mid-afternoon with a few high clouds beginning to drift in. then tonight, here's some timing on some snow arriving as of midnight. light snow drifting over us between midnight. this is around 3:00 a.m. it may come down briefly. hard enough to give us a coating. that snow quickly exits, leaves the bay around 8:00 tomorrow morning. total amounts maybe a dusting to an inch. the metro area to the south. one to two inches northern and western suburbs. panhandle of west virginia. maybe more up toward the pennsylvania border. now let's check on our traffic conditions early. probably not much out there, right? >> that's right. light volume in the area. not tracking any accidents as folks travel in charles county, waking up here. good morning to you. these local roads, they are open. traveling on 301, no accidents, no delays. 210 also checks out. 301 connecting to 5, taking branch avenue to the beltway, it is nice and clear. in fact, making the trip on the beltway as you travel prince george's county heading toward

the wilson bridge, those travel lanes are open in both directions. and as you loop around to the beltway in virginia, this is at braddock. again, inner loop and outer loop absolutely clear. i'm back in ten minutes. back to you. >> see you then. thank you. coming up on 4:32. molette green's at the live desk with breaking news. yes, right now international flights bound for geneva, switzerland, including one out of dulles are returning to normal now after a hijacking scare. this morning the co-pilot of an ethiopian airlines plane is in custody after reportedly forcing that flight bound for rome to land in geneva. here's what we're learning. the co-pilot took control of the flight when the pilot stepped out of the cockpit and locked himself inside. all of this apparently because the ethiopian-born man wanted to seek asylum. the plane landed safely, the hijacker tried to get out by going out of a window. he was arrested. nobody on the plane was hurt. all of the drama in the

forced two united airlines flights to be diverted. the one out of dulles had to land in zurich. that's the latest from the live desk. i'm molette green. back to you. >> 4:32 the time. today will be an emotional day for the family and friends of a virginia police reservist killed earlier this month. kevin quick will be laid to rest today near charlottesville. his funeral will be private, but there will be a public memorial beforehand at the university of virginia. quick vanished a little more than two weeks ago. police found his body a few days later. they've arrested six people in connection with his death. they have not charged anyone with murder. this morning, american airlines is trying to determine what caused a tow car to hit and damage a plane at bwi marshall airport. take a look at this picture. the accident happened yesterday afternoon as passengers boarded a flight from dallas. the tow driver was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released. the passengers had to get off the plane and were rebooked on another fight. we checked with anne arundel fire officials and the carbon

monoxide look at the bwi westin hotel is under control. investigators think the leak came from inside the laundry room. nine people taken to the hospital after getting sick. hundreds of hotel guests were evacuated and forced to find somewhere else to stay. >> from illinois, i'm here for the weekend, just came back from church. couldn't get into the hotel. we're trying to figure out where do we go. >> fir officials say eight of the nine people hospitalized were hotel staff. all are expected to be okay. no word on when that hotel will reopen. and we're working to find out what caused a house to go up in flames in bethesda. look at this video. it started about 7:30 last night on irvington avenue at huntington parkway. flames, as you see, shooting from the attic when crews arrived. firefighters worked late into the night mopping up hot spots. no one was home at the time. later today colorado authorities will release the names of people killed in a deadly avalanche. at least two skiers were killed in the event, three others hurt. the avalanche happened on star mountain outside denver over the weekend.

ergency crews believe a group of skiers triggered the avalanche when they hit the slopes after they were warned that two weeks of heavy snow created dangerous conditions. new this morning, secretary of state john kerry accusing syrian president bashar assad of holding up peace talks to end his country's civil war. kerry says assad is "trying to win this on the battlefield instead of coming to the negotiating table in good faith." peace talks between syria's government and opposition leaders just ended with no progress toward peace. syria's foreign minister blamed the u.s. for creating what he calls a "negative climate for dialogue." 4:35 the time now. the last full week of olympic competition in sochi is starting off with more weather woes. looking live at olympic park this morning. you see that it is hazy over the black sea. that extends to the mountains where they are dealing with fog. this caused qualifying for the men's snowboard cross competition to be canceled and the start of the men's 15-kilometer biathlon postponed,

as well. the two events top a busy day in action with more chances to make history for team usa. meryl davis and charlie white have a good chance of bringing home the first gold in ice dancing in american history. they lead going into today's free program. the u.s. could also break a more than 60-year medal drought in the two-man bobsled. right now team usa sits in third place going into the final two runs. and women's ice hockey takes the ice again today, looking to earn a spot in the gold medal game. they play sweden. good luck. and here's a moment a lot of you are talking about this morning on line. last night bode miller became the oldest person to win a medal in an alpine event at the olympics. he's 36. he tied for bronze in the super g. great run here. it led to an emotional reaction from miller who says he was thinking about his brother who recently passed away. in an interview with miller -- an interview that miller did with nbc, afterwards, is also getting strong reaction this morning. news4's angie gf will have more

coming up at about 5:45. we have stories line and on our news app. there's the olympics tab. we will push alerts about any results. download it from the app store or google play. on this president's day, there's plenty to see and do in the day ahead. coming up, where you might find -- where you might want to take advantage of some free events and why some of us may have places to be today. from bad to worse. right now more of the county or the country, rather, is digging out from heavy snow. how this year's harsh weather could affect millions of people for the rest of the year. and there's no miss taking, it is a cold winter morning here in washington. more snowflakes on the way.

