recommended to be done take. 12 in manassas, 22 now at reston town center. temperatures today will get above freezing. more clouds coming in later this afternoon. should keep us from being quite this cold tomorrow morning. so there is a little good news there. but do plan on an icy start here this morning. refreeze droughoutlook, more sl this afternoon and a refreeze on your friday. more on that coming up. how many snowplows are on the roads this morning? overall if you take a look at this6e0m map, we're pretty l volume as we should be around 6:00 a.m. we do have some spots reporting icy patches, snow banks on the side of the roadways that have not cleared out of the way. one of those spots inbound 11th street bridge report of ice there on the bridge. outer loop ramp to westbound 50, we have one lane open. we're not seeing the spinouts that were reported earlier to us

on 50. seven locks at tuckerman, still have that crash. 95 north at 234, still have the issue, but it is pretty much over to the right side of the roadway. i'll have travel times for you in ten minutes. right now a bunch of delays and cancellations as we look live at capitol hill. federal agencies in our area will operate on a three hour delay today. >> some employees do have the option to telework or take the day off. be sure to check would your supervisor. more schools are opening, although some are off all week. check the washington app for a few list. d.c. schools today will open on tile. delayed culpeper, page, r

rappahannock. frederick during city schools opening two hours late. we have reporters out across the area keeping an eye on road conditions. a live look for you here. what are we looking at guys? one of the vehicles is driving and we're being told there are still icy patches. we'll check in with amelia segal later this hour. one place you will definitely need to slow up to is on calvert street in northwest washington. a water main break has water flowing down the street and these temperatures aren't helping. this is calvert street between rock creek parkway and connecticut avenue. the water is not turning into ice yet which is good news. molette green has been monitoring the conditions this morning. how is the shutoff effort going? >> reporter: we're seeing cars splashing this water all over the lays. let's show you the problem spot. right there, you can see the water gushing out pretty good. and it's been happening since we

got here. the problem and the challenge for d.c. water here on the scene is shutting it off. the crews still need to do that before the repairs can start. and look at the flow out into the street here. that has been what is going on, but no icing yet as you said, "uu eun. we're dealing with a 12 inch main. when they get the water off, then the repair crew will come out and that means possibly closing off part of the street here. the effort right now is getting to that main and shutting -- and the right valve and shutting it off before they can even bring the crew out to start the repair work. 12 inch main impacted here. the concern is that there will also be some impact to water customers in the area. d.c. water not able to tell us at this time how many people are impacted. that is the latest live from the

scene here on calvert. back to you. we hope to see fewer delays today on metrobus. the transit agency is upgrading service to light. yesterday some of you told us buses were so backed up you waited 45 minutes. detours will continue today in hilly areas and narrow streets. if you are taking metrorail, consider leaving earlier than normal. look at this video here, metro says cars will be crowded again today. the platforms will be crowded. as to if you can, catch a train before the 7:30 a.m. rush. good news today both marc and vre are rerping ireturning service. and the hardest part of your commute may be finding a parking spot. this is a germantown marc station. 30% of the spaces covered in snow. today your best bet might be to arrive a lot earlier than you url did to get a parking space. another option, car pooling or use the kiss&ride or the bus.

you may notice clearer roads this morning. a lot of us saw cara advance of caravans of cars. >> reporter: and we're here on neb aven nebraska avenue at mccomb. and you can see that large truck that just pulled up here on the scene, that's what they will load up with snow. we have large piles of snow all along nebraska avenue. you can see a large one down there at the intersection with foxhall. there is another one that is behind me here. and these piles of snow are literally in the lanes of traffic. folks who are coming down nebraska avenue, they come up on to that huge mountain of snow there and they actually have to cross over the center line and drive on the wrong side of the road to get around it. we have a car that is making its way right now, you'll be able to see that happen as they continue on down the line here

approaching the snow, right will, crossing the center line and it's actually on the opposite side of the road. and then scoots back over after passing the mound of snow. not a great situation. we do have some police in the area, but it is rather loosey-goosey. there is not actually anyone directing traffic. just sort of have their lights on alerting people to slow down. hopefully will this is going t improve now that we have the trucks on the scene. we're waiting for the front he said loadoig loaders to show up then they will start to scoop up the snow, they dump them into these trucks and haul them away. back to you. a lot of clearing going on. chopper 4 over the top of the

beltway. a lot of crashes and clearing. details on all of those issue and travel times coming up. and be wary of the potential slick spots as we deal with chilly morning temperatures. you're look live at union station. chuck bell as your travel conditions p. >> plus new developments overnight involving the spread of the sezika virus a ♪

