in the studio. happy new year, and happy winter. john: happy new year to you, and for you folks out there, hope you are enjoying 2016. a cold start. as expected, cold air is coming in with the wind out of the north gusting up to 30 miles per hour. wind chills in the north carolina mountains in the mid to upper teens. extremely cold. mike is up there, we may go live with him in a moment. and haywood county, off and on snow showers during the day today. look at the blowing snow because of strong winds out of the north. pretty good snow showers. it is blowing around on the roads but it didn't stick to the roads themselves. that is good. a bit of a dusting to a half inch of snow accumulated on grassy areas. that was about it. that is haywood county late this afternoon. the flurries and snow showers continue in the mountains. these snow showers will continue

probably next couple hours, we will see snow showers continue to develop across the area. they will move north-south. they are starting to taper off. another couple hours, that's it with the flurries. there are no watches and warnings or advisories, but some roads could get slick especially of bridges and overpasses through the mountains of north carolina. otherwise, it is cold. upper 30's in greenville and spartanburg, 29 in asheville. no snow expected outside the mountains. at least, in the upstate. no back to you. nigel: john, thank you. meanwhile schools in madison, , yancey, and haywood counties sent students home early today because of the snow. gabrielle: wyff news 4's mike mccormick's been on snow patrol today in haywood county. he joins us, live and local, from maggie valley. mike, how is there now? mike: it's pretty nice out here right now. the flurries have backed off. a bit of accumulation sticking

i was able to scrape up. it is light and powdery snow, through haywood county. the roads in maggie valley, not bad. i heard john say that the snow is blowing around on the road. further down. the snow that is sticking around will gust. as you look up over the road in the higher elevations, there is definitely accumulation way up there in the mountains. down here, a few patches here and there. the roads are ok. it is very cold and windy. the higher elevations are where we saw a good bit of snow. we are -- we were in cataloochee ski area earlier today, where it looked like winter. we will show you that at 6:00. mike mccormick, wyff news 4 live in maggie valley, north carolina. nigel: now to commitment 2016 coverage. the son of billy graham is hitting the road this week, holding prayer rallies in all 50 states, and urging christians to vote. gabrielle: but franklin graham

has left the republican party, and says he won't endorse any candidates. so, what could this nationwide tour mean for the people running for president? >> our country is in trouble. gabrielle: franklin graham launches his "decision america" tour this week. >> we're asking christians to pray, to vote for candidates that stand for biblical values. gabrielle: the son of billy graham announced, just before christmas, that he was leaving the republican party. in this video, he says he won't endorse anyone. >> we're not supporting any candidates, or any party, but we want to lift up the name of jesus christ. >> i think it shows that he is committed still to public affairs, that he's not suggesting that evangelicals retreat and avoid politics. gabrielle: furman political science professor danielle vinson says, graham may be responding to a widespread frustration with politics felt among conservative christians. >> with the supreme court ruling on gay marriage, and also the planned parenthood videos, with many of them

wanting defunding for planned parenthood in this year's budget from congress, and it didn't happen. so there's just been a lot of disappointment. and so this is just a reminder to those groups that their vote matters. gabrielle: v vson says republicans ted cruz, marco rubio, ben carson, and jeb bush could benefit most from graham's tour. >> all of whom are strong on the issues that those voters could care about. gabrielle: she says donald trump is not likely to benefit. >> his record is a little more mixed on these issues, and his personal life is certainly not as in line with evangelical voters as a lot of the other candidates would be, so it might not be particularly beneficial to him. >> but i can tell you right now, without god, there's no hope. gabrielle: franklin graham kicks off his tour in iowa on tuesday. nigel: franklin graham is scheduled to make stops in columbia on february 9. gabrielle: he will be in atlanta on february 10th. nigel: republican presidential candidate donald trump has released his first television campaign ad.

