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tv   News4 Today  NBC  December 8, 2013 10:00am-10:31am EST

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the winter storm we've been watching all week is now here in the d.c. area. snow obviously on the ground, falling down. that's about to change. we could be dealing with some potentially dangerous ice in the area. >> we are getting word of closures and delays right now. they are going to be running at the bottom of the screen as soon as we get that going. we've got the complete list on our website, nbcwashington.com. you see the list there scrolling at the bottom of your screen. we'll be tracking all the snow as well as conditions on the roads and in the skies. >> welcome back to news 4 today. i'm angie goff. >> and i'm richard jordan. meteorologist chuck bell is
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tracking the storm and begins our team coverage. good morning, chuck. >> veronica johnson and i in storm team center 4, tracking our first taste of winter weather since last maven. >> we want to tell you to stay off the roads unless you have to be on them. >> right. >> reports are coming in already just monitoring social media where snow has started and it's stopped and is starting up again. different story, though, out west, chuck, where it's been ongoing. >> a whole lot more of snow for our friends in northern maryland near interstate 81. current advisories and warnings. all of northern maryland, panhandle of west virginia and northern west virginia as well. a big change in weather depending on a small change in temperature. temperatures at or just above freezing in southern maryland. mid 20s in place across northern maryland and martinsburg, west virginia. if you look out your backyard
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thermometer and see a temperature in the 20s, you should expect two to three inches of snow or more. if you're 30 degrees or higher, it will be that mix we're fighting all day. we are snow to start pretty much everywhere. bigger problems the further north you live or travel. we're watching out for what could be an icy, slippery mess on monday morning. the biggest risk for icy travel monday morning, 270, all the way from the capital beltway up toward frederick, maryland. veronica johnson showing some of the latest reports on twitter. >> that's right. we start, too, with a look at the radar. we'll come back and show you some of the pictures, photos that you folks have been taking and sending in to us. take a look at the radar right now. down in the south we see ta pink, that's a mixture of snow and sleet right now. so much of the area we're seeing it covered in white on storm team 4 radar. valerie says they've got two inches along i-81 where some of
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the worst conditions will be later tonight and tomorrow morning. garrick boyd, falls church, reporting snow. one more stop for you. heading to the south showing where that snow continues to make its way eastward toward areas like mechanicsville. you've had a mixture, you'll switch over to all snow. chuck? >> absolutely right. the way it will be for the remainder of the day, temperatures inching their way barely above the freezing mark. another check of the forecast in a few minutes is there thanks, chuck. snow flakes are falling across the area as the winter storm we've been watching has finally arrived. derrick ward continues our coverage now. he is in manassas. what r you seeing there? >> reporter: you know, you talked about people saying that the snow is coming down, stopping and coming down again. sort of in one of those patterns here. you can see a few minutes ago it was pretty fluffy flakes. hard to say when your lips are cold. little bit different now. it's still that dry snow. look at the roadway, the road surfaces.
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again these surfaces have been treated. if you see there on that median strip, that is an untreated surface. see the difference of what you get treated surface versus untreated surface. we imagine this spreader truck will come back again and it is time for them to get out and start treating these roadways as they are wet so you have essentially like a rain event roadwise. with those temperatures dropping like they are, and hovering around the freezing mark, it wouldn't take much for that to freeze and become much more treacherous. right now, safe passage. we do see a lot of people out, trying to get things done before it gets bad. again, what we're really worried about is not so much the snow as it will be the ice and sleet and freezing rain that is expected later on that can cause not only problems on the roadways but overhead with power lines. live in manassas, derrick ward, news 4. >> thanks, derrick. in maryland, state highway workers are pretreating some of
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the major roads, 270, beltway and route 29. doing this for more than 28 hours now in the district, crews were dispatched about 8:00 this morning ahead of the storm's arrival. ddot storm team says more than 200 plows are ready to go. they'll make sure to keep the roads clear. >> derrick touched on this a little bit. we found people stocking up on shovels, rock salt and other supplies to prepare for the storm. we saw steady flow of traffic around the new walmart, georgia avenue, northwest d.c. we also found shoppers more interested in getting their christmas party stuff instead of preparing for the actually get big christmas party right now. haven't considered the snow. all this shopping may serve double duty for the christmas party and for the big snow storm. >> people buying shovels and salt and anything that's going to help them clear their sidewalks, if we get the icy weather that they're proposing
