Measurable snow from here on out is likely to be across the bay and upper Eastern Shore portions of new jersey and delaware and especially new england. Steve rudin will have more on that in a moment. In the metro area light snow showers. Well watch hour by hour. If we see the band, well track their speed and track their movement and give you the most accurate forecast of how it may impact your area. Team coverage continues in a few minutes. Back to you. Thank you, doug. To our west folks did wake up to find snow on the ground after the first round of this storm. And richard reid is live in winchester tonight with a look at conditions out there. Rich . Yeah scott. Its been snowing here since about 7 00 this morning on and off. Heres what we got right now. About an inch or two, but that was certainly a concern of commuters this morning. Take a look at route 7, though wet pavement right now. But a big worry is what might happen later on today as doug hill mentioned, those bands of snow. People bracing for more possibly. Now, conditions got pretty tricky this morning especially high up in the blue Ridge Mountains along route 7 there. Theyre used to getting a little bit of ice and snow there. We also went and did a little bit of traveling today. We also went up into West Virginia where theyve got just a little bit more snow and a little bit more ice. It turned out to be somewhat of a challenge for drivers. The big situation, though for many people is that the main roads have been fairly clear. Vdot, for example, had about 900 trucks out there. But those small roads, those neighborhood roads, those side roads, thats where things got tricky. The side roads are the last ones to touch anyway. Theyre snowy and icy. Can you describe what it felt like . Like ice. I mean just and no control over your vehicles when you slide. So it really did depend where you were. If you were in those higher elevations, there were some issues. If you were on main street you were probably fine. But in your neighborhood, a little bit more challenge. Live in winchester richard reid, abc 7 news. Thank you richard. The Virginia Department of transportation says road crews are prepared to work through the next two rush hours to make sure the roads stay clear. Vdot has more than 900 trucks out treating the roads. More than 200 are in the roads in the district and Maryland State Police have a snow emergency plan in effect in allegheny county. That means you cant park on snow emergency routes. The maryland state Highway Administration says remember to leave yourself seven to eight car lengths behind any snow plow or truck. Maryland bureau chief brad bell will have more on that coming up at 5 00. It looks like for the most part our area will be spared the worst of this storm. Areas to our north though, like philadelphia, new york boston they wont be so lucky. The governors of new York New Jersey rhode island and massachusetts have already declared states of emergency. In Boston Logan Airport is planning to close at 7 00. Connecticuts governor is banning travel on the roads starting at 9 00. Everything we know so far makes it clear that you cantunder estimate this storm. Its going to pack a real punch. This is an all hands on deck activity. Coordinated across every City Department and agency. Driving will be virtually impossible in many areas for extended periods of Time Starting late tonight and through much of tomorrow. As many as 50 million americans are in the path of this the worst part of this storm. Meteorologist steve rudin is here to pick up our Team Coverage with a look at exactly what is heading their way. Do we feel lucky, steve . Absolutely. The storm watch 7 team has been very busy this past weekend into today. But the big big story for those of you who may have travel plans to new york city or boston look out. This storm is really going to crank up overnight and into the day tomorrow. This is what it looks like on our storm scan for you. The snow already starting to fall across new york city into connecticut and off towards boston. These snow totals will continue to increase as we move through the overnight hours and by tomorrow, snow rates up to two to four inches per hour likely across boston and upper new england. Compound that with wind gusts, Hurricane Force wind gusts at around 75 Miles Per Hour closer to the coast. Take a look at what it looks like in boston right now. This here, a live shot from fenway park. You can see the field is covered with snow. A whole lot more on the way. And we are going to look for those snow totals to increase. How much snow are we talking about for new york city . 