is with us she is here in house this morning because we sent tucker out to dupont circle, with potomac phil a new feature for groundhog day. i think phil predicted six more weeks of winter is that right? >> sure, he saw his shadow earlier we have six more weeks of winter but, we didn't want pennsylvania to have all the fun we have our very first annual groundhog day here in washington dc i am being joined by aaron the organizer of the event down here in washington aaron thanks so much for inviting us down today tell me about what transpired earlier. >> thanks tucker, dupont festival organized today's events we brought potomac phil out and started with a rabbi giving us a blessing and then we carried into the national anthem, and then that quickly lead to the groundhog committee, top hats came over and talked to potomac phil and listened to what he had to say and it was basically, that we

did you just say you were going out for potomac phil? >> i am headed down to meet potomac phil. >> i am not sure what we are going to get but we will find out. >> i hope it is a groundhog. >> yesterday they were looking for a groundhog so looking forward to it. >>> let me kick off your forecast, rain showers moving through the area, they will be with us for another hour or two gradually we should see it return to sunshine, pleasant temperatures, hd radar, shower activity generally city and south and out to the west, we are getting more showers that are redeveloping out here, front royal, manassas and win chester we have to get rid of that last band of showers the cooler air will start to filter in from the north and west and we should be in for afternoon sunshine. temperatures cooler than yesterday, that said, not bad, 49 washington 50 baltimore, good morning ocean city you are 49 degrees, hagerstown 44 where you are just waking up with cloud cover. showers and clouds to start your day by afternoon a return to at least partial sunshine a

this is our local potomac phil's first go-round. little bit to cajole him out of his hole or cage. >> they t. will probably be a big surprise when they see potomac phil. >> they take this so seriously. they dress to the nines, as my grandmother would say. >> maybe we'll get the crowd for you out there and potomac phil. >> not feeling we'll have the same crowd. they are hoping to make it an annual event. we'll get it started this year. >> that is the weather predicts but political predictions too. that hold a lot of weight. >> if it does become an annual thing be, you need to get you an outfit like that guy with the top hat. >> i've already talked to management. we'll step it up next year. lets he get started with alike at your forecast. we've got rain showers for the big event down at dupont circle this morning at 8:30. we'll have a leftover rain shower. we should be looking at improving conditions by late morning. it won't be a terrible day . we have a live look here. now, we are getting this lastle band out to the west out toward

we have potomac phil. although we think it should be potomac pete but it's potomac phil. and he's stuffed. he's a groundhog. he predicted the weather this morning at the city's first annual celebration at dupont circle. he was a man of few words. just like punxsutawney phil, he's calling for six more weeks of temperatures in the 60s. and this being d.c. he added a political twist. potomac phil said there will be nine more months of gridlock on the hill but who can't predict that? organizers couldn't find a real groundhog this year so they settled for this little stuffed version. >> yeah. >> we'd much rather be going with you. >> you know, for one thing, the best part about it with those guys is they come to the weather conferences every year. it's great to see them individually in person. >> the groundhog? >> yeah. they're great. they come to every weather convention. they're fantastic. >> do they ever pick up a check? >> once in a while. >> punxsutawney phil. he's a drinker i hear. >> well, hi everybody. you can tell we love groundhog day. it is my brother's birthday. >>

he can host upon circles first ever groundhog day celebration is celebration would feel feature potomac phil who he says according to groundhog mythology is the long lost brother a pox on a phil here's the taxidermy version of what potomac phil would likely look like according to air and new to the new told the huffington post that the father of both groundhogs passed on the internal power of weather prediction to both of his sons unfortunately did news search for pontiac potomac phil is proving to be very hard most well groundhogs are hibernating this time of year as efforts to contact wildlife sanctuaries and animal rescue groups has yet to pay off nonetheless he was prepared for this possibility so he has a puppet groundhog and a stuffed dead ground dog ready to go for thursday's festivities given that a dead groundhog can't see his shadow looks like summer is just around the corner. coming up after the break violence and destruction filled the streets of oakland over the weekend is there a way to stop the radical factions of the occupy movement or will they be it's tallon fault. as it wa

