thanks for joining us. states of emergency. the entire northeast braces for sandy as that monster storm moves closer to the coast. good morning, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to this special edition of "news 4 today." it is monday, october 29th, 2012. we're can ttracking hurricane s as it moves closer to the east coast. basically, everything between here and connecticut is shut down. >> everything is closed down. that includes the federal government. nonessential employees, stay home today.

schools closed in maryland, virginia, as well as d.c. metro trains and buses are shut down for the first time since 2003. marc, vre, also all closed today. and amtrak service in the northeast corridor shut down today as well. >> most of the students in our area are also getting the day off today. all major public school systems in d.c., maryland, and virginia are closed this morning as well as all private schools in the area. you can find a complete list of school and business closings running at the bottom of your screen as well as online at nbcwashington.com. >> let's get to storm team meteorologist tom kierein here. what's the latest? we've got moderate to heavy rain about to move into the metro area. be prepared for that. stay inside. stay with us at nbc 4. we'll keep you fully informed. it is still a huge hurricane. taking a turn to the north. all day yesterday it was moving northeast. now taking a turn to the north. it is swinging in heavy rains into the eastern shore, southeastern virginia, eastern north carolina.

this has been going on the last couple of hours. we've seen the rain really picking up in intensity. here's the latest track. track does still look like it's going to be bringing it inland somewhere between the maryland and delaware to new jersey around sunset tonight. but the big story now is the heavy rain already moving inland, already now many parts of the eastern shore have had three to five inches of rain, and it's just now getting started. here's washington. we're beginning to see the rain closing in on us. right now heavy rain is falling in anne arundel county, calvert, charles, st. mary's, and about to move into prince george's county. going to move in the metro area the next couple of hours. the flooding rain is going to cause issues quickly as we get into the afternoon. five to ten inches of rain, maybe three to six inches around washington, but higher amounts on the eastern shore.

right now frederick county has a flood warning for the monochasee river. there's going to be a rapid rise. all these counties under a flood watch. unfortunately, this is probably going to be the big story, which is wind. gusts to 70 miles an hour. these high wind warnings from 8:00 this morning until 8:00 p.m. on tuesday. all these areas in color. as a result, we will likely he power outages, widespread, beginning this evening and late tonight as well as into tomorrow morning. for the whole region, hour by hour, steady rain this morning, getting heavier this afternoon, and the winds will really increase by late afternoon. we'll hold steady in the 50s throughout the day. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. now we've got to look at traffic trouble with danella.

>> i'm checking the roadways. as you're driving around in the area, i am seeing leaves starting to clutter the streets. not too bad. let's head to eastbound i-70. had an accident there that was blocking all of your eastbound lanes. travelers were getting by in the shoulder lane. now just debris remains as they're clearing up the earlier accident. very light volume. that's good. disabled vehicle outer loop of the beltway as you make your way towards new hampshire avenue, two of them, and they're both in the right shoulder lane. that's good also. if you're taking the beltway, outer loop exiting onto connecticut avenue, the exit there, you're going to find a disabled vehicle. it's in the right shoulder lane as well. >> thank you, danella. forecasters expect millions of people from virginia to new england to lose power. right now there are no major power outages to report in our area, but we'll bring you the latest outages number as sandy makes its way through our area.

pepco says it's prepared as it can be for sandy. it's brought in crews from across the country to help restore power, but they may be waiting out this storm just like everyone else. >> news 4's tony tull live at the montgomery county fairgrounds in gaithersburg with more on our coverage. >> reporter: good morning. all last week we were talking about the mutual aid assistance call that pepco put out. this is what happens when a plan comes together. literally hundreds of trucks from out of town. those trucks are from north carolina power. they sent numerous trucks. swing to this shot. we have alabama power. they literally have sent almost a 100 trucks. if you go down here, you can see these trucks all the way down in the distance. those are from arkansas. trucks and crews from all around the region. you can see in this grassy part of the fair grounds, they sent generators, extra lights, equipment that they will be going through as they fix. i want to go back to alabama power.

