rehoboth beach, delaware, for us, keeping an eye on conditions as they are deteriorating. good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. things are rapidly taken a turn downhill sin we first arrived on friday. the winds are at 45 miles per hour in rehoboth. they're at 40 in ocean city. the rain is starting to come down. the water has picked up significantly out in the ocean. we're three to four feet above normal. again, this is just a taste of what we will be experiencing here along the coast. we spoke with many residents here in rehoboth that said they are not taking the chance. a lot of people told us the only thing they have to compare it to is the ash wednesday storm of '62 for those here along the coastal region, a they will not take those same chances as that storm of '62 because meteorologists have said this is going to be significantly larger. some of the new models showing

this is now a system that's about 900 miles across. it is something that is really going to be epic. governor jack marckel saying that people should not take any chances. seven shelters are set up in the ate of delaware, three in rehoboth, and two of them are taking pets. >> if you're going to a shelter, you need to realize you're getting space on the floor. you need a sleeping bag, pillow, books. there is limited food here. you'll get fed. there's not a lot of comforts of home. >> reporter: and high tide moves in at 7:55 this morning. take a look at the waves, folks. this is just the beginning of what sandy will look like on the east coast. schools are cancelled, and rehoboth regional school

districts will bring you much more. live coverage from rehoboth beach. i'm erica gonzalez for "news 4 today." back to you guys in the studio. >> let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein, who is checking the track of the storm and when it's going to arrive in our area. right now where erica was, they've had wind gusts of 40 to 45 miles an hour and bands of rain coming in. this is sandy. it is beginning to turn north and later today will take a sharp left and turn inland. it is going to take that westerly turn in the afternoon hours, maintain a category 1 strength until right before landfall. the latest track for sandy and the landfall times does look like it's coming ashore. they've narrowed this. this just came in. this is the very latest track from central new jersey down to ocean city. we are still going to see perhaps the landfall of the center of circulation moving inland.

it will move inland as a tropical flow, but still very heavy with a lot of wind. the big story is the rain. we're getting moderate to heavy rain in these areas of orange and yellow red, across the bay. here comes the heaviest rain so far from sandy. it is just now reaching the west side of the bay. from annapolis all the way down to point lookout, they are getting the very, very heavy rain, and it's continuing to track off to the west. right now right around the beltway, we're getting moderate rain in much of prince george's county and southern maryland, getting moderate to heavy rain coming our way. meanwhile, blizzard warnings out of the mountains. 6 to 12 inches of snow coming from this system. in addition, a lot of rain for most of us. for the district and maryland, five to ten inches. under a heavy rain morning this

evening into tuesday. the wind will get stronger too. we'll stay in the 50s throughout the day. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. danella here with another look at traffic. >> good morning. the traffic office watching a disabled tractor-trailer as you head eastbound on 66 at 28. it's now gone. travel lanes are open. that's good news. light volume on 66 outside the beltway. inside the beltway, accident free. a live look as you make your way in the lorton area. you can see the rain is coming down. slick road conditions. please, if you absolutely have to leave the house, use caution. over right now as you track here, light volume. we are keeping track of power outage totals for you as well. pepco reporting more than 2,900 customers in the dark.

dominion virginia power says 69 customers in our area have no power. and bge says 94 of its customers in prince george's county have no electricity. we'll continue to monitor that situation and bring you more information as it comes in. right now thousands of power crews from across the country are in your area to restore power. >> but those crews may not be able to do any work until sandy has actually left the area. tony tull live in montgomery county fairgrounds in good fa h gaithersburg. >> reporter: some of the crews from alabama and arkansas won't be able to start until sandy passes. they have the booms on the trucks and those buckets, and they cannot put those up with high winds. you heard tom and kim talking about high winds all morning long. these guys, it's unsafe to get up there and use the equipment until sandy passes. that's a good point you brought up a few seconds ago.

pepco put out the mutual assistance call. take a look. hundreds of trucks here at the montgomery county fairgrounds from north carolina power, arkansas power, as well as alabama power. they even sent three of the mobile command centers here. they have trailers with satellite dishes on them. as you can see, a diesel tractor. these crews can go out there and start doing repairs. a lot of them at gaithersburg and local hotels. they can work in a somewhat safe environment, get up in the many boos and the buckets. i just heard that pepco is already reporting outoutages. it will be interesting to see if the guys come out this morning and see what the plan is. that's the latest. i'm tony tull. back to you. dominion virginia is also ready for sandy.