titled "great again," the 30-second clip focuses on islamic terrorists and immigration. it will air in iowa and new hampshire, but also, he has paid for radio spots in his campaign. he will promise to spend $2 million per week on tv ads alone. gabrielle: police in myrtle beach are seeking funding to install license plate readers at entrances to the city. the readers would reportedly be in addition to a $2 million project to install traffic cameras. the readers would snap voters of license plates of passing cars. the system could alert officers about cars wanted in criminal cases. the city council asked more details on the plan. nigel: someone is holding a $1 million ticket in north charleston this morning. according to a news release, the ticket was purchased from a kwik stop for saturday night's drawing. the ticket matched all five white ball numbers. officials at powerball are encouraging people to check their tickets.

the odds of winning $1 million are 1 in over 11.5 million. gabrielle: the next powerball winner will have a chance to claim one of the game's 10 biggest priz this week, when the jackpot grows to roughly $400 million. lottery officials say no one claimed saturday's $334 million prize. when the jackpot reaches $400 million, it might exceed the size of the sixth-largest prize in powerball history. the odds of winning the powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. nigel: so you're saying there's a chance? gabrielle: a slim one, but yes. there is always a chance. the next ron will be on wednesday. -- drawing will be on wednesday. nigel: coming up, a little girl gives back to a hospital. gabrielle: plus, a greenville county school admin has a one in three chance of heading to the golden globes. how you can see if he makes it,

lineup. nigel: many of us have taken down the christmas tree, packed away the ornaments. gabrielle: but for one little girl, and a local hospital, the christmas spirit will last for a long time. carol goldsmith has the story of how giving became the best gift

>> see if you can make e basket. carol: 3-year-old shelby bean spends a lot of time here. it looks like a playroom, but as you can perhaps tell from the braces on her legs, this is more than that. shelby has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. >> she went from being a normal, typical two-year-old, to not walking at all. carol: taking it all in, shelby's big sister, 8-year-old ellery. >> she couldn't walk. there was , we discovered shriners, and we had physical therapy appointments. then, she started to walk again. carol: so this year, for christmas, ellery asked santa for two things. a sewing machine, and money that she could give to shriner's hospital for children. but santa had room in his sleigh for just one item, the money. and he had a big choice for ellery. >> i could either spend the money for myself and get a sewing machine, or i could give it to shriners hospital for children. carol: so what did you decide?

hospital. carol: ellery wasn't left empty-handed. she got her dearest wish, a little sister who could walk and run with her. >> i wanted other kids to be like my sister, shelby. i wanted them to run, jump, and play. >> it makes me exceptionally proud that she chose that she would be the person who would sacrifice something for herself, to give to other people. carol: in giving up her big christmas wish, ellery found a bigger gift, one that just keeps on giving. carol goldsmith, w wf news 4, greenville. nigel: what a sweet story. news of ellery's gift has gotten out, and folks have stepped forward to offer ellery money and her own sewing macine. gabrielle: but ellery says she hopes people will do what she did and give the money to the , shriners' hospital for children in greenville. michael: coming up at 6:00,

34 years separate clemson's passed from its present. we are talking about the football championship. the tigers last won it in 1981. what has changed since then and what remained the same? a look back, right here on wyff news 4 next at 6:00. gabrielle: also ahead a deadly , earthquake rocks india's remote northeast region yesterday. nigel: plus, how a man came up with an interesting way to help his beloved dog live out the final days of her life. john: mainly clear right now, a live shot from on top of paris mountain looking southbound. see the lights in the middle of the screen?