potomac phil, a stuffed groundhog, predicted the weather this morning in the city's first annual groundhog day celebration. just like punxsutawney phil potomac phil predicted six more weeks of winter but added a political twist indicating there would also be nine months of political gridlock. organizers say they hope next year potomac phil won't be quite so stiff. >> we looked around really quick and couldn't find a live -- i think maybe all of them are reserved for other events. they have their schedules. so we have to start earlier next year. >> reporter: the d.c. council also made potomac phil's prediction the official celebration of groundhog day in the nation's capital. >> he is a little stuffed and stiff. you're right. >>> there is mixed bag of predictions about how much winter we actually have left. meanwhile, most of us are still waiting for winter to begin. >> hear ye, hear ye. >> punxsutawney phil advised us to stay bundled up. >> many shadows do i see. six more weeks of winter it must be. >> reporter: but that's a tough sell for most of the country where it's been one of the war

potomac phil. stuffed groundhog predicted the weather this morning in the city's first annual groundhog day celebration here. just like punxsutawney phil, potomac phil predicted there will be six more weeks of win r winter. political twist, saying there would also be nine months of political gridlock. organizers say they hope next year potomac phil won't be so stiff. >> we looked around really quick and couldn't find a live -- all of them are reserved on this day for other events. you know. they all have their schedules. start earlier next year. >> d.c. council also made potomac phil's prediction to be the official celebration much groundhog day here in the nation's capital. >>> and turning to the weather now, rainy but mild morning. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first 4 forecast. that looks more like a pilgrim's hat than a top hat he was wearing, didn't it? >> anything to help the chamber of commerce. this morning, we have had clouds and rain around but now the cloud cover beg

meet potomac phil. groundhog who predicted the weather this morning in the city's first annual celebration in dupont circle. just like punxsutawney phil he is calling for six more weeks of winter and this being d.c. he's got a political twist to his prediction. potomac phil said there will be nine more months of gridlock on capitol hill. organizers couldn't find a real groundhog this year so they settled for a stuffed one and left unsaid in this piece of copy is how exactly a stuffed groundhog could see a shadow. >> yeah.

potomac phil appeared in dupont cirqueel this morning.ldn't you think we could get another name? something different. >> and he's different than the others you have seen. tucker barnes has more from the ceremony. >> reporter: the very first ever groundhog day here in washington, d.c. i think it was a big success, and i'm being joined by the organizer here in dupont circle. tell me about the event? >> we were lucky to have a lost people with us this morning to see potomac phil deliver his message. he said six more weeks of winter weather and gave a political prediction of nine more months of political gridlock. >> i could have predicted that one. [ laughter ] >> all right, aaron, tell me about the people that showed up today? we had v.i.p.'s, didn't we in. >> we were lucky to have people from the mayor's office, jack evans, the lieutenant from the area, we had our sponsoring dupont circle hotel, a bunch of friends and family, and we had students from ross elementary, all kinds of people. >> it was a lot of fun and i think that was a good s

. >> we have potomac phil. we have some areas of rain this morning alike yesterday. we will start the day dampen clear out into sunshine this afternoon. you can see areas of rain right along 66 all the way from front royal east to the beltway and in southern maryland. 49 degrees in the district and 46 in leesburg and now 50 in culpeper. some rain through about 11:00 a.m. and the sky will clear this afternoon. it is not as warm as yesterday 57 degrees but well above average for this time of year and near 60 south of the metro. tomorrow will be sunny and we will cool down. upper 40's and locally we will be in the lower 50's but in outlying areas, it will be cooler than that tomorrow afternoon. the weekend will have added cloud cover. >> 270 northbound has an accident that has to 70 northbound closed. this is after democracy boulevard before montresor road. this accident involved a couple of tractor trailers. you can see northbound after democracy boulevard and before montrose road remains close. another 50 minutes before they can let anyone by. >> that is not pretty. p

wait to see if punxsatawney and pi tomeic phil emerge from the holes -- pi tomeic phil and -- potomac philmerge and see their shadows. >>> house intelligence committee will hear testimony on threats against the u.s. and as part of a annual hearing, witnesses include high ranking intelligence officers a day after the cia issued a report identifying iran as possible threat for attacks. >>> and lawyers for major nadal hassan -- >>> first lady continues her tour through tense ill town and michelle obama will appear as a guest on the ellen degeneres show. she has been on the west coast swing touting her let's move campaign. >>> for some kids, going to bed is a huge battle with the parents. >> is it? >> for us not so much yet. i imagine it will be. >> all right. coming up, we will look at things parents can do to get the little ones to nod off to sleep. >>> and the new faa rules that should help ease pilot fatigue in the cockpit. >>> and a party for one of man's best friends who was given so many years to loyal service. you don't want to miss this story. it's one we will talk about the rest of t