it has trucks pabllincked and r to be sent out from its office. they have about 2,000 outside crew members ready to help restore power as soon as sandy leaves town. wards 3 through 8 each have their own designated relief center, and for specific locations in your ward, you can log on to nbcwashington.com and search relief centers. you should do that now rather than wait until you lose power. the american red cross also providing snacks and water for those seeking safe conditions during the storm. prince george's county is trying to keep its administration building dry during sandy's heavy rains. crews put up a barrier of flood sacks. hydrobarriers have also been put up to keep out water. heavy rains from tropical storm lee flooded the building last september, causing $14 million in damage. they don't want to see any kind of repeat anywhere in that area and other high flooding areas in this community as well.

>> got to be ready for sure. coming up on eight minutes after 5:00. still ahead on "news 4 today," the storm hasn't even made landfall, but it's already causing problems for travelers. and one of the biggest ways to get around town is shut down for the first time in almost a decade. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars

by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

welcome back. ten minutes after the hour now. you're looking at live pictures from ocean city, maryland, as the surf is starting to batter the beach there. it looks like off in the distance a lot of these coastal towns have been evacuated. mond t mandatory orders in delaware, new jersey, as well as connecticut in this hour because of what is starting to happen in the image you just saw there. >> and what we're seeing on the eastern seaboard communities could be affecting us as well. let's check in with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein to see what we're going to get in this region. tom, good morning. >> good morning. the coast has been battered with wind and rain since yesterday afternoon, and it continues. the center of circulation is still well off the coast. sandy is now beginning to take a turn to the north. and then later today it's going to take a turn and come inland. now here is the very latest updated track just minutes ago

showing that thankfully we're getting a much better idea of where it's coming ashore. it looks like anywhere in this zone from central new jersey down to just south of ocean city. the zone of potential landfall has really narrowed a lot. it's likely going to be coming anywhere from central new jersey down to near ocean city. the storm is so big it's going to be affecting a huge area either side of that. as it comes inland. it's going to have winds gusting to around 70 to 75 miles an hour. rainfall likely after sup sense. the heaviest rains to cross the bay and come into the metro area. we're only going to go downhill with more rain and heavier rains by late morning, and heavy downpours with those first gusts of the very strong winds coming in by 6:00 p.m. by then, gusts to near 70 miles an hour. that's where we're likely to see the power outoutages. back with a look at watches and warnings.

danella, good morning. >> checking first 4 traffic. if you're traveling the beltway, outer loop between georgia avenue and connecticut avenue, have an accident at least blocking one of your lanes. i'm checking cameras, and i cannot see the accident on camera. just going to show you a live look, what it looks like approaching the accident as it approaches colesville road. not a lot of volume on the roadway, very slick commute. checking things out from reston all the way to the beltway in both directions. nice and clear as you connect from the beltway in virginia, no accidents there. along i-95 and 66 as well, accident free. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. 5:13. 53 degrees. crews covering this storm in the metro region and up and down the coast. we'll be checking with them throughout the morning. anncr: seven-hundred-thousand jobs.

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what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. welcome back at 5:16. we're taking a live look outside at germantown, maryland. this is i-270 at father hurley boulevard in germantown where the roads are wet. the rain is starting to come

down. schools in the area are closed. danella sealock will have the latest traffic throughout the morning. >> stay in place and be prepared. people in d.c. breaking out sandbags and boarding up their windows. >> especially especially sections that are prone toed fl flooding. megan mcgrath live in the bloomingdale neighborhood with more on that. >> reporter: the bloomingdale neighborhood has had a terrible time in recent months. they have flooded with normal garden variety storms. you can imagine the level of anxiety with sandy heading our way. this is the windows cafe. you can see they brought out the patio furniture. they have sandbags in front of that doorway. here is rhode island avenue. we're actually seeing traffic lighter than usual. perhaps not too surprising. the d.c. government is closed. federal government is closed. also, the school system closed hered too. should also mention that metro

