not really tearing up the peninsula or the panhandle too bad. a ton of rain moving itselff onshore. bill is sitting well to the east of the high rent vacation islands but quite well formed. he is headed towards the west. it bears watching. it was in the mid-90s on this date yesterday, the 16 and 17th that andrew hammered south florida. and an drew got his birth the same place bill is. so we'll watch this closely for you. >>> here is joy ponds and our wjz traffic control. >>> it looks like we're seeing accident activity. be careful route 7 and the middle river now. there it will be shut down because of some downed wires. harford county, one in, white hall and norrisville road. a big reminder, if you use light rail, get an early start there. and we're taking a live look on the rights side of the screen. you can see break lights on the top of your screen. so don't be disseed there. looking good all the way into town. that's the 40 intersection where we're looking for alternates. this is brought to you by toyota. now over to manic monday. >>> we hav

packing heavy rains, the storm makes landfall in the florida panhandle. >>> reform wrangling. compromise could be in the works on a key public option provision of the obama healthcare plan. >>> and tiger's pain. y.e. yang pulled off an amazing upset at the pga championship. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. >>> claudette made landfall in the florida panhandle early this morning, the first named storm to hit the u.s. main land this year. claudette moved onto the shore at ft. walton beach as a tropical storm with maximum winds of 50 miles per hour. the storm dumped heavy rains in some area but is expected to weaken over land and is not expected to cause significant damage. forecasters have been watching two other storms over the weekend. ana, headed toward the gulf of mexico, is dying out. bill is farther away but potentially the most dangerous of the three. hari sreenivasan has more. >> reporter: claudette came ashore less than a day after forming over the gulf coast. ana is already weakening, but bill has forecasters watchi

there's claudette in the panhandle of florida. it seems as if this panhandle area is a beeline. as we look at tropical depression anna, it's moving in the same direction it looks like that cone of uncertainty includes the panhandle. anna will not be as much of a factor as claudette. still a tropical depression. more importantly, we have hurricane bill. this is the first hurricane of the atlantic hurricane season. it's more than 1,000 miles to the east of the lesser antilles far out in the atlantic. moving alorntion you see it will be likely a category three. potentially as early as wednesday as it's gaining strength quickly. right now the sustained winds are at about 75 miles per hour. it's a beautiful hurricane. very well defined. no major eye set as of yet. as it moves over the waters, it will pick up strength and is expected to not only be the first hurricane of the season but the first major hurricane of the season. got those tracking charts out. the current coordinants, 13.8 north and 44.0 west. it looks like for the next seven days here we're going to be quiet. chance of a

tropical storm claudette made landfall in florida and the panhandle.s moving into alabama throughout the day today. dumping anywhere from three so six inches, widespread as far as the rain is concerned, could see locally heavy amounts, up to 10 inches. let's look farther out into the atlantic, looking at tropical depression ana the winds are 35 miles per hour. not real impressive now but look at the track this storm will be taking. most likely track has it coming right towards florida and in towards the panhandle. much like this storm claudette has done. so be aware of that. and hurricane bill, this is our first hurricane of the season. winds of 75 miles per hour. pressure 29.15. it's till very far out there you but the track at this point in time takes it, yeah, you guessed it, right up to northwesterly fashion up towards the mid-atlantic coastline. for today, what you're looking at, 91 degrees, partly sunny and another hot one for us. that will continue on into tomorrow. let's see what's happening on the roads with kim. >> thank you. traffic is movin

it made landfall, cing ashore on the florida panhandle. claudette has kicked up the surf and caused some minor flooding. experts say the last thing people should do is to underestimate the storms because it's been a slow season. they point out that hurricane andrew, a devastating storm to hit florida, didn't form until this day back in 1992. >> we're just now getting into the time frame where we, on average, see our first storm reach hurricane intensity. >> as for claudette, the storm's already weakening over land. the winds topped out at 50 miles an hour. forecasters predict it will dump between 3 and 6 inches of rain. stay with news 4 and nbcwhington.com for the very latest on the tnbpical storms in nte laatic. just visit our website and chseeather. >> the search continues t s. morning for the person who walked up to a crowded bus stop in northeast washington and opened fire. it happened near the minnesota avenue metro station on saturday. investigators say at least one gunman opened fire and sho seven people. many of the people standing

into the panhandle. tallahassee getting heavy rain. lot of this rain will bomb the panhandle and lower alabama or los angeles. that will be the story overnight and really the leading edge. two storms at sea. anna, bill way out there. has the greatest possibility to be a major hurricane and move eventually into the ocean. we will see if it becomes a threat or not. wap watch out for bill. it'll be muggy. slight chance for a shower in the next hourer or two. sunday 92 degrees. that's where we are going right now. haze, passing thin clouds. if we get more cloud cover that would hold the temperature down. seven day forecast now again it's a hot trend here for the next three to four days. carbon copies, better chance for showers and storms as we go into the next few days. watch out for that and again later in the week and next weekend we cool it off back into the mid80s. >> thank you. gas prices took a break. the average national price now $2.65s. in maryland paying about $2.05s even though you can find it lower than that. analysts say don't