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a strong earthquake that hit india's remote north gabrielle: a strong earthquake hit in india yesterday, also felt in bangladesh. these are pictures from the aftermath. it was a 6.7-magnitude quake. people in bangladesh's capital, dhaka, rushed out of their houses, and took to the streets for safety following the earthquake. dozens of people were injured, and at least six people were killed. nigel: nearly 175,000 people are petitioning the president to pardon a convicted killer featured in a netflix documentary series. the show "making a murderer" focuses on the trial and

his nephew. a jury found the two guilty of the 2005 murder of teresa halbach in wisconsin. both men maintain their innocence. the series raises many questions about the evidence used to convict the men. if the petition gets enough signatures by january 19th, the white house will have to respond. a new, massive television is coming to the tech market. it is a 98-inch 8k television. gabrielle: where do you put that? nigel: in my living room. lg will announce the new top of the line tv at this week's consumer electronics show. the company says it is about to go into production. lg calls it "super ultra high definition," and it will have four times the resolution of a 4k tv.

gabrielle: i will get you some snow instead. take a look. nigel: wow, look at that. gabrielle: large chunks of snow wounded two people after falling off a mosque in northeastern turkey today. the accident happened on one of the busy streets in a town near the black sea. you are looking at security camera footage that shows snow and ice raining on people below. some were were briefly buried in the snow, and were quickly rescued. >> now, your live super doppler 4 hd weather forecast. john: scary stuff there in turkey. for us, snow, but nothing like that. a dusting to an inch in the higher elevations. this is the ski resort area of the mountains of north carolina. cold enough to continue to make snow. the last week in the last month, they had snow in the mountains briefly, then it melted away because of the unseasonably warm weather. a different story this weekend.

the high continues to build from canada and it is bringing in cold air across the area. snow showers and flurries starting to taper off. mainly confined to tennessee-north carolina line, maybe another dusting possible, even flurries as far south as hendersonville and snow flurries and snow showers today in asheville. officially at the asheville regional airport, the first snow they have had. the flurries and snow showers starting to taper off. scattered to numerous through the day today, especially this afternoon. as the sun goes down, so do the snow showers. no snow expected in the upstate. a live shot over lake hartwell, you can see the ripples on the lake. that is because of strong winds continuing to make it feel colder than the actual temperatures. 41 in anderson, wind chills in the 30's.

toccoa, 30's in the mountains of north georgia. 37 in gillard, 38 in clayton and clarksville, 39 in cornelia, 42 in livonia, 44 in hartwell, 47 in bowman. carnesville, 43. 48 in elberton. 38 in laurens, 38 in greenville, 37 and spartanburg. rutherfordton, 35. upper 20's to low 30's in the mountains of north carolina. 23 in boone. with strong winds out of the north-northwest at 10-20 miles per hour and gusty, that is giving us a windchill. it feels like 10 degrees in boone, 18 the wind chill in asheville, 16 the wind chill in hendersonville. at the freezing mark in toccoa. windchill of 33 in anderson and laurens, 29 in greenville. the wind will stay strong and gusty in the mountains, but die down in the upstate through this evening.

as the winds shift out of the north, it will come down across the french wrought river. the wind will stay up in greenville county through most of tonight. off. 39 in raleigh. afternoon. flurries to the north right now. the great lakes. a storm system out west in california and the desert will affect us towards the end of the week. michigan. that is cold. the upstate. scattered evening flurries, windy in the mountains, overnight low 18. tomorrow, light winds, except in the upstate. hour. high 42. 39 in the mountains. slow warming trend into the end of the week with more clouds and a chance of rain late thursday and into friday. it could start off as winter mix in the mountains as the airy --

as the air is dry. daily liquid precipitation friday and sunday. now back to you. nigel: take a look at this. these are the whitewater falls. the photographer says they will roar ring the recent rains. gabrielle: this is a beautiful image from the summit of sassafras mountain. keep them coming. upload them to the ulocal section on wyff4.com. nigel: i see a lot of orange, clemson orange in that picture. gabrielle: this guy is not so happy. nigel: it backfired, literally. gabrielle: my husband is a buffalo bills fan. this is how i feel every time he makes me watch the game. here, the punter through his helmet during the game against the jets. the helmet bounced right back