is closed. that's going to have a big impact on a lot of people here today. we were out and about early this morning. we saw one of the last metro buses completing its rounds, heading back to the depot this morning. that's where the bus and others will stay until this storm is over. no metro bus service or rail service either. we caught up with a man going to reagan national this morning, needed to take metro to get there in order to catch his flight to do that because of the closure. he actually had to leave last night for a flight that doesn't leave until this morning. >> found out that the metro was going to be down all of monday. i said, you know what, i've got to go back to the airport. i came back, i guess, around 10:00. i've been here since 10:00. >> reporter: right now we are seeing light rain in the area. we are expecting heavy, heavy rainfall in the coming hours. it's going to last a long time. this is a slow moving storm. we are expecting major impacts

here in the bloomingdale neighborhood and the entire region. folks here, they have been through this so many times before with just regular storms that they are very, very anxious about what's ahead for them. reporting live in northwest, megan mcgrath, news 4. back to you in the studio. if you rely on metro to get around town, you're probably not going anywhere for the next few days. metro shut down all rail and bus service today. a spokesperson for the transit system says metro will be closed at least for part of tomorrow as well. the last time metro had such an extensive shutdown was in 2003 during hurricane isabelle. >> i would urge customers to heed the public warnings and avoid traveling entirely. the best and safest place to be during this storm is at home or with a loved one but wherever you can shelter in place for a period of time until the storm passes through and it's safe for you to come out again. >> a lot of city bus companies also shut down service. if you do have to get out for

last minute supplies, the good news for d.c. is street sweeping and parking restrictions are lifted today. people trying to travel by train may have to switch their plans l sw. amtrak has cancelled all of its service on the entire eastern seaboard. no trains coming to or leaving from d.c. amtrak says it will have an update later this evening. plenty of people in one alexandria community aren't taking any chances. in huntington, dozens of people lined up to get sandbags. that area has become all too familiar with flooding. a lot of people had generators in place and even basement windows boarded up. meanwhile, first responders there are gearing up as well. they'll find out where they're going later on this morning. i imagine they're going to be very busy later today and tomorrow. >> as is the case with storm team 4. the whole lot of meteorologists

around here tracking sandy's storms and trying to predict and forecast exactly what we should expect here now, through the afternoon and evening and on into the middle part of the week. >> let's check in with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein now to see what sandy is doing. tom, good morning. >> good morning. sandy still a very huge hurricane, and the winds are still at hurricane strength. the last several hours it has begun to take a turn to the north. it still looks like it's going to take a sharp left and come inland somewhere along our atlantic seaboard. already swinging in a lot of rain coming our way. here is the latest track. this track just updated a little while ago, showing sandy's impact zone coming ashore near ocean city. the storm is going to affect

conditions through new england all the way to virginia. winds coming in at 60 to 65 miles an hour tomorrow morning. it will diminish, the winds. right now the very heaviest rains are on the eastern shore and right over the bay. these areas in yellow and orange, torrents, tropical downpours and winds. this first band is about to hit the western shores of the bay. in st. mary's county, southern calvert, very heavy downpours, high water likely in addition to the high tide today. that is going to really cause coastal flooding problems. farther west, right around washington, the areas in dark green and yellow. that's moderate rain. here's the intensity scale. this area of heavy rain going to be swinging your way as well. coming all the way into the shenandoah valley. parts of west virginia now, they are getting snow. yes, there's going to be

problems there with that big snowstorm happening out of the mountains for us hour by hour throughout the day today. steady rain through the morning hours, picking up in intensity by noontime. that rain is really going to be heavy. those heavy bands of rain off and on through the afternoon, then the winds will kick in. i think we'll have an eight-hour period of wind gusts from 6:00 p.m. today until 2:00 a.m. tuesday, wind gusts to 70 miles an hour will likely cause power outages. in addition, the heavy rains will likely cause flooding into tomorrow morning. we've got a lot of warnings and watches out right now. storm team 4 meteorologist kim martucci joins us. what's this, kim, a blizzard warning? >> can you believe this? this is a blizzard warning that starts at 6:00 tonight,

including garrett county, maryland, goes until 6:00 tuesday. they're probably going to see 6 to 12 inches of snow, especially for elevations above 2,000 feet. for the rest of us not worried about snow, we have to deal with serious rain. five to ten inches at least and higher amounts isolated north and east of town, especially over where they're getting pounded right now. this dark green shaded area near frederick, that's where the monocacy river. we're expecting the monocacy river to flood for sure. this flood warning expected for tomorrow morning at or above flood stage, and we're going to see it crest at 22 feet. this area is going to rise 22 feet between last night's gauge and when it peaks. depending on how much rain we get, it could be more than that. also, the winds are going to be very bad today. we have a high wind warning in effect not just today but into tuesday night as well. tom has been talking about this.