residents of florida's panhandle had just one day to prepare as tropical storm claudette made a swift entrance as the first major storm to make landfall this season. though it never quite made it to hurricane strength, claudette's soaking rains and strong winds may be just a taste of more storms to come. nbc's kristin dahlgren joins us live from panama city, florida, with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hey there. right now just some light rain here, light winds in panama city. but we are expecting heavier band looking at the radar to come through in just a short time here. some places can expect to get up to 6 inches, even more locally. so the rain really going to be the signature of this storm. but claudette's lasting impact may well be a reminder of how quickly a hurricane season can change. claudette came ashore on florida's panhandle with lashing winds. >> 55, 60, even 65-mile-an-hour gusts. >> reporter: and pounding surf. while to the south near ft. myers a tornado spawned by the system ripped into more than 20 homes. all hallmarks of a tropical system. but for many, a bi

tropical storm claudette is hitting the panhandle with heavy rain and 50 mile-an-hour winds. >> and rightind two other tropical storms are gaining strength in the atlantic, ana and bill. here's jeffrey kofman. >> reporter: on friday this hurricane season was a nonstarter. suddenly this weekend three tropical storms form, one of them claudette popped up in the gulf of mexico and is now making landfall here on the florida panhandle. >> i think claudette in the end is a warning shot. the gulf is more prime than usual for intenseification this year. >> reporter: the sleepy hurricane season is over. the scramble to stock up has begun. >> we're used to it. all can you do is prepare yourself for the worst. >> reporter: behind claudette two more storms are churning in the atlantic. ana and bill, which is expected to become a major hurricane but so far computer models show it staying at sea. as it time lapsed image show, this summer has been marked by sudden weather changes and intense rain showers but no hurricanes. hurricane season officially begins june 1st. the last time a first-named storm ca

it came ashore in the florida panhandle. claudette formed yesterday morning. the storm was packing 50-mile-an-hour winds but it's not expected to cause any significant damage. >> the texas businessman accused of running a $7 billion ponzi scheme is due in court today. stanford has requested to be moved to a federal prison, calling the conditions of his jail cell intolerable. >> fears realized in california. dry, windy conditions fanned flames, spawning nearly a dozen wildfires across the state. the fire that had been causing the most concern is now about 50% contained. more than 2,000 people who had been forced out of their homes are now being allowed to return. >>> well, summer is winding down. don't we know it? that means it's almost time to head back to school. give you a shiver to think about that. one thing that's worrying many parents this year is the swine flu. >> and that's why government officials are in a race to field a safe and effective vaccine. as rehema ellis reports, they're getting some crucial help. >> reporter: 45-year-old caroline is one of

on the panhandle area. there's a potential for this to dump about 10-inches of rainfall in the panhandle and in southwest alabama and periodic doses as it makes its way across land. it's got 50 mile-per-hour sustained winds. it may be weakening throughout today as it does cross the land masses, move together west at about 15 miles an hour. let's take a look at our radar and satellite imagery. we have that going on down there in the panhandle. this is what we're look at with tropical storm claudette. we also have a whole lot of nothing going on. we have our weather influence by the bermuda high. strong ridge of high pressure is in full control. it gave us a beautiful weekend. no rainfall so to speak. it looks like we're dry again today. 75 downtown. 70 at the airport. 70 generally on the eastern shore. going to be a hot one today statewide, even in the mountains of western maryland. we're up to about 87 degrees for a daytime high. partly cloudy skies. winds light and out of the southwest in baltimore. 92 deg

tropical storm claudette turning toward the florida panhandle.s evening it could bring significant amounts of rain and two other storms we're keeping ab eye on. ana and bill. ana isn't causing as much worry as even a day ago. >> it could always regenerate. it's done that once. immediate concern is tropical storm claudette because of the proximity to the coast and we're looking at landfall with this thing in a couple of hours away this could happen as early as 4:00. maximum sustained winds right now are at 50 miles per hour and we're seeing gusts stronger than that, and we'll feel the tropical storm force winds coming in shortly. and you can see the heavy bands of rainfall moving in. we could see isolated tornadoes along with flash flooding. 3 to 5 inches of rainfall can be expected with claudette, and we'll watch this move inland then. overnight tonight through the day tomorrow. by the time you wake up, it will already be in alabama, but we'll feel some of the impacts. it just won't be as strong in terms of windful. as for ana and bill as well. a

it's worse up in the panhandle. watch it right here across alabama and go to mobile ee then once you start heading into florida as well, watch out for that sudden flooding. rainfall rates are as strong as 2 to 3 inches per hour. and that's a little uncertain l. it head towards the u.s. or curb away into the northern atlantic. stay tuned because we're going to have to track that one. we're still days away. finally, we're also tracking ana and it's pronounced ana. a tropical depression out in puerto rico bringing very heavy rain. this storm bears watching for the u.s. because look at this. and that could bring heavy rain and downpours and strong winds. it's getting very active and we're seeing cloud coverage associated with this system. claudette is creeping up to alabama, even working towards georgia. the low clouds associated with ana is actually -- claudette, rather, is bringing about changes in the travel and 11 fires are burning in the golden state. that's the heavy smoke over the santa cruz mountains. hundreds o

