the texarkana police dispatcher has a clear view of the train track, and radios officer mcadams. >> we just had a huge explosion. we've got massive fire out here. all kinds of stuff on fire. >> as officer mcadams starts backing up, the flames race down the track and into the camera's view. as the gas explodes over and over again. >> anywhere that vapor from the chemicals had gone just burned, whether it was on the ground, in the air. just nothing but a ball of fire and like a big fuse, it just kept going further and further. >> it was a big mushroom shaped fireball. it went up in the middle and then kind of cascaded down. >> 209, you might want to back your unit up. >> didn't have time to really get scared because once it started happening, i just started reacting, you know. can't sit there and be scared or i wouldn't have made it through it. >> gigantic clouds of fire soar into the morning sky. >> i can try to explain it to my friends or people who ask me about it, and i can never explain it properly until you see the video and you just see it's unreal. >> firefighters believe the gas

it's starting in north texas around i guess you would say the texarkana region if you will and pressing up towards the great lakes. for us it's just going to mean rain, maybe a couple of thunderstorms just out to our west. however, having said that, that low when it gets northeast is going to yank cold air into the region and could that set us up for maybe some wintery precip as we move toward christmas. still a lock -- long time away, but the table is being set for winter which starts on friday. meteorologist bernadette woods will be talking about how chilly it's going to be this weekend coming up shortly. >>> thank you. with christmas one week away, local police are trying to crack down on people trying to steal your identity. the identity theft protection agency life lock taught 150 law enforcement officers how to guard against the growing crime. maryland is ranked in any event in the nation for identity theft. >>> if you're hitting the road expect to have company. according to aaa more than 40% of the 5 and a half million people in the washington region plan to travel 50 miles or mo

i did not expected to go any further than texarkana, maybe into dallas a couple of hours away. has opened eyes, most importantly. i feel perhaps this is what it was supposed to do. i really thought it was a labor dispute, but it turned into something bigger than myself, i feel. it has become a good talking point and a good catalyst for perhaps moving the conversation of black women and our hair forward into the 21st century and beyond. >> as a former meteorologist for ktbs, what is your forecast? do you think they will offer you your job back? have you been offered other jobs? >> i will let that my job back. i maintain even to this day i had a great work environment. i loved what i did, by co- workers. i had i had any other job offers as of yet. right now i'm just going to try to get to the holidays and see what happens. like i said, more than anything, i hope the conversation for the race issue, particularly here in the south, is spurred a little further than i think it has been. my forecast is looking pretty sunny, i think. >> rhonda lee, thank you for being with this, former