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if you didn't listen to the warnings, the district made a lot of money off of you handing out parking tickets during the blizzard. nearly 5500 were issued, that added up to nearly $1.4 million in fines. since friday, 690 cars and trucks were towed, more than a third were moved to side streets at theer's expense.

the rest were impounded. four schools will be open between 11:00 and 1:00 in the afternoon to hand out lunch. the list is on the nbc washington app. >> montgomery county schools are doing the same thing. chug bell is in tchuck bell is "weather center." >> and i'm getting tired of the melt and the refreeze. >> you're telling me. >> its getting old. yeah, that snow just continuing to cause more and more troubles. road impacts this morning, dangerously icy conditions all over the place this morning. use streextreme care. by this evening, chance of going back below freeze which ing wil will lead to more icy spots tomorrow morning. so no matter your mode of transportation, walking still tough, driving, icy roads and parking. at least a third of the spots

used up by snow. so temperatures many icy patches near 20 this morning, they're 40 later on this afternoon. so we'll have more melting later on today and that will lead to more icy spots tomorrow. we'll talk about that and the weekend coming up. and we'll talk about a brand new problem here. 66 inbound, the ramp to the beltway, brand new new crash. chopper has been all over the place today trying on track down all of these crashes. red line, an escalator outage. 270 south, we're on time. 95 over to 270, top of the beltway, also looking quite good. no worries there. 66 inbound and 95 northbound also okay. remember to listen to our friends wtop when you hop in your car. the 4 x 4 is out on the roaroad roads tracking potential trouble spots for you. take a live look at one of the na neighborhoods right there.

a meal are amel

. a weather alert day for you on this thursday as we deal with icy conditions outside. it's been a long wait. our crews are watching the roads for you as we try to track potential slick spots and any accidents they may cause. melissa mollet has her top spots to avoid coming up. we have reporters throughout the area keeping an eye on road conditions. amelia segal is in the storm team 4 x 4 in olney. and you've been riding these roads since friday. so you have a really great perspective. >> reporter: we're just offed old baltimore road and i have been in the storm team 4 x 4 since friday, so we have been driving around the district and maryland this morning. and what we're seeing now in the neighborhoods up here in olney, the plows went through overnight and that is great new, but you

might want to allow yourself some extra digging time this morning. you can see this drive as the plows went through, it brought snow back to the end of their drive, so those folks will have a little bit of shoveling to to. and you can still see snow in the roads. and it is 17 degrees out here in the storm team 4 x 4. so that is a frigid start this morning. and that's allowed for a lot of icy spots to develop. at we've been driving around this morning, we've seen a lot of salt on area roads, but still the icy patches will develop. i'm posting those icy spots on my facebook and twitter pages. you can see as we're going around this cul de sac, even for our 4 wouldx 4, it's still diff. so bundget for extra time. you may hear horns again this morning. fairfax county police say an accident last night caused some really big backups. some drivers could not can at

the time out of the fran doan i can't springfield metro garage. metro won't ticket or tow your car if you left it in that garage overnight. 6:18. are you still snow stuck? officials in prince george's county said all streets in the county would be passable by 9:00 last night. yesterday some residents were seeing snowplowed for the first time since the blizzard began. some beltsville residents are happy to see the plows but angry it took so long. one resident had a suggestion on how snow removal could have been faster. >> you assign one small plow to each development and just have them constantly plow, you don't allow the snow to get so deep that a regular plow can't handle it. if you're wake up to a snow filled road, send us your pictures. tweet them, using #snowstuck. or e-mail to us at i se