. >> and tropical storm claudette made landfall along florida's panhandle in the overnight hours. how it might impact the weather in our area later this week. >>> also ahead, fight over health care reform lands in e- mail inboxes across the country and some people are not so happy about that. what changes the white house is making in response to a flood of complaints. >>> michael vick hit the practice field with the philadelphia eagles over the weekend. we'll hear what he is saying about his time in prison and guilt he feels over the crime he committed. >>> start y off with a view from above. it looks like a pretty sunrise on this monday morning, august 17th. it is 7 # take right now. good morning. thank you for waking up with fox 5 morning news. >>> tropical storm claudette made landfall along florida's handle just before #:00 this morning. >> it is expected to dump three to six inches of run with isolated areas getting amuch as 10 inches. forecaster are keeping an eye on hurricane bill. first hurricane of the 2009 atlantic soap. the national hurricane center expects bill will ge

we could see anywhere between 3 to 6 inches of rainfall in the panhandle area.ocally, heavier amounts. i will show you a closer view where the center of circulation is. we were thinking we might get landfall on the cape area. the storm took a little jog off to the west and we think the center of circulation is here. landfall will be a little later and a little farther western into the panhandle, maybe destin or fort walton beach. panama city and pensacola, a couple hours away. we think it's somewhere around 60, maybe 70 miles away and it's moving at about 15 miles an h r hour. we put a couple of the true viewers to give you an idea what the winds have been doing, we have been seeing gusts at 40 miles an hour in apalachicola. these are sustained winds and includes gusts at 24, 25 miles an hour, a bit on the hefty side. i have a picture i want to show you, a webcam shot from the panama city beach area, from the holiday inn sun spree on their roof cam. you can see winds at 24 miles an hour and getting gusts in apalachicola around 45 miles an hour. our i-reporters h

a new storm threaten toes florida panhandle and alabama's coast. and it's not alone. two more storms are getting stronger as they approach land. >>> police search for a man who attacks milwaukee's mayor with a pipe. but this is no political grudge. how it started and ended in what police say about the attacker. >>> the chicago police aren't the only ones asking people to turn in their guns. parents who have lost children to violence are begging folks to trade a firearm in for a gift card. >>> in life, he was the king. and for elvis fans, nothing has changes. they are remembering his death, 32 years ago today. but this year, they have something to celebrate as well. >>> hi. you are watching hln. i'm virginia cha. here's our top story. we now have three tropical storms to keep our eyes on. parts of the florida and alabama coast are under storm warnings as a new weather system brews off the northern gulf coast. it sprang up early this morning. it's strengthened enough to become tropical storm claudette. it could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain to florida and southwest georgi

some parts of the florida panhandle could get up to ten inches of rain.eantime, tropical storm bill is churning over the atlantic getting stronger and heading east. it could make it to hurricane strength today. also, tropical storm anna still causing worries for the caribbean as it moves westward. forecasters say it may hit haiti or the dominican republic but they can't say if it will reach the u.s. >>> milwaukee mayor tom barrett is recovering after being beaten with a metal type. we don't know the extent or type of injuries he received in this attack, but police say he was alert and talking when he arrived last night. police are now searching for the man responsible who they believe is a known criminal. they say barrett was leaving the fair with his family when he saw a woman struggling with a man and heard her shouting for someone to call 911. the mayor began dialing 911 and that is when the suspect apparently stopped attacking the woman and began beating the mayor with a pipe. he then fled the scene before he could be stopped. >>> the weekend is bring

it's closing in on the florida panhandle. good sunday to you. i'm craig melvin. claudette is packing powerful winds and bringing heavy rains to the florida coast. people who live there are also keeping their eye on another storm brewing in the atlantic. chuck bell joining us from storm center 4. >> the storm we're going to have to watch later on in the week is going to be tropical storm, probably going to be hurricane bill. in the short term we need to worry about tropical storm claudette. winds gusting in excess of 40 miles per hour. you can see a lot of travel troubles down there. if you have flight problems tomorrow that will bring you to atlanta, birmingham, pensacola or mobile, flights they be impacted. from pensacola to the very tip, the southernmost extent, you can see on the infrared satellite imagery a compact circulation with the storm moving other far central and western parts of the florida panhandle. this storm packing a lot of rain. apalachicola. over about the next 12 to 24 hours this storm will go inland leaving a lot of wind and rain in its wake.

