Now in center city. Were seeing it fall in the area, just some light rain falling on 30th street station right now. If you look closely, you can see the flags in front of the train station that are blowing in winds that are gusting to 24 miles an hour. The radar shows the steady, light rain has just moved into philadelphia, but were still tracking heavy downpours right along the jersey coastline. Central new jersey, toms river, stafford is seeing heavy rainfall. Most of the heavy rain and thunderstorm activity is offshore, but there are some heavy downpours in parts of New Castle County and into new jersey, salem county. Weve seen some thunder and lightning there as well. Its part of a system that has some areas damp and others dry. Allentown has seen no rainfall yet and its dried out in cape may after some early showers. Its going to be on and off during the day today. And then it is going to keep temperatures pretty steady. Right now its 57 degrees in philadelphia. Nobodys cold. Were in the 50s to start with. Well see low 60s this afternoon. Thats the view of 8th and market. Look at the camera shaking in the wind. And a wet and windy morning. By lunchtime 59 degrees. Your hourbyhour forecast when i come back with future weather. First, jillian mele is tracking traffic trouble on this wednesday morning. Good morning, bill. To you at home as well. If you typically travel city avenue through wynnefield, it is blocked off in both directions between 54th and 59th streets, all because of a serious accident. In fact, just past this police vehicle, theres a vehicle on its roof right now. We have some trees down in that area, a lot of debris on the road. So, if you need to get around this accident this morning and youre definitely going to have to avoid this area, you can take woodbine avenue or overbrook avenue. Either will be just fine as alternates, but leave yourself a few extra minutes. Talking about the area bridges now, we have a disabled truck on the walt eastbound at midspan. One lane is blocked there. This is a live look at the ben franklin bridge, the view from camden. You can see the bridges are wet this morning. That rain has moved in, as bill was talking about. So, just slow down and reduce your speed, especially on those bridge surfaces. The vine street expressway in center city is wet, as you can see, but the good news is no accidents or delays to report there. Chris . 5 33 now. New from overnight, fire forces five families out of their homes. Look at the video here. Two people were hurt. This morning investigators are trying to figure out how the fire started and why it spread so quickly. Nbc 10s jesse gary has been live on scene in hunting park all morning. Jesse, what is the investigation telling you about smoke detectors inside those homes . Reporter chris, i put that question to the fire marshal, and he wouldnt say. I also asked some residents about that, and they say they didnt hear anything. They didnt hear any smoke detectors going off before the calls for fire. Most of the people that are affected by this have stories such as leroy irvin, who lives inside a home where the fire started. And i see all this smoke coming up through the window, and i run downstairs and try to open the door, and the door and the whole front porch was orange. So, i run back upstairs, bust the window out and jumped out the window. Reporter leroy irvin suffered mild smoke inhalation and was released from the hospital a short time ago. Five row homes on park avenue near butler street were either damaged or destroyed. More than a dozen people have been impacted. Coming up in the next 30 minutes, ill update you on the search for the cause to this fire. Live in hunting park, jesse gary, nbc 10 news. Now to concerns over ebola. Stricter screening for the virus begins today at a handful of u. S. Airports. Travelers from liberia, sierra leone and guinea will be required to enter through one of five airports screening for ebola, which includes Newark Liberty international, jfk and washington, d. C. s dulles airport. Meantime, some workers at philly international, which will not be doing screenings, will raise concerns today about contracting ebola. This afternoon, employees will be asking the airport to raise the standards for health and safety conditions there, claiming they come in contact with bodily fluids and germs from people from around the world. Meantime, local lawmakers, hospitals and Public Health officials will meet at the hospital of the university of pennsylvania this morning to discuss the regions preparedness for an Ebola Outbreak. Also today, former white house adviser ron klain starts his first day as ebola czar. Also, freelance nbc photojournalist ashoka mukpo is ebolafree. Hell be released from the hospital today. He contracted the virus while working in liberia. And nina pham, the first nurse diagnosed with ebola, has been upgraded from fair to good condition. And at 5 35, you can always count on nbc 10 for updates on the major news of the day. Here are three things well g following for you today. Well be checking for new developments in the Police Manhunt for accused cop killer eric frein. Meantime, students at the Pocono Mountain School district will return to class today. They were closed yesterday after a man believed to be frein was spotted near one of the schools. Well be in harrisburg today for a hearing between the contract fight between the Philadelphia SchoolReform Commission and teachers union. On monday, a judge issued a temporary injunction, meaning that teachers will not have to pay for their own health benefits, at least until a legal ruling is made. And today, forbess 30 under 30 summit continues. So far, Monica Lewinski and Malala Yousafzai have given speeches and malala accepted the