see@nbcwashington.com. and there are a lot of ways you can follow the cleanup. not only do we have the delays and closure, you can track snowplows, as well. we have a full list of shoveling laws, as well, so you don't get a ticket. three more suspects surrender linked to the wildlife refuge. the move comes just hours after their jailed leader andmmon bun urged them to abandon the site. his attorney read his statement, please stand down. go home and hug your families, this fight is now in the courts. overnight, some of the protesters held a vigil for lavoy finicum who was killed in a smoothout where the bundyes were arrested. coming up on 6:20 now. a developing story this morning. the cdc will update us on what

knows about the zika virus. right now there are cases in virginia, minnesota and california. that virus is spread to people through mosquito bites. health experts say the virus causes severe birth defects in pregnant women. there are travel bans in some countries where the virus more widespread. expect a change in leadership soon at will metro. today the board of supervisors is expected to vote on a new chairman. jack evans has been recommended for the job. if elected, evans tells the "washington post" he will push for more money from the government. he said it should pay more because the transit system transports so many federal employees every day. the board will also consider a new crime report. the statistics cover incidents on both rains and buses. a couple of interesting takeaways, wtop says the report shows violent crime on metro is up overall, but crimes including rape are down. we now know the cause of a

massive fire that tore through an apartment building in prince george's county. this happened earlier this month in aadelphi. investigators say a anyaoreroso unexpectedly started spraying and caught fire. today the "washington post" new offices officially open. the paper will now call 1301 k-street northwest home. john kerry and larry hogan and jason rezaian are all expected to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:00 this morning. time for weather and traffic on the 1s on this weather alert day. i'm worried about this. >> it's the refreeze we've been warning people about. and it will take a while to thaw, right? will. >> you betcha. we won't be above freezing until well after the morning commute into work and school. another weather alert indeed, the icy morning will turn into yet another slushy afternoon.

we will be above freezing everywhere later this afternoon. take will continue to move on the ice meltdown. but another refreeze tonight. but this is probably the last of the bitter cold mornings for a while. 8 in martinsburg, 16 front royal and luray. 16 gaithersburg. planning your day out, headed out the door, plan on a lot of ice. black icy spots and snowplows to deal with here this morning. temperatures should be above freezing by about 11:00 a.m. or noontime. afternoon highs today, 37 in frederick and new market maryland, 37 in martinsburg. 44 in culpeper and 41 down in st. mary's county. tonight we will have another refreeze coming, if you won't be quite as difficult as this one. it will take a little longer in to the evening. temperatures could be below freezing anytime after about 8:00 tonight. but notice start off temperatures tomorrow morning upper 20s to near 30. so nowhere near as cold as this

one. could have a few flurries late tonight, not expecting any accumulation. but i don't want anyone to be surprised by a stray snowflake or two. cold conditions around the area for today. increasing clouds this afternoon and this evening and again it could bring out an isolated flurry or two. but that will be just about it. next four days, 39 today and tomorrow, there is a look into the weekend, saturday and sunday both filled with sunshine, temperatures mid-40s on your saturday. sunday up to 50. and the "7-day forecast" has 60 degree numbers on it. chopper 4 is flying over trouble this morning. some real trouble right now. the ramp to the inner loop, that car has spun around facing the wrong way right now. so you can see fire and rescue on the scene. i don't yet see a tow, so it could hang around longer than we would like. taking a look at other issues around town, 123 at lorton road, all lanes temporarily blocked there because of a crash there this morning. big look at the beltway and all the main routes into and out of

town. if you take a look at your main routes, probably looks pretty good. again, you will have some kind of stop and go traffic this morning as those plows try to clear things, perhaps treat the roadway, as well. branch avenue about 19 miles per hour. again a plow in the way trying to get the roads cleared before the late commute really kicks in today. one last big event before the iowa caucuses. seven republican presidential candidates are taking part in a prime time debate at 9:00 tonight. senators ted cruz and marco rubio along with bernie sanders, governors chris christie and john kasich and former governor jeb bush will all be on the stage. as with senator rand paul participating in prime time again after his poll numbers in iowa improved. donald trump will not be participating in the debate tonight. he said he takes issue with fox news moderator meg hyn kelly.

