good morning, happy friday. 4:30, i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. happy friday. nice and cool out there. you are going to need a coat or jacket. you won't need it at all. >>> upper 20s and low 30s. a touch colder than the same time yesterday. by the afternoon, seasonably cool. the big warm up they were talking about is going to be coming through the course of the weekend. hitting the details coming up in the seven-day forecast in 15 minutes. first a look at today, now, we got upper 20s to low 30s. 27 hen berson, 25 lewisburg. rocky mount 27. temperatures to the south. qetville. we didn't have much in the way of cloud cover, a little bit of upper level moisture in from the northwesting see a few of the high clouds to the west. few of those mibsed in with with sunshine. 8:00, 29 degrees. lunchtime, sunny, 45, through and a few streaky clouds at times. 3:00 or 4:00, high 51 degrees. most of us climbing in to the 60s for the weekend. >>> bracing for voter confusion, north carolina lawmakers will continue discussions today about the possibility of two congressional el

. >> every morning i get to broadcast next to this famous guy, bill leslie. happy friday, everyone. i'm renee chou. sometimes i'm star struck i can't talk next to him. >> come on. i get to work with you everyday. that is just awesome. you throw in elizabeth and brian. >> celebrity row right here. >> we have things to talk about this morning. it's not going to be a big in greensboro and the triad. the areas in blue have the potential to see changeover. sprinkles and showers last night. a slim chance we are seeing that over around moore county, southern pines and carthage and sanford, picking up or showing up that way in pitsboro. sprinkle or flurries, starting to see that around rdu and raleigh, northward up the i-85 corridor. not much happening east of raleigh. this will swing through, once through, won't take long, maybe 30-45 minutes, it's done. that's it. we will say good-bye to the precipitation. skies clear by lunchtime. a nice bright day today. it will be breezy and chilly. the warm temperatures that we had this week are out of here. apex sky cam, in anything falls, this is a

i'm bill leslie. we begin with traffic troubles in garner. brian shrader with the latest. >> have lingering delays on 40 westbound, congestion and a minor accident in the median, backing up traffic on the westbound side around the clayton bypass, then you will see traffic been out as you head toward 70 business but it slows down again in the approach to 440. let's take a look at the latest drivetime, 24 minutes to make that trip from 42 up to the beltline split. the good news is earlier delays through the fortify works on appear to have cleared up for the moment so that right from 442 us-1 taking 10 minutes. getting through, is a big problem, consider using 70 business as a good alternate route if you can. road, and maybe wilmington street from there, head on up to south raleigh. also tracking delays on the northbound side of the durham freeway this morning, especially between i-40 and elsewhere, 13 minutes to make that trip from mencken street. the best alternate route will durham freeway, 10 minutes. not saving you time and time but you'll

. >> i'm bill leslie. it is a much quieter morning but we still have a stiff breeze in parts and that could cause some issues. >> a lot of folks across the viewing area will have to cleanup today. skidded by the fact that it's going to be a blustery day for at least a good part of the early morning. >> after 2:00 today, no more went to worry about? >> it should be dying down. the wind advisory ties by 2:00, once we get past lunchtime the winds should diminish. let's take a look at what's happening on satellite and radar. the thunderstorms, tornadoes and rain is l gone. we have got cover near the virginia line but we also have the slow which was the fuel for the storms yesterday. it has moved up into ohio but we are seeing the bottom much about so rotating into north carolina bringing snow to the mountains and went to our area. are coming from this morning. the wind advisory in effect until 2:00 pm for the entire viewing area. we've got gusts up to 30 per hour, we may cost up 45 later this morning. some sma

i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. it was a gritty fight. >> we're going to tread carefully. >> can we move on to the weather? >> my goodness. i don't know everything that happened. so i'm excited to learn and see the highlights. it is cool out there this morning. the temperatures are in the 30s across the area. it's a little colder to the north and west and a little milder to the west and east. 32 in roxboro and 32 in south hill and 39 in goldsboro and 39 in fayetteville so it is chilly and it is jacket and coat weather. and we have a weak cold front trying to slip in and that will deliver some slightly cooler it is dry to support any kind of rain today. and it is beautiful and lots of sunshine expect and we'll start off at 33 this morning and lunchtime up to 46 and 50 for the high temperature. this weekend, a big warmup on the way. and we'll show you when we get close to 70 coming up. >>> state lawmakers will meet today for an emergency session as they race the clock to meet a court ordered deadline. >> and they are