. >>> well i'll tell you the panhandle of florida is really getting pounded tonight. but this very sudden storm, tropical storm claudette which was not there last night developed overnight into a depression and quickly got stronger today. and i tell you what people think if it were out over the warm gulf water for 10 our 12 hours we would be talking about hurricane claudette. but there are about three hours before it comes to the shore, skimming along the panhandle. here you see tropical storm winds, flooding also flood warnings are popping on. and it will be a very busy night indeed for florida as well as a busy day. movig inlaba, not par far from the panama pensacola florida area. and it could be stronger later. the latest, watching the update on tropical depression anna, not a lot of change but some indication by the way of computer models that it could be weaker. tropical storm bill, barely under hurricane strength, winds under 70 miles per hour. that will be an important storm to watch on the east coast. meanwhile, washington, another hot week, 93 degrees, humid,

that's made landfall along the florida panhandle.ome of the heaviest is off of the coast and still moving across western florida and mississippi and alabama and places like that. right in the center of f the screen, that was tropical depression ana and that will bring rain to port rick key and we'll get our eye on it. on the right side of the screen, that was hurricane bill, the first of the season and that's out s ximum winds of 75 mio pele maximum winds of 75 miles per hour. here's the temperatures here. w're yoyoing back and forth n eetw72, 73, back up to 73 . nown new york drof fd o8 tooff to 78 degrees nd roanoke at 69 at this hour. and here's the satellite. and reagan natio l, cloudy skies. at we can show you the clouds ove theanidtlre-ac tigion. c it's over us right now. five-day forecast. high today about 93 degrees and that's above normal. looking for a normal high will be 86. it will be humid and 30% of rain showers in the afternoon. a better chance on wednesday and thursday and friday, another chance of a high of 88 degree

tropical storm claudette is expected to dump as much as ten inches of rain on parts of the florida panhandle and alabama. forecasters are also watching two other storms. bill which became a hurricane this morning in the atlantic, and ana a tropical depression. >>> fire is the problem out west

just ask people off the panhandle about claudette. it is the first named storm to come ashore with the threat of 10 inches of rainfall. >> we usually experienced this this time of year. >> people had about adair so to gear ready. >> we do not know what is going to happen. -- people had about a day or so to get ready. bill is the most likely to become a full-fledged hurricane, perhaps a major hurricane. >> anywhere between the carolinas, you better keep an eye out on it. >> this has happened. in 1992, andrew formed. days later, it became a category five devastating florida. as for damage from claudette, it appears there is nothing major. as soon as we get some video from florida, we will show it to you. matt brock, abc 7 news. >> thank you. >>> investigators are looking for a group of men who attacked a graduate student at union -- at george washington university. the victim was waiting for a bus. the man suffered minor injuries. it appears to be a random attack. >>> police are looking for a suspect in an afternoon shooting. a male suf

there are now three storms out there, and the florida panhandle is going to take a direct hit tonight> a possible change of plans. the obama administration sending signals today that it might back down from a key part of its health care reform plan. >>> bad habits? the vatican's controversi investigation of american nuns. have nuns here strayed too far from church doctrine? >>> and, star crossed. one of the world's biggest movie stars, the tom cruise of india, held for questioning at an american airport. he says it's because he's a muslim. it's become an international muslim. it's become an international incident. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> good evening. for people in florida, and all along the atlantic and gulf coasts, this has been a quiet hurricane season. since june, nothing. but now, all of a sudden, there are three storms out there, and they are allaining strength. tropical storms ana and bill have formed in the atlantic, and opical storm claudette is poised to hit the panhandle of florida tonight. abc's jeffrey kofman is there. >> reporter: what a different a day or two

last night we had an inch half of rain, you can see the moisture coming in from the gulf along the panhandle of florida. rain from west virginia an all this converging on maryland. thunderstorms kicking up around baltimore and over to edge wood, middle river, all these storms are starting to play out thank you tim-- ahead. coverage of topical storm mary. danny continues now with jessica city, where they're pr for beach damage and dangerous surf-- jessica? beach damage and dangerous surf. good afternoon, jessica. >> reporter: good afternoon. safety officials here in ocean city have been preparing for tropical storm danny should it come this way. at this point, they say they're not too concerned. they will have a full staff of about 75 life guards, beaches are open. there's a higher tide so they said they will pull their chairs back a little further tonight if we do get hit with heavy rains and larger than average rain, they'll send units out to patrol the beach, they're saying the beaches are open at this point and want everyone on the beach to be prepared and i just met with rick, he's the m

