Sevenday outlook. Well talk about that in much more detail. Have to end this note on a positive note. Thats worth the wait. Thanks, buddy. As the rain turned to sleet and then snow this morning, the roads turned slippery fast. Next thing i know, im sliding up the hill and my gosh look where i ended up on the guard rail. It saved me from going down this ravine. He lost control this morning on the northbound lanes of interstate 270 right near the montgomery and county line and that was a tricky storm for road crews to pretreat today because most of the work they put on the roads to pretreat them would have been washed away in the rain. The Maryland Department of transportation has more than 2600 plows on the roads tonight. In d. C. Its more than 200 trucks trying to keep the roads clear and the Virginia Department of transportation has some 3800 trucks on the roads in northern virginia. Abc 7s Horace Holmes is checking on the roads from mobile track 7. Horace, where are you right now . We are north of frederick right now on i70 and you can see a plow there on the side of the road. Finishing up the work. Great news out here and this part of the world is the snow has stopped, completely stopped. Just light flurries just a few minutes ago and no snow coming down and look at the roadways. Look at the job that theyve done out here. Absolutely snow free out here on i70. You can see another snow now plow as we approach. Good news is the people have been listening to our warnings and stayed off the roads. Thats why these guys have been able to do such a job of clearing the snow out in this part of Frederick County as we flip back around and we head back into towards d. C. On i270, a different story. As we get closer into the Washington Area in germantown damascus and down into the rockville area, its still a lot of snow on the ground, on i70. We went into german town on the side roads and it was slick and still snow covered. Out here good news is the snow stopped and its going to be stopping a little bit closer to home very soon. Thats the situation on the roadways looking good right here right now. Looks very good, horace. Thank you. Plows were busy in western Fairfax County all day too. Northern Virginia Bureau chief Jeff Goldberg found these crews working in centreville but then farther west things are even worse. Abc 7s rich reeve is live in winchester where things are starting to slow down finally. Rich . Yeah alison thats right, the snow beginning to dissipate. Look at this accumulation. Lift it up with one hand here. Check that out. I mean we got a good solid eight inches. Big concern, though is streets like here beginning to freeze. Back in the background way back there, route 7 with pavement but today was a tough one on the roads. That was not a good day to be on the roads in the winchester area. Snowy conditions combined with the Emergency Response to a car fire brought northbound i81 for a time creating a several mile long backup. The other main route in and out of winchester route 7 was a slushy mess for much of the day. Continual parade of plows sent out to clear it. The snowfall eight inches so severe that the Virginia National guard was put on standby in case humvees were needed. While smaller plows tackled side streets and parking lots, residents in some neighborhoods had to make due with shovels or snowblowers. Getting around without a four wheel drive vehicle was a major headache. Many roads were a challenge even for a guy with a license plate like this. Roads are horrible. Visibility is less than a quarter mile. Lot of snow coming down right now and the plows cant keep up with getting it off the road. I think were going to get more than eight inches that were predicted. Thats ok. Im not going anywhere. Not going anywhere. First half was kind of not so bad with the snow you know its cold but didnt snow a lot. Hopefully its the last one. Getting tired of this . Yes, sir. Yes. Yeah i think a lot of folks are getting tired of this and even with that nice warm forecast that steve rudin is predicting next couple of days i have the feeling im going to be using one of these when i get home. Richard reeve, abc 7 news. So Arlington County has Just Announced its plans to make up some of the years snow days and it includes some full days on days that only should be half. And the district says todays cancellation shouldnt change that. The snow day puts charles, montgomery, prince georges and federal counties all two days over their budget. Alexandria is one day over. Loudoun county has four days left to use. Fairfax and Prince William counties have three days and district has one. The good morning Washington Team is ready for any closings or delays that come in tomorrow morning. We hope youll join us starting at 4 00 p. M. Leon . Alison, we saw a bit of civil disobedience on capitol hill. 25 families showed up to go sledding on the Capitol Grounds after u. S. Capital police denied d. C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes norton to open up the hill for shredders from the storm. They did show up. However, their ban was not enforced. No one was ticketed and no kid got hauled off. Good thing there. D. C. Bureau chief sam ford is live in Dupont Circle. Hes got more on the citys response and normally wed be seeing a big snowball fight behind you, sam . Well you will see it soon leon. But not right