>> i'm bill leslie. still talking about that violent weather yesterday. granville county, one of the hardest hit communities in the area, if you are shot damage -- video of the damage at an airport. the siding was pulled off. >> the sound of chainsaws, and hammers will fill durham county. >> the storms toppled a lot of trees. wral's mikaya thurmond is live in durham. and you have new information. >> reporter: that's right. i want to give you a look at one of the hardest hit areas here in durham. this is on travers circle barratry topples on top of the vehicle just a few feet away from the home. now i can tell you the owner and driver of this car got out just 10 minutes before the tree came down on top of this vehicle. luckily she is okay, as well as the theme throughout durham. a dark canopy moved over durham in a hurry bringing with it sporadic downpours and of course, wind, heavy wind. some trees fell, cutting through homes on their way down. >> it was a huge explosion. the rain, wind and swirling. you know, it was a little bit scary. >> reporter: neigh

police hnot n s 1-oi'ree eplpt riof i'm bill leslie with top stories. state troopers are investigating a bad crash in harnett county shortly before 4:40 this morning at bill shaw road and highway 210. superstate was a head-on collision and responders rushed one person to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. we are working to learn more. >>> testimony begins today in the trial of travion smith and raleigh. prosecutors say he murdered a north hills woman during the burglary. melissa huggins-jones was found dead in her apartment of may 2014 by her 8-year-old daughter. the trial begins this morning at 9:30. we will carry it on www.wral.com. >>> punxsutawney phil fails to see his shadow. early spring. not? >> will have to see about that, bill. we will look at the longer- time. right now let's focus on what's going on right now. you've got 46 degrees up there in roxboro, 46 in south hill, raleigh. 59 in fayetteville, 54 in clinton area. mainly cloudy skies out there to start the day. you can see a little frontal system with sprinkles and light showers

i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. a developing story and harnett county where people walk up to dunn. flames were shooting of the windows when firefighters arrived. we are told the home at six apartment units. all residents got out safely, fire. >>> testimony continues today in the trial of travion smith huggins-jones. this happened in our north hills apartment during a burglary in 2013. the victim's daughter was asleep during the crime. prosecutors say the girl, who was 8 years old, found her mom and ran to ask nearby construction workers for help. they called 911 and the ild's grandmother, melissa's mother, who lived in wilmington. defense attorneys say smith was manipulated by his codefendant, ronald anthony,nd anthony is the one that admitted the murder. he already pleaded guilty and the serving a life sentence. if convicted, smith could receive the death penalty. >>> fayetteville police say they have identified the suspect signatures of violent robberies. investigators spent four months keeping evidence following

check out bill leslie's tie. >> carolina blue came up in the tie rotation. >> i'm a carolina grad. >> the weather should be great for game time, back to normal. >> temperatures will be close to normal today. we had a nice warm afternoon yesterday. which was so nice to see after the wintery weather on monday, and the storms we saw on tuesday morning. yesterday afternoon was glorious, a disturbance, not producing thunderstorms or a heavy rain. a couple of sprinkles. we will zoom in on who is seeing these. around lewisburg, roanoke rapids, steadier rain, lightening up along i-85, pushing towards i-95, seeing rain around roanoke rapids and continuing to see it rocky mount, nashville, light and patchy, holly springs, pitsboro, sighler city, sanford and rob ibs. the rain across the area, 2:00 a.m., hanging around but will be out of here shortly. another maybe 2 hours, probably by 8:00, most is out of the

i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. before we get to elizabeth, several school systems have announced the release because of the severe threat. edgecomb county schools will close four hours early, duplin county schools will close at 11:30. >> also sampson county schools closing at 11:30, wayne county schools closing at 11:00. also wayne county closing at 11:30. >> find the list at the bottom of your screen and on www.wral.com. >> the winds will be picking up and warm, moist air is really the problem spot for us. >> we have seen what the storm system has done to the gulf states which is why this is a huge concern. >> it is. this is one of the higher risks for severe weather we have had in several years. that said, we don't want anybody to panic. the reason we are here is to tell you how to prepare. safe places. on your basement if you have one or first floor in a small room without a window. that could be a closet or bathroom. keep that plan in mind. the other thing to do is know when one of the storms is heading our way

good morning, happy friday. 4:30, i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. happy friday. nice and cool out there. you are going to need a coat or jacket.

great to have you with us find bill leslie. >>> we are glad that you're better. >> got to have some comfort food. >> we're glad you are doing well. that winter crud -- you know what i'm talking about. we have all had >> would be a great world if mac & cheese would cure the common cold?>>> speaking of cold it is cold out. that's the big story from here through the end of the week. the radar is dry. yesterday we had a few bursts of snow showers here and there and it's possible we could see it again yesterday anything we see will be very light. skies cleared overnight and temperatures have plunged into the 20s. 27 cary. 25 roxborough. 28 clinton. at 8 am 25. 35 at lunchtime with a mix of sun and clouds. high of about 40 today. it will be a little breezy. the full forecast coming up.>>> a second suspect is behind bars accused in the murder of the raleigh taxidriver. >> mikaya thurmond is in the newsroom with what you learned about the case. >> reporter: the suspect is being held without bond at the wake county detention center raleigh police arrested 27-year- old conrad patterson. he will face

. >> and i'm bill leslie. the sentencing phase of the travion smith trial resumes today in raleigh. >> smith murdered melissa huggins-jones in her raleigh apartment during a burglary. yesterday, jurors heard from the victims now 10-year-old daughter who found her mother's body. melissa huggins-jones was found beaten and stabbed in her raleigh apartment in may 2013 by her the 8-year-old daughter, hannah jones. >> the child took the stand as a loved ones watched. because of her age, we believe what she said as she described her mother. >> saying, cold, she was very funny. should always make you have a smile on your face. she was very giving and loving to everyone she knew. the same jury that convicted travion smith will decide whether he will get life in prison or the death penalty. a death sentence requires a unanimous decision by all 12 jurors. >>> a toddler injured in a drive-by shooting at his daycare is no longer in the the shooting happened on great bend drive in durham. six bullets hit the house which dou