they sent so many trucks, if you go down here, they sent their mobile command centers. some of their trucks have satellite dishes on them. they are prepared to give a lot of aid when sandy makes landfall, and pepco starts to make repairs here. major, major power outages are expected. as you can see, these hundreds of trucks and crews that are sent as part of that mutual assistance, mutual aid call has been answered. all these crews are spending the night at local hotels in montgomery county, up in gaithersburg. so we're going to talk to them as they start coming through. a very impressive sight, eun and aaron, at the fairgrounds. for now, we'll toss it back to you guys. first dominion virginia power says it's also prepared for sandy. it's got trucks packed and ready to be dispatched from the springfield office. dominion virginia has commitments from 2,000 outside crew members to help restore power after sandy moves out of town. this is ocean city,

maryland, where the winds are whipping, as you can see. moving the rain sideways. a lot of coastal communities are feeling the brunt of the storm first. some of the residents evacuated. some are waiting the storm out, hoping the preparations they've made in terms of securing their homes will make it through. you can see the waves there and the wind. we'll bring you more updates live from rehoboth beach during the news cast. and in wards 3 through 8 each have their own designated center for relief centers. the red cross will provide food and water for those seeking safe conditions during the storm. if you rely on metro to get around town, you're probably not going anywhere for a few days. metro shut down all rail and bus service for today. a spokesperson for the transit system says metro will probably

be closed at least for tomorrow as well. takes a while to get things going again. last time metro had such an extensive shutdown was back in 2003 during hurricane isabelle. >> i would urge customers to heed public warnings and avoid travel entirely. the best place to be for this storm is at home or with a loved one or wherever you can shelter to pass the storm through, and then it's safe to come out again. >> a lot of bus companies also shut down service today. if you do have to get out for last-minute supplies, the good news in d.c. street sweeping and, paing restrictions are lifted today. right now you're looking at reagan national airport as airlines continue to cancel flights throughout the northeast. right now reagan and dulles plan to stay open, but you are urged to contact your airline before coming to the airport. if you were planning to

travel by train, you'll have to make new plans as well. amtrak has cancelled all of its service on the eastern seaboard. no amtrak trains coming to and from d.c. amtrak will have an update at some point later this evening. it is now 4:09. 54 degrees. points north of us feeling the brunt of hurricane sandy. still ahead, the dire warnings getting people to evacuate their homes. and we are streaming our newscasts and news breaks live throughout the storm.

at 4:12 you are looking at live pictures from ocean city, maryland, right now. some rough surf already there of course on the coastline. heavy wind blowing the rain almost sideways through this shot. we got some reports via twitter that parts of the pier there in ocean city starting to sustain some heavy damage. fire department saying it is still standing but the damage is apparent to some folks as they watch the storm surge, and the seas start to top some of the walls there at ocean city. i've seen one bit of information about a storm surge at four feet at this point. we are definitely in ocean city seeing what sandy will -- just the beginning of what sandy will bring for us. >> and that is going to continue to move up the east coast and impact us. meteorologist tom kierein

watching the track of sandy. see what's going on now. tom, good morning. >> we'll have abnormal high tides because of the full moon, and the high tides around 8:30. right now they are getting pounded with the heavy rain and wind. peak winds along the coast 40 to 45 miles an hour. the big story is heavy rain. all these areas in orange and yellow and red, heavy rains from near cambridge up through easton, all the way up toward chestertown on the eastern shore. these are now crossing the bay. the leading edge of the heavy rain is into anne arundel county as well as calvert and st. mary's. and now just beginning to move into eastern charles county, eastern prince george's county. farther west around washington, we're getting areas of rain. these areas of dark green in montgomery county, fairfax county. that's about to move into loudoun county and points south along 95. they're getting moderate rain down towards fredericksburg, and