wind gusts could clock in at 70 miles an hour. easily, we'll have winds sustained early this morning between 30 and 35 miles an hour. this afternoon winds will be sustained between 35 and 45 miles an hour with gusts starting to creep in at 50 to 60 mile an hour range. that's going to be a problem with trees and power lines down. needless to say, danella, we don't want you out traveling on the roads with all the impinneding bad weather. >> yes, that is a true statement. luckily in our area, checking cameras, very light volume. people are staying off the roads. let's talk about the earlier accident, outer loop as you make your way from georgia avenue to connecticut avenue, that accident has been cleared. local roads look pretty clear as well. the district traveling between 14th street and "k" street, hardly any drivers on the road. i-95, a live look at the

occoquan. please use caution. let's head over to i-270. just seeing a little more volume as you make your way southbound at clarksburg road. no major delays. northbound and southbound, you're accident free. the rain is coming down. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. we're going to lea anderson with dominion virginia power. >> good morning. >> tell us about the latest numbers and whether or not they're weather related at this point. >> we've got about 70 customers without power right now. i wouldn't say they're all weather related. for example, there was a house fire, and we are asked to deenergize the electricity to that home. there are other things going on outside of weather that's causing some of the outages we're having. throughout our service area from northeast north carolina and up through the eastern region,

we've had about 40,000 customers that have been impacted because of weather, but we've been able to get a handle on those, and crews have been out making repairs quickly. that will likely change as the wind picks up and the rain comes. so it will be harder for our crews to get out and make repairs. we ask customers to be patient and understand that we can't put our crews out if the weather conditions make it dangerous for them to be outdoors. >> so we understand that nothing gets fixed l in the storm is out of the way and the guys can actually get out on the streets and do it safely. help folks understand, as we think they've been without power for days, what you've done to be able to start that work as soon as you can. >> we have secured 2,000 additional individuals that are going to be helping us with storm restoration. we also have our own work force

that's engaged, and actually we're already on 12-hour shifts so we have 24-hour coverage until the storm passes. we've got the resources in place. we have the plan in place. we have all the people that we need to begin restoration once the storm begins to cause power outag outages. and we expect that it will. the other message for the customers is please call us and report the outage. and the number is 1-866-dom-help. >> le-ha anderson with dominion virginia power. 1-866-dom-help is the number to call if you have any power outages. be sure to report them so the power companies know and can repair them as soon as they can. coming up, the arrival of the storm is disrupting the electi election.

a live look at ocean city, maryland, where the wind and waves are picking up as sandy makes its left turn. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome back to "news 4 today" on this monday, october 29th. that left turn is always a bad thing. government, schools, and even transportation systems are all closed this morning as sandy bears down. that includes the federal government. all nonessential personnel are being told to stay home. most major local governments are also closed in maryland, virginia, and in the district. >> it may also be hard to get around. metro, train, and bus service

shut down for the first time since 2003. marc and vre also closed down today. and amtrak service in the northeast corridor, not happening today. >> and students can sleep in this morning as well. all major public school systems in the d.c. and virginia areas are closed along with most private schools. you can find a complete list of school and business closings running at the bottom of your screen and online. >> want to get the latest on sandy and what we can expect today. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> sandy taking the left turn. just beginning to track off north and west and the very latest satellite update. out ahead of that, bands of heavy rain coming ashore from the eastern shore all the way across the bay and now getting close to our metro area. here's the latest track. it does look like sandy's going to be coming ashore just south of ocean city to central new jersey. so the landfall zone now has narrowed a lot. it could come ashore anywhere

