patrick mckee. good afternoon. this is wsls. a bit of snow falling. >> a bit of a mix. mimi snow showers west of the blue ridge parkway and a few rain showers to the east. this is the pattern through the rest of the day and overnight. temperatures climb in the low to middle 40s this afternoon, then fall to the 30s by about 6:00 this evening. 34 degrees by 9:00. i'll be back in about 15 minutes with your full forecast. thank you. the jury trial for the mother of noah thomas underway. she's charged with felony child abuse and neglect. her five-year-old son was found dead in a septic tank near the family's home last march. jury selection started this

up to five days. his dad, paul thomas, also charged with felony child abuse neglect. his trial is set for march 9th. now to another case we are following. the death of nicole level. her father sat down with dr. phil. that interview scheduled to interview -- to air on wednesday. this afternoon dr. phil joins us to discuss what came out during that interview. >> reporter: this case is drawing media attention nationwide, as you mentioned. dr. phil mcgraw spoke with her father over the weekend. if you remember, he spoke to us before suspect natalie keepers first court appearance, but a lot has come out since then. dr. phil joins us live from his studio in los angeles this afternoon. thanks for talking with us. this is such a tragic case. the death, obviously, of a 13-year-old girl.

role, and two students, teen themselves, accused in nicole's death. what was it about this case that got you interested? >> well, what got me interested was the social media aspects and the loss of life here. this is so tragic for this child. when you think about it here, she had fought so valiantly through her life. as you know, people may not know she was born with some real challenges. she had to have a liver transplant, so she was at deaths door a number of times during her short life. she fought valiantly to stay alive. she had to take medication on a daily basis to fend off her body rejecting the liver that had been transplanted. if she went even a day without that medication, she would decline rapidly and severely. when she went out her bedroom window the night of her death, she did not take her medication with

to be back before her next dosage, because she knows what happens if she misses that. so she, certainly, was not running away. she felt like she would be back in time to take that medication. she was lured out that window, we believe, because of her dialogue and relationship that had formed parents need to be alerted 40 percent of teens are estimated to be using this app, which is very anonymous. as you know, the allegations are that these two virginia tech students, one an athlete, the other an intern for nasa, were involved in this. her father, david, who was at the bail hearing tells us went -- what went on in the closed door hearings.

that they just don't get the gravity of what's happened here. she was giggling during the trial. she was wanting they'll because she meals. disgusting. you father and the other family members you interviewed? >> certainly, how heartbroken they they talk about the fact that they were aware that she was on this in november-december, they have become aware that she was having app, perhaps, with the man that has been arrested. her phone was taken away, but then she did get it back. should i have done more? i should have done more.

strongly here. they had this big warning flag because they saw these inappropriate exchanges going on in november and december that foretold what ultimately happened here. >> dr. phil, how do you monitor what your kids are doing online? what do you say to your kids? how much is too much? i have had parents say, i don't want to invade their privacy. what is your recommendation for parents? >> that's a fair question, but here's the thing. these children, they know so much more about this than us parents do. i mean, come on. they've got the knowledge. they can navigate around the internet and all of these apps and these different devices. you can get on the internet through a game controller for your xbox. most parents don't even know that, but the kids know that and they know how to do it. they've got the knowledge, but

don't have the wisdom. parents, you don't have the knowledge, but you do have the wisdom. bring together. it is not an invasion of privacy. it's an assertion of parenting. you wouldn't let your child walk down a dark alley alone. believe me. there are lots of dark alleys on the internet. alone either. it's not an invasion of privacy. you have to know, get inside those on the different platforms they go to, know what's going on. are you might. those you have to get inside your child's internet world to know what's going intervene. i can guarantee you that her

>> dr. phil, what would you say to your kids? what do we tell our kids as we talk to them about being online? >> you know, i think this is a cautionary tale. i think you have to tell them, look, you don't know what you think you know. people can put up false pictures. they can tell you things you want to hear. these predators, they pay attention and find out what music the target population likes, what movies. they learn their lingo, and to fall. they tell them what they want to hear. and if you can tell your children the tools that a predator uses to groom them and make them aware

that, then, perhaps, you inoculate them. so i think you have to teach them the tools of the predator and to do that you have to know what they are. but then i think you have to shadow your child on the internet to know where they're going and who they're talking to. >> you mentioned red flags a bit earlier, but not specifically to the case, but generally speaking, what should parents look for if they are being involved, if they are looking at what their kids are doing? what else could they look for? >> what they should look for is whether or not the people they are talking to are starting to progressively ask for more real-world identifying information. if somebody in the virtual world is trying to cross that boundary and barrier. the way they'll do that is they'll give their information because

are dealing on the principle of reciprocity. it's like, i'll give you my full name, give me yours. i'll give you my cell number, you give me yours. i'll tell you where i live, you tell me where you live and let me here, let's meet there. if they are progressively trying to tease that information out of that person, that should be -- that's her look like a navy flagman out there waving flags. that person is trying to lure your child off of the computer and into the street, and that's where the crime happened. >> dr. phil, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your interview and recommendations for parents and for kids this afternoon. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> patrick, much more coming up tonight. >> thanks so much. the virginia tech community will gather to remember her during a candlelight vigil. it is scheduled to take place on the henderson lawn at the