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we get. >> the old town hardware store in alexandria says people are also buying christmas lights. transportation leaders are encouraging people to stay home and avoid any dangerous conditions. >> power companies in our area also preparing for the storm's aftermath. many in virginia says the crews are ready to respond to power outages. to report an outage call 866-366-4357. pepco is preparing for the worst. can you report an issue with them 877-737-2662. power knocked out by the same storm system, more than 200,000 outages are reported in texas, oklahoma, arkansas, indiana and missouri. utility trucks from houston are heading to dallas to help get the lights back on there and utility company say it could take a week to repair all the
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damage. all the weather alerts now. search nbc washington weather to find that. we want to go back to veronica johnson who has new photo that is have just come in. vj? >> you've been sending them in of the snow coming down. it started theb then stopped and then started again in some areas with the exception of spots off to our west. let's show those photos now from around our area. about two inches or so as accumulated around i-81. that husky in the distance there, very cool. it's looking a lot like christmas, right? snow is covering the trees and unfortunately it's covering the roads as well. when we turn over to sleet, look at that, two inches there, areas mainly in western virginia right now. live around i-81, 66, 70, 270 or if you have travels that will take you in that direction late tonight and early tomorrow morning, you'll want to know that it's in those locations where roads could become very
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dangerous. let's take it back here, back to the "weather center" here and talk about how you can send in your photos, vjohnsonnbc4 or @chuckbell4. download our storm team 4 weather app. go to google play or itunes store. icy conditions, guys, for tonight. keep sending your photos and stay off the roads. >> vj, thanks so much. life and legacy of nelson mandela. "meet the press" moderator, david gregory, talks about mandela's impact. more of this snowy weather. you saw the pictures coming in. chuck and veronica are fine tuning the forecast and getting the latest as the models come in. >> we are on facebook, on twitter
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>> live pictures this morning from johannesburg. the 94-year-old died thursday and will be buried one week from today. >> "meet the press" moderator david gregory is hosting this morning's show from new york city. he is joining us live now. good morning, david. >> good morning, angie. >> traveling to south africa to pay their respects to mandela, four u.s. presidents. how significant is their presence? >> it's a huge symbol of what he meant to america and the impact that he had not just on america but the rest of the world. it's been written about overnight and it's significant to say that unlike dr. martin
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luther king jr. or gandhi, mandela was able to live long enough. he wasn't killed. he was able to see the fruits of that struggle to reach the presidency in south africa and truly a descendent figure because of his personal virtue and our presidents paying tribute to him only magnifies that. >> and over the past few days we've heard so much about his extraordinary story and the life that he led. there really isn't another figure like mandela now to compare him to, right, david? >> no, there isn't. the arc of his life and international acclaim that he received, the era in which he lived. we live in an information age where all of one's shortcomings would be excessed more than perhaps his were, but the his
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cunning as well throughout the struggle is inspiring. he inspired a generation of politicians like barack obama for whom the apartheid fight, the fight to end apartheid was their civil rights struggle that they were able to emotionally connect to. >> remembering mandela, you'll be talking about that on "meet the press" coming up at 10:30 here on nbc 4. thank you so much, david. >> all right, guys. good to see you. >> we continue to stay on top of our wintry weather that has made its with an he he to our area. >> let's check in with chuck. >> vj and i are in the storm center, keeping track of every flake as it comes down across the area. a lot more flakes coming up this morning into today. we're all worried about the we're all worried about the chanceuse chase freedom atselecs
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live pictures now outside the u.s. capital. you can really make out those big fat snowflakes coming down there. pretty impressive. >> we want to take you over to the white house. seeing a lot of white around here as well, steady flow of snowflakes making their way down. pretty picture. it feels like the holidays. hearing from our viewer in verge yain that vdot has their snow
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plow tracking map. we'll tweet out a link to that where you can see the snow plows and crews working and the most treacherous roads they're treating throughout the morning. >> another hit of winter weather is set to hit the west coast meanwhile, northern california seeing record lows. so far, four people have died from hypothermia. people have lost power and many of them are waiting for it to come back on. california's citrus crop was crushed. lettuce and avocado crops are next to be in danger. >> most people are staying indoors, one indiana woman is making the best of it. check her out, skating on a street that's turned into an ice rink of sorts. made it safe to glide across the
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ice. some people think tas fun to jump into ice cold water. that's the case here for people in mountaina. they couldn't resist the urge. was that really necessary to do the second dip? okay. the annual polar plunge benefits the special olympics and happened yesterday. sub zero temperatures did not matter for dozens of people who jumped into lake elmo. organizers say they raised nearly $18,000. i've never been to montana, but i hear it's cold. >> yes. >> and i'm pretty sure you wouldn't jump in water when you're there. >> maybe for a good cause. >> the camera behind us says union station. it's building up. >> metro area and temperatures below freezing now. what we're getting will stick at least the next couple of hours.