near here. does look like it's going to happen between sunset and midnight tonight and move inland as a post tropical low. you see these areas in the dark reds and oranges. these bands of really heavy rain have wind gusts of 40 miles an hour crossing the bay. right now around the metro area getting moderate rain. heavier rains around the bay, going to get closer to us as we get in the afternoon hours. hour by hour throughout the day, bands of heavy rain. temperatures holding steady in the 50s. really heavy rain this afternoon and evening. the big story is going to be the wind. we'll have the flooding earlier than that, but the wind gusts to 70 miles an hour beginning around 6:00 p.m. and continuing until after midnight tonight. occasional gusts that strong. i'll be back in ten minutes. now with your traffic this monday morning, here's danella. >> many ggood morning, and than tom. if you're traveling in maryland, 50 eastbound at route 2, seeing

the report of an accident, possibly in the roadway slowing you down. i'm checking cameras in that area. i can't see it on camera, but i am going to keep watching for volume. i-270 southbound at 109, report of a disabled vehicle here. if you're traveling along i-270, a live look at what you're facing. making your way past 109, no major delays northbound. southbound very wet on the roadway. please use caution if you have to head out of the house. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. >> news 4's angie goff is at the live desk with new information just into the news room. angie, good morning to you. >> good morning, eun. we already have power out ge -- outages to report. pepco reports 2,990 customers without power. bge reporting some customers, but nothing too heavy. we are know these numbers are going to change in the near future.

angie goff, news 4. right now heavy wind and rain battering the coast as sandy moves closer to shore. >> many who live in the coastal communities have been evacuated or moved into shelters. our own erica gonzalez is weathering the storm in rehoboth beach, delaware. she has more on the conditions there. >> reporter: the winds are gusting at 45 miles per hour here in rehoboth beach. the rain is coming down quickly. the water has risen three to four feet above normal. it's very quickly approaching the boardwalk. delaware governor tells us the best thing you could do is not try to ride this storm out in the safety of your own home. with a storm this big nearly 900 miles across, you need to seek shelter. there are seven shelters set up, three alone in rehoboth. two of them accepting pets, if that is a concern for you. some of the folks we met yesterday was the best thing we thought of was to take blankets and medications with them and head to these evacuation

centers. >> you're going to come to a shelter, you have to recognize that you're basically going to get space on the floor. you need to bring a sleeping bag, ai pillow. you need to bring books. there is limited food here. you'll get fed. there's not a lot of comforts of home. >> my place is getting older, and it's not as secure as it used to be. and your health comes first. >> reporter: high tide is expected to come in about 7:55 this morning. in rehoboth beach, erica gonzalez, news 4. president obama says the federal government will help every city and state that is devastated by sandy. >> my message to the governors as well as to the mayors, anything they need, we will be there. we're going to cut through red tape. we're not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules. we want to make sure we are anticipating and leaning forward into making sure we've got the

best response. >> the president issued that rn warning while touring headquarters in the district. he also freed up federal aid to help the city respond to sandy. >> the president says he does not think sandy will affect next week's election. it is, however, affecting early voting today. governor o'malley cancelled early voting today in maryland. it is supposed to run until thursday, but the governor hopes to extend that through friday to make up for today. everyone across the region is bracing for the storm, but a few people are watching with caution as much as people in low lying areas. >> news 4's melissa mollet joins us live from alexandria where the water is expected to rise there. melissa, good morning to you. >> this is one of those low lying areas we always keep an eye on, whether it's a quick

snow melt or heavy rain or a hurricane like this coming through. it's an area that always sees lots of trouble. i can tell you in the past hour, things have changed a little bit. it feels a little bit cooler because things are getting wet out here. the rain seems to be coming down a little harder than it was. and the wind has picked up just a bit. i know it's difficult to see the potomac behind me. the water is a little more choppy than it was. we took a stroll through old town alexandria this morning. take a look at that video. you can see a lot of store fronts have put plastic tarps in front of their windows. waters from getting in. a lot of restaurants have sandbags stacked up. we see that a lot in situations like this. some roads blocked off and shut down because of the water that's expected to rise. we saw one big electronic parking meter kiosk wrapped in plastic to protect that from water. and even a couple of stores, couple of restaurants had signs

that said they were closing last night. sunday night around 9:00. we're not sure when they were going to be reopening. again, we're keeping an eye on things here. high tide expected this morning around 8:31. we'll be out here keeping an eye on things as this water rises. it doesn't typically come over this area where i'm standing this morning. it will come up through those sewers and such and push the water out and then really flood things in this area of old town alexandria. melissa mollet live in old town alexandria. back to you. it is 5:40. we have crews covering this storm not only in the metro region but all along the coast. >> he with want to remind you we're streaming our news anncr: it's said that character is what we do... when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas.