ted cruz challenged trump to a one-on-one debate in western iowa on saturday. fru trump has a rally planned in the etern part of the state on saturday. we're also following the democratic candidates and what they're doing today. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders are already in iowa. clinton holding a get out the caucus event. bernie sanders will be at multiple rallies includes one with susan saradon. martin p oo'malley is this baltimore today. i'll be heading to iowa this weekend to cover the caucuses for you. we'll have live reports starting here monday morning right here "news 4 today." tuesday we'll be live to break down the results. and there will be a wreath laying at arlington national cemetery today to remember the astronauts who died in the space shuttle challenger 30 years ago. the rocket exploded shortly

after takeoff from kcape canaveral. kennedy space center will also hold a memorial event. a weather alert day as we deal with chilly temperatures causing problems like this mess in northwest washington. we'll take you to the scene. roads aren't the only issue we're dealing with. sidewalk around our region remain unshoveled. how communities are cracking down on those who don't clear them. and we're seeing temperatures in the teens for many of you right now. chuck bell has four things to

slick conditions are to blame for this accident on the ramp i-66 and the inner loop. you can see the car facing the wrong way. be careful out there. melissa mollett is tracking the worse of the problems on the roads. >> but we begin cwith chuck bel.

>> good thursday morning. it is so cold outside this morning. everything has completely iced back over once again. temperature only 8 in martinsburg, 12 manassas, 10 frederick, 20 in prince george's county, 26 in arlington now. icy cold this morning. we will be above freezing by about noontime today. and afternoon highs will be in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees. a little bit more cloud cover later this afternoon. but what you need to know, four things, ice, ice, everywhere baby. this morning be really careful. subfreezing through at least 10:00 to 11:00 this morning. we'll have another refreeze coming up tonight, but it said temperatures tonight won't be as cold as they were last night coming into this morning. a big warm-up coming next week. when i took the dogs out if a walk yesterday, i said it's emanuel

weather alert so be careful and they both looked at me like what does that mean. >> we know what it means for sure. right now chopper 4 over 66 eastbound, the ramp to the inner loop here, right now very slow here because you're only getting by on the left side of the roadway. that is a problem that car is flipped around. overall nice light volume. a lot of kids still out of school, so it really is it a situation where it will at the time slow where the plows are, where they're still trying to go clear the right and left lanes along the sides of the roadways. 123 at lorton road, still have the lanes temporarily stopped. top of the beltway, all those routes looking pretty good. travel times in ten minutes. 6:31. we of course are watching all of the delays still happening because of the snow. starting on capitol hill, federal government agencies are on a three hour delay. you may also have the option for unscheduled telework or leave. more of your kids are

heading back to cralass take. d.c. schools are opening on time. calvert on a two hour delay. >> also culpeper, page, rappahannock, all into hours. >> schools in hampshire and mineral counties are both opening two hours late today. as are fredericksburg city schools. be sure to check the app for all the delay. and water main breaks and temperatures are a dangerous combination. a break on calvert street in northwest washington to tell you about. that's where molette green is live right now. can't get the water turned off? >> reporter: no, they still can't. take a look. and you can see the water is still flowing like it's been since we have been talking to you throughout the morning about this. into d.c. water trucks here on

the scene. luckily the water has not frozen over, it is just going right down the street here on calvert. the crews are having to shovel the snow to get the snow off the valve before they can get to it and cut off the water. as you can see, this truck is making its way here nice and slow. once they shut it off, they can call in the repair crew to work on the 12 inch main. some water customers could be impacted and once the repair crew gets here, part of the road or all of the road could be shut down to fix this. and this could go on for quite some time throughout the morning rush and into the afternoon hours. that is quite possible. that is the latest live here. we're very close to the entrance to the rock creek parkway. back to you. that is the sound of a giant snow blower at work. look at that thing.