18 to 24 inches. Boston looking at anywhere between 24 and 36 inches of snow. Were talking two to three feet by the time this system lifts on out of here. Closer in let me show you the futurecast as the storm really begins to pick up strength. Look at the dark, dark blues. These are snowfall rates excess of three inches per hour. Thats for the day tomorrow. Best news of all, finally lifts on out of there for the Late Afternoon and evening hours tomorrow night. Doug hill will have more on the local forecast talking about the snow totals around here. And for that matter if we even see anything over the next 24 hours. More on that in a few minutes. Alison . Thank you very much scott . Airlines canceled more than 2600 flights today. Another 3200 have already been canceled for tomorrow. And more than 1,000 others were delayed today. Our Suzanne Kennedy is tracking the travel situation now from Reagan National airport. How is it going out there, suzanne . Well, scott, it has absolutely been a mad dash to get out of town for travelers whether theyre taking a plane or riding the rails. Take a look over here. This is where people have been spending a lot of their time today taking a look at the arrivals and departures boards. As you can see, take a look. Newark laguardia all canceled. People have been going to the ticket counters trying to rearrange their flights. Some flyers not even traveling to the northeast were impacted by the thousands of delays and cancellations. At union station, most trains were on time and had travelers booking tickets. So they didnt have to fly. I came earlier to get an earlier train. I had planned on driving. After listening to the mayor of new york scaring everybody so i thought, i better take the train. Both Major Airlines are waiving their cancellation fees and as for amtrak they say they are expecting some Service Impacts in the 400 miles between here and washington, d. C. And boston. Reporting live at Reagan National airport Suzanne Kennedy, abc 7 news. All right. Thank you for that update, suzanne and stay with the abc 7 Storm Watch Team for the latest as this storm moves into our area and when we are not on air, stay ahead of the forecast at wjla. Com or the wjla Facebook Page, our twitter feed and the stormwatch app for your smartphone or tablet. Moving on to some other news now, in just the last two hours, the man who claims to own the drone that landed on the white house lawn early this morning spoke with the secret service. And he says it was all an accident. Rebecca cooper live outside the white house with the latest in this developing story. Rebecca . Thats right alison the white house and secret service saying they have spoken to this gentleman and they believe he was truly doing this for Recreational Purposes. We believe he was a Government Employee doing this in his off time. Let me show you why this is raising so many serious security concerns today. Now, weve spoken to someone familiar with the investigation and they say they believe this is the flight that the drone took. That it flew for several blocks through downtown d. C. Crossing over pennsylvania avenue. Making it not only over the white house fence but apparently it flew directly over the white house itself before it landed on the Southeast Side of the complex crashing into a tree. All of this starting at about 3 00 this morning. Immediately, the white house was put into lockdown as they tried to investigate and look for any clues. Initially, not knowing who this drone belonged to and what itsoses were. Now they say they do believe it was purely for Recreational Purposes and they point out that the whole time the president and first lady were in india. But we have reason to believe that both sasha and malia were inside the white house sleeping last night before they were taken to school this morning. This is raising lots of troubling questions about security. We have spoken to people with the aerial manned vehicles association, they say the f. A. A. Is developing new rules and point out this is prohibited airspace but still right now, experts point out theres very little they can do to stop the drone. One republican in congress is saying now its time for the white house and secret service to join forces to try and push for new technology that would allow them to immediately disable drones if they fly on to any government property. That will cause lots of new questions about rules and technologies as the Drone Industry tries to move forward here in the u. S. Reporting live from the white house, rebecca cooper, back to you. We turn to the breaking news coming to you from annapolis at this hour. One week after that huge mansion fire the sixth victims body were told has now been located. Fire officials believe all victims are accounted for. Theres still no word of what started the fire that killed sandy and don pyle. And four of their grandchildren. Investigators will be back at that scene tomorrow. A jury found an exc. I. A. Officer guilty of leaking secrets about a botched c. I. A. Operation in iran. The jury returned that verdict today after about three days of deliberations. Prosecutors say jeffrey sterling gave the information to New York Times journalist james risen who then wrote a book about it in 2006. Sterling will remain free on bond depending on sentencing set for april. A federal Appeals Court says virginias former governor can remain a free man while he appeals the verdict in that corruption case. The fourth u. S. Circuit court of appeals in richmond issued its ruling in the Bob Mcdonnell case this afternoon. The justices say the appeal raises substantial questions of law or fact that could result in a new trial. Mcdonnells lawyers have said the appeals process could take as long as their clients 24month sentence. How much time new parents get when their children are born depends on where they work. Still ahead, a look at the congressional plan for parental leave on the heels of what the president called for in his state of the union. Plus a robber takes on a 74yearold woman at a gas station. And its all caught on camera. A little bit later the search is