but first, a confirmed tornado tonight near the charlotte area. this picture was taken in union county, north carolina. the national weather service will go there tomorrow to take a look, and determine the size and strength of that tornado. carol: meteorologist chris justus, in tonight for john. chris, we had a tornado threat in our part of the carolinas as well tonight. chris: we sure did. we did a tornado cut in from 7:15 until 8:00 tonight, taking you through the storm. it started in lake lure and moved over i-40. this, likely not a tornado, but it had signs of rotation. strong rotation here. if it touched down it was in rural areas. the national weather service will let residents take assessments of what their arere like. makes creek road, timber road, that community seeing the

strongest rotation. it had very tight rotation. the red was wind going away from the radar, the green being the wind coming towards the camera. you can see the rotation. that is likely where the tornado was, if it did touchdown. looking at it from a side view, you can see the tight rotation they're just west of marion, north carolina. here is the confirmed tornado we know about. there is charlotte, there is monroe. south of monroe, right here along highway 207, a confirmed tornado. tonight, the tornado threat is lower. it is not zero. the biggest threat is flooding. torrential, pouring rain. heavy rain moving into greenville county from pickens. look at all that heavy rainfall. towards brevard, hendersonville, that flash flood warning now until 12:15 or brevard, jackson

county, oconee county, and ray bun county. michael: the same system that brought severe weather here is leaving its mark across the country. officials blame weather for at least 43 deaths nationwide. on the left, you see the damage left by tornadoes in the south. carol: and on the right, drivers battle dangerous conditions on the road, as snow pounds the midwest. the snow is moving north. areas in alabama and s sth georgia could see severe weather again tomorrow. michael: you might have figured all that weather is causing , problems for people heading home from a christmas vacation. carol: right now, if you're flying out of gsp, at last check, 2 flights have been cancelled, to chicago and detroit. if you're flying into gsp, at last check, 3 flights have been cancelled, from chicago, detroit, and dallas-fort worth. wyff news 4's liz lohuis joins us live from gsp, with the latest. liz? liz: michael and carol, as you pointed out, most of the flights out of the midwest have been canceled. dozens of delays.

>> we were on our way here, and then we looked up the flight, and it was delayed. and it was like, come on. liz: the writing is on the wall. hundreds late coming home to the upstate, or not coming home at all, at least tonight. >> we've been traveling all day, so it's tiring. liz: so tiring, some couldn't even muster up the strength to walk to baggage e aim. >> it's exhausting. everybody is traveling, so, you know, the airlines are doing the best they can, but it's tiring. liz: in some cases, tripling travel time. >> we could have driven home faster than we sat there. liz: but this family didn't mind the delay. >> as much time as i can spend with them, it is enjoyable. liz: it meant more time with their loved one, who they hadn't seen in 20 years. >> i was actually a gift from my niece to her mother as a

liz: and what a present it was. [screaming] kenneth freeman came all the way from california, causing so much surprise, some could barely contain themselves. >> it ended up being a blessing, to me more so than the rest of the family. liz: so among the more than 2,000 cancellations and 3700 delays, at least one family is smiling through it all. a bit of a happy story during all of this chaos. if you want to know the latest on the cancellations and delays coming into and out of gsp, head to our website and click the "on tv" tab. liz lohuis, wyff news 4, live in greenville county. michael: be safe, liz. severe weather still hammering texas. it's been a terrible weekend of

tornadoes and blizzard conditions, all in the same state. 11 people were killed by a line of tornadoes that barreled through near dallas. forecasters say the wind from one of the twisters may have reached 200 miles an hour. carol: and dallas firefighters had to pull a driver to safety today after getting stuck in flooding. two people were originally trapped in the car after it was overtaken by high water. one person managed to swim to higher ground. the other got on top of the car roof, and waited for rescuers to arrive. neither one of them was hurt. michael: back in the upstate, road east of i-85. this is the third issue for neighbors in just three months. you can see the latest damage the first time, a sinkhole opened up in late october. last week, a water main break. this time, neighbors say the road completely collapsed on christmas morning. >> as far as for safety and liability, they really need to get that fixed, because they need to do something, get a barrier or something, and fix it with some sort of concrete.