you're watching one of the four in our area clearing out snow in germantown last night. the snow blowers are on loan from correct cnnecticut. and you'll hopefully notice an improvement on the roads today. caravans of plows were out overnight widening the streets. our megan mcgrath is in northwest washington with more. >> reporter: and you can see some of the progress being made on nebraska avenue just within the last couple of minutes. that front end loader did show up and the driver now doing the work of getting rid of the huge piles of snow that actually were in the lanes of traffic here along nebraska avenue. now they are stopping traffic completely right here at the intersection with rockwood. you can see the officer right there in the intersection and we are starting to see some traffic delays in the area, not so much coming in tenially oig, b lteni

other direction. traffic is at stand still and it looks like some folks are trying to weave around. but they will hold the traffic until they can move all the snow. and this isn't the only pile that we have here on this stretch of roadway. there are at least three, maybe even four. so you might want to avoid this area for a while because it's getting pretty congested here. back to you all in the studio. now, if you haven't shoveled your sidewalk yet, you better get to it. starting today, you could get a ticket for having a snowy side walk in takoma park. the city manager says tickets range from $25 to $200. she says the city will focus today on sidewalks around apt ament complexes and businesses, across montgomery county, residents can start filing complaints in just a few hours. and right now still have

this problem here on 66 eastbound, the ramp to the inner loop of the beltway, we're partially blocked and backups are building. also ahead, the roads aren't the only thing that may hold you up this morning. why you could have a tough time parking today at area ghcommute lots. plus the push in richmond putting the issue of same-sex marriage back in the spotlight. and breaking news, six people are dead in an apparently murder side side in chesapeake, virginia. we're told negotiations with an armed suspect lasted hours and when police finally entered the home, they found the suspect and five others all related dead.

6:40 on this thursday this morning. and we are waking up to it says 31 degrees at our station, but it is colder everywhere else. >> and that is causing problems for people heading out. chuck bell, what you can tell us about the forecast? >> our temperature gauge is nestled up against the side of the building, so it seems to be on the warm side. 26 at national airport pap that also is a relatively warm reading. it is 16 in gaithersburg and actual less, 21 reston, 12 in manassas. so bus stop weather for the kids, very, very cold. layer up this morning. temperatures teens and low 20s. coming home later today, temperatures will be mostly in the mid to upper 30s and your outlook, many schools still delayed or closed, but by monday, 90% chance everyone will be back to normal. "7-day forecast" coming up. brand new problem, all lanes blocked the express lanes of 395

inbound there at edsall road. more information about that in a second. 66 east, the ramp to the inner loop, we have this vehicle flipped around backwards there. so only getting by on the left. have about a 2 mile backup. thank goodness volume is light right now. outbound massachusetts at 11th northwest blocked for snow removal. red line still by passing woo s woodley park. travel time, 95 top of the beltway is okay. 66 looks pretty good and 95 north no troubles there. 6:41. happening today, a vote is expected on virginia governor mcauliffe's choice for the state supreme court. according to the "washington post," a virginia house panel decided that just continuice js is qualified to serve. only a handful expected to

student her during the vote. a new bill in virginia would allow clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. clerks could tell them to go to the dmv instead if they had issues based on personal ethical, moral or religious grounds. governor mcauliffe has already vowed to veto the bill if it passes. we're tracking several problems on the roads as we brace for an icy commute. first a water main break that has crews scrambling to fix in northwest washington. we're also watching neighborhood roads around our region to prepare you for your morning commute. what amelia segal is seeing in the storm team 4 x 4.