there's also potomac phil in washington, d.c. predicting the same thing. the l.a. times trying to tie in what punxsutawney phil saw and what ben bernanke is seeing in the u.s. economy. both are forecast casters paid to see the future. the only issue according to times is that the fed chairman is paid not only to see the future but to shape the future. in one area that the future is shaped in terms of jobs and the u.s. economy, where will the job growth be coming from is an issue he faced before the house budget committee. kathy castor is a democrat from florida and asked where the jobs can be created and how they can be created. >> dr. bernanke, the economy is creating jobs. we've had 22 months of private sector job growth. the unemployment rate is at its lowest level for three years. and it's very noticeable at home in florida. you know, in 2007 and 2008, the headlines in the newspapers were devastating about companies can closing and people losing jobs, and it's noticeably different. it was noticeably different last year with stories about companies hiring. it's p

potomac phil. >> very nice. so we have adam caskey standing by. with all of this clouds, it is unlikely that he will see his shadow. >> shadow. shadow. we want winter. i want wirpt. two years ago today we were focus one of the snowmageddon snowstorms. let's take a look at doppler 7. rain in charles county. in virginia, a little bit left over on 95. damp roads all around the metro. even if you in your location don't have the rain falling at this time. notice this next batch of rain on the heels of the first batch. that is going to move on and give us some rain up until 11:00 a.m. and then the skies will clear. we'll have a pleasant afternoon. 57 and sunny later on today. tonight cool. temperatures dropped zpwune the 30's. lovely day but not as warm. back zpwune the lower 50's. still above average. average high by the way is 45. as we look ahead to the weekend, fairly agreeable. maybe a brief shower early sunday. otherwise near 50 saturday and sunday. another look at the seven-day coming up. >> no shadow. no shadow. other side of the aisle here. liv

he's potomac phil. he emerged. he's the brainchild of a group dupont festival. >> we're always amazed if he sees his shadow given all the tv camera lights around him but we'll see. we'll rely on our howard, the hedgehog. our time is 6:08. in four minutes a look at black history month and why it's still important in the 21st century. >>> it's thursday. that means today is cool school thursday. moving objects with your mind? may sound like science fiction but we have some science facts and you've got to see this to believe it. >>> the really warm weather is gone for now but it will still be mild today. howard has your weather first when 9news now returns without help from phil or the potomac guy. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ >>> we'll have the possibility of sho

>> i don't want to be the human who has to explain this to the aliens when they come. >> potomac philnimal, which we say not very real. >> we don't believe in climate change science. can we get back to credible issues. europe is way ahead of us. >> and we are moving on. >>> straight ahead this morning on "starting point" the truth about sugar. apparently, sugar so toxic, some people are saying it is as bad for you as tobacco and alcohol. new study coming out of "nature." >>> deadly riots to tell you about in egypt, some believe they started over a soccer rivalry. >>> this young lady deported to south america. remember we did this story a month ago. 15-year-old girl jakadrien turner, so much to more to her story than meets the eye. we'll sit down and talk to her and her mom and her lawyer, no surprise, in just a little bit. stay with us. maybe this vacation wasn't a good idea vacations are always a good idea ♪ priceline negoti - - no time. out quickly. you're miles from your destination. you'll need a hotel tonight we don't have time to bid you don't have to bid. at priceline you can c

tucker will be in due responsibility circumstance toll see whether potomac phil sees his shadow. >> apparently, they are closely related that is what the organizers tell me. >> you need to check the cree depend -- the credentials of both of them. >> we'll answer a lot of questions. it should be a lot of fun. dupont circle, i'll be there between 7:30 and 8:00. >> can you bring some doughnuts back too. ? >> we'll have groundhog cookies, some kids things. it will be a big event. you don't know what you're missing. >> i'm looking forward to. i can't wait. >> still going to be raining down there. >> hopefully, we'll get the rain out of here for the big event. the rain continues to fall out there and it has generally gotten light here unless you are watching across the bay there. it looks like out towards the bay bridge and stevensville, we are getting some rhetty good -- some pretty good rain now. here in the district, very slight showers and sprinkles. off to the north and west, winchester, leesburg, front royal, nothing left but a sprinkle for you as most of this action has been south and south a