. >> and i'm bill leslie. it is warm d windy, a total reverse from what we had yesterday. we have a number of stories we are covering including severe weather, power outages in school delays. we have got em all. >> personal to the school delays in power outages. durham public schools delayed two hours, franklin and unt -- granville county schools only two hours, mecklenburg county virginia schools are close. >> a two hour delay for northampton county, orange county, person county, vance county and one county schools, all the way by two hours. see all of the closings and delays on www.wral.com. they are also closing on the >> now the wer outages. >> wind being the big story, 35,000 customers without power in wake county, 1200 and durham county. >> 3700 and granville county which is seen the most problems but it is a crazy morning out there with the severe weather. >> blustery wind and all of the rain ming down. >> that's right, we have not had a lot of lightning but a squall line has much from west to east across the viewing area and kicked wind. we had just been wral's jus

. >> i'm bill leslie. >>> this could be another emotional day in court as prosecutors try to prove a man beat a woman to death while her young daughter was in the apartment. >> travion smith could face the death penalty if convicted in the case. wral's tara lynn is live from the justice center. who do we expect to take the stand today? >> reporter: first up we know there will be a forensic analyst on the stand. they took the stand yesterday afternoon and will be finishing up testimony. they also expect the medical examiner to testify today, going through autopsy photos and reports. of course you can imagine how difficult this is for the family of the victim. they wept and shook with the motion yesterday as investigators reviewed photos from the rder of melissa huggins-jones whose home in her apartment off of six forks road in may 2013 when she was beaten to death. it was her 8-year-old daughter that bound her the next morning. so far testimony at this point travion smith, but we may hear some of that accidents coming from the forensic analyst that takes the stand this morning. track

>> bill leslie's cd. >> i should have known, bill. >> i that viewers have lots of ideas for you. >>> in other news now, a third person faces charges in connection with a home break in and robbery investigation. andre dixon is being held on $1 million bond for his role in monday mornings crime on the spencer christian road. howard earl and terrell mclamb also face burglary armed robbery and kidnapping charges, police believe there are six suspects in all. >>> durham police think they know who stole neighborhood packages offer porches during christmas time. investigators took off once on 29-year-old terrell dillard in connection with two of the theft they say happened december 26 and 28th. they are still looking for dillard. one resident caught a man stealing the gift right off of her front porch through the security video. to at least eight similar package that reports. >>> the state naacp is making plans for the 10th annual mass moral march in raleigh. organizers say the goal of the marches to get all north carolinians registered to vote by the 19th of this month. that is the deadlin

great to have you with us on this friday morning, i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. we are starting off cold this morning. wednesday in the 50s and the 40s. now today in the 30s. >> a good 10 degrees colder than yesterday. yesterday felt chili. look at the rdu sky cam. everything is nice and quiet. clear skies today. yesterday was windy. it will be breezy today. that breeze will have a nip to it like yesterday. we don't have a wind advisory in effect like yesterday. winds 15-20 this afternoon. it's 35 durham, 34 cary. 34 wake forest. 36 zebulon. 36 south hill. 38 fayetteville and erwin. none of our temperatures are below freezingm we may get there, towards the virginia your planner expect mid 30s out the door. 44 lunchtime. high of 49 this afternoon. folks never make it out of the 40s for temperatures today. we have the nice warm up in store for a second half of the weekend. we will talk about what that looks like coming up. >>> a kansas community in shock this morning, following a gunman's deadly rampage. >> flags will fly at half staff to honor the victims. tara ly

bill leslie here with your top stories. we can learn more about plans a committee on congressional redistricting decided not to consider race to maintain the republican party's advantage, well rejoin the maps was ordered by federal court. you maps could be made public today. >>> police are looking for a suspect in a drive-by shooting that injured a 1-year-old boy. it happened yesterday on great bend drive. witnesses told officers multiple shots were fired from a dark-colored sedan. we are told the child's injuries are not life- threatening. >>> let's check in with those bit for a look at the midweek forecast. >> some gradual clearing after having patchy light rain overnight. we are seeing a little sunshine. take a look at durham behind durham county courthouse. you can see some sun and clouds, and we'll see more sun as the day wears on. radar picture showing overnight showers from tonight that have basically moved out. now we're starting to see clearing. temperatures are chilly. 34 roxboro, 35 south hill, 38 in fayetteville