and smacks him in the face. he tossed the helmet after missing his sixth extra point of the season. surprise appearance inside and i go home home -- and idaho home. the siegel family was home when this elk showed up inside their basement. this happened at their hailey, idaho, home early wednesday morning. matthew siegel says the 600-pound animal fell through a window well, into their downstairs living room. he says he called authorities, his house. gabrielle: a man in pennsylvania came up with an interesting way to help his beloved dog live out the final days of her life. the man recently found out that his dog has terminal cancer, so he decided to make the dog a bucket list. the list consists of 80 activities, ranging from eating french fries at mcdonald's, to sledding down a hill, and even holding a mock dog wedding. >> i hope that, during this process, she can put a smile on someone's face, like the eight years that she has always put a smile on my face.

gabrielle: one of the biggest things on the bucket list was forecasting the weather. that item was crossed off when a local news station gave the dog the chance to be on tv. very sweet. >> they told me i could wear anything. and i said, "one does not go to the golden globes in whatever." so i've got a nice tuxedo ready. gabrielle: he's been in the greenville county school district for almost four decades. now, he could be headed to the

on the "today" show. a greenville county sch nigel: a greenville county schools administrator might be at the golden globes sunday. gabrielle: but first, he's got to win his spot on the "today" show. wyff news 4's aly myles talks to him about the odds. aly: if you've been to a greenville county school in the last four decades, chances are, you've seen don alewine. >> i'm just trying to stay calm and cool, and i trying to work. am aly: but this friday, you can see don on the "today" show. he got the call while hiking with his daughter, kristan. >> they said, is this a good time? and i said, well, i'm on the side of a mountain. and they said, we'll call back. and i said, no, no, no. this is good, this is good. aly: don will compete with two

him. >> they told me i can wear whatever i want to, and i said, "one does not go to the golden globes in whatever." so i've got a nice tuxedo ready. aly: so how did don make it to the final three? a great picture, and a witty entry. >> i started out like, "make my day, matt and savannah. theres -- there's no business like show business. i'm a high kicker." and i said, "hopefully, i had you at hello." aly: a little arts and crafts didn't hurt, either. >> my outfit was very, very cheap. i went to goodwill and got a jacket for $0.50, then i went to walmart and got a can of gold spray paint, and painted it. aly: now, just like any good student, it's time to study, and hope for the best. are you going to be taking selfies with everyone? >> oh, yeah. and they say go to the bathrooms, because that's where you meet the most people. aly: aly myles, wyff news 4, at mauldin high. gabrielle: we wish him luck. nigel: don will be on the "today" show this friday, between 7:00 and 9:00. gabrielle: if he wins, he'll head straight from new york to l.a.

nigel: thanks for joining us at 5:30. gabrielle: news 4 at 6:00 with michael and carol starts now. >> live, local, breaking news. this is wyff news 4 at 6:00 in high definition. michael: take a look here. you may have wanted this on christmas week when it felt like spring. yes, this is close to home. in fact, western north carolina kick off the work week with a touch of snow. that is closing schools in some places. that is a view from resort cams.com. carol: on the right, a cool day in the upstate. chief meteorologist john cessarich is here. what a change. john: last week, we were talking about unseasonable warmth. as expected on christmas day

passed by, and now, cold high pressure builds over the weekend and into 2016. look at the flurries and snow showers continuing through the mountains during the day today. a dusting to even a couple inches in the higher elevations, especially ski resorts, where they will continue to make snow in the ski resort areas in the mountains. no snow expected in the upstate. this is the snow showers and flurries continuing to diminish along with the winds in the upstate through this evening. look at the temperatures dropping, 22 in boone, 36 in greenville and start her, 38 in anderson. no snow in the upstate, but flurries left over in the mountains. the wind makes it feel colder. i will show you the wind chills later. now back to you. carol: snow came down in mars hill, north carolina, today. that's in madison county. michael: schools closed early there. and students also went home early in yancey and haywood counties. right now, wyff news 4's mike mccormick is on our snow patrol, he is live and local in maggie valley. it is awfully cold there.