this all associated with sandy spinning away off the atlantic seaboard. sandy's latest track. we'll have this update at 5:00 this morning. this is the latest one from 2:00 a.m. showing sandy coming ashore sometime this evening. here's the position. monday at 8:00 p.m. here's the tuesday 8:00 a.m. position. it's going to be slowing down, probably coming ashore around midnight tonight. somewhere near the delaware bay is the way it's looking now. back with frequent updates throughout the morning, and back to you, aaron and eun. >> thank you, tom. let's take a live look at times square in new york city, where i'm sure that it is very quiet. very quiet out there and eerie because so many times, when we look at live pictures like this, when it's usually bustling, full of traffic, new york city definitely preparing. we've seen images of grand central station as well, much of the east coast getting ready for sandy and evacuating, taking care of orders, and making sure people are not out on the street, to be safe and go

inside. we'll have more on that for you and communities along the potomac river also expecting the worst today. we're live with how virginia plans to ride out th

welcome back at 4:17. this is a live look at alexandria, virginia, where there's a particularly low lying area. they're sandbagging and water rising. we'll get a look at the low lying areas throughout the region today. sandy is forcing hundreds of thousands of new yorkers from their homes as we speak, actually prior to now. police issued evacuation orders for more than 375,000 people living in low lying parts of new york city. the city also suspended subway and bus service for today, and the city schools, of course, are closed.

the jersey shore is also in sandy's sights. new jersey governor chris christie is warning residents there to prepare for the worst. >> i'm completely confident we'll be able to get through this and get through this well, but there are going to be some challenging moments over the course of the next 72 hours. people in new jersey are not strangers to challenge. so we're going to be challenged again. >> christie has ordered a state of emergency, and all public transportation in the state is suspended. back in new york, the statue of liberty closed today and tomorrow because of sandy. the monument reopened to the public on sunday for the first time after a year long renovation project. the crown reopened. crews replaced stairs to the crown and created wheelchair access to one of the observation decks at the top of the pedestal. that project cost $30 million. it is expected to reopen on wednesday. back here at home, crews and residents getting ready for the storm, especially in areas along the potomac. >> news 4's melissa mollet

continues our live team coverage from alexandria. melissa, good morning to you. what are you seeing out there? >> reporter: good morning to both of you. right now we're getting a light drizzle like the rest of the area. i can tell you, of course, we're always worried about area here in old town alexandria, up against the potomac because, as water rises, it pushes water up into the streets. not necessarily flooding here, but pushing water into the streets. you just feel so bad for the homes and the businesses here. high tide expected around four hours from now, around 8:30 this morning. take a look at the video we took for you as we were walking down the streets of old town alexandria. there are lots of sand bags. of course, this is something we always see as we get heavy rain, a hurricane coming through or quick melting snow. you can also see plastic that people have put on their storefronts just to kind of prevent that water from getting into the windows. of course, very, very important. we even saw some of the parking kiosk guys completely wrapped in

plastic just to protect the computer inside, to make sure they don't get shorted out with all of the rain coming down, all of this water that is going to be, i'm sure, flooding into the streets. in a situation like this, news crews like us have to be very, very careful. we are parked close to the potomac river. we'll keep an eye on things. as things start to rise a bit in the next couple of hours, as things start to flood, we have to keep an eye as well. again, lots of people down here. fingers crossed. some of them still aleep is sle this hour. when they look outside, hopefully watching news 4, and we'll keep everyone updated. i'm melissa mollet. news 4. back to you. >> and don't forget, we have complete komplling 6 hurricane sandy on our website at nbcwashington.com. >> it's 4:30. we want to turn back to meteorologist tom kierein. tom, we're seeing a light rain and such around our area right now, but once this storm gets going, it's going to sit there and just go for a while, right?