Liberty Medal at the Constitution Center for her courageous push for girls education. Revving their engines and popping wheelies while weaving in and out of traffic in center city. A memorial ride that many drivers call dangerous, and why police waited so long to step in. Plus, remember rocky the bobcat . Well, he is at it again. We are following the latest chapter in the case of this pet turned escape artist. Clouds and rain moving in. Showers and thunderstorms in the region. A stormy day ahead for some and gusty winds as well. Your hourbyhour forecast when we come back. The sunshine we enjoyed yesterday is going to take a break. Clouds are here and were already tracking showers and some thunderstorms, and its going to be a wet and windy day. Onandoff rainfall, gusty winds through the day that will continue tomorrow, but not this weekend. Were still looking for sunshine. 49 degrees. Pocono mountains now getting some rain. Trenton is getting some rain at 56 degrees, and the rain is coming down in wilmington. It is spreading inland. You can see it right along 8th and market. Market street getting some light rain right now, but weve seen some lightning in the area just a short time ago. No big storm right for center city, but there are some heavy downpours with thunderstorms that are starting to taper off right now along toms river and stafford. Some very heavy downpours just offshore this morning. Those showers and thunderstorms are going to push to the north, and were still tracking some heavier downpours in portions of New Castle County in delaware. Theres been lightning there as well. Look at the winds, gusting to 24 miles an hour. Hourbyhour forecast sheowers off and off. At noontime, 56 degrees in philadelphia. You can see rain showers at noontime. And we may see showers extend into the lehigh valley, but most of the rainfall is going to fall to the south and to the east. And by late this afternoon, we could see enough of a break to get us into the low 60s today. Got the sevenday forecast when i come back with a look at your weekend. It is 20 minutes until 6 00 and weve already had a busy morning on the roads with wet weather playing a role in some of that. Jillian meles following that. We have a lot of different roads that are wet right now. This morning it started off in delaware and new jersey and now the rain has moved into philadelphia, as bill has been talking about. This is a live look at south philadelphia, 95 at broad street. You definitely need to slow down, reduce your speeds. We have a new accident, just got word of this in harleysville, main street at old sumney town pike. And city avenue is blocked between 54th and 59th streets. Either woodbine or overbrook avenue are good alternates. And route 73 at the entrance to 295, you can see 73 is also wet. Coming up in a few minutes, ill take you to a live look in delaware. Tracy . Honoring ben bradlee. This morning, president obama remembers the newspaperman who guided the Washington Post through the watergate scandal. And its no ordinary jackolantern. The push to include a special pumpkin in your holiday decorations and how it could make the holiday a little less scary for some families. Its 5 44, many of you waking up to rain this morning. This is a live look at interstate 95 in philadelphia heading towards the airport. You can see the interstate wet right now as rain is passing through philadelphia. And this is going to be an offandon event throughout the day with the rain moving through. Windy as well, so bring the umbrella and get ready as you head out the door this morning. A memorial tribute to this fallen dirt bike rider has police reminding everyone about what they call a dangerous practice. Kyrell tyler was killed in southwest philadelphia last week. As part of his funeral procession, hundreds of dirt bike and atv riders were roaring through rush hour traffic last night. We caught a lot of that on video here, and you can see from skyforce10 some pretty dramatic pictures. Police let the riders get away with it this time, but they did emphasize that it is illegal to ride most of those vehicles on city streets. 5 45 right now. You can count on nbc 10s network of reporters and photographers all over to let you know whats happening today. Nbc 10s vai sikahema is live in our Digital Operations Center monitoring all the feeds coming in, and youre seeing a lot about ben bradlee, who died yesterday. Tell us more, vai. Yeah, we are, tracy. President barack obama issued a statement yesterday about the editor of the Washington Post who guided them through the watergate scandal in the mid1970s. The president said that bradlee set a standard for honest, objective and meticulous reporting that encouraged many others to enter the journalism profession. Last year, president obama awarded bradlee the president ial medal of freedom. Bradlee had suffered from alzheimers for several years. He was 93. Also, federal Highway Safety officials expanded a recall for defective airbags in cars. The National TransportationSafety Administration says 6. 