now. Speaking about the snow situation in d. C. The public works director said today last year d. C. Put down 55,000 tons of salt in the city and this year the city will at least reach that if not surpass it. He said that of course today the situation that started with rain saw the city blanketed with snow. It started as rain this morning in d. C. Even so the snow emergency routes had to be clear of 7 00 a. M. Meaning 250 tickets for failure to move a car. City snow trucks were salting the routes with the first flakes of snow and d. C. Had 220 vehicles of various sorts and service. City officials gave reporters a tour of the snow Operation Center where the roads are monitored and said the government shut down mainly to avoid problems with the afternoon rush hour. It will be peaking in the afternoon. We closed government today because we wanted to avoid people having an afternoon commute that would be dangerous. No shortage of taxi cabs. A 15 per ride surcharge brought out lots of cabs. You came out because of it . Yes. Few people were complaining. For many it was a day of trying to stay a step ahead clearing sidewalks as it continues to snow. For others a day to enjoy. I like it. I think its pretty and its nice. And i had today off. And it had that wonderland look at places like Dupont Circle. Although at the dupont bar across the street, they were preparing for outdoor drinking including some of the crowd expected for the Dupont Circle snow ball fight. We would like them here after. In terms of throwing snowballs that can stay within the circle. And were back live. You can see they are massing over there, getting ready for the snowball fight that has sort of become a tradition here in d. C. Around Dupont Circle. And even over here where im standing, there are lots of people sort of standing ready with their snowballs like ben rice just threw me one. I just threw it back. It will be happening here shortly in northwest washington. Sam ford abc 7 news. That snow is heavy. Somebody is going to get pounded out there watch your back, all right . Now, folks, once the snow stops falling and you start getting out there and clearing things out, try to remember to shovel out any fire hydrants near your home or business. And as for the sidewalks as well. Youve got some 24 hours to get them clear in the district arlington and montgomery counties give you 24 hours after the snow stops to get out there and shovel. And Prince Georges County gives you 48 hours. Alison . Leon the driver of a big rig had minor injuries after his truck flipped on the beltway. It happened on the outer loop at the exit for branch avenue. Maryland state police were able to clear the scene pretty quickly. Maryland bureau chief brad bell is live in laurel with a check on the weather there. Hi brad. Hey alison. You know just a little while ago, we got teased. The snow absolutely stopped. There was nothing falling down and now were getting this light flurry. But nothing compared to what weve been seeing all day long. How much snow did we get . Its five inches. It started out as a heavy packing snow but turned into that fluffy snow. As for the road this is route 1 through laurel a little while ago, five minutes ago, about five plows came through here and they came with the plows down on the ground. They were moving slowly and theyve gotten down to just wet pavement. A lot of people have been working really hard today. In the Laurel CenterShopping Center we met a fatherson team hard at work. Eddie in the big loader and his 12yearold son tyler plowing on his little a. T. V. Theyve been busy since about noon and the snow got deep enough to plow. Small snows but a lot of them. My job is to plow the sidewalks. Are you good at it . Yeah. Whats the secret to doing it well. What do you have to remember . Not to hit stuff. Good advice considering all the people that are hitting stuff today like the driver of this car on i95. He crashed to the point that the roads appeared just wet but not snow covered. They were slick. Even though crews have been busy all day, we spotted this brine truck gushing chemicals on to i95 behind a plow clearing the shoulder so those who do venture out can get back safely. Ive been out since 7 00 this morning. The roads are great. I travel on 95 and 295 they were good. Roads arent too bad. I have a big vehicle, fourwheel drive, trying to get our passports done today. She needs passports for a caribbean cruise. Hows that sound today . Two years in a row, it snowed on my birthday which is february 26th. Talk about a snow day its been so quiet out here. Look at this Shopping Center. All of these stores closed. No one out and about. This is where those guys were shovelling. Hopefully tomorrow theyll be aup and ready for business. Brad bell, abc 7 news. I want to talk more about that caribbean cruise. Take us with you, please stay connected with the Storm Watch Weather Team through wjla. Com, wjla Facebook Page or the abc 7 news twitter feed. You can download this stormwatch 7 app for your smartphone or tablet. Coming up on abc 7 news at 5 00, we do have more to tell you about. More than just the snow today. Other things are going on. To tell you who testified today at the Boston Marathon bombing trial. A little bit later, a big decision by ringling brothers about its use of elephants in its shows. Pluses the u. S. Supreme court sets a