on for a missing couple after they responded to a craigs list ad. Were tracking that Winter Weather alert as the massive storm makes its way up the east coast. Well go live to new yor we are back on storm watch with a live picture out of new york city and you can see the snow already starting to fall there. State of emergency declared and they could get, according to our folks here in the Weather Center about two feet of snow. So really tough situation there in the big apple. Wow, and you know, in new york stocking up became very difficult if you werent one of the firsts at the stores. We checked some of the tweets coming out of it this morning and saw pictures of empty shelves at Stores Across new york city. Felicia wrote storm prep. I guess were a little late. Another posted a picture writing the moment at the checkout when you realize youre not ready for the blizzard. Cart contains yogurt eggs potato chips, cheese doodles, popcorn, pistachio gelato, kimchi and apples. Ok. Interesting storm prep right there. A little bit of everything. Yeah. As weve been mentioned, up to two feet of snow is predicted in new york city. Subway service will become limited later this afternoon and Commuter Rail service on the metro north and Long Island Railroad lines will stop completely tonight. Live in the big apple tonight joining us with more jan, what are you seeing out there now . Whats the situation . Hey, scott, alison well you know the snow has already been coming down. Snow is coming in sideways because the wind is picking up and only going to get worst later on this evening. Were down here by 12th street on the west side. This is the west side highway here. Usually this would be packed with cars because of rush hour. As you can tell right now, a lot less cars on the road. People have been going home early, listening to officials who have been saying please get home early. You should not be on the roads because it is only going to be getting worse. Temperatures are dropping. The snow is starting to stick more and more. And people are hunkering down getting ready for the long night ahead. Scott, alison . You mentioned the long night ahead and we saw photos of people in stores stocking up. Is there a way to describe how people are preparing for tonight and the next few days . Well, you know, as i mentioned, i heard that segment and i was in the supermarket not even today, last night. And it was absolutely mobbed. People, first of all stocking up on provisions. Usually in new york in the city you dont have to worry as much about the power going out because theres a lot less power lines. But, you know, officials have been telling people make sure you have an emergency kit. That means food nonperishable food a can opener flashlight batteries, water enough for everyone and a way to contact your loved ones in case you are in an area that loses power. The most important thing theyre saying stay at home. After 11 00 tonight, no cars on the roads here. They want to make sure it stays clear for these emergency vehicles. Theyre just telling people stay in one place, ride it out and let the officials do their jobs. Hopefully get it clear. This is supposed to go on through midday tomorrow so its not like people are going to wake up tomorrow morning and everything will be back to normal. It is going to be a long haul. Scott, alison . Thanks for that update. We really appreciate it. And the way he was describing it made it sound like we used to in florida prepare for hurricanes. Stock one the batteries. Right. Coastal sections of new england, maybe long island are going to have Hurricane Force wind gusts, 72, 74 Miles Per Hour. Thats possible. Were on the western edges so were going to get by with little if anything. Only thing well wait for tonight to see if the snow bands can work westward through our area. If they do measurable snow. If we dont, its over for us. A lot of ground to cover here. Get over to the wall here and take a look at the time lapse. Congressional country club in bethesda during the day and see the light snow that definitely whitened the ground for a while. Theres still more patches of light snow to deal with. We see it on Doppler Radar now. Temperatures are falling below freezing in many areas. So little bits around are going to stick. Martinsburg, harrisonburg virginia, 1 1 2 inches and a little less in winchester and we get to the fractions of the inch closer to the metro area. Temperatures are key here. Now, weve got the Winter Weather advisory in effect for little batches of snow and a little mix falling through the area. Bigger concern for this advisory through the evening early tomorrow morning will be the fact that subfreezing temperatures so anything with wet can glaze over quickly. Thats about that as far as the temperatures and the impact. But what is going to be the impact later tonight if in fact, we get snow bands forming up and moving in. Then we can get heavier snow, reduced visibility and poor driving conditions. Thats just in the chance category now. In the definite category the fact that we have some patches of snow and a little wintry mix moving from south to north and some new bands now showing up over western maryland coming the other way. We have this area moving southeast and this area moving to the north. You know why that happens . Because its all related now to where were starting to come under