. >> i'm bill leslie. >>> new overnight, a second suspect is behind bars accused in the murder of a raleigh taxidriver. >> wral's mikaya thurmond is in the newsroom with what we learned about the case this morning. >> reporter: that suspect is being held without bond at the wake county detention center. raleigh police arrested 27-year- old conrad patterson of zebulun. he will appear in court later today to face a murder charge. the rest happened the same day a suspect in the case appeared in court, major earl edwards junior are accused of shooting and killing jose dominguez at an apartment on hodge's creek drive. >>> police are looking for a person of interest as they investigate a man's death. year-old heiney byrd near aw mill road. his cause of death is under investigation. detectives are looking for 24- year-old damien boyd who was last seen with the victim about 12:30 sunday morning. there were both seen leaving the area of hawthorne driving a black 2012 ford focus with north carolina license plate blr2895. if you know where he is, call police. >>> a warning about a scam going on in ral

good morning, i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. we begin with traffic troubles on the durham freeway. what's the problem? >> horrible delays in both on both sides of the durham freeway at briggs avenue. at the start on the southbound side. there is an accident blocking the southbound side, down to one lane crawling through downtown durham. those delays on the southbound durham freeway begin about toward briggs avenue. very slow drive on the southbound side of the freeway. consider using mainstreet as a way to get to downtown. on the northbound side, a couple of accident. one they have been able to push over to the right shoulder but we have an accident blocking that left lane of northbound durham freeway at briggs. when you take a look at the sensor readings, they are awful. 51 minutes to make the trip from i-42 mangum street which tells you that it is stop and call all the way up to briggs. consider using 55 westbound as a good alternate route. right now the trip from i-42 mangum street will take you 10 minutes. and if you're head

hope you're doing well, i'm bill leslie. it feels more like april out there. it's february 1st and we're in the 50s, give her take. >> it's a sizzling 71 today. >> we're just going to keep going up. >> you just have to soak it up, because we're going toy warmer temperatures on wednesday, with rain -- to see warmer temperatures on wednesday and rain to go with it. we had a little weather whiplash. right now it's 49 degrees in durham, town by town, 48 in moncure, and 58 in holly springs 49 in rocky mount, and fayetteville. than normal. grab a jacket. we'll see a little mix of sun and cloud cover. for the most part we'll call today mainly sunny. notice the rain that's back to the west across west virginia and parts of kept kept. that does slip down into the area for this evening, after sunset we could see a sprinkle or two on future cast. this is a big deal and not have more rain in our forecast for later in the week. 51 this morning, 64 at noon, a high of 71 this afternoon. a little breezy, but it will be day. it's bryan kind of weather. >> it's my kind of weath

. >> i'm bill leslie. when we came and it was no problem at all that quickly deteriorated. before we get to elizabeth, there are a number of school closings to tell you about. of course, wake county made a wise decision to close the chatham county schools closed, benton city schools on a two hour delay, durham and closed. >> franklin, granville, halifax county schools, harnett county schools are all close. there is a two hour delay in hope county. >> we county schools close, mecklenburg virginia schools, closed. two hour delay for moore county schools. >> in addition, person, vance and warren county all close today, a two-hour delay for wayne county, and wilson county schools are closed. >> you can find this information is growing at the bottom of your screen, it's also on our website along with dozens of business closings and delays. this is probably one of the worst scenarios when we talk about freezing rain and problems on the roads. >> what was her description of this, elizabeth? >> a heartbreaker. for snow lovers. no snow in the triangle. there is no, you know, i lover

i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. its case in a murder case of a map accused of killing his girlfriend many. >> mikaya thurmond has more. >> reporter: two people are expected to testify. the lead captain who pursued this case for years as well as the geologist who made the discovery that led to an arrest chris loring was under suspicion for the disappearance of his girlfriend in 1996 but police didn't have the scientific evidence to make the charges stick. her remains were found about 30 miles from raleigh a year ago. the geologist who is expected to take the stand tested a pebble found in the tread of the subject's shoe which matched the rock found where the body was discovered. after the testimony, the state had rest their case. the trial is set to start at 9:30 a.m. mopped reporting >>> authorities in kansas are trying to figure out what led to a deadly shooting near wichita. 38-year-old cedric ford opened fire on several people at three separate locations in the town of hesston, including lawn care products factor

. >> and i'm bill leslie. good morning, everybody. we've got a mild morning, but it's going to hang the same all day. >> we are going to stay steady in the 50s, not too much excitement in terms of temperature change today. >> i know. such a nice weekend. 60s saturday, 61 yesterday. so nice to have those temperatures but that's gone for the next seven days. we have a cold front that we can thank for cooling of temperatures today. it has also brought patchy showers for roxborough over toward roanoke rapids. the moment. as we head through the next couple of hours we will see that moving to chat a and possibly wake county. keep it here, we watch the showers moving through on the radar and brian will show you how that affects you on the roads. looking out toward western boulevard, you can see the lights but cannot point out the state fairgrounds. some low clouds. at the tv studios, 53. 53 in durham, 51 in wake forest, 53 in zebulun. these temperatures are not likely to warm up much because of that front coming true. going to keep our tempe

. >> and i'm i'm bill leslie. we have our own crazy weather. starting cool and turning warmer. >> let's check in with meteorologist elizabeth gardner. hey, elizabeth. >> hey. interesting weather. we have a little rain in the forecast for today is going to be one of those opposite days. warmer in the morning, cooler in the afternoon, we have rain we are dealing with off and on but the rain is focused at the coast and is going to spread westward across the bering area instead of west to east. everything is opposite. here's a look at where rain are falling. over toward zebulun, clayton and garner, heading down to the south from brockton, over toward clinton, some showers and patchy light rain into fayetteville. did have rain overnight, and we will continue our chance of rain. it may actually increase as we head through the afternoon with some of that rain down to our south and east spreading back across the area. it is a rather gloomy, great start to the morning, and went out there, too, even though we don't have a lot of heavy rain falling. we ha

i'm bill leslie. >> i'm rain rain. dangerous storms moving in to the area. let's get to elizabeth to walk us through the timeline and what we could see. >> we are going to start off taking a look at the radar, that's a great tool we have to look at exactly what is happening in the atmosphere, especially when we have a tornado threat, the threat for tornados is definitely one of the higher ones that i have seen in my years here. right now, we don't have any imminent threats but a few thunderstorms starting to move in to the sand hills this morning around moore county, southwest part of chatham, stronger storms, heavy rain and some lightning with those. no warnings yet.