ve it fot ker >> this morning tropical storm claudette is coming ashore in the florida panhandle and is double trouble brewing in the atlantic. >> then remembering the king of rock 'n' roll. ♪ is your heart filled with pain ♪ >> elvis's legacy 32 years after his death. >> and paws for a cause. man's best friend helping children learn to read. it's monday, august 17th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i've heard these programs are also great because the dog doesn't judge. so the child feels completely comfortable reading and the dog just happily listens and smiles. >> i know jake does that. i'm also interested in elvis stories. hard to believe 32 years since he die >> you're such a big fan. >> good morning. i'm jeremy hubbard. >> i'm vinita nair. after more than two months of relative quiet, the hurricane season is suddenly active along florida's gulf coast. tropical storm claudette is hitting the panhandle with heavy rain and 50 mile-an-hour winds. >> and right behind two other tropical storms are gaining strength in the atlantic, ana and bill. here's jeffrey

we have breaking news as claudette, the first tropical across the florida panhandle. and the first big weather monster this year, hurricane bill, gains steam in the atlantic ocean. >>> white house compromise? will president obama give in on the key position in the health care battle? what that means for you and your insurance. >>> missing mom. the desperate search for a woman kidnapped while talking on her cell phone. what are the clues in her last conversation? >>> and the wait is almost over. this morning we reveal the new cast of "dancing with the stars." is this surprise guest really stars." is this surprise guest really ready to shake that stuff? captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> and we hope it's a great dne sawrh itcurif you.s on cuo omon this monday, august 17th, 2009. robin is awas today. here it is, claudette. >> this is the first tropical storm of the season. some big numbers here. 50-mile-an-hour winds, 6 inches in rain. the big question for us now, where does it go? >> some areas could get as much as 10 inches of rain. as we project it will go up into ala

this is mainly going to be a flooding rain threat for parts of the panhandle. maybe as far over as southern alabama, and into the emerald coast areas. getting soaked right now. to the west, watching ana and eventually bill coming on the screen in a couple of days. claudette fizzling out, but sending clouds up the east coast. even as far north as baltimore. it already means a few clouds tonight. 68. a lot of spots don't dip below 70. tomorrow, should crack 90 degrees without a sweat, so to speak. as we go into the day tomorrow, up to around 90, 91 for the next three or four days. but the better chance of showers coming late week. we available cool off -- eventually cool off to the mid- 80s. >>> rescue efforts continue for people still stranded by last week's typhoon. officials fear the death toll could top 500. thousands of people have been air listed from villages that were buried by mudslides. international aid is arriving, and right now people are forced to live in temporary spaces. >>> in russian, two jets collided. a woman on the ground was also hurt when o

that's the one right in the florida panhandle. tropical storm ana, however is still moving in the western direction to about 20 miles per hour now, sustained winds at 40 miles per hour, gusts to 52. still moving toward the leeward islands and we will still be looking at potentially an ana impact on the florida panhandle over the next we will say six days or so, five or six days and then there's tropical storm bill, much the same dynamic as ana, 40 miles per hour moving to the west at about 16 miles per hour. farther out. impact not for another seven to 10 days for u.s. interest. sunset today at 7:59, we are looking at your bay temperature at 84 degrees so if you plan on being in the water, pretty comfortable today. 92, mostly sunny and hot, patchy clouds around. tonight down around 67 degrees, mainly clear and humid and then tomorrow much the same as today, temperatures up around 93 degrees. i think a lot of folks will be calling in sick. a lot of three-day weekends with the 93 degrees monday. >> those early tee times. >> oh, yeah

due to the sudden development of a tropical storm it is taking aim at the panhandle. more on the storm from jacqui jeras in the severe weather center. talking about ana, bill, now this is the focus. >> yeah, claudette, focused because it is aimed right for the florida panhandle. as you mentioned this is a tropical storm this developed in the overnight hours, tropical depression it has been strengthening since that time and will continue to do so until it makes landfall. maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour and it is you know, less than 40 miles away from the coast right now. i want to go ahead and show you some of the rain bands because we have been seeing that already pushing into the area, very heavy at times, over toward apalachicola, the tallahassee area. occasional occasionally, been seeing the thunderstorms wrapping around with the outer bands, tampa bay also into the orlando area. we could see anywhere between three to five inches of rainfall along with those gusty winds. this is going to be enough to cause some localized flooding. in addition, we could

whipping winds and rain hit the panhandle of florida overnight. there this is from panama city, florida. it lost steam and was downgraded to a tropical depression today. and the remnants are going up into alabama and mississippi. the other storm to watch is bill. he was a hurricane overnight. that's the first of season and ana, too? >> yes, and bill. bill is way out to see in the atlantic. and he's intensifying >> he's making it up to 90 miles per hour. he became a hurricane at 5:00 and the winds are getting stronger by the hour. claudette, the winds are down to 35 miles per hour and we'll talk about that and s waoa nl . e s onla prdeonsi thethicas de fession. and that was the fact yesterday afternoon and became a tropical storm. and now, inland, it's losing sthe y.ergyplup there's the r rplwead andae 'r talking about u hetra ine n h continuing this hour across the florida panhandle and, there, e hecan see new orleans on side of tle screen. it's not raining in new orleans right now and tothofe east, across mississippi and alabama, we continue to s