the circulation of that big ocean storm. So thats the way it looks. I got a call a little while ago from someone who said this storm is so close to our coast. Why is new england getting the hit . Take a look at the map. Look at how far east they sit out in atlantic. When the storms form, they head due north. Theyre right in the way. Were on the western fringes so we get whatever this thing throws back at us. Sometimes it throws back a lot. Sometimes not so much. Our major blizzards come from the fact that when these storms get closer to the coast, they move like this. This one is off shore a bit. Thats why new england will get hit and we may get this band. And the band will be brought to your attention earlier from our futurecast computer model and this is the simulation of what may happen later tonight. And the simulation shows that one of those bands may get closer. This updated computer model is not as intense, nor is it as close to the metro area as it was earlier today. There may be a trend developing here that we may be pretty much not seeing a whole lot more than some gusty winds few flurries and clearing skies with sunshine as we head through the day tomorrow. Measurable snow much closer to the storm track. Otherwise, well deal with wind and cold and plenty of that as we hold in the 30s tomorrow with some sunshine and then finally we see a sunny and breezy and chilly day through wednesday. Another minor system, touch of light rain or snow thursday. Clearing out as we head into the upcoming weekend. Ok. I think were really lucky. Oh, yeah. If you look at not very far north of us. All it had to do was turn a different direction and wed have a different story. We want to remind you that the good morning Washington Team will be up early with you tomorrow morning. Join jacqui and the rest of the team for any closings and delays. Thats starting at 4 00 a. M. Lets get a check of the traffic situation closer to in the washington area. Bob emler is in the Traffic Center with the details. Bob . Bob emler . All right. Well check traffic coming up again in just a little bit. In the meantime coming up on abc 7 news at 4 00 police to stop a popular map program from tracking their movements. First this arch afternoon, a warning for expectant parents. Health alert about those sonograms. On 95 southbound we have delays headed south towards dale boulevard, work your way past the weigh scales where theres a crash. The crash is just at the weigh scales and a car went off the road, hit a pole. Light pole came down in the roadway. And now theyre just starting to open up some lanes even though the car remains on the embankment. So thats about the only real delay we have in the area right now. Otherwise, the volume is much lighter than normal around the region. About the only slow traffic is on 270 through Montgomery Village. Im bob emler with 103. 5 wtop radio. Thank you very much. 7 on your side with a health alert now for expectant mothers the food and Drug Administration is warning you to avoid those 3d sonograms. Doctors say theyre not medically necessary. And can give the fetus up to an hour of ultrasound waves. The federal Health Officials advise skipping actually any unnecessary scans to keep the fetus safe. Should new parents get paid time off immediately after they have a child . The u. S. Is one of the only major industrialized nations in the world that doesnt require it. But today, some in congress are trying to change that by reintroducing the federal employee paid parental leave act. Moms will tell you its the added fear attached to childbirth. How long can i afford to stay home after my baby is born . Dads, too, like shawn bartlet. The trend is going towards not just the more generous but more practical. She enjoys her office policies. Three month paid leave for women and men. They cant believe that was the policy that i was afforded and when they really think about it, you know after they get over the shock, they realize how appropriate it is. Proponents say the u. S. Joins papau new guinea as the only advanced nation still without a defined policy. They proposed all two million federal employees get six weeks of paid parental leave. This is embarrassing. I would say that it is shameful. That time off would cover parents dealing with a birth, adoption or the foster placement of a child. While some in the private sector are laughing the government. Bank of america, 12 weeks. Facebook, 17 weeks. Of paid leave. Critics contend it means less productivity, even job cuts. Those who offer paid leave already like congressman jerry connely say whats left in man hours is made up elsewhere. In terms of morale and ability to recruit and maintain we need on set ground rules that are more humane and i think the next generation is going to expect we should point out that members of congress set their own policy based on their office budgets. Right now, under the family medical leave act, many workers can take up to 12 weeks of time off without losing their jobs but that is unpaid. Which is of course, leads to our question of the day. What do you think about plans to offer paid parental leave . Go to the wjla Facebook Page and share your thoughts. Well have some of your responses coming up in about 20 minutes. Well, still to come right here not one but two planes go into the water off the coast of hawaii. The coast guard caught amazing