michael: the anderson county roads and bridges manager says it's all the result of excessive rains. he estimates a fix will cost more than $230,000 and still needs fema approval, and the repairs will take 18 months. carol: all the rain we've had is causing more and more destructive potholes. we found a big one on anderson mill road in spartanburg county. a man who lives nearby says the department of transportation patched it, but it rained again, so the hole re-opened. at bolton james wheel alignment in spartanburg, they workeon three cars with pothole damage today. usually, they get two a week. >> it has either bent the wheel, it's cracked the wheel. generally, when you see a wheel that's bent or cracked, it has thrown the car out of alignment, as well. the alignment is very detrimental to your tire wear. carol: we tried getting in touch with the d.o.t. to ask what's being done about the potholes, but the office was closed because today was a state holiday. you can report a pothole on the d.o.t.'s website. michael: and don't forget, when bad weather hits, you can

turn to the wyff 4 mobile app for the latest weather updates, including live radar. the app is free to download, and available in both apple and android stores. we're less than 3 days away from the big game. you know which one. excitement is building, from tiger town to miami and beyond, as clemson gears up for the orange bowl. carol: today, players and coaches got a short practice, then headed to the beach. michael: wyff news 4's brad fralick and marc dopher are in miami. oh, life is so hard, as the boys cover the road to the title. brad: day two of orange bowl preparations are in the books. we heard from the clemson defense and talked with players about clemson finally getting a break after playing 10 consecutive weeks. the defense got banged up to the end of that stretch. they said those days off before they begin practice was much needed. >> that couple days were good for me. i got a cortisone shot before i

my shoulder is feeling good. my collarbone was bothering me. but that is feeling better now. thank god. brad: the break allow the guys to heal and the guise of the defensive side say they are 100% ready to go against the sooners. follow us on twitter and facebook, we are all of her social media during the trip, posting things throughout the day. coming up in sports, a bulletin board material from the sooners. in south florida, brad fralick, wyff news 4. michael: the big clemson playoff game is a few days away and before that time, wyff news 4 is airing an hourlong special covering their playoff appearance. it's called "road to the title." it is airing wednesday night, at 7:00. carol: our sports team will be live from miami with a preview of the game, and a recap of the clemson tigers' undefeated regular season. if you're a tigers fan, this is something you don't want to miss. a strange kidnapping case out of asheville over the weekend. four people face charges tonight. authorities issued an amber alert for elijah and harlee

joyner around noon yesterday. they were both found safe about an hour later. investigators will not release details in the case, but they charge natasha cantrell and christopher carter of georgia with abduction of children and kidnapping. they charge chadwick agan, also of georgia, with abduction, and trena weaver stands accused of child abuse in the case. michael: to spartanburg county now, where a man was found dead behind a restaurant over the weekend. and tonight, we've learned authorities believe it's a case of hit and run. that's according to the town administrator. the coroner has identified the man as brent tessnear, 36 years old. he was found unresponsive yesterday behind the hardee's in cowpens. if you know anything about this, call crimestoppers at 1-888-crime-sc. you don't have to give your name. carol: we're learning more tonight about conditions inside a north carolina home where a father found his 6-month-old baby dead on christmas eve. first, the background. lincoln county deputies charged stephanie amber tillman with child abuse and neglect. she was treated at the scene for unrelated injuries from two days earlier. the medical examiner still

of death. as for what it looked like inside that home in lincoln county, investigators used the word "horrific." the home is in dallas, just north of gastonia. they say it was strewn with human and animal waste and garbage. dss took custody of two other children also found inside the home. they were ages 3 and 4. michael: a grand jury has declined to indict 2 cleveland police officers in the fatal shooting of tamir rice. you may remember the case. tamir rice was 12 years old, shot to death in november of 2014. he was holding a pellet gun when a police officer shot him within seconds of pulling up to the scene. prosecutors says newly enhanced video shows that it is "indisputable" that tamir was removing his gun from his waistband when he was shot. he says it's almost certain that tamir intended to hand it over to the officers, or to show them that it wasn't a real gun, but he says there's no way the officers could have known that. carol: tonight, iraq is claiming a major victory in the fight against isis. iraqi forces drove isis fighters