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you may want to avoid driving through old town alexandria todayment several streets will be closed for a president's day parade. the parade starts at 1:00 and should end by 3:00. organizers say it will be the largest parade in the county celebrating george washington's birthday. in honor of president's day and george washington's birthday, mt. vernon is waiving fees at a series of events. characters will share stories about his life as the first tribute to be followed by a tribute by the old fife and drum corps, wrapping one a wreath lating at washington's -- wreath laying at washington's tomb. in honor of president's day, the national parks service made it a fee-free weekend across the country. there are 14 national parks in virgin and maryland. we have a complete list at nbcwashington.com. not everyone will enjoy a day off today. some schools are using today's holiday to make up for some of

those snow days. charles and st. mary's counties in maryland and fairfax and frederick counties and fredericksburg schools in virginia will have class today instead of taking this president's day off. most districts are trying to avoid extending the school year with extra days. some districts are even thinking about adding time to the end of the schoolday or cceling recess. i don't know. that's tough -- canceling recess. kids are going to be upset about that. >> 30 minutes? >> kids need the exercise to burn off all that energy. >> do you gain anything by canceling 30 minutes? i ll tt l you what, folks are hoping not to have to deal with slick spots that may be lingering from last week's snow. 4:41 the time. weather & traffic on the 1s. tom? good morning. starting off this morning on this president's day, we're starting off cold. the snow is still in place. really piled up along the road sides. watch out for that. otherwise, most of the pavement is dry. everything has been plowed,

remaining dry. that's a live view from the sky watcher camera. 30 degrees at reagan national under a clear sky. light northwesterly breeze. we should be in mid 20s by 8:00. by noon, back up to around 30 with bright sun. and we'll have a lighter wind during the afternoon. lots of sunshine into the mid 30s by mid-afternoon. layer up this morning as you're heading out the door. down below freezing. in fact, only in the teens to near 20s locally. i'll show when the snow will begin, when i think it will end, and how much i think we'll get, next weather & traffic on the 1s at 4:51. now let's check on our roadways and conditions this morning with danella. good morning. still clear, tom, around the beltway. not tracking accidents. we'll head to fredericksburg, virginia, a lot of you getting up early. so far, if you're using i-95, i'm not seeing delays. in fact, also not seeing accidents. let's take a live look for folks traveling at 234. dumfries road in both directions, northbound and southbound, travel lanes are open. also nice and clear, 395.

the commute between the beltway and the 14th street bridge. here's duke street. very light volume. no accidents to report. and in ten minutes going up to i-270, i'll see you back at 4:51. back to you both. >> looking forward to. it thank you. a shocking confession years in the making. coming up, how a woman admitted to killing more than 20 people in a case that you won't believe. first, it is the biggest olympics ever when it comes down to social media. the way it's being talked about depends on where you are.

15 before the hour. police need help identifying a man who may be connected to four armed robberies in northern virginia. the loudoun county sheriff's office released this sketch of a man who robbed a woman at gunpoint. deputies say the man robbed two women over the last week at the remington apartments in the sterling area.

in one case, he told a woman to give him her wallet and jacket. in the other case, the man grabbed the woman's wallet. all this has neighbors on high alert. >> families with small children. to hear something like that, it's very, very surprising, especially my wife, you know, is usually walking to work. we're going to have to make sure we're on our guard. >> police believe the same man is connected to two other robberies targeting women in december. just a few miles away. if you recognize the man in this sketch, call the loudoun county sheriff's office. and this morning, a 15-year-old faces several charges after police say the teen took them on a high speed chase in a stolen van. this happened on i-95 in two counties in virginia. state police say that chase ended when the driver rammed two squad cars near fredericksburg. crews rushed the teen to the hospital after the van flipped. the chase started with hospital of a hit-and-run near the caroline/spotsylvania county line. 4:46. a pennsylvania woman accused of

murdering a man she met through craigslist says she would kill again if highway is had the chance. 19-year-old miranda barbour confessed in a jailhouse interview to killing a man who answered her craigslist ad for sex in november. she claims she told the victim she was 16. when he said it was okay, she stabbed him. barbour also told "the daily item" that she and her husband have killed 22 people from alaska to north carolina as part of a satanic cult. ray rice's lawyer says an argument between the baltimore ravens' running back and his fiancee was "little more than a misunderstanding." police in atlantic city, new jersey, arrested rice and his fiancee, jenae palmer, over the weekend. an argument at a casino turned physical. police charged the two with assault. president obama is publicly praising the university of missouri football player who recently announced he's gay. the president made the comments during an interview with former nba star charles barkley during last night's all-star game.