right now we're watching the roads for you as we deal with icy conditions on this weather alert day. chopper 4 live tracking this trouble spot in fairfax county, a car appears to have spun out on a highway ramp here. this is 66 to the inner loop. melissa mollett is preparing you for the commute ahead. >> but we begin with chuck bell on this weather alert day. what are we dealing with? >> temperatures back down into the teens and low 20s today, so an icy cold start. tomorrow may be almost this cold. but there are signs of a big time warm-up coming our way next week. that's all anyone wants to hear about. i'll tell you more in the 7 day forecast. right now chopper 6 over the problem 66 east the ramp to the inner loop, so we have that

issue. about a 2 mile backup on 66. thank goodness volume is light. 395 north, the ramp to edsall reported as blocked because of a crash. we have team coverage for you on the roads right now to make sure you get to work on time. know let glemolette green is atn break. >> but we begin with a me i can't amelia segal in rockville. >> reporter: we're just off of georgia avenue. we've been talking about people are walking in the roads because sidewalks are not plowed and they're not wearing reflective clothing. also tracking icy spots. a live look outside, another major issue this morning is because of so much snow still across the area, we're still seeing neighborhoods down to

pretty much single lane travel. and we'll quickly have lane reductions. it can sneak up on you rather quickly. we'll continue to drive around this morning. i've posted issues that we found across the area on my facebook and twitter pages. right now water is rushing down the street on calvert street in northwest washington. crews conditions sean't seem to. molette green is monitoring the conditio conditions. what seems to be the problem? >> reporter: we've been watching all of this water just gush out and flow into the street here at calvert close on the rock creek parkway entrance. i walked up to the crew just a few minutes ago and saw the holes that they had been digging after they uncovered the snow off and they still are not able to find the right valve.

that's the first thing that has to happen before they can get to repairing the break on this 12 inch main here. the good thing is the water is not the freezing up on the roadway. so it's just flowing in to the street here. some cars are taking it easy and others are flying through and splashing water all over the place. but that is the situation here and it will go on for quite some time. they have to find the valve first. back to you. we hope to see fewer delays on metrobus. they're upgrading service to light today. yesterday you saw buses so backed up, you waited 45 minutes in some cases. detours will continue this hilly areas and on some of the narrow streets. if you're taking metrorail, consider leaving earlier than usual. cars will be crowded again today, so if you can, catch a train before the 7:30 a.m. rush. good news today, both marc

and vre returning to normal service for the first time since the blizzard hit. if you plan to use a commuter parking lot today, be sure to arrive early because you are going to see snow piles everywhere. the snow piles pushed the snow to the side and now big piles. germantown marc station, nearly 30% of the spaces covered in snow. arrive at least 30 minutes early to secure a parking space. >> we know you have to hit the big parking lot areas where school buses are and vre where people can park in the metros. that has to be hit very hard and that's what we're focused on now. remember, we can't push the snow. it literally has to be picked up and taken somewhere. >> another option, car pooling of course, you can use the ki kiss&ride or the bus. the blizzard is responsible

for 50 deaths nationwide, four in maryland. four also died in northern virginia. another eight in other parts of the common w wealth. the causes ranged from heart attacks caused by shovel to ing hypothermia and car accidents. and it's also blamed for hundred wills of man hole oig explosions. officials say the runoff and salt are getting in to the underglouunde underground electrical structures. scary situation. those are heavy manhole covers. coming up on 6:51 now. we are still in thaw mode or we want to be. >> we are weather weary, chuck bell. >> everybody is getting tired of it as this point in time. we're in deep freeze mode this morning. we're thaw out later on this afternoon. we'll freeze up again tonight. the freeze/thaw cycle means

potholepalooza next week. big ice issues this morning. use extreme caution. it will be slushy again this afternoon. so on your way out this morning, stay alert and slow down. whether walking or driving, take it easy out there. walking is still tough. icy sidewalks. avoid walking in the street if at all possible. if you have to walk in the street, walk facing traffic. that way at least you can see what is coming. driving ice covered roads, yeah, finding a parking spot is an olympic spot around here. it is cold this morning. 12 manassas, 16 gaithersburg. 10 this frederick. only 8 out across martinsburg, west virginia. 20 in quantico and stafford. by 7:00 a.m., teens and 20s. by 11:00, most everybody getting close to or above the freezing mark. afternoon highs, upper 30s to near 40 degrees. 36 in hagerstown, 43 in cull per