1 million vehicles are now impacted. Airbag canisters could explode during a crash, sending shrapnel toward drivers. We have a link to the complete recall list on our website. Just head there at nbc10. Com. Also, were expecting an update today from the centers for Disease Control on enterovirus d68. There have been more than 930 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness in 46 states. The cdc expects infections to decline by late fall. A 4yearold from Mercer County died of the virus last month. And of course, you can count on nbc 10 to continue monitoring all of these stories and more throughout the day. Live at the Digital Operations Center, im vai sikahema, nbc 10. The other big illness, of course, on the cdcs radar is the ebola virus, and some urgent care clinics in this area are actually seeing more patients since the Ebola Outbreak began. None have seen anyone with the deadly virus, but doctors at advanced urgent care on city avenue in wynnefield say more people have shown up with flulike and other symptoms since the ebola virus arrived in the united states. Doctors ask patients a series of questions, like if theyve been traveling, have they had a fever or is anyone else in their home sick. Typically, if we do find that a patient may have been in contact with a virus like the ebola virus, we isolate them and contact the health department. Doctors at this clinic say theyre closely following the cdc guidelines for any patient who walks in concerned that they may have ebola. And to a virus youre much more likely to encounter, the flu. According to the cdc, the best time to get vaccinated for the flu is right now. In south jersey, the Camden County freeholders are hosting flu shot clinics through november 13th. Nbc 10 was at one of those clinics yesterday at the Jewish Community center in cherry hill. The cdc recommends everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated, especially senior citizens, pregnant women and those who are chronically ill. To find out where you can get a flu shot in your area, go to our website, nbc10. Com. And here are some important facts about this years flu shot. Health officials are recommending people get vaccinated in october, this month, soon after the vaccine becomes available. Seven vaccine manufacturers are projecting there will be 151 million to 156 million doses of the vaccine available for use during this upcoming flu season. They say there should be plenty to go around. And one study shows that flu vaccination was associated with a 71 reduction in flurelated hospital visits among adults last year. Now, the cdc just released this map. It shows that flu activity in this region has been sporadic. Theres a new push to help keep trick or treating safer for kids with food allergies. Its called the teal pumpkin project, and heres how it works. Paint a pumpkin teal and place it on your doorstep if you want to participate in this, and that will signal that you have treats like vampire teeth and spider rings. I have no idea what those are, but its instead of candy, which could contain allergens and trigger a potentially deadly reaction. Not being singled out because they cant have something in particular. This helps them to be included. Allergy experts say smaller, bitesized versions of normally safe candy are actually sometimes manufactured differently, which makes them potentially dangerous for kids with food allergies. A stormy start to the day. Showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds already. The flag is blowing here at the nbc 10 studios. Clouds move in overnight, and now the rain is moving into philadelphia. 57 degrees. Its raining, but temperatures holding steady. And really, the temperatures not going to move much up or down during the day today. Well see low 60s by late this afternoon. The first rain of the day moved through cape may. Its still damp, the roads, but the rain has taken a break. Not everybodys seeing the rain right now, but everybody has winds. Theyre at 10 miles an hour in the pocono mountains, 12mileanhour winds in wilmington, but we have seen them gusting in philadelphia to more than 24 miles an hour. Look at the heavy downpours right now in New Castle County. Theres been some lightning with those showers. Lightning has taken a break in the last few minutes, but the showers extend into philadelphia, trenton, while much of new jersey now, south jersey, millville, atlantic city, after a stormy start is now just cloudy with onandoff showers in store for us today. This is a slowmoving system. You can see the spin in that system. That is going to stay with us tonight and tomorrow as well. So, a wet and windy day. Onandoff rainfall with gusty winds to 25 manufacturiles an h. 55 degrees the high after a morning low of 48 degrees. Then we start clearing out on friday. The wind is still with us, pushing clouds through the area on friday. 64 degrees friday afternoon, then upper 60s for saturday and sunday with bright, sunny skies and lots of sunshine and a bit warmer come monday and tuesday. Ten minutes before 6 00. For your ride to work, we have wet roads, so give yourself extra time. And weve had a serious accident thats shut down city avenue. Lets get an update on that now with jillian mele. Jilli jillian . This is a live look. Pete cain, our photographer, is out there at the scene. City avenue is completely blocked off in both directions between 54th and 59th streets, all because of an accident right here. Theres an overturned vehicle. We have a lot of debris out here on the road, so just keep that in mind. You can take woodbine avenue or overbrook avenue if you need to get around that accident this morning. Still have an accident on harr leyzville, main street at old sumney town pike. For drivers on 76, no accidents to report. This is 76 right at montgomery drive, but were definitely starting to see normal volume out there. Finally, for drivers in delaware this morning, some wet roads. This is a live look in newark at route 4 right at South College avenue. Chris . 5 51 now. Police layoffs. A local Police Department is about to lose half its officers. Well break down the budget problems behind those cuts when we take you county by county, next. And a stench stifled. The order that could put an end to a smelly situation that many are calling bad for business. 