date to hear one of the most controversial cases of the session. It was a rough day for travelers here at Reagan National airport. As you can see behind me there is activity and lanes are we are back with breaking news right now out of virginia where the northbound lanes of the g. W. Parkway are closed. And this is at spout run parkway and were told its due to icy conditions. Well keep you updated on the situation there at the g. W. Parkway as soon as we learn more. Leon . Quite a scene at Laguardia Airport this morning. A delta flight coming in from atlanta skidded off the snowy runway during landing. That plane punched its way through the chain link fence and hit a berm and it barely missed the water. Passengers had to slide down on inflated chute to safety. Authorities say six people suffered some minor injuries. The ntsb is investigating. Airlines canceled the majority of their flights out of b. W. I. Marshall dulles and Reagan National airports today. With amtrak running fewer trains in the northeast corridor, that limited at least one alternative there. Chris pabst picks up the Stormwatch Team coverage from Reagan National airport today. Hi, chris. Hi, leon and alison. After three or four hours of very little activity here at Reagan National airport, the snow is lightening up a little bit and the planes are now officially taking off. This is an airport that normally has about 850 flights a day on average. Today, 520 have already been canceled. Another 100 have been delayed. If you look here behind me, things are definitely looking promising for the hundreds of people still inside the terminal trying to figure out how theyre going to get home or get to their final destination. You can see a lot of this snow is starting to get piled up. Theres three or four planes here and the other ones are getting worked on. Presumably getting prepared for takeoff. The airport had told me throughout the day that they do hope in the later afternoon hours and afternoon hours to get a lot of people to the terminals where they want to go. We talked to a lot of people that were stuck. Hopefully he doesnt have to spend the night in the terminal. One guy spent the last six months planning a vacation to see his girlfriend in barcelona, spain and he has no idea how to get there. He cant get to j. F. K. To fly out by train because theyre full, flights are canceled. Cant get there. Heres what he had to say to us a little bit earlier today. If i cant get to new york then i lose all my flights over there and i lose all my hotel rooms and everything. Im not thinking about that right now. Youre thinking you can still get there. Exactly. Ill find a way to do it. Does appear to be a plane taking off right now. You can see it up there. So things are starting to get back to normal here at Reagan National airport. Live at Reagan National airport, chris pabst, abc 7 news. Thanks chris. Things are starting to slow down there. Not so much stuff in the air there. Getting better. Thankfully the snow is quickly coming to an end. We have to worry about anything that may have the opportunity to melt today to refreeze overnight and especially during the Early Morning hours, talking Single Digits and lower teens for lows. Once we get through tomorrow i promise you warmer temperatures. Thats nice. Nice to have that to look forward to. Its nice to know this is march and daylight savings time starts this sunday. And spring cant be that far away and Cherry Blossoms are next month. Well get rid of this before you know it. The sun the strong march sun angle, well melt this all at probably early next week. Looking right now downtown or over the Potomac River it is beginning to clear up. Vice visiblities are now improving. 10 miles in winchester and martinsburg. Thats where the snow has stopped about two hours ago or so. Officially, thats 28 degrees at the airport right now. 4. 6 inches of snow fell today at Reagan National airport. One of the bigger snowfalls that they have seen so far this season and wind chill now at 19. Take a look at snow totals across the area. Montgomery county, the further north you go thats where we have the higher amounts. Five inches in bethesda. 5 1 2 inches in glenmont. Snow totals nine inches in walkersville and 7 1 2 inches in new market and head to Arlington County where they had the snow totals that are about four inches. Actually, this is d. C. Four inches at national zoo and northeast d. C. Just around 3. 2 inches of snow. Get the gist of things. The mess out there. We are going to continue to see the snow come to an end. And most of it has already come to an end. We have this winter storm warning and i suspect most of this will come down before its set to expire later on tonight. It will probably come down in pieces. This is what storm watch 7 live Doppler Radar looks like. This line of snow quickly moving off to the east. Behind it we have cloudy skies but at least the snow has come to an end. Because the snow has come to an end doesnt mean that conditions are going to instantly improve. This is going to be a process to get everything out here and get the roads cleared up it will take about a day or so. Expect delays tomorrow and cancellations tomorrow and well have them here on abc 7 and as always on wjla. Com. 1 00 tonight, our skies begin to clear in the teens around 15 degrees at 4 00 in the morning, waking up tomorrow morning inside the beltway, talking temperatures around 10 12 13 even colder off to the north and west of us. We could tie some record lows at Dulles International airport and b. W. I. Marshall. This would be for the day tomorrow. 