and the heavy rain is about to come into the metro area. we do have light rain, but these areas of yellow and orange, heavy rain moving across the eastern shore and across the bay. i want to point out also it is snowing -- this is a multi-facetted storm. it's going to be a snow-acane for west virginia. they're getting a snowstorm in west virginia right now. we're getting moderate showers coming into prince george's county, charles, st. mary's, calvert, anne arundel, and really heavy rain on the eastern side of the bay and across the eastern shore. these bands of moderate to heavy rain coming in in advance of sandy. in addition, all these counties here in lavender under a blizzard warning. they could get up to a foot of snow out in western maryland and the highlands of eastern and southern west virginia, all coming from sandy spinning away here in the atlantic ocean, now taking a turn to the north. sandy has been showing a northerly track here over the

last maybe hour or two. and the latest track for sandy, keeping it a category 1 hurricane probably for another three hours or so. then it is going to begin to take a turn to the north and west and come ashore. the latest indications are now monday 8:00 p.m. this is what it's going to look like this evening, probably 50, 75 miles off the coast. then after that, perhaps by 10:00, 11:00, midnight coming ashore anywhere in this impact zone, anywhere from north central new jersey all the way down to south of ocean city. this is the zone where it may be coming in, and then it will weaken a bit as it does come in. it's still going to be packing very strong winds. hour by hour, throughout the day today, steady rain this morning for the metro area. heavy rain developing by noontime throughout the region. and heavy downpours by midafternoon and high temperatures toholding steady i the 50s. this evening strongest winds

holding steady around 50 degrees. as we go forward for the rest of the week, i've got better news. does look like things will settle down as we get into tuesday evening. maybe a lingering shower on wednesday morning into wednesday afternoon and remaining cloudy. friday, saturday, sunday, we'll get sunshine back and highs to around 60 degrees. now with the latest watches and warnings, kim martucci is joining me now. tell me about that. tom, we are in for it. first we'll talk about the flood watch that's in effect until tomorrow night. how much rain? five to ten inches. in fact, the monocasee river, our eye is on you. you already have a flood warning issued for tomorrow morning. the flood stage is 15 feet. we think we're going to see river rises as high as 22 feet when we talk about all the rain coming your way.

also, we have this high wind warning that's in effect for everybody. we're going to see wind gusts 60 to 70 miles an hour. this is going to be a prolonged event. this high wind warning taking us into your whole day tuesday. with the prolonged wind gusts, we're likely going to have those power out ge as. tom, as you mentioned, that blizzard warning to the west in garrett county. a lot of elevations, 2,500 feet. a year ago people had snow, and there were widespread power outages from a storm that turned into a nor'easter all the way into new england. this is like deja vu for the folks out west in garrett county. we'll send it back to you, tom. >> thanks so much, kim. we're back with frequent updates. now let's check on traffic. danella has the very latest how this is impacting travel. here's what's going on now. i do have good news on the road. the earlier accident eastbound i-70 at 12th street, that's clear. let's talk about volume. it's very light.

good to see people staying off the road. a live look as you would travel new york avenue at florida. normally, we would see more cars. absolutely clear. in the district, not seeing any accidents for you. pretty light volume as well at the american legion bridge. no issues as you loop around to the wilson bridge, you're accident free. over in virginia, very light volume. aaron and eun, back over to you. want to check on the other top stories this morning. a woman facing charges accused of falsely reporting her car was stolen with her three young children inside. that triggered an amber alert. overnight prince george's county police cancelled the amber alert for the children. they believe the woman told the police the children were in the car so she could get a faster police response. police found the car in southeast d.c. the woman called the police from a gas station in seat pleasant. the car was stolen down the street on central avenue. police say the woman will be charged with making a false police report. the west coast is rocking this morning.

that has nothing to do with the storm. the san francisco giants are champions again. they completed a sweep of the detroit lions. they were down by two runs in the sixth inning but came back to force a tenth inning. they finished the season with seven straight wins to earn the title. >> and thousands of giants fans poured into the streets of san francisco to celebrate. this was that celebration overnight in the city's mission district where actually somebody lit a bonfire in the middle of the street. generally, not a good idea. police say other than that there were no major problems or arrests because of this pretty significant win for the giants. 4:26 is our time. a reminder, we're scrolling a list of closings for tonight and tomorrow on the bottom of your screen. we'll run down the major closings just ahead. and a decision to shut down one of the region's most important life lines.