tropical storm claudette made it through the florida panhandle yesterday. it quickly fell apart but it brought plenty of wind and rain. >>> and we're just getting this video in from st. croix. this is from tropical storm ana. when ana came through, it didn't form very well an it dissipated but also while it was there there was a lot of win and rain and lightning to the virgin islands. all right. so you can track the weather in the tropics by going to our website at wusa9.com. and you can get the latest from our weather page. and you can down load a hurricane tracker. it is free. it's easy. go to wusa9.com. >>> here's the person that keeps us up to date. >> gad afternoon, girlfriend. >> how are you? >> i'm well. i have been sneezing like crazy. >> i have, too. >> the latest allergy update came in. ironically all the ailer jens are technically in the low category. show you the map. this means mold, trees and grass. okay. but here's what i found out. ragweed is just coming out and you know what my nose can smell it a mile away and only getting to get worse ove

the storm made landfall in the florida panhandle.> important news in the healthcare finance debate. the so-called public option may be going away. president obama wants a government-run insurance plan but does not have enough congressional support for it. now he and other officials said they could accept other ways to help the uninsured. >> what's important is choice and competition. i'm convinced, at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those. but that is not the essential element. >> the most likely alternative, insurance co-ops designed to help people buy private insurance more easily. >>> in minneapolis, charges of excessive police force caught on video. it shows half a dozen officers kicking and punching darrell jenkins after a traffic stop. the initial report said jenkins resfted arrest. those charges were later dropped. the minneapolis police chief will study the video today. >>> milwaukee mayor tom barrett was beaten with a pipe on saturday when he tried to help a woman he didn't know who called for help in an appar

panhandle of west virginia this morning. those are heading up to pennsylvania at this hour. it's a steamy, hot day under way. we are in the mid and upper 80s now from the shenandoah valley, and in montgomery, arlington counties in the upper 80s now. look at the dew points in the upper 70s. and then it's more humid than here in the area here. and temperatures there at the beach is now right in the upper 80s and out in the mountains it's near 70 degrees. over the last six hours, we have been watching a few storms heading up into pennsylvania in the southwest. and then we have strong storms possible this afternoon, 3:00 to 7:00, and includes frankly all of maryland and the district of columbia and up in pennsylvania. we could have isolated storms up in this zone producing damaging winds. and here is the latest with hurricane bill. it still has quite a bit of structure to it, although the eye filled in overnight. now it has opened back up again. look at all of this confection. these are all heavy thunderstos, especially on the northern side of it. here are the latest statistics.

this is basically going to be a rain event for the panhandle of florida. this is td number four, designated that at 5:00 this morning. yesterday dumped 2 inches of rainfall in miami, 1 1/2 inches in ft. lauderdale. setting a record. sustained winds of 35 miles an hour. it is a prop cal depression but could become a tropical storm. let's show you radar right now. give you a real good vantage point of the rain. just off the coast from st. pete beach, clear water beach, as you look out over the gulf, a lot of heavy rain, wind gusts probably 25, 30 miles an hour. the satellite that measures the wind, shows this thing is not developing. it's going north-northwest towards the panhandle. some of the outer bands in the st. george island, apalachicola, it is going to take that rain into the beaches this afternoon and tonight. again a washout as we roll through the afternoon around panama city, destin. forecast to become a storm, claudette, td number four. impact doesn't change. primarily a rain event, maybe 35, 40-mile-an-hour wind gusts. surge not an issue, wave s

tropical storm claudette made landfall in the florida panhandle. continues to move up into alabama throughout the day today. 40 mile-per-hour winds now. and it looks like the track of that storm is going to take it far enough to the west of us we shouldn't be troubled too much with rain from it. 91 degrees today, partly sunny and hot and for tonight looking at a low of 68 degrees, partly cloudy and humid. >>> let's check the roads with kim with with. >>> no real problems on the major roads. 95 southbound approaching whitemarsh boulevard, traffic building towards the 695/895 split but no real incidents or problems at this time. however, we're working a few incidents in the county, in harford county, white hall area, a crash at white hall road at norrisville road. in rosedale, route 7 between middle river road and king avenue remains closed at that intersection because of downed power lines. expect utility crews to be there. and use pulaski highway as an alternate there. and hanover crash and butler road, a crash there. just be aware of that. downtow

fall just before 2:00 this morning but even before that it brought plenty of rain to the florida panhandleusands near florida -- voluntary evacuation order this weekend. local residents weren't taking chances. >> make sure my vehicles are full of fuel and i have panels and everything i kept from previous storms stored if i put them up they are not coming down until thanksgiving. >> the first hurricane of the season named bill is lurking in the atlantic ocean. >>> we have ana over the weekend but it is a tropical depression and going over the mountain. it is a strong tropical wave and may bring rains to florida toward the weekend but not expecting anything big and bill we will talk about bill in a moment. if you are going to the beach, bill may not impact us directly by and direct from that will be felt in the form of rip tide and heavy surf. hot around here. today and tomorrow. but not as hot on wednesday with a better chance of thunderstorms. now, clouds this morning have slowed the warmup but i expect 90s this afternoon with 10% chance of a thunderstorm. one starting to develop in the we