from the center of ramadi, a key city that fell to isis last may. several previous attempts to retake ramadi failed. this one succeeded, thanks to heavy american-led airstrikes. the iraqi military says isis is still dug into pockets on the city's outskirts. the nearby city of fallujah is also still under isis control. michael: in china, a man is recovering after he tried to save a woman who was falling from an 11-story building. this happened on december 23rd, and it was caught on surveillance video. you see the man reaching out to catch the woman as she falls into his arms. hard to watch. he had heard the woman crying for help, and saw her hanging from the 11th floor window. he broke bones and tore ligaments in his legs, but is expected to recover. however the woman did not , survive the fall. carol: tonight, friends and family members celebrated a young girl who would have turned one today. as you may remember, 11-month old addie grace died earlier this month, addie had krabbe disease, which affects the nervous system, and

all body movement. her parents were huge clemson fans, and dreamed of taking their little girl to a game someday. the clemson tiger, pep band, and cheerleaders came to them back in o oober, to give the family support. around 40 people gathered today outside her house in piedmont, wrote messages on balloons, and let them go. michael: falls, and fires. concerns over the hottest hoverboards this christmas season. w to stay safe, when wyff news 4 continues. chris: rainfall moving in. it's time for the 11:00 news. torrential rainfall, we may seeee flooding tonight.

>> now, your live super doppler 4 hd weather forecast. chris: this just in, in mcdowell county, california avenue near the hospital in marion reporting limbs down and a few trees down. that could be from a potential tornado that moved through earlier today. we have a can armed tornado towards charlotte. -- a confirmed tornado towards

you can see the wedge, with the tornado in the distance. it touched down for about two minutes and lifted into the clouds. it did not touchdown again. the national weather service is headed there tomorrow to assess the damage and the size of the tornado. the national weather service says they will wait until the morning to determine how much damage in mcdowell county. the tornado threat has come to an end across the area. now it is about the flood threat. yellows and oranges mean torrential rain, very heavy right now. it is moving into greenville county. northern greenville county getting a deluge of rain. towards spartanburg, about to see the rain. let's put a track on this. it is moving through travelers rest towards greenville. spartanburg, gaffney, union, shortly thereafter. transylvania county seeing the heaviest rain.

the reds indicate rainfall rates of about two inches per hour. henderson county seeing heavy rainfall. flash flood warning, this area has seen most of the rain so far, jackson county, graham county, oconee county, and raybun county. towards anderson county, on 178 near i-85, a ton of rainfall. this red, two inch rainfall rates per hour. that is into williamston. we have already seen quite a bit of rain. not too much in greenville, five 100 seven inch today. more rain towards asheville, where it has rained about half an inch. warm in some locations, cold in others. we talked about this backdoor front that moved in. that is where the possible tornado happened in mcdowell county. that provided enough rotation and instability. anytime it is 39 in boone and 70

that is what happened. we have the mountains, and enough to get the wind to rotate there. tonight, it will warm up. the warm front lifting north. a toasty night. these are typical july lows, not a day or two after christmas. through the next several days, it will stay cloudy for the first part of the day tomorrow. the afternoon will see more sunshine. it will be a drastically different day by the afternoon and evening. but it doesn't last. i will show you those details inin a minute. highs tomorrow, typical or when you should see in april. not december. highs around 70 in greenwood, 66 in greenville, 63 in asheville with clouds moving out and sunshine moving in. here comes the word front -- the warm front. the cold front moves south of us temporarily. sunshine by the afternoon. it does not go far enough south. it stops in columbia and stalls

by wednesday, more rain moves over the front towards our area. we will see more rainfall thursday morning before we clear things back out. eventually, as we ring in the new year thursday night into friday, it stays awfully dry. the cold air is another story. we will wait for that towards the west. it has been warm. it is bottling up towards the west. an active january and february coming up. a look at the atlantic oscillations, it has been positive, plus for over december. that is why temperatures were 20 be. january 1, it gets close to zero, which means colder air. negative four wide-out middle of january, which means cold air from canada. we are watching that closely as we move forward. the first batch of the cold air moves in as we approach the end