his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later,

all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option

in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein with the first hurricane sandy update. first heavy rains from sandy crossing the bay and getting closer to us. expect a band of very heavy rain to move right into washington here over the next hour or so. that may cause some brief flooding initially then some more likely on the way later today.

hour by hour throughout the day, rain will increase, winds will increase. a latest look at all the warnings and the seven day outlook in ten minutes. back to you. >> thank you, tom. it is now 5:44. sandy's track puts much more of the northeast in direct danger. ike leggett: gaming generated one hundred and eighty... million dollars for maryland schools. question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes...

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nbc 4's danielle lee is braving the elements along the jersey shore. >> she joins us live from cape may, new jersey, the southern part of new jersey. danielle, what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, aaron and eun. right now we are getting hit in a steady downpour here at cape may, new jersey.

i'm on an elevated cement slab, and i'm standing in a puddle l. this puddling we're seeing is just from the rain. the flooding that emergency officials are worried about is behind me. it's not easy to see right now at this hour. we're seeing the sea sprays possibly rise to eight feet. this morning you aren't going to see anyone out. most people followed evacuation orders. most people that didn't, they're hunkered down inside. they're hoping that preparations like these boarded up windows are going to hold because this storm is just getting going. it's going to get much worse later today and into tomorrow. emergency officials said this is the worst case scenario. they're predicting record flooding and power outages that could go up to two weeks. we are already hearing about power outages. we've lost cable here at the hotel as well. we know that we are starting to feel the effects, and people need to be ready to survive those effects for the long haul,

up to two weeks. reporting live in cape may, new jersey, i'm danielle leigh. back to you. >> thank you, danielle. stay safe. and parts of the country already seeing major flooding. check out these photos. a delaware state trooper fell right into the high water and had to abandon the cruiser. route 1 is the main route along the delaware shore. it's now closed for about ten miles between dewey and bethany beaches in rehoboth. you are not allowed to drive. it is illegal to drive. >> the state of delaware, no driving on any road right now. in rhode island creating some high surf there. some daring kite surfers took advantage of the big waves yesterday. the governor has already declared a disaster emergency in rhode island. starting this morning, mandatory evaluations will be issued for some coastal areas. people along the coast aren't just feeling the effects of sandy in their homes. they're making their way outside buildings as well.

wendy rieger reporting live from rehoboth beach, got a visit from inside her hotel room. >> this is what' >> reporter: this is what's happening. we thought it was because of the wind tunnel we created with the doors open here. but now we closed all the doors, and it's like the exorcist in here. and there are two floors above us. so it's not like this is the roof. so there you go. sandy has arrived in the bathroom of our hotel room. now how do we get her out of here? >> hope she gets out soon. that would scare me. >> plastic. try to tape that up if they can. >> oh, my goodness. we want to go to the phone. lucille bell from montgomery county government. if i'm not mistaken, you're going to be opening some shelters as you prepare for the

storm. >> absolutely. we want our residents to know, particularly those on life support or critical needs, that there will be three shelters opening in montgomery county at noon. those shelters in the white oak community recreation center on april lane and silver spring, the activity center at bauer park in gaithersburg, and the community county recreation center, queens guard road, in silver spring. now for pet owners, the only shelter that accepts pets is the white oak community recreation center. >> we understand that montgomery county, we're looking at a live picture, staging area for some of the pepco crews and other utilities coming in to get ready for sandy. how are you working with pepco and other utility crews to make sure they're ready and the residents of montgomery county are ready as well? >> we've been in constant contact with pepco. we have an emergency operations center, and they have a seat at the table here with us. they have been reporting their