footage of one of them. Find out whats more amazing about both crashes coming up. Plus a 74yearold woman is dragged across the parking lot here and robbed and she broke her hip in the process. It was all caught on camera. Well show you that video coming up. First, we are tracking a Winter Weather alert. Our chief meteorologist doug hill has the latest timetable coming ahead in three minutes. Right now, we are tracking a massive winter storm along the east coast. And it could bring as much as three feet of snow to parts of new england. This is a live picture of how it already looks in boston. Our chief meteorologist doug hill is in the storm watch 7 Weather Center with a look at what we can expect here at home. Doug . At the moment we have patches of light snow or snow showers. That will be the story through the evening hours. The best chance of anything more than a snow shower is going to be north and east of the city and i think because the big ocean storm will move so quickly in the north, our threat will end after midnight and then windy and cold weather. Lets go to the full screen and share with you what well watch around the area tonight. First is the areas under Winter Weather advisories. Thats the whole metro area not so much to the west of the blue ridge and points south but especially the metro area in anticipation of subfreezing temperatures and wet grounds, one, and the possibility that some snow bands could work in very late in the night. It is new jersey all the way through the canadianmaine border along the Atlantic Coast that has the threat of a major storm and blizzard. This is the stormwatch 7 snow machine showing patches of light snow and a little mix east and south of bowie to annapolis and edgewater. That kind of pattern will repeat for the next few hours but it will be later tonight when we see the possibility of some of these snow bands working in. Look at the satellite and radar, this thing is cranking up before our eyes into a major blizzard. But notice were just on the very western fringes. So its iffy whether the snow bands will develop. If they do we could have some issues later on because of falling temperatures and thats our lead into steve rudin downstairs, outside of our studios here in arlington and steve, cold air is a big story by itself tonight. Let me tell you it is cold out here in the street. Not only dealing with the cold temperatures but the cold pavement. Since the pavement is wet well look for some slick spots that set up as we move through the late night hours. Were just around 26 degrees or so. This is here at rosalynn and even colder the further north and west you go and thats where youre likely to see if we get the snow bands going the snow will stick a little bit. However, temperatures outside right now along with the winds make it feel a lot colder. Were in the upper 20s to lower 30s across the region at this time. Look at the winds. These are sustained winds around five to 10 Miles Per Hour. But i would say over the last 10 hours, the wind gusts are beginning to pick up. That will help dry the pavement out as we move into early tomorrow morning. Nighttime lows will fall into the 20s to lower 30s. Snow will come to an end. That is if we actually see those snow bands develop. More on that with doug hill. All right. Steve, lets talk about the next seven days. Well have bright sunshine and gusty winds and cold temperatures the next few days. Next chance of any rain or snow will be thursday and then again on sunday. But both these right now are minor systems as we continue to watch this major coastal blizzard. Alison, back to you. Ok, doug, thank you. Crews worked through the night and a large portion of the day to make sure the roads are ready for whatever the storm may bring us. This is the scene along route 50 in maryland this morning. Like most of the roads in our area, things just were wet this morning. Even while some of the snow was falling. Tom roussey is in mobile track 7 tonight. Right now in the clover leaf area of Silver Spring. Tom, how are the roads out there . Well right now, we have the crews back working because the snow even started for a time on New Hampshire avenue. Were on New Hampshire avenue headed north and theres a truck spreading some salt and sand right in front of us here as you mentioned, were in the cloverly area of Silver Spring. For the most part all the roads are fine. But trucks are needing to do exactly what this truck is doing at this hour because weve seen more snow in this area than a lot parts of our area have gotten. Let me show you what its like on neighborhood streets. Things change quickly from the major roads. This is the peach tree neighborhood here in the area of Silver Spring and the instant we turned up New Hampshire avenue, there is snow laying on the ground. Its not that bad. You can drive over it. Its ok. But certainly as nightfall comes, youll want to be careful especially the less major the road and actually the further we go back into this neighborhood the more snow appears to be on the ground. Neighborhood streets you have to watch out for. Even some of the major roads, be careful. As you saw, those trucks are having to work to keep them ice free. Be careful out there if youre driving home tonight from work. Reporting live in cloverley, tom roussey, abc 7 news. Thank you. Well get a check on the rest of the area when