jackie benson has seen some of the worse accidents. she is in a safer spot on the national mall. what's going on? >> reporter: we are on 3rd street northwest less than 1/4 mile from the u.s. capital. those whiteout conditions they are talking about, we are seeing that right now. i cannot see the capitol or the washington monument to the other end. conditions are deteriorating right now. by nightfall, driving snow began to filter the glow of the famous monuments of the nation's capitol. as the snow began to fall more heavily, few ventured on to the national mall. those who did saw a picture post card washington. the city is hoping for the best and hopefully prepared for the worst this storm could bring. >> it's different than any other time of year. there are only a couple of crazy people jogging. it's quiet. >> reporter: as evening continues, the storm brought another emergency response, at least three involving snowplows. the bed of a dump truck plowing the entrance to the 3rd street tunnel became wedged inside the tunnel. transportation engineers were called to the scene to ass

jackie benson has details. >> reporter: throughout the evening, being outside was uncomfortable thankswhipping, gusting winds. it caused all sorts of mostly minor problems. anything that was not secured was in danger of being blown away. the washington monument was closed for safety reasons, which is done when the area experiences sustained winds of 35 miles per hour and above because there are no other buildings near the base. visitors get pummeled by the full force of the wind. even before the sun sets, conditions on the national mall were such many tourists decided to call it a day. >> i knew it could be cold, but the wind's a little much. >> we've been following washington's weather for several weeks. we expected it to be cold. >> reporter: at national airport there were delays and few cancellations, the ripple effect of blizzard conditions in new york and new england. most were less than an hour in duration. even before the high wind warning went into effect, cable and electric wires hadeen pulled down at a number of locations in d.c., maryland and virginia. as you can see the win

jackie benson is in rockville. she's seen snapped utility poles to cars on fire. >> i wanted to have good news for our viewers. montgomery county officials tell us that they are going to get 150 additional plows on loan to them from pennsylvania and north carolina over the next day or so. pepco crews are working. they are working and they say they are dedicated special crews to the people who still don't have their power from the last storm. that said, it is windy, still miserable and dangerous out here tonight. into the evening, high winds continue to whip flying snow across roads barely passable in many places in montgomery county. earlier, the engine of a car straining to negotiate a hill burst into flames. luckily, the driver was able to get clear of the vehicle before the tires started exploding. >> we were walking to the market and we smelled the car and saw it smoking and starting to flame. we called 911. >> reporter: a snowplow and an ambulance responded to the scene. montgomery county fire chief said it's

jackie benson has coverage in maryland. >> reporter: this is rockville pike behind me. this has been plowed aozens of times since friday. there are some who have not seen a plow one time on their streets. >> that's what they did. that big snow bank right there. >> reporter: residents in camp springs say they got really angry, to put it mildly when they listened to remarks by maryland and prince george's county leaders this evening. >> 90% plus of all the roads in prince george's county, all the neighborhoods are open. i have been told that by midnight tonight, we would have made a single pass through each neighborhood. >> reporter: howie courttill look like this and snow from the next storm is starting to fall. >> we have a guy here with a heart condition. he was able to get out to get his medication today. we've got elderly people on the street. we've got people with young kids. >> reporter: there is plenty of anger to go around. throughout the maryland suburbs, many people remain without power, more snow means they could wait longer to have it restored. shoppers at th

jackie benson has more on the preparations being taken. >> first some new information. virginia's governor declared a state of emergency while homeowners throughout the area scramble to protect their houses from snow damage. >> if you don't clear the snow when you can and it turns into ice, it become as treacherous, dangerous condition. >> reporter: experts say homeowners should check around their house and fix blocked down spouts and drains before more predicted heavy snow leaves them with expensive property damage. >> because we already had snow on the ground, to clear any snow away from doorways. >> reporter: with december's record snowstorm being followed so closely by predictions of another mammoth snowfall, many homeowners are concerned their roof can't take it ymore. >> there is nothing to worry about. if your home has been built to code and using standard practices of construction, the roof is designed to hold that weight. >> reporter: as for shoveling snow off the roof -- >> in this area with what we are expecting to get, there is no need to do it. it's dangero

. >> jackie benson, thank you. you can find updated weather reports and school closing information beginning on news4 today. it will start half hour early tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. >>> heads of the five major u.s. intelligence agency said today that another attempted terror attack in this country is certain. they told congress an attempted attack by al qaeda could happen in the next three to six months. they are warning it could be carried out by recruits in a minimal amount of training using simple devices. leon panetta cited the attempted attack on christmas day as an example. he said the suspect had a u.s. advi visa. family members flew from nigeria and worked with the fbi to get him to cooperate. he is talking again to investigators and providing valuable information that is aggressively being pursued in yemen. his cooperation could be in preparation for a guilty plea which would spare him the death penalty. >>> still ahead on news4 at 11:00, michael jackson's doctor awaiting word he could face charges this week. >