5 55 right now. You can see from the radar rain moving through the area and thunderstorms on the jersey shore. Thats basically the idea for todays weather. Take your umbrella. Wet and windy conditions. Well get details from bill henley coming up. Its pay what you wish wednesday at the Philadelphia Museum of art. A great chance to see fabulous art at any chance you would like to pay. And tonight you can check out the scrap performance group. The company combines dance, poetry, dialogue and photography. Thats at 6 00 and 7 00. At 6 30, you can see the museums collection in a new way through drawing and dance. Interpretive exercises will allow you to express the way art moves you. You can also take a yoga class at 6 00 and 7 00. Some Philadelphia Middle School students now have an exciting opportunity. Yesterday the penn museum announced a new partnership with the School District kippin mastery Charter School. It affects seventh graders teaching ancient egypt or rome with the museums resources. We know there are important stories in every neighborhood at this time every morning. We try to give you a sampling of those as we take you county by county. A night of art begins our county by county coverage this morning. Hundreds of people came out for a red carpet celebration in Delaware County last night. Check it out. Some jamming going on, too nearly 700 students, parents and staff from Chester CommunityCharter School kicked off the event. The school recently hired 12 new music and art teachers and bought new instruments for the students, thanks to a grant and community investment. A Similar Party will take place next tuesday on the schools east campus. Now to what could be the Biggest Police layoff Montgomery County has seen in decades. Those layoffs happening in franconia township, which covers about 15 square miles in the northern part of that county. Six of the townships twelve officers will be let go on november 1st along with three township employees. The township manager tells nbc 10 that franconia is operating at a 900,000 deficit. The police union is demanding to know why such a big budget shortfall. To New Castle County now, where the door to the Mayors Office will lilly be open to you later today. You can walk in and chat with mayor dennis williams. Hes holding his first open Office Hour Session this afternoon at 4 00, a chance for people who live in wilmington to share issues and concerns with the mayor. He will have future sessions every other wednesday. And delaware has ordered Peninsula Compost Company to close its recycling plant in wilmington because of the odor it produces. When the wind blows a certain direction, you do not want to be standing down wind of it. People say it smells absolutely terrible. The department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control says that facility placed an undue burden on the quality of life for residents, which is why theyve closed it. Happening in Atlantic County today, harrahs resort will complete the steel structure of its new conference center. State and city officials are expected to be in ac for a ceremony this afternoon. The 125 million addition to the casino hotel is expected to host corporate conventions and trade shows. Well be asking how they plan to fill that convention center, given the current state of the casinos in atlantic city. And in gloucester county, a Development Project at the Woodbury Country club gets under way today. Crews will be breaking ground to a medical building that will stand on this 50acre property. It calls for a total of three medical buildings, 20 homes and a public park. The site has been vacant since the country club filed for bankruptcy in 2009. And rocky the bobcat just keeps on making headlines. Hes loose again in ocean county this morning. Stafford Township Police telling us that rocky escaped from his owners house yesterday morning again. You may remember that his owner, ginny fine, has been issued a new summons to appear in court on december 5th. A judge told her she would lose rocky for good if he escaped again and it looks like he escaped again. Well have to see if the judge follows up on that. Even without a court order, i think ginny may have lost the bobcat anyway, because rocky is gone, right . Rocky is gone. Could be back at popcorn park zoo again. Youre watching nbc 10 news. Nnbc 10 news today at 6 00 a. Starts right now. Happening right now, closed in both directions, a portion of city avenue was shut down because of an accident that took down trees and left the car in pieces. New from overnight, a fire quickly spreads from one to five homes in the honey park neighborhood, leaving two people hurt and several homeless. And this morning were tracking rain. A live look at the first alert radar, and from the looks of it, rain will be sticking around today, maybe even tomorrow. Good morning. This is nbc 10 news today. Im tracy davidson. And im vai sikahema. Lets get right to nbc 10 first alert meteorologist bill henley. A double whammy today, wind and rain, right, bill . Were seeing both right now. Wind gusts of 24 miles an hour, vai, and the rain has moved into philadelphia. Thats a rainy view from the comcast center. Its just light rain in the city but with the wind, it makes it feel like its coming down heavier. There are some spots that are seeing some heavy rain. The radar shows a line of showers right along i95. Thats the light rain. The heavier rain and rocky conditions have moved through the stafford area in ocean county. Now its toms river thats seeing thunder and lightning with the heaviest stuff offshore. And parts of delaware, too, southern and central New Castle County, heavy downpours and some thunder and lightning. Thats continuing in the middletown area. But not everybodys seeing the rainfall. North and west it is dry for now. And to the south and east, the rain is taking a break. So, its going to be on and off during the day. 56 degrees now in philel