we check if with bob in the wtop Traffic Center coming up in about 10 minutes. A brazen robbery as a 74yearold woman is dragged through a gas station as her son tries to defend her from this crook. It was all caught on camera. Diane cho is live in suitland with that video. Its new at 4 00 today. Diane . Well alison it happened right here in this parking lot as the victim was walking out to meet her son. Within seconds, we see the suspect pushing her down to the ground grabbing her across the parking lot here before he eventually took off running down the street. We want to show you that Surveillance Video from 2013 when this happened at the gas station that the victim owned back then. Prosecutors say she was walking to her sons s. U. V. At the time to take some money to the bank. You see the suspect running across the parking lot trying to grab the money out of her hands breaking her hip in the process. And Surveillance Video, you can see the victims son trying to help his mother. Prosecutors say he stopped when he saw the suspect was armed with a gun. What you dont see in this video is the suspect jumping into a getaway car driven by michael hall and he was just sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a robbery. And thats why a case like this and really all these cases are so important to us. Because nobody should fear coming to work. Nobody should fear what they do to make an honest living. And anyone who is going to prey on people making an honest living to try and take advantage of that hard work for their own personal gain in a very violent and very selfish way is something were simply not going to tolerate. And coming up at 5 00 find out how the victims son actually helped catch the suspects involved in this crime. In Prince Georges County diane cho, abc 7 news. All right, diane. Thank you. Well sheriffs across the country are trying to pressure google now to shut down a Police Reporting feature on the popular smartphone traffic app waze. The social network puts Police Officers in danger. Some sheriffs are concerned its only a matter of time before someone uses that app to track down an attack. Google purchased the app for 966 million in 2013. Coming up on abc 7 news at 4 00, mobile track 7 is on the road as we showed you earlier and part of that massive winter storm moving in through our area. We will continue to get updates. And then a little later, why your refund might be delayed once you file your taxes this year. But first the search is on after a couple disappears answering a craigs list ad. Well tell you what the last person who spoke with them is in just the last five minutes, police in georgia announced they may have found the bodies of a missing couple there. 69yearold elrey runion and his 66yearold wife june disappeared thursday while traveling from their home in marietta to mcrae and they were answering a craigslist ad. 28yearold ronnie jay towns the man who last talked to them on the phone is now facing charges of giving false statements and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception. But he has not yet been charged with harming the runions. Investigators believe that couple was going to meet towns to buy a classic car that they found on craigslist. Their daughter say the 1966 mustang convertible was the couples dream car. Two small planes ran out of fuel and crash landed into the Pacific Ocean off hawaii on sunday and the five people on board both aircrafts sur vooid. Take a look at this u. S. Coast guard video of one of the incidents. A pilot headed from california to hawaii had to ditch his small cean 250 miles off the coast of maui. The pilot was in contact with rescue crews the whole time. The small plane had its own parachute and as you see there, landed safely. Pilot was actually picked up by a cruise ship. Well, coming up tonight on abc 7 news at 5 00 hes cute. Hes pretty. The caps Alex Ovechkin awarded a car at this weekends nhl all star game. And he gave it away . Were going to meet the girl behind ovis generous gesture. Still ahead at 4 clock 00, doug hill is tracking the Winter Weather alert. Hell have the latest. Here in Silver Spring, its just started snowing again after a pause in the snowfall. Well show you how the roads a as a Small Business owner you wouldnt deliver just half of what you have to offer to your customers. So why are you settling for halffast internet . Only verizon fios comes with speedmatch upload speeds as fast as your download speeds so files go out in a snap. Call today to get 200 back when you switch to fios internet and phone for just 99. 99 a month with a 2year agreement and get 200 back. Just call 1. 888. 774. 4418 today. Right now, the abc 7 Storm Watch Team is spreading out across the area to show you what a historic blizzard is bringing to our area. Right, and you know fortunately, were just getting a glancing blow from this storm. It could take a toll on the next two rush hours. Tom roussey live in mobile track 7. What are you seeing on the roads right now, tom . Well, were here in Silver Spring, alison just about to cross under the intercounty connector here. This is what you would call, i guess, a secondary road. Its not a major road like New Hampshire that we were just on. Its moving fine. Theyve been doing a good job salting this road. We havent felt any ice whatsoever. Theres definitely snow on the ground so both sides of the row here but things seem to be moving fine at the moment. We have seen a lot of salt trucks out here in Montgomery County over the past hour or so. For most of the afternoon, roads were absolutely fine. But some of those neighborhood streets are starting to get a little icy at this hour. Reporting live in Silver Spring, im tom roussey. Back to you in the studio. Take it easy out there, tom. Thank you. Lets get a check on the traffic situation all around with bob emler in the wtop Traffic Center. Hi bob. Its been much lighter out there than a normal rush hour. Eastbound 50 a gas leak. They had all lanes blocked and now are getting by using one of the eastbound lanes. 