i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. it was a gritty fight. >> we're going to tread carefully. >> can we move on to the weather? >> my goodness. i don't know everything that happened. so i'm excited to learn and see the highlights. it is cool out there this morning. the temperatures are in the 30s across the area. it's a little colder to the north and west and a little milder to the west and east. 32 in roxboro and 32 in south hill and 39 in goldsboro and 39 in fayetteville so it is chilly and it is jacket and coat weather. and we have a weak cold front trying to slip in and that will deliver some slightly cooler

. >> i'm bill leslie. we hope you it safe throh the storm. it was certainly a nasty one and extended period but gosh i was soro of ouweather center. i just couldn't beeve our wngso hard su an incrib b. >>thu gu y & coany. >> tnk. g eddasterday but wereo wed have anys ree ju t nldama a w blkg mo autt ug letaat e d rar urit ovthprecit exceptp mountas wheyare ge ifanow. e cd wrng arou this essureystem juo nortd ill nd dovethisoruntil avgusts up -3 per st or littlte g. ri're gustg f33in sboro, 23 h . tedurhamis 44utpine our mperat in d 40s wher stfore we it in r an

. >> i'm bill leslie. we begin with breaking news out of cleveland county west of charlotte where a couple died after a crash in a house explosion. >> it happened around 10:30 last night, it happened around then triggering explosions at their home. at least two people killed, fire crews are on the scene cleaning up debris and making sure the gas is turned on. >>> two decades after a shaw university student is murder, a jury could start deliberating against the man accused of killing her. >> investigators charged chris mcqueen. wral's julia sims joins us outside the justice center. >> reporter: jurors announced it would not present any evidence leaving them to consider results of a new dna test as well as testimony from witnesses about things they recall from 20 years ago. jurors heard from friends of lacoy mcqueen who even now some 20 years later broke down on the stand, when talking about the shaw university student. they testified lacoy mcqueen had been pregnant, and her boyfriend, chris lawing, and nc s

. >> i'm bill leslie. >> bill battle the winter cried and he one. now we're dealing with some cold weather. that you have to battle that. >> i feel great today. >> even despite how cold it is? >> we are happy to have you back. everyone has to bundle up. we're talking with the arctic outbreak. and we have it through the weekend. look at that. this is roxborough. the flags are flying so there is a wind chill. sunrise will be pretty across the region. 26 wake forest. skies cleared overnight and allows temperatures to drop. 23 southern pines. it feels like 18 and southern pines. very cold this morning and it will be the same story tomorrow. 25 degrees feeling more like the teens. 35 at lunchtime. i of around 40 and the chance for a few sprinkles or flurries like we saw yesterday. monday with a chance for wintry weather. more and that coming up.>>> major out there are no accidents. 6:31. southwest durham i said 40 at 54. as you would chapel hill you run into no delays. six minutes to the durham freeway. the rest of the triangle is quiet. a few disabled v

i'm bill leslie. >> i'm rain rain. dangerous storms moving in to the area. let's get to elizabeth to walk us through the timeline and what we could see. >> we are going to start off taking a look at the radar, that's a great tool we have to look at exactly what is happening in the atmosphere, especially when we have a tornado threat, the threat for tornados is definitely one of the higher ones that i have seen in my years here. right now, we don't have any imminent threats but a few thunderstorms starting to move in to the sand hills this morning around moore county, southwest part of chatham, stronger storms, heavy rain and some lightning with those. no warnings yet. already this morning. our wind advisory in effect, separate from what we are expecting in terms of the tornados. like lie under a watch soon, we have a wind advisory from 9:00 a.m. until midnight for winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour, which could topple trees. that's separate from the tornado threat. a look at the tornado threat. number 4 on level of 5, that's the red area that you see from

. >> and i'm bill leslie. stuck in the 50s today and going to get rain later on this week but this morning it's kind of a foggy mysterious kind of morning out there. >> it is. and it may surprise you. you may be driving along visibility fine and all of a sudden a patch of dense fog. most of that in the western and southern participants of the view--parts of the viewing area. raleigh sky cam down western boulevard is all clear and much of the viewing area looks just like that so it's not wide fairly sick. in durham it's 52 and temperatures are mild. our normal high temperature this time of year is in the mid 50s. 51 south hill and rocky mount. 56 in fayetteville, 55 in goldsboro. temperatures in the 50s. a cold front bringing cooler