he said michael s.a.amm is courageous for coming out before the draft. he compared coming out in sports to the fight for african-americans. >> you think about what jackie robinson ended up meaning not just to baseball but to the entire society. i wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for him. i think america is stronger where everybody is being treatied with respect and dignity. >> during the interview, the president also encouraged young people to sign up for health care coverage. current lieutenant governor anthony brown, the lieutenant governor of maryland, may be the man to beat in the race for governor. 35% of democrats likely to vote say they support brown. 14% support attorney general dug gansler. 10% support state delegate heather mizeur. 40% of democrats are still undecided. larry hogan is the front-runner in the race for the republican nomination, but not bay much. in fact, 68% of likely gop voter say they are still undecided.

it is now 4:48. this brutal winter is proving to be costly for many states. they're being forced to spend millions of dollars to repair burst pipes, downed power lines, and other damage caused by several winter storms. north carolina's governor says he'll spend whatever it takes to protect his citizens and worry about his state's storm budget when winter ends. the west coast is dealing with a drought right now. we aren't the only country or county, rather, dealing with extreme weather. japan has been blanketed by record snowfall. parts of england have been plagued by record flooding. secretary of state john kerry says climate change may be to blame. he is comparing it to a weapon of mass destruction. we'll have more on that debate in the next hour. more buzz around the winter games this morning. a live look at the olympic flame as another day of competition is underway in sochi. these winter games are generating a lot of competition but also a lot of buzz in social media. news4's angie goff with a look at how much the buzz are

creating. >> hi, aaron. we now have our first snapshot of how much the world is talking about these winter olympics. take a look at this data map from facebook. it shows the most popular sports for each country since the games started a week ago. as you can see, the usa there covered in light blue. and that shows that we clearly are all about figure skating and ice skating. that is in line with what we are seeing with our viewers who on line seem most excited about the ice dancing competition featuring star skaters meryl davis and charlie white. take a look at this map. this is of europe. this shows biathlon is by far the most buzzed about sport that way. in the first week, facebook says more than 24 million people have discussed the olympics. more than 48 million likes and posts, as well. and the stats also showing that two american snowboarders, sean white, that flying tomato, and jamie anderson, are among the five most popular athletes on line. aaron? >> thank you. and a familiar face will be

back in primetime tonight. bob costas reclaims his seat in sochi covering the olympics. costas was benched due to a serious eye infection last week. he went through an intense medical rehab to heal apparently. now he and the network believe he is ready to get back in action. while costas was gone, matt lauer and meredith vieira sat in with him. meredith made history, the first woman to host primetime olympic coverage. and you can see bob costas here on nbc 4 this evening. >> meredith and matt did a fine job. it will be nice to have bob back. you will notice a big change on the "tonight show" tonight. have you been living under -- if you have been living under a rock, you haven't heard that jimmy fallon is taking over for jay leno. he says to expect all the fun from late night minus maybe a couple of games for the earlier hour. something that return fors for -- returns for sure, what jimmy calls the best music booking and best band in the world. >> i was talking to my friend

and getting advice. he said, who's going to be the house band. i go, i don't know yet. he says, you should ask the roots. i said, you think they would be the house band? oh, no, they would never be the house band. duh. maybe they know someone. >> the roots do come back. they'll be back for the "tonight show." a dealbreaker for him. u2 is the musical guest. ba-bam for that. he tells us about his new daughter, new show coming up at 6:00. i'll post more on our conversation on my facebook page. you can watch the premiere of the "tonight show" with jimmy fallon, starring jimmy fallon, midnight after news4 at 11:00. >> he had a lot of fun on "late night." people are going to expect that to continue. that's the signature thing. >> he's such a joyful person. it's infectious. hard not to lined hick, especially when you -- to like him, especially when you spend time with him.

tom, we're glad it's not snowing, at least not yet. >> we could get more tonight. the good news, this may be winter's last gasp. at least -- >> thank goodness. >> for the foreseeable future. >> winter beat us up pretty badly, tom. come on. >> we've been sucker-punched repeatedly. not now though. radar showing no snow. a mostly clear sky. the moon is shining brightly this morning. all around our region, we have temperatures, though, that are cold. in fact, much of the area, it's just down into the 20s to just near 30 degrees now. and we will stay generally below freezing here for the next several hours. and so layer up. we've got a breeze, too. and you will have these temperatures feeling a little bit more pleasant by mid-afternoon. so be prepared for a cold monday for today's weather story. temperatures will stay below freezing between now through noontime. by noon, maybe up near 30 degrees. only hovering in the low it briefly mid-30s mid-afternoon throughout much of the region.