9 is the projected low at dulles. 11 winchester. Petersburg looking for a low tonight around 8 degrees. One day of really cold air. Futurecast looks like this. All that snow is out of here as we move through the Early Morning hours of friday. Keep in mind this will allow temperatures to drop. Slick sidewalks and side roads and overpasses, be on the lookout even if theyre treated, the chemicals will have a hard time working with temperatures so very very cold. As far as were concerned, in terms of what we expect over the next several days. Things are going to improve. Well get rid of the 30 degree reading and were going to inch things up by 10 degrees as they move closer to the upcoming weekend with a whole lot of sunshine on the way. Were calling for a high of 30 degrees. Mostly sunny skies. Im going to change this graphic and update it for you. And our extended outlook gets a whole lot better. Notice whats missing from this. We are missing the chances of snow and rain. I like that. 50 degrees on sunday. 52 on monday. 50 on tuesday. Step out of the way. Look at wednesday and thursday. Were talking middle to upper 50s to close to 60 degrees. All right. So the snow has come to an end. Eileen whelan has been in front of our studios all day long. Since early, early this morning. Eileen youve seen it through the beginning, through the middle and now we are the end. How do things compare . Well you know its a whole lot of white out here. Looks like a Winter Wonderland and ive been saying it all day. I really hope this is the last snowstorm that were reporting on this season. But at any rate, it looks beautiful. This snow is tapering off to a few flurries. Im not worried about my snowman melting overnight as steve just mentioned with such cold temperatures. But i do want to show you quickly what the streets look like here in arlington after nearly five inches of snow they are snow covered. And with temperatures tonight falling into the Single Digits and teens, its only going to get worse. More slick so please stay off the roads if you can. Hunker down by the fire with a warm beverage. Doesnt get much better than that. Leon and alison. Where do you find the energy eileen . Eileen youve earned the warm beverage. Come on inside. Been out there since 6 00 this morning. All right. Well from capitol hill to culpepper and calvert counties people didnt go to work or school today. Thats right. Lot of them spent the day on social media. And weve got the stunning images from Laguardia Airport to the beautiful pictures from right here in maryland. Well show you whats been happening on social media coming up. And were standing by for this traditional Dupont Circle snowball fight. Well take you there live once it begins. Heres a look at what you can watch here later on abc once you settle in with that warm beverage. I know grandmas house isnt the most exciting, but its only for a few hours. Look what ive got. When you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture quality, super fast internet, and americas most reliable network. So you wont miss a second of that movie, that game they love, or those moments with family. Can we sleep over . Please come on make your house the house when you get more from verizon fios the tv Service Rated 1 in hd picture quality and signal reliability based on Customer Satisfaction studies plus americas fastest, most reliable internet. And for peace of mind, get a price quote in writing and professional installation from a highly trained verizon technician. Hurry now to get this deal that cant be beat. Get a fios triple play online for just 79. 99 a month a price guaranteed for two full years. And when you sign a two year agreement, get an incredible 300 bonus. This great deal wont last. Visit verizon. Com worryfree to learn more today. Call the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities at 800. 974. 6006 tty v back now with a live look here at the snow out there. This is out there, i believe this is from the National Mall . Outside of the u. S. Capitol. We saw folks sledding on the hill. That could be anywhere in the viewing area today. Thats the scene that everybody is seeing which is why, of course, so many people stayed home today from work and from school. One of the best ways that we can see how youre handling the snow in your neighborhood is when you show us. You folks have been doing just that. Sharing your photos and videos with us on line. Joce sterman is in the newsroom and has been watching that stuff youre sending in. What are you seeing . We know you cant bring the snowball fights inside we have to bring them to you on social media because these things, they melt and im making a huge mess. Lets get to this. I want to show you the most dramatic footage of all today from Laguardia Airport where this plane basically ran off the runway and crashed through a fence. Luckily, nobody injured. That was a huge thing today on social media, obviously. Back here at home we saw tons of stunning images of the beauty of this snow. This person pointing out, alison, poining out even the mail Service Working today. Think about how bad you have