestling. thanks, lou. that's the news for now. "nightly news" is next. we'll be back here for news 4 at 11:00. i'm barack obama and i approve this message now mitt romney's attacking the president on medicare? the nonpartisan a-a-r-p says obamacare "cracks down on medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits." and the ryan plan? a-a-r-p says it would undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors... and experts say ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees costs more than six thousand dollars.

get the facts. this bipartisan reform successfully reduced welfare rolls. on july 12th president obama quietly ended the work requirement... gutting welfare reform. one of the most respected newspapers in america called it, "nuts!" saying, "if you want to get more people to work, "you don't loosen the requirements -- you tighten them." mitt romney's plan for a stronger middle class