95 southbound is quite slow headed through dale city because of a crash that happened there. Car into a pole. Car off to the side now and the lanes are open. Were seeing some slow traffic getting past it. Thats just mostly for rubber necking at this point and 270 slows briefly up to Montgomery Village to germantown. 95 b. W. I. Parkway east doing pretty well. Im bob emler with wtop radio. Plenty of white stuff to north. Our biggest concern, i think, will be the subfreezing temperatures. Were hoping that the winds that will pick up will dry up many of the surfaces. There will be icy patches and issues overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning even if we dont get anymore snow to speak of. Lets start with ocean city maryland, this is a live camera at third street and the boardwalk. If you look at the waves coming in, the water is a little closer than normal. Sand being blown around. Even if youre not going to any snow from this storm off the coast, its rearranging the ocean front a little bit. Thats one effect. Farther north along the jersey beaches, nlot only will get the snow and blizzard conditions but a lot of beach erosion. Redesigning beach fronts because of this ocean storm. As far as temperatures go were at 39 in ocean city right now. Winds have gusted to 39 miles an hour. Farther north you go higher and higher the wind will get over the next 18 hours with this storm. Locally we have Winter Weather advisories in effect through tomorrow morning. For the possibility of a little more snow and a little refreeze situations tonight as temperatures drop, we have patches of snow around the area but thats all we have. A few patches under the snow machine, little indications, maybe a little mix. A little rain all this stuff drifting to the northwest. What were looking at in a bigger view may be if you look closely, maybe the very beginning signs of a little bit a band developing in the western flank of the storm system which is out over the ocean. So this is the kind of thing well look for, one of our computer models or inhouse models suggest that could happen tonight and that will be the circumstance over which we get some brief accumulating snowfall if it develops and moves over. Otherwise, well deal with the patchy light snow and see the winds increase and see the temperatures increase and eventually by early tomorrow morning, youre going to wake up and in most areas see partly sunny skies. People in boston not going to see sunshine tomorrow. You can see snow on the ground at fenway park, infield and outfield at this matter. Looking for the snow to rapidly intensify as we move through the overnight hours and into the day tomorrow. How much snow do we talk about . Snow rates upwards of two to four inches per hour as you move through boston. All the areas shaded in red hugging the coast from new york city to hartford to nantucket and boston up towards maine, those are blizzard warnings. Theyre looking for the most show. Anywhere between 18 and 24 inches in new york city. 24 to 36 inches expected over at boston and all will ramp up late tomorrow night. The winds will become a big big story with winds upward of 70 to 75 miles an hour. Wind gusts, i should say but look at the heavy, heavy bands of snow. The dark blue, this is the heaviest of snow towards boston 7 00 tomorrow morning, if you have travel plans to upper new england later tonight and into tomorrow, now is the time to make the changes because you are going to have big, big problems. Doug . All right. Steve, the numbers are going to drop down tonight and that is going to be our Biggest Issue through the overnight hours, the refreeze. Do we get warmer . Lets find out over the next seven days. Tomorrow, not so much. A lot of sunshine and strong winds and then well get the sunshine back for wednesday and a little disturbance could give us a touch of light rain and snow thursday. Clearing out friday into the weekend. So we keep getting little systems while the big ones form to the east. I contend theres a chance with this pattern sooner or later, its not going to head north. It will head here. Not this one. Its going to be rough up north. Wow. Absolutely. Thanks so much. See you in a few minutes. Today, we told you the House Democrats unveiled their proposal to extend paid parental leave to members of congress. This comes on the heels of the president s announcement to extend benefits to the executive branch as well during last weeks state of the union so our question of the day is asking what you think about plans to offer paid parental leave. Shana posts this would be great. Wed be a step closer to catching up with the rest of the modern world. And dawns and yes its great but