and then snow is likely going to be moving in tonight. here is the timing on this. does look like maybe around midnight tonight we will likely have some light snow beginning to move in from the west. and initially maybe just a dusting by then. and then around 3:00 in the morning, that's when we could get maybe picking up a half inch or so. and then it quickly exits and moves off to the east by dawn on tuesday. pretty much gone. leaving in its wake how much snow? well, i think we'll get a dusting to maybe an inch. this light blue zone in washington and south and east of the metro area, then farther north and west, maybe just an inch or two. that includes montgomery county, northern prince george's, up into northern loudoun county. then much farther north, maybe two to three inches by the time it's gone. good riddance. it's going to be warming nicely as we get into tomorrow afternoon after that snow ends. ought to be in the upper 40s. then, ah, feeling like spring for a few days. wednesday through friday, highs, 50s, maybe low 60s on friday

with rain. then the weekend still not too bad. sunshine back, highs in the 50s. now for this president's day morning, danella's looking at traffic. probably not too much yet, righ right? >> not too much. quiet around the beltway. to i-270, clear here, as well. friendship between frederick, maryland, heading down to rockville, no accidents, no delays. we're shooting to route 50 in maryland now from the bay bridge. as you travel toward the beltway, really in both directions, i'm seeing nothing but green. that means those travel lanes are open, not tracking any accidents. clear as you head to bowie. here's a live look at route 50 and 301. that -- 301 split with 3, it is clear. in fact, clear as you continue to new york avenue. i'm back at 5:01. back to you both. >> see you then. thank you. 4:55. coming up, a warmup on the way. get ready for the inevitable. potholes are popping up everywhere. they could be getting worse.

ahead on "news4 today" at 5:00, what you can do to avoid damaging your car. first, you may have off work today. getting around may not be as easy as you think. next, a big heads up before you get on metro. and as you stop at the gas pump, are the prices dwindling, or could we be in for a rebound?

4:58. gas prices are rising. aaa predicting the average in could reach $3.75 this spring as refineries switch to the more expensive summer blend. supply disruptions in libya a

factor. the amp is $3.-- the sange $3.5 in the district, up two cents from last week. in maryland, $23.40, up seven currents from last week. in virginia, $3.19 on average, up six cents. in west virginia, the price is $3.42, four cents more expensive. heads up if you are taking metro today. expect delays. the farragut north and dow ponte metro stations are closed during this president's day weekend. the stations will reopen tomorrow. shuttle buses are running between woodley park and metro center. metro will open in a few minutes at 5:00 a.m. and close at midnight. trains will run on a saturday schedule. you can park for free at all metro-owned lots and garages. today is the last day you can see the original emancipation proclamation in downtown washington. the national archives is displaying the historic document in honor of black history month. president abraham lincoln issued the proclamation in 1863 during the civil war. it freed slaves in rebel states. after today, the document will

go back in storage. it is 151 years old. and you can still see lincoln's signature. >> that's the big thing on the last page, you see his signature and the seal. i've been to see it. it's -- they keep did sealed, they only -- keep it sealed. they only bring it out so often so the light doesn't wear it down. impressive to see. >> impressive historic document. stay with us, "news4 today" continues right now at 5:00 a.m. a strange twist in the skies. this morning, a huge plane forced to make a change of plans. wait until you hear how the story ends. first, a live look at storm team 4 radar. we're still dusting off from last week's snowstorm. you guessed it. more is on the way. we're breaking down how much you'll see and when. good morning, everyone, i'm aaron gilchrest. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this monday, february 17th, 2014. today is president's day.

we have a few school delays, all are in virginia. culpeper, page, rappahannock, spotsylvania county schools will open two hours late today. another busy day for storm team 4. and a cold start to the week. we'll see more snow before the day is over. first we have to get through cold temperatures. meteorologist tom kierein with more. keep your warm winter coat handy. you're going to be needing it this morning as we're down below freezing. just near 20 degrees in our far northern and western areas in the rural areas. closer to washington, only near 20 in montgomery county, too, southern part of the montgomery county, and around the beltway. we're in the low to mid 20s including prince george's county and into fairfax county. staying in the mid 20s through 8:00, bright sunshine today, though. a light wind. i think by noontime should be around 30. only reaching the mid 30s by mid-afternoon. then overnight tonight, snow begins to move in. here's the timing. i think by midnight or so, light snow coming in. earlier than that. after that, we'll have the snow