progress as far as establishing support crews to come in to provide additional support for them. the ready station is at the montgomery county fairgrounds. everyone has had plenty of warning for this, including the utilities. so additional parts that they will need for repairs have been secur secured, crews, additional support all at the ready. we know the winds haven't started justet. we don't want people to think we're crying wolf about this. we know that something big is just around the corner. we want to make sure that everyone is prepared. the good news is that a lot of people are off the streets early this morning. that's a huge help to have rail systems closed, ride on, federal government schools, county government. we want to make sure people are watching tv, listening to the radio, and logging on to their computers to the emergency websites. all of the counties have their

websites filled with good emergency preparedness information. >> lucille baur with the montgomery county government. thank you for joining us this morning. >> is you're welcome. >> we're going to turn to tom kierein. people are calling this franken storm, 900 miles across. the winds are just above hurricane strength, but it's the extent, the area we're talking about. when i show you where it makes land fall, it doesn't make a difference because it affects weather from virginia to new england. you can see sandy spinning away there. and the last hour or so, it's beginning to take a turn to the northwest. it has begun to take that left hand turn. from here on in, it's going to continue tracking northwest and then maybe take a little sharper left turn right before it comes inland. right now the timing may be a

little bit later. might not be until 10:00 p.m. or so making it inland from the central jersey coast to just south of ocean city. so they are narrowing now this latest track, narrowing the landfall zone. and anywhere, though, in this zone, it doesn't matter too much where the center of circulation kwu comes ashore, a lot of these areas are going to be affected from virginia to new england. right now we're seeing the first heavy rain band from sandy across the bay. they're getting snow in southeastern west virginia and south western virginia. for us right now, the areas of red and orange likely going to cause flooding as it heads into the metro area and points east. just a little light rain there. as we take a look going forward, looks like we'll have the heaviest rains into the afternoon. then the rains will taper off this evening, and we'll get strong winds.

we may get a little snow around dawn tomorrow as we get into the afternoon hours tomorrow and into wednesday, ai lot of the rain will all be gone. how much wind will we get by 8:00 p.m. this evening. 60 to 65 miles an hour. we may have gusts that high all the way to 2:00 a.m. then the gusts will diminish as we get into tuesday afternoon and evening. a lot of the wind is going to be long gone. hour by hour today, expect increasing wind and increasing rain and temperatures in the 50s. and this evening you're going to get the strongest winds. things taper off by wednesday. storm team 4 seven day outlook, sunshine back on thursday and friday and saturday and sunday highs back in the 50s. kim martucci joins me with the latest warnings. we've got a blizzard warning, kim. >> that's right, tom. i guess it could be worst. could you imagine 6 to 12 inches of snow and 60 mile an hour wind gusts. that's what the folks in garrett county will be facing. their blizzard warning starts at

6:00 tonight and goes until tuesday. we have a flood watch for tonight. five to ten inches of rain. your eye is on the monocacy river. it's going to go above flood stage, probably pressing above 22 feet. and this high wind warning into tuesday night. those wind gusts easily later this afternoon 50 to 60. tonight 70 miles an hour, danella. that is going to be a lot to take. hopefully, everybody listened to you and stays off the road. good morning. >> good morning, kim. they're staying already. the heaviest rains aren't in yet, shutting down little river. a live look as you make your way on i-270. travelers still take to the roads. still light volume. the rain really coming down, and as a result, foot conditions, fender bender weather, and accidents. i need you to just exercise caution if you have to head out of the house. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. it is 5:56 right now. and we are, of course, staying

on top of this storm. we've noted for you already that most of the school systems, everything's closed. >> just about. just about. >> that's asked right now. there's no transportation here. new york city subways have shut down. this is a storm that nobody wants to take lightly. >> and our meteorologists have been saying, listen, this storm is making a left turn regardless of where it lands from ocean city to new england. it is still going to have an impact here. there could be damage, power out ge ages, as you can see, all the jurisdictions getting ready. pepco standing by to make the repairs. here's the thing. the crews cannot get out onto the roads until the storm is over. they do not want to risk their crews' lives as they're out in the elements. >> help me out. are we looking at ocean city? already the waves crashing up. the beach is gone. you can't see the beach. the waves crashing into the hotel wall. >> more live coverage of

hurricane sandy coming up at

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