it. Those guys are out dealing with that. Prepping for the big snowball fight at 5 30. Big problems on the roads, as we know today. Bus stuck here. This is the d2 got stuck out there in the district. Metro, lone wolves out there today, guys. Nobody on those cars today. And just as a refresher, take a look at this. This is Alexandria One year ago and today. What a difference a year makes. I wish we had this time back. Certainly, and heres another snowball fight happening in our community. Look at these little tikes having a great time with this guys, and at least somebody was out having fun and we want to show you the best of all today on social media. Strangely, these two snow people appear to be someone i know. I cant think who it is. Do you guys have any ideas . Yes. As a matter of fact weve been warned about this. Thanks to our buddy mike conneen. Bring up that shot show here. Mustache is a little off. Thats supposed to be me on the left there and alison. And our hair is not as usually a little untidy id say. Very bushy. Literally. Literally apparently he gave me a pregnant belly. I dont know if you can tell. You can see is it. Adorable. Youve been forever memorialized in snow. Thats your lipstick too. I think. Maybe. Joce thats very cute. Tell mike to watch his back ok . I will. You should build a snowman that looks like him. Exactly. Got it. Were on it. Thanks mike. Thank you for that, too. All right, folks. Coming up at 5 00 were not the only ones suffering during this winlter storm. Which state is already calling out the National Guard. Im Horace Holmes live in mobile track 7 the storm is just about over but the danger is not out here on these roadways. I have a live report coming up next. Im steve rudin and the snow quickly draws to a close but colder air on the way. Single digits and lower teens by early tomorrow morn all right, folks. Hearing theres a snowball fight that just started in Dupont Circle. Almost right on time. They said 5 30. Well be going there live in a few minutes to check things out there. But first, we want to let you know about some School Closings that were getting word on tonight. Yep, theyre already happening. We got faquier, Prince William county schools closed tomorrow. Falls church manassas city. Manassas park city schools and we just heard that alexandria and culpepper county schools also closed tomorrow. Ok. Lets get now to meteorologist steve rudin in the storm watch 7 Weather Center for a look at when this snow is going to stop. Slowing down now right, steve . Absolutely. Im sure well add to the School Closing list as we move through the next few hours or so. Well keep you updated here on abc 7. Take a look at whats going on. This is the best picture ive seen all day long in terms of the snowfall. Its coming to an end. That edged off to the north of us. Across gaithersburg into eastern Montgomery County into Prince Georges County and all moved off to the east and in its place, were going to look for much colder air to filter in from the north and west. Temperatures are falling. Its 24 at dulles. Its 23 with fresh snow in gaithersburg. 27 in frederick. You get the point. Temperatures are cold right now. Well be even colder as we move through the overnight hours around 10 degrees downtown. Were talking Single Digits in our northern and western suburbs. Winds out of the north at five to 10. That will make it feel even colder with wind chill factors. Tomorrow sunshine returns and well start that melting process even though temperatures will be below freezing. The strong sun angle for this time of year thats going to help melt things very, very nicely. Well talk about the seven day outlook coming up in a few minutes. Alison . See you then, steve. Thank you. Todays snow was some of the best that weve had this winter for snowmen, for snowballs and for skiing. Well, these are the live cameras at the liberty ski resort in pennsylvania. Weve seen some decent crowds on the slopes and the lifts all day long there but a snow tradition is under way closer to home. Hi stephen. Hi alison. This is a wet icky snow but its perfect for snowballs. Behind me the tradition for snowball fights at Dupont Circle. People defending the statues and the fountain in the center theyre having a good time. People have been gathering here for the past hour and a half railroad so. Why are you coming out here . It gives them a chance to be a kid again and theyre not going to work today many of them. So it was an opportunity to get outside and have some fun. Snowball fight going on for about 10 minutes now and it promises to keep going and hey youll go for the snowball fight, arent you . Im a dog lover, too hey, have fun. A lot of people having fun out here. Reporting live, Stephen Tschida dont abc 7 news. You knew it was coming. They do it every year. Be careful out there. The roads seemed to get worse as the day went on in the area. Heres video of a bus spinning its wheels on i66. This came into our newsroom an hour and a half ago and we found this. Cars getting stuck on wilson boulevard in rosslyn just outside of our studios. Thats a big hill there. No way our guy is getting up there. Our Horace Holmes was riding around and out in frederick earlier. Lets see how he is right now and how things look. How are things looking . Where are you . Were heading out south and seeing a sign above us theres a crash