main street and college avenue at 7:30. the candlelight vigil is open to the public. organizers say there will be a limited number of candles, so they encourage you to bring your own. still ahead at noon, snow

impact your evening now the areas best weather cast as a warty aided -- as awarded by the associated press. a live view from our sky camera. overcast skies right now and seeing a bit of snow fall if you look closely. it has been pushing into the late morning hours, and this will continue through the afternoon and even overnight. right now most of the snow is west

rain eased of the parkway. everything is light and widely scattered. this is the pattern for us. we'll see a couple light shower sneaking in around 12:20. alleghany springs right around 12:36. widely scattered here, so it's difficult to track a line as there is no defined line to track. overall, the big picture is the low pressure centered over the great lakes. flow around that will keep us strong northwest flow in place for the next few days here. not until thursday morning this stops impacting our region. right now we have a winter weather advisory in effect as well for highland and pocahontas counties. this is where we expect most of the accumulation today. about 2 inches, possibly three in higher elevations. this evening a winter storm watch goes into effect and will stay in effect through 7:00 in the morning on thursday. this is where we expect a dangerous road conditions due to that

accumulation and also high wind blowing the snow around and reducing visibility. for the rest of this afternoon, not expecting accumulation in most spots because temperatures are a bit too high for a lot of sticking. 40s in covington and lexington, martinsville, danville, and more accumulation possible in the highlands and also an rv with temperatures in the 30s for you tonight everyone drops below freezing so whatever falls could refreeze onto those roads. be careful late tonight and early tomorrow morning when it comes to driving. allow yourself extra time. on the local view, this is what it will look like through the afternoon and evening. widely scattered, not a lot of organization here. again, most of the snow west of the blue ridge parkway, most of the rain east of the blue ridge parkway. overnight and into tuesday, cold enough for snow everywhere but we don't have a lot of moisture around.

bordering west virginia with just a small spill over into our eastern counties. today will see most of that snow in our eastern counties but it continues in our west virginia counties and those counties bordering west virginia all the way through wednesday night and into early thursday morning. heading into thursday morning, we finally see clearing but it will be frigid and also very windy. up to an inch possible right along the blue ridge parkway. shaded in the way through wednesday, this is about 3 in the pink shading. those western facing slopes. accumulation showers heading into the south of lynchburg. looking ahead to friday night and possible. right now it's too early to break down for you hour by hour, but the inches we are seeing right now. west.

of cold week. >> -the 20s and 30s after today and lows in the teens. >> welcome back to winter. way few schools around the region. craig county schools closing at grayson, pocahontas, and highland close at 1:00 this afternoon. the business closings on our website. still ahead, then and jerry's and lactose intolerant ice cream can enjoy their sweet flavors. how you can get a scoop of

ice cream. look, i know you're a cow and all. and you may not know what i'm talking about, but, uh. the yogurt made from your milk, is delicious.

rescue crews fine and eight-year-old girl alive more than 60 hours after a massive earthquake. the little girl was conscious and taken to the hospital. according to reports, two others were found alive in the same building read cruz believe one woman is the girls on it. the death toll from saturday's 6.8 magnitude earthquake has risen to 38. authorities have rescued more than 170 others. president obama asking congress for nearly $2 billion to help fight the zika virus. a white house spokesperson says the $1.8 billion would be used to expand computer -- mosquito control programs, speed up development, and the obama tests. the cdc has confirmed 50 laboratory cases among american travelers between december and last week.

from the new hampshire primary. right now polls show donald trump and bernie sanders leaving -- leading their competition by double digits. residential candidates are making final rounds today with hopes of leaving a solid impression on voters. trump is taking questions during a small town hall meeting today with only 230 people. the townhall setting is much different from his usual large rallies in meanwhile, on the democratic side, bernie sanders is making changes after losing in iowa. he is now 23 points ahead of hillary clinton. >> when we began this campaign here in new hampshire, we were 30 points down in the polls and she was much was. >> trump says he wouldn't be happy if he came in second place. the deadline to register to vote in virginia march 1st primary election is almost here. today, the last day that you can sign up. there are different ways to register.

department of elections register, the registrar's office, or at the dmv. toyota stops making cars at its japanese plants. the decision after an exposure and. the interior -- the incident caused an interruption in carpark. this is the first time toyota has had to start making cars since 2011. production is expected to restart by saturday. then and jerry's now has a special treat for people intolerant or vegan. ice cream company now has nondairy flavors using a certified vegan almond milk base. then and jerry's says the company has received request for nondairy ice cream over the years. enjoy the sweet treats in stores across the nation. just a few minutes away from the start of daytime blue ridge. program,

i am wondering how the ice cream tastes. interesting. coming up today, we meet our pet of the week, plus off (-left-parenthesis-left paren pep.

and february is heart we're seeing snow showers west of the parkway and east of the blue ridge parkway. we're only expecting light accumulations because temperatures will be a little too high this afternoon. we're looking at low and middle 40s. tomorrow, flues still possible. the western counties see the snow showers even into wednesday.

craig county schools closing at 3:30 this afternoon. that's our time here at noon. thank you for joining us.