i'm bill leslie. it feels like something is getting ready to happen. it's the humidity that tells you the story. >> i'm renee chou. it's strange in february to feel that humidity. we are expecting some showers later today or do we have any this morning? >> no, but we have thunderstorms on the way. heavy rain, a ri-le pattern for today. 52 durham and wake forest. 50 buck horn. widen out and it's 44 south hill. 48 rocksboro. 48 goldsboro. for this time of year, those are mild temperatures, as bill said, you can feel the mugginess in the air this morning. mostly cloudy skies early on, the rain is back in the mountains of north carolina, you can pick out where the thunderstorms are. oranges showing up in the line. the line of storm has done damage to the west. a history of producing severe weather and a small chance of that here, we will talk about that threat coming up in a few minutes. in the low to mid 50s, 65 lunchtime. high of 70 but won't be much of a day to enjoy the outdoors. >>> breaking news in harnett county this morning, a big fire at an apartm

i'm renee chou. >> & bill leslie. raleigh police are looking for feedback from the city council about body worn cameras. police staff will present concerns and benefits during a budget session. >>> right now let's get a check on traffic. because some problems out there. oh, i'm sorry, but to the weather first. and we don't have any problems. it's okay to do that first. >> absolutely beautiful. let's take a look at the nothing but blue sky out there behind downtown raleigh. we take a look at what's going on in terms of the temperature. 54 in roxboro, 55 erwin, 52 degrees in goldsboro. in the planner, expect temperatures at lunchtime in the low s and near 70 this afternoon under mostly sunny skies. and now brian will do traffic. >> some delays on us-1 northbound through cary from an earlier cident. let's take you to that camera at us-1 and cary parkway looking toward walnut reet. the right lane is partially blocked, the right shoulder as well. 11 minute ride from 55 and apex up to i-40 in raleigh. if you want to avoid i

i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee ou. we are glad you are with us because this is whether you have to pay attention to. before we get to the weather, we have several local school systems that have announced an early release because of vere weather. duplin county schools will dismantle at 11:30 a.m., edgecombe county schools will close four hours earlier. sampson county will close four hours early, 11:00 a.m. is the time for wayne unty schools, also 11:34 clinton city schools. >> find a full list scrolling at the bottom of your screen and anytime on w.wral.com. >>> so the question is, when does it get that? >> in just a few hours, right? >> yes. most likely late morning, possibly lunchtime or early afternoon depending on where you are. we encourage you to continue to watch as on wral and on fox50. we will follow this very changing situation. right now, we're sitting under a pool of some cooler air but in from the coast. once that spreads across the area of the stage will be set for thunderstorms to develop into much ronger

. >>> 7:56, i'm bill leslie. bad weather, that traffic. >> we know that it's going to be rough on rainy mornings but it takes just a little bit of rainfall to back things up on the roads. here's what's going on right now to cary, that's the big trouble spot. that an earlier accident on 440 eastbound around wade avenue in raleigh. of course, us-1 coming out of cary, northbound us-1 turns into 440, so an accident can really back things up in cary and that's what happened. this is the camera at cary parkway, to rainfall in low visibility can see the traffic on the northbound side is crawling along, 26 minutes to make the trip from apex to raleigh. consider alternate routes. one possibility if you're heading into southern or western raleigh, might be tryon to gorman street. we are seeing improvement to corner on 40 westbound but now back up to 25 minutes from 42 to the beltline split. consider using 70 business as an alternate was coming in from garner into south raleigh. unfortunately are seeing things back up on th

good morning, i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. we have live team coverage of this weather system and is what it could bring this morning. eldz gardner is tracking the -- elizabeth gardner is tracking the storm's path and she'll show us who is seeing snow, sleet, and freezing rain. brian shrader has an overview of the traffic and the icy spots to look out for. five giving you firsthand looks at the roads. julia is live in roxboro with a big smile where they have seen some snow up there. it's probably prettier in roxboro than anywhere else. >> it is, but it is nasty in the triangle. before we get to elizabeth, there are a number of schools. wake county schools are closed. >> also on our list, and chapel hill, carboro, closed, and chatham county and clinton county, two-hour delay, and durham, as well as edgecombe county is closed. >> and harnett, and hoke county schools are delayed. >> and mecklenburg, virginia, and north hampton county schools, orange county schools are closed. person county school's closed, vance, wake county schoo

i'm bryan mims in for bill leslie. >> you can tell we love winter. it is that time of year. feels like february. >> can we complain. >> there is a chance we might see a you are inry this morning. >> good way to put it, brian. colder air, that's filtering in behind a front, the front is coming across the area today. we will look at the satellite and radar picture. a band of precipitation, which looks more impressive on this radar picture than it is. we had no reports of this actually reaching the ground. a sprinkle or a flurry a we will have different little pieces of energy like this, disturbances rolling through on and off today as we widen the view out. see more of this across the mountainand across tennessee and kentucky. see more of it today. none will be heavy, every once in a while or sprinkle or flurrys possible. 36 durham and wake forest. 38 holly springs. above freezing, everywhere except for south hill at 32. temperatures dropping a couple of degrees before we get to sunrise. 37 rocky mount and goldsboro. cloudy skies, 32, 39 lunchtime, high of 45, a lot more cloud