where is the money going to come from to pay for it a money tree in the backyard of the white house . Everything cannot continue to be free. Nothing is free people. But leslie writes im usually pretty liberal politically but i really dont agree with giving six weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. And heres why. Its unfair in a pretty extreme way to those who are past childbearing age or those who choose not to have children. You can join in on the conversation right there on our wjla Facebook Page. Well, tonight at 5 00 7 on your side trouble shooter Horace Holmes works to help two american veterans. John paterson and shannon brand both wounded veterans of the afghan war were hoping their dream home would have been built by now on this 12acre plot of land outside of culpepper, virginia. But since contracting with mangoose Construction Company in earlysville, virginia last summer construction has not begun. Theyve gotten nothing but the run around from mongoose. So Brandon Paterson say theyre stuck. They have 130,000 worth of material, all these logs here thats been on their land since september. And a contract with the company that they say doesnt have a permit to build here in culpepper county. Tonight on abc 7 news 7 on your side reveals why there is no Building Permit and how they say all this has ruined their wedding plans. All right. Looking forward to that one. Coming up next on abc 7 news at 4 00 millions of tax refunds may be late this year. Well tell you why comin the i. R. S. Is warning you to get your taxes done early this year if you want to avoid a delay in getting your refund. John matteris shows why the check may be delayed and what to do to make sure yours is on time this year. 7 on your side with this consumer alert. Counting on your tax refunds to help pay off those holiday bills or maybe pay your your spring break vacation . Thousands of taxpayers in the d. C. Area may have to wait longer for the refunds this year which is not good news if you depend on it. If you use your tax refunds to finish paying off your christmas gifts, watch out. The i. R. S. Is warning that many refunds could be delayed this year leaving taxpayers we spoke with not the least bit happy. I dont know why it would be. We pay our taxes on time. The reason the head of the i. R. S. Blames recent budget cuts. More than 300 million this year. This year due to Budget Constraints we may have fewer people actually processing the paper returns. That means longer waits for i. R. S. Phone help. Fewer employees to handle returns. And longer waits for refunds. If you file paper returns or require a manual review. So im not surprised, not happy about it but you know, its Something Else to have to deal with. Beth colmeyer is taking it all on stride. It would be nice. What can you do . The i. R. S. Suggests that you e file for the fastest return time and get your taxes filed as early as possible. For people who want for us to be able to quickly process their return, file electronically. Otherwise, it could be a long winter. A big downside of late refunds, more people signing for refund anticipation loans which despite tougher federal laws are very expensive. Get those taxes done early this year so you dont waste your money. Im john matteris abc 7 news. Cant underestimate this storm. This is not a typical storm thats going to pack a real punch. Driving will be virtually impossible. If youre without power, youll be without power for a period of time. Right now at 5 00 dire warnings across the northeast as millions are bracing for whats being called a historic blizzard. Meanwhile, the stormwatch weather team is tracking our own Winter Weather alert here. Heres a live look for you from the roadways of mobile track 7. So far, were not finding any major problems out there. Luck is holding out. Yes. Tonight, we have Team Coverage of this storm from virginia all the way to new york city. More from them in just a moment. But first, our chief meteorologist doug hill joins us with the timing of the next round of wintry weather. Doug . Ok right outside the belfort furniture Weather Center right now, were down to 31 degrees. Thats the reason why this Winter Weather advisory is continuing overnight. Take a look at this and ill show you what the areas involved are. Most jurisdictions to the metro area and to the north and to the east where the possibility of subfreezing temperatures and a little bit of snow and a little bit of mixed precipitation are going to make for icy spots as temperatures really drop later this evening. Here it is on the Doppler Radar for you. Patches of snow. They will continue for several more hours. A little farther south, a little mixed precipitation. Key is the temperatures. Meanwhile on the righthand side of your screen some of the radar returns from the developing ocean storm that will be a blizzard for the northeast and were looking to see if theres still a chance that some of those bands developing on the western side might sneak their way as across the bay in our area. Well continue to track that as well. Meantime, its temperatures, temperatures, temperatures. Thats going to be the story overnight. Its cold out here. I was out here 20 minutes ago and a big, big change not only in terms of the temperatures but winds are starting to pick up. Flurries are starting to develop over the next hour or two possibly a