culpeper. after 7:00 this evening, some of the pockets could start going back down below breezing. so th freezing. so that's the time frame to watch out for. and another icy start tomorrow morning, but temperatures not quite this cold meaning road chemicals will be more effective. so 30s today and tomorrow, mid-40s saturday. 50 on sunday. 58 monday. and 60 degrees on tuesday. rain showers, and it will be rain, 62 on wednesday. but as i mentioned, that will be potholepalooza next week. >> a lot of thawing happening then. 66, the ramp to the inner loop, again a car spun around. about a 2 mile backup headed inbound on 66 trying to get on the inner loop. going just about 12 miles per hour there. once they get out of the way, volume generally pretty light

right now. 395 northbound, express lanes approaching edsall road, a problem on the ramp to get back to the main lanes. inner loop at old fwornlg togeo lane blocked. 270 at falls not bad. just four days to go until the iowa caucuses and we have new numbers from the latest nbc news/wall street journal maris poll to share with you. in iowa, with likely caucusgoers there, trump is ahead at 32%. the next closest is cruz at 25%. and rubio at 18%. now, on the democratic side, it's clinton just three points ahead of sanders. we'll break down more of the numbers later today on news 4 midday. back to you. the district made a lot of money handing out parking tickets during the blizzard.

nearly 5500 tickets were issued to cars parked on the snow emergency routes. that added up to nearly $1.4 million in fines. since friday, 690 cars and trucks were towed, more than a third of those were moved to the side streets at the owner's expense and the rest impounded. let's get a check on the road conditions. >> megan mcgrath is along nebraska avenue and you saw a bunch of snowplows? >> reporter: yeah, the snow removal crews are making some progress here. they're a little bit further down along the line here on nebraska avenue. you can see the front end loader there, the driver actually scooping up the huge piles, these mountains of snow that were actually blocking lanes of traffic here on nebraska. scooping up the snow and then dumping it into the truck you see there. and they're hauling it away from the scene. there is so much snow that they can't push it around any longer. they have to actually haul it away and that's what they're

doing here this morning. while they're doing this work, they have stopped all traffic in both directions on nebraska avenue. we're talking about an area of foxhall on the one end and rockwood parkway on the other. for a while we had some traffic tie ups. they moved the traffic out, had people turn around and take some of the side streets. right now it is all closed and will be there for a little while. back to you. right now you can sleep in if you work for the federal government. here is a live look at the capitol. federal government agencies are opening three hours late again today. >> you also have the option to telework or take unscheduled leave if you work for the federal government. several schools are closed again, but more are reopening today. right now d.c. schools plans to open on time. charles, cal ververt and st. ma two hours late. also delayed culpeper, page, rappahannock all two hours late. westmoreland on three hours.

hampshire and mineral counties both opening two hours late. as are fredericksburg city schools. >> you can check all the closings and delays on the nbc washington app. we've also put a list of prince george's county schools that will be open for lunch today on the app. they will happened out lunches. 11 schools in montgomery county also open for lunch. back to four things to know. the last big political event before the iowa caucus is tonight. the republican candidates for president will have a prime time debate. seven hits will take the stage. in oregon, three more arrested in connection to the anti-government standoff. the ranchers still occupying a refuge, but their leader has told them to go home. metro upgrading service to light today. if you're taking metrorail, consider leaving earlier than usual. cars will be crowded. and take a look at this water main break in northwest washington. it will take hours to fix.

a live look at that water. crews are having trouble turning off the water because of the snow. planning on getting outside this morning? temperatures will be below freezing between now and about 10:00 or 11:00. up to near 40 this afternoon. still trouble 66 eastbound ramp to the inner loop red line by passing woodley park and marc 10 line delayed. that is the broadcast. thanks for waking up with us. >> the "today" show is next.

don't forgive, don't forget. >> i told you don't ask me that question. >> donald trump takes his feud with fox news directly to bill o'reilly and rejects the fox anchor's request for forgiveness. >> you areaking this much more seriously than i am. >> while trump's rivals take the most of the moment. >> interesting side show, greatest show on earth. this is not a show. this is serious. >> with the iowa caucuses just four days away we have brand new poll nbers in the race on both sides. new arrests overnight in the standoff in oregon as the leader of the