bill leslie here with your top stories. three people are displaced after a fire detroit a mobile home in johnston county happening along branch church road in selma. the three roommates went out and came back to see the home in flames. five pets died in that fire >>> we are checking on a possible charge in a deadly hit- and-run in garner. police found the vehicle and driver involved that crash. 22-year-old kayla higgins died. a driver found her at the intersection near yeargan road. >>> we are checking with snow with seems garner. >> that's right. take a look at the roxboro sky cam. they are some of the first to see it. nothing yet again. still several hours away. some sunshine trying to peek through the clouds but more gray than blue today. radar picture shows a band trying to come on in towards roxboro and part of the viewing area. it's fizzled out. that snow will make it out of the mountains and into the area. amounts light from a trace to maybe up to an inch. that's going to be closer to the area. that pink area is wher

is lo s baanll upeis pl go thy t ye , heasrowingshade atttt m thfin al saomt nice thin >> and i bill leslie. top stories. beginning with the school board meeting to discuss student discipline. in the previous year, short and long-term suspensions were up over the year but were down overall for e past five years. most suspensions were connected to african-american students. >>> durham city leaders want the public to have access to video recorded by police body cameras. mayor bill bell moved to delay the body cameras approval until march 7, so councilmembers can make suggestions about video access to the ty manager. >>> out blustery conditions and area, elizabeth. >> that's right. is moving out of the viewing area on toward the coast. picture. we still have patchy light precipitation across a good bit of the viewing area and steadier rain around anoke rapids. still dealing with that and will be doing with that for another 30 to 45 minutes or so. elsewhere, everything looking pretty good. still seeing rain down toward around e triangle, just a little bit of patchy light rain and that's it. the

i'm bill leslie. the weather can be very severe today. latest on the storms and the warm air coming up from the >> exactly. that's when things get more consuming around here, when we get that warm air mass coming in from the coast. we are starting to see folks in sampson county seeing teerur ithe 60s. gradually over the next few in. meantime we have had showers and thunderstorms this morning that developed in the western part of the viewing area. none of that was severe and as long as temperatures are cool like they are now we're not likely to have severe weather. very real. we have level 3 and 4 out of 5 risk for severe weather. expect thunderstorms that will produce wind damage as well as some tornadoes. keep it tuned here. greg fishel will join me later on this morning you will also break into programming with an update at 10:00 11:00 on wral change. one of the issues this morning's fault. it is creating foggy conditions across the area. fog in roxboro as well as many parts of the region. 61 in goldsboro, 63 and 60 in fayetteville begi

. >> and i'm bill leslie. the sentencing phase of the travion smith trial resumes today in raleigh. >> smith murdered melissa huggins-jones in her raleigh apartment during a burglary. yesterday, jurors heard from the victims now 10-year-old daughter who found her mother's body. melissa huggins-jones was found beaten and stabbed in her raleigh apartment in may 2013 by her the 8-year-old daughter, hannah jones. >> the child took the stand as a loved ones watched. because of her age, we believe what she said as she described her mother. >> saying, cold, she was very funny. should always make you have a smile on your face. she was very giving and loving to everyone she knew. the same jury that convicted travion smith will decide whether he will get life in prison or the death penalty. a death sentence requires a unanimous decision by all 12 jurors. >>> a toddler injured in a drive-by shooting at his daycare is no longer in the

i'm bill leslie with your top stories. another difficult they had in the travion smith murder trial in raleigh. a forensic analyst is expected to return to the standard to talk about evidence collected we expect to hear from the medical examiner as well. watch the trial live on www.wral.com starting at 9:30. >>> new overnight a crash in raleigh shut down part of glenwood avenue in the 55 points area. the car hit a home on white oak road knocking down cables and cracking utility poles. the home is not badly damaged, the driver not seriously hurt. police arrested the driver on suspicion of dwi. >>> a cold one ahead of us today, elizabeth. how are we looking? >> another one. this one is in a string the last through the weekend into next week. take a look at the wilson sky cam and it does look beautiful out there. that sunshine is no match for the cold air that has moved in and will stick around for a while. 19 in roxboro, 22 erwin, 23 recommended wilson, 25 goldsboro, 16 the cold spot in southern pines. not much wind out ther

good morning, everybody, i'm bill leslie. >> and i'm renee chou. we were hoping for snow, but ended up with this nasty, problematic freezing rain. elizabeth gardner is tracking the storm's path right now and brian shrader has an overview of the traffic and the potential icy spots to look out for. >> bryan will be talking live with the highway patrol. we have crews in live drive five giving us firsthand look at the crews and julia is live in rockboro. if anywhere saw a picture perfect post card it was roxboro, but they now even have that nasty freezing rain. >> before we get to elizabeth, great call by a number of school districts to close or delay school. wake county schools closed today. >> also on that list we have chapel hill, carboro closed, chatham county, and clinton city schools delayed by two hours, durham public schools cleared, edge comb county schools are close -- edgecombe. >> and hoke county schools, and >> and lee county, mecklenburg county, moore county, north hampton county, and orange county schools are closed. >> warren county sch