as temperatures cool 20 degrees. we will be in the 30's by the weekend with highs in the 40's. the for-day plus, we drive back out by thursday. headed into the new year, 50 on new year's day. approaching the weekend, highs in the 40's. carol: from falls to fires one , of the hottest gifts this holiday is catching the attention of the consumer product safety commission, the federal agency is now investigating hoverboard complaints across the country. the organization recommends letting the device cool before charging it, and says not to charge it when you're not around. experts from greenville health system's safe kids upstate organization say you shouldn't downplay the fall hazard, either. >> we think about brain injury. we think about concussions. we're concerned about broken bobos, contusions, all those types of injuries. and really, the best thing to do to prevent those is to wear a helmet. carol: heads should be measured in centimeters to make sure a helmet fits. then, it should sit on the forehead two fingers above the eyebrows. the chin strap should be tight

enough to fit only one finger in. michael: oklahoma providing bulletin board materials. ricardo: they said this year's clemson defense isn't as good as last year. motivation for the underdogs in the bowl. ron rivera says the team's first loss on sunday may actually help

>> now, wyff news 4 sports. ricardo: the georgia bulldogs held their first taxslayer bowl practice today in jacksonville. interim head coach bryan mcclendon confirmed, fullback quayvon hicks out for the game with an injury. uga faces penn state on january 2nd. the countdown now at 3 days for clemson and oklahoma in the orange bowl. sports director brad fralick and marc dopher continue our coverage of the college football playoff semifinal, from south beach. brad: welcome back to south florida. day 2, in the books. the clemson tigers, the oklahoma sooners kicking at 4:00 on thursday. we will be here all week. the news of the day today, we heard from oklahoma's offense and clemson's defense. specifically, samaje perine doesn't sound like he respects

clemson defense. especially not this year's version. marc: he kept crossing the line and backing off, saying he would doesn't want to put bulletin board material out there, than material. defense this year, not as good as last year. number, bear it -- the numbers bear that out. defense last year. but i think it's disrespect, because they are awfully good. brad: they are number one in the country and undefeated, but they are an underdog. we have analyzed this for three weeks. let's have a little fun. if clemson wins this football game who are we talking about , on friday is the main reason? marc: i think wayne gallman, deshaun watson will give you what he gives you, but gallman, 14 yards away from breaking clemson's single season rushing record, he's had a fantastic year. but certainly, it's watson who grabs the headlines. but i'm taking gallman.

brad: i'm going to cheat a little bit. i think deshaun watson is who we talk about, because i see late game drive that he sustains with some third down quarterback runs , and ultimately probably wins the game. and i think ben boulware is the guy on the defensive side. whoever wins matchup between boulware and perine will be the winner of this game. if oklahoma wins, who are we talking about? marc: they gourmet field. no question about it. he's a johnny manziel-type character. he can create plays off broken plays. -- baker mayfield. if he gets loose, he'll cause trouble for clemson. oklahoma has to have baker mayfield play well if they will win. brad: i will do with baker mayfield too. hasn't been a running back that's got off against clemson. they have been able to contain running backs, but if he can improvise and make plays and lead oklahoma to a win, i think we will be talking about baker mayfield on a few thoughts here friday. from south florida. our coverage

continues tomorrow with a super bowl-type media day. our first look will be tomorrow morning in miami. in miami brad fralick, marc dopher, wyff news 4 sports. ricardo: thanks, guys. those two will be live in miami on wednesday, for our hourlong special, "road to the title." join all three of us, wednesday night at 7:00. the run at an undefeated regular season ends in game number 15. the carolina panthers lost to atlanta sunday, and suffered their first regular season setback since november 30th of last year. but fans certainly showed their appreciation for the team's 18-game regular season win streak, by greeting the team last night outside bank of america stadium. head coach ron rivera felt he let those fans down by not getting to 16-0, but this loss will certainly be used to motivate his team the rest of the way. >> we feel we are a very good football team. we didn't play like one. obviously, they played better than us. they deserved to win. and hopefully, it sticks in our craw. hopefully, it's something to motivate us, and drive us that we have a lot to prove. ricardo: the panthers can still

earn the number one seed in the nfc with a win over tampa bay sunday. remember, that game kicks off at 4:25. carol: thanks, ricardo. another look at the weather

carol: still wet and warm outside. chris: the tornado threat is over but the flooding threat is ongoing. heavy rain for greenville, spartanburg, asheville. a 60% chance of rain in the morning, sunshine in the afternoon. heavy rainfall lose back and wednesday. after that, smooth sailing into the weekend. winter arrives. carol: if it's not one thing, it's the other. thanks, chris, and thank you for watching. michael: we are grateful to be here. good night. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

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