there's a tropical storm making landfall right now in the panhandle of florida. it looks like folks are dealing with winds of excess to 50 to 60 miles an hour. rain anywhere from 3 to 5 inches. they're going to be dealing with power outages towards panna macity and theirs -- they're seeing active conditions tonight. for us it looks like we're going to things warming up throughout the day tomorrow. 82 in baltimore. 80 in d.c. we'll see temperatures in the 90s by tomorrow. mid-afternoon plenty of sunshine to start off the work week. next chance for showers will be mid-week. we're talking about a potential hurricane forming in the middle of the atlantic overnight tonight into tomorrow. will that affect us? a look at that coming up in just a bit. >>> you can be in charge of your own personalized forecast. iradar is available at foxbaltimore.com to track coming storms to your very own street. go to foxbaltimore.com and click on iradar. >>> hundreds of young baseball players are here are the cal ripken world series. as myranda stephens explains, it looks like it's hitt

in tampa, fox 5 news. >>> and recovering from hurricane ivan, it hit the florida panhandle five years ago. >>> and an about-face over the battle over health care reform. the obama administration is signaling they can make changes. fox 5 news claudia coffee is here with more on what this could mean in the ongoing debate. >> well, the health and human secretary, kathleen sebelius, talked about the health care reform plan, talking about the essential elements. those remarks came after president obama suggested in a town hall meeting that a public option once talked of as critical for the health care reform is now up in the air. the minutes' willingness to bend on the subject looks like they will back away from the bill if the public option is not a part of it. but it sends a signal that polls and angry town hall meetings could have an effect on the package. the administration's suggestion on it being open to co--op options, with that the government would still be involved but later it would step back. >> the idea is that the government would front end some of the money and we have yet to

. >>> tropical storm claudette made landfall on the florida panhandle last night. it got weaker once it got to shore. after causing wind damage and sporadic power outages, claudette was downgraded to a tropical depreion. winds about 30 miles an hour. that storm is now moving to alabama and it is not expected to cause significant flooding or damage as it moves through the northwest. >>> it's not the only up with out there, is it? >> no, but ann is gone. claudette's pretty much gone. bill. >> bill. >> bill is out there. bill may become a major hurricane. fortunately, it's out over the waters. around us, we had another hot day today. our temperatures into the 90s. what are you going to do on a hot night like snont. >> sit outside. >> sit outside and take it easy and say, before you know it, it will get chilly. we are losing more than two minutes of lay ddaylight. today was the last day of the year our sunset is at 8:00. doesn't map until may 2010. we made it up into the 90s. 17 -- i'm keeping track, 17 90-degree days. look at the 90s in new york city and boston. 94 it

tropical storm claudette made landfall along the florida panhandle, behind her two more storms are out in the atlantic. clayton has details. >> reporter: on apalachicola bay paul fridell fought 40 mile-per-hour winds to save his sailboat from a measly tropical storm. for a while we were not sure how he managed to hang on while they tied down the vessel. >> we hope it doesn't get too much worse. anyway, i'm just looking after my boat. >> reporter: off the coast jean picked up her daughter from work and took off inland to tallahassee because the river was rising. >> we've had a couple of small trees already blow down across the road my husband had to move. our crooked river is already rising just with the rainfall. >> reporter: in port st. joe shoppers swamped the piggly wiggly to get flashlights. camille wilson lives in safety harbor and came all the way here to vacation. >> we're going to stay here for the duration. tomorrow the sun will be out. >> reporter: on apalachicola bay you can barely stand here. there are people who will try to tough it out in boats tied up to the dock. there'

first to come ashore, bringing 50-mile-per- hour gusts and bucket of rain to parts of the florida panhandle sunday night. most locals stayed put. >> about every time this year we experience this type of weather. >> reporter: the season's first system, ana, was tropical storm but has since been downgraded to a depression. just behind her in the atlantic ocean is bill, the first hurricane of the season. weather experts say we can thank el nino for a relatively quiet summer so far. >> el nino typically equals wind sheer, and that tends to disrupt storm organization. >> reporter: for now people in florida's panhandle will be checking the damage after claudette's best shot. >> an? and claudette are no threat to maryland but we are keeping a close eye on hurricane bill. bob turk is tracking the storm. >> aus heard it was just upgraded a few minutes ago to a category 2 storm. take a look at pictures. this is just updated about a minute or so ago. bill now with winds of 98 with gusts over 120 miles an hour. there it is, heading off to the west-northwest. by saturday afternoon and evening, somewhere