. >> i'm bill leslie. ground hog day is not exactly the super bowl for mike moss. he laughs about expoit was talking about how crazy the forecast is today. >> one of those tough forecasts where it could flip on you a little bit. we got the low level layer of moisture out there, that could leave us with a low overcast and during the morning, a patch of drizzle here and there. for some of us, may hang out through the day. for others the low layer of moisture, break up a little bit in to midday and afternoon hours. if it does, could be quite a bit of sun and blue sky in the east of the triangle. a look at the current temperatures, starting the day with 46 rocksboro. 48 roanoke rabids and lewisburg. 55 erwin and keenansville. satellite and radar, showing a disturbance passing by with the front moving south of us, that gave us sprinkles and light showers across northern to northeast north carolina during night. now, not much in the way of precipitation out there, we may see light drizzle and patches during the morning hours. 49 degrees at 8:00. should be mainly cloudy a

. >> and i'm bill leslie. stuck in the 50s today and going to get rain later on this week but this morning it's kind of a foggy mysterious kind of morning out there. >> it is. and it may surprise you. you may be driving along visibility fine and all of a sudden a patch of dense fog. most of that in the western and southern participants of the view--parts of the viewing area. raleigh sky cam down western boulevard is all clear and much of the viewing area looks just like that so it's not wide fairly sick. in durham it's 52 and temperatures are mild. our normal high temperature this time of year is in the mid 50s. 51 south hill and rocky mount. 56 in fayetteville, 55 in goldsboro. temperatures in the 50s. a cold front bringing cooler no 70s today like we saw yesterday and won't do that for the rest of the week either but expect low to mid 50s with cloud cover and a few spotty showers this morning and more wide spread rain south of the triangle later this afternoon. it's going to be a fairly wet start to the week

. >> i'm bill leslie. the travion smith trial continues this morning. >> he's accused of killing melissa huggins-jones in her apartment in 2013. wral's mikaya thurmond joins us live outside the wake county justice center in raleigh. this morning's testimony could be really crucial. >> reporter: we expect sarah redden to take the stand. she is the woman who admitted to being the lookout and getaway driver the night melissa huggins-jones was murdered. that same night, travion smith and codefendant, ronald anthony, tried to sell laptops stolen from the leasing office of the victim's apartment complex. testifying yesterday, michelman:, said he was asked to sell the laptops on their behalf. >> no one ever offers you exactly what you want for a laptop on craigslist. it scared me to death, i took the posting down. >> reporter: anthony already murder. he is serving a life sentence. if convicted, smith could face the death penalty. this hearing is set to start at 9:00 i am. of course, you can stream it live on www.

. >> i'm bill leslie. i had my share of winter. >> you had your fix. we are good. i'm ready for a little bit of spring to come knocking on the door. >> close to march 1st. variable heading closer to spring like that. we will be feeling spring-like over the weekend. another intrusion of cooler air in to next week. that whole thing plays out in the seven-day forecast coming up in 15 minutes, first off, we will focus on today and how we are finishing the week. let's look at morning temperatureses most of us are colder than at the same time yesterday. not a big difference. lewisburg. 27 roanoke rapids. 31 for durham, 28 in goldsboro, 25 for sanford, around 30 in fayetteville. clinton 34, the satellite and radar, yesterday, sunshine, during the night, fair skies, this morning, few high clouds, over western part of the viewing area, we may see the high cirrus clouds from time to time, 29 degrees at 8:00, lunchtime, we will reach 45, mostly sunny skies, mix of sunshine and a few high clouds through afternoon, 3:00 or 4:00, high around 51. >>> the jury in the travion smith

great to have you with us on i'm bill leslie. >> i'm renee chou. grabbed the thick coats and all the your winter gear. >> cold this morning into the mid-20s. feeling colder than that. colder tomorrow morning but without quite as much wind. it's not blustery yet. there's enough of a breeze out for a wind chill. it's not florian across the area now. the skies cleared overnight. it's nice and dry now. later this afternoon we might see a flurry or two like yesterday. 26 cary. 25 holly springs. 28 rocky mount. it feels like 18 in southern prepare for that. at 8 am it will be about 25 at 8 am it will be about 2585 at noon with a high of about 40. increasing clouds and wind in a chance of a few flurries. not expecting any accumulation. however we talk about friday and monday with the potential for some precipitation. those details coming up. nothing causing problems on the roads this morning. >> we're looking good. this is i-40 at lake wheeler wrote. we have no delays here is a live commute map. no problems in the area. one accident is closing creedmoor r

. >> and i'm bill leslie. it is called but it's going to get colder this weekend. >> lobotomies were going to drop and it's going to feel balmy compared to the weekend. >> we have heat, a number of days with 100 degrees and people feel the impact. same as the cold. this is a long stretch with temperatures below normal blood for morning lows and afternoon highs. check in on your elderly numbers, ing your testing at night, check on your elderly neighbors. wilson county sky cam looking good, that is the courthouse, to feel that way all day. beautiful bright blue sky kind of day in our forecast, which is called this morning. 19 in durham, cary, and at the tv udios. our cold spot southern pines, 27 over in goldsboro. the windchill is creating an impact in somepots, feels roxboro, 20 degrees in clinton, goldsboro and fayetteville. actual temperatures at 8:00 upper teens to low 20s. 35 at noon, 40 degrees for by this afternoon with a little bit of a priest, it's going to feel like 30s for most of e afternoon. snow in