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gradually changing over to a mix of freezing rain. this is just the beginning of what could be a rather dangerous day to be outside. be really careful. we hate to keep beating the old drum. if you don't have to be out, stay home and enjoy the snowflakes from the comfort of your lazy boy. outside, winter storm warnings posted here the remainder of today and tonight into your monday morning. not enough snow to cover the soccer fields at arlington just yet. the you can already start to see a milky hue as they continue to play. the wind northeast at 10 miles per hour. that's the wedge of cold air funneled down from pennsylvania, new york, new england. temperatures mid 20s, flirting with the freezing mark even into southern maryland where it will snow the next little bit. not a whole lot of windchill out there. medium to medium high impact for
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today. the veronica and i will be here, updating each sbfr one. we have five different forecast zones and will be up dating that in the next little while. also send in pictures and snow reports on twitter account sincere a great way to be in touch with us so we can be in touch with you. veronica johnson has twitter reports and a check on the radar. >> few areas where there's not much happening right now. with some of the reports we've gotten, spots to our west, like westminster maryland, when it starts well it comes down really good. look at this, roads covered in western maryland. this photo from twitter courtesy of austin burke. remember to stay alert and
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onguard, slowly and carefully. if your rear wheels go to the left turn your steering wheel to the left and vice versa. remember to stay safe. we have snow moving through the area. some areas like clinton maryland, just a few flurries. where it's been coming down pretty good now, spots to our west and north and west. mark c. talking about it snowing harder now in leesburg, verge yain, getting ready to pick up an inch or two there. and justin burke again sending in that photo where the roads have gotten really bad in maryland. same for i-81. to the south, a little bit of mix and snow and sleet, even some freezing rain coming to this area a little later. chuck? >> how much snow is the million dollar question, very little,
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tenth quarter of an inch on average, our computer model also forecasting two to four inches up to the north. northern maryland out to i-81 corridor. maybe a few favorite spots, maybe more than that. snow for now, change over to pink persists. sundown tonight. early monday morning another chance for moisture coming in, maybe just ahead of the change over to the above-freezing mark. as a result could have iciness around first thing thursday morning. very close eye on that. all rain. by lunch tomorrow that will eat up most if not all the snow from today. there's another little chance for snow coming in on tuesday. looks like a rain/snow mix. we'll watch it. it doesn't look like it will be a panic button event just yet. >> thanks, chuck. another live view outside at the roads, already being treated
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out there. you want to be careful if you are heading out. our coverage is just not on the air. we're also online, closings running at the bottom of our screen. nbcwashington.com. keep it there as new information rolls in about delays and closings. cl[ male announcer ] some things are simply better at home.
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you've seen the forecast. this system will stick around through tomorrow and nbc 4 will
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be here. as you get an early start to work, so will we. erin and tom will be here, giving you the latest closings and delays starting at 4:00 in the morning. our web team will be here, updating that information on nbcwashington.com and all the social media platforms. >> the winter storm is forcing metro to cancel scheduled track work today. the agency says trains will run on their normal sunday schedule on all five lines. metro says the move allows crews to respond to winter weather conditions and they will also get ready for tomorrow's morning commute. the agency says you can sign up for free metro alerts and text messages on its website, wmata.com. >> today's winter weather could make for a very interesting redskins game, burgundy and gold set to take on the kansas city chiefs a few hours from now. if you're braving that cold air to tailgate, remember, you cannot take umbrellas into fedex
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field. chuck is here to tell us what you should probably bring, a heavy jacket, right? >> anything you can do to stay warm and dry. 395 at etzel road there, there are indeed some white patches in the grass there. total snow accumulations today, probably in the one to two inch reign range around town, more than that up to the north and west. travel problems will tina on into your monday morning. so, freezing rain likely around here later this afternoon and tonight changing over to all rain tomorrow and ending with a little snow on tuesday. >> thanks, chuck. don't forget to get storm team 4 weather app. >> that's right. "meet the press" is coming up. ne this sunday, nelson
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madikizela-mandelman dedela. a special person whose world course changed world events. >> he was a president that embodied that human beings and countries can change for the better. >> his enduring power is that he showed us there is true freedom in forgiveness. >> we'll look at mandela's life,

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