breaking news from the florida panhandle. claudette becomes the first tropical storm to make landfall so far this season. >> it came ashore near ft. walton beach with 50-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain. claudette is expected to move toward montgomery later today but there are other threats out in the gulf. claudette popped up almost overnight even with the storm's center offshore it made for a windy and soggy sunday. >> at dunk on apalachicola bay you can barely stand up on this dock, yet there are people who are going to try to tough it out in their boats tied up to the dock. there is a lady back down here. walk down here. the hell runner ii. he will stick it out on the storm no matter how much it bobs. >> reporter: shoppers raided grocery stores for supplies. some people like this woman headed inland. >> our crooked river is already rising just with the rainfall. >> reporter: behind claudette two more storms are churning in the atlantic. ana which is weak and may not survive and bill, likely the season's first major hurri

so there's some of the spots as it moves into the panhandle of west virginia. clark county, berryville. that's still in effect until 6:15. how about heading out to the game. humid great baseball night. there may be a few passing showers. but certainly not a rainout tonight. and then for tomorrow, for tomorrow evening, i think there will be some evening showers and a chance of showers, won't be as warm or as humid as it is now for the football game. 79 degrees and very, very dangerous rip currents. right now for ocean city and for spots like rehoboth and dewey. saturday waves five to seven feet. sunday they will be subsiding a bit as we go through later on sunday. there is a chance of showers. more tomorrow. then comfortable air comes in on sunday. much lower humidity coming in. with northwesterly winds. sunday and monday and on into next week looks pleasant. next chance for showers or thundershowers in the 80s. right now the one warning around winchester, clark county until 6:15, we you posted should any more come up. >> we know you will. thank you, bob. >>> an

. 8 >>> the florida panhandle is gelgt pounded by the first named storm to hit the u.s.mainland  this season. tropical storm claudette could flood some areas on its way to southern alabama. hurricane bill is in south atlantic moving slowly toward the caribbean. ana is groun gradowngraded a tr depression. >>> mike huckabee is visiting israel. he says the u.s. has taken too harsh a stance on the issue. the u.s. is pressuring israel to stop building settlements on land that the palestinians claim for a future state. >>> no fewer than 11 fires are burning in different parts of california. dry weather and the wind are not helping either. this is the heavy smoke over the santa cruz mountains. the fire is huge, though. it's burned more than 10 square miles. >>> peter jackson's "district 9" was number one at the box office over the weekend. it brought in $37 million. g.i. joe slipped to number two with 22.5 mill, and "the time traveler's wife" came in third earning 19 mill. >>> those are the top stories on a sleepy monday. i see you. not really, but i'm robin meade, and glad yo

some of them down in virginia and the panhandle. these togethers are just around frederick, around walkersville. and these are starting to pop up a little bit. south of thermt. and -- thurmont. and that is what we'll be dealing with in the afternoon. just light showers and pop-up showers, as we start to head into the afternoon. as for the rest of us, well, we are going to see just dryer conditions area wide. still pretty warm. humidity levels are still pretty high right now. and the temperatures coming down from a daytime high primarily in the mid- to upper 80s. so that's what we're dealing with. let's talk about danny. danny is the big story everyone is talking about. this storm is still trying to organize itself. we do have the latest update from the national hurricane center. a little early, we get them quickly and put them on as soon as we have them. we have a center of circulation to the west of this storm. but all of the activity, this is the connection -- convection. all of the thunderstorms, when we start to see that happen,

so all of this coming out of the panhandle of west virginia. you folks in charlestown, west virginia, catching it. another little batch. that's the one causing the rainbow from dale city to around oxon hill and the batch that brought through the real heavy rain and now moved over to the upper eastern shore and there are some others, too, around fredericksburg. in the future scan, all of this will be moving more into montgomery county and northern maryland as we go through the next couple of hours, i think. we will keep you posted on that. look at washington's official rain. that's down at national airport. nothing in ocean city. also nothing but the temperatures into the 80s. and for you folks who may be thinking about heading out to ocean city, there is bill. it will stay safely off the coast. but as i mentioned earlier, seas and the waves will be bidding four, eight feet. it will be passing by bermuda tonight. the airport is closed until 1:30 tomorrow morning. fortunately, really grazing bermuda but heavy surf there. current conditions. it is

new depression formed this morning in the gulf, threatening the panhandle. when while, tropical storm ana and bill are raging west through the atlantic. meteorologist rick reichmuth is tracking it all. he's a busy man. what is the latest? >> three storms. we went from having nothing in the atlantic hurricane season to having a lot going on, all of a sudden. this is claudette now. this w has gotten its act together overnight. it continues to, you can see on the latest at l latest satel image, organized on the eastern side of it. it's where the rain is when you look at the radar picture. center of the storm to the south of appalachacola, florida. you notice this, this is jogging to the west and that's the official forecast, we'll probably talking around 55-mile-per-hour or 60-mile-per-hour storm making land fall. the biggest effect is heavy rain across florida. you do have the tropical storm warning from pensacola, the georgia/alabama border. maybe five or ten inches of rain for some people throughout the afternoon and overnight. then we have other two storms.