here on i70. The snow has stopped. It stopped 20 minutes ago and the road crews have done a great job of clearing the roadway out. 70 and 270 as part of the county. Its not time for folks to get back on the roadways. Its starting to get cold. Nighttime is coming. They have to get back out here and put the chemical down to make sure this doesnt freeze. So good news out here right now. Look at the roadway just clear and you can pass through it at this point. But again, stay off the roadways out here in Frederick County and throughout the areas so the crews can do their jobs. Back to you. Thanks. Drive carefully out there. Lets get a look at some of the roads in the area. Bob emler in the wtop Traffic Center with the details for us right now. Whats this sight were looking at right now . Thats the ramp from connecticut avenue to go north, northbound connecticut avenue on the inner loop of the beltway where people have been getting stuck all afternoon and theres the latest casualty. Beltway itself are doing better especially in montgomery and prince georges counties. Dont be fooled by that though. In many areas still ice and slush covered. And, of course the neighborhood streets are going to freeze hard tonight. You want to clean off your cars tonight before you go out tomorrow morning. Were looking at 66 and it looks all right on nutley street. As the continue continues to drop, that will be slick out there and other pictures showing us snow cover on the interstates along stretches of i95 and 395 still a lot of snow cover out there tonight. Northbound George Washington parkway, traffic have been diverted because of ice on hill. They got it open once again and traffic was able to climb the hill on the George Washington parkway. Many hills are a problem out there tonight. This is one area where things are starting to improve. Traveling south on 95. We have some volume delays here and there as people slow down on the slush covered roads. Best not to go out if you dont have to tonight, however. Im bob emler with 103. 5 wtop radio. The nats are ready to play. A preview of their first spring training game still ahead. Well show where some folks are having fun in the snow out here at home today. No matter how bad you think you may have it here in the d. C. Area, well show you dramatic pictures from other sides of the country where the National Guard has been called in to welcome back everybody. Taking a live picture at lee highway at route 28 in centreville. We saw whiteout conditions there a little bit earlier in the day and you can see right now, still treacherous but not many cars braving the roads today. Our Jeff Goldberg will have a live report for us coming up at 6 00. Well, we are certainly not the only ones feeling the pain from this winter storm. Thats right. The National Guard was called in after hundreds of people spent the nights in the cars, rather, on a highway. Scott thuman is at the stormwatch live desk. He has more on this now. Scott snoo . Leon and alison, i want to show you what theyre dealing with across the country. Lets begin in kentucky, its dramatic stuff. Theyve had more than 20 inches of snow in some parts and take a look at i65 where right now hundreds of people have been stranded on actually two major highways, not just i65 and you can see the lines of cars unable to move. In fact rows and rows of semitrucks completely stuck and then farther south near dallas youve got a big rig take a look at this. It was stuck in the ice. It took some real team work here and five different trucks each attached in that tow line to get the semi moving. How about this . In minnesota, scary close call when a large chunk of ice crashed through this drivers windshield. Unfortunately, these problems are going to persist well after the snow stops especially with those stuck drivers in kentucky. I was terrified and ive been calling my mom since 3 00. What do i do . Im stuck with a baby. Brought us water so we could make bottles. Getting people free from that section. Storm warnings from texas to nantucket, as steve pointed out all newscast long that cold is the big issue moving forward. So a lot of problems all across the country. Leon alison . All right. What a mess thank you, scott. Were also following several stories that are not weather related today. When we come back a look at what happened in the second day of the Boston Marathon bombing trial. After years of protests, a major change for one of the most popular circuss in the world. Back now with a live picture from Liberty Mountain in pennsylvania. Some folks have taken to the lifts on this snow day. All the people we know right now that are glad to have this snow. Especially the people working there really happy. Im sure they are. The snow is a big story here locally. There are some other things you need to know about thats happening today. One of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings took the stand today. This was the second day of that trial. Jeff bowman lost both of his legs in that attack. He says he locked eyes with Tamerlan Tsarnaev shortly before the blast. Tamerlan later died in a shootout with police. His brother could get the Death Penalty if he is convicted. And the Supreme Court released its calendar for the rest of this term today and it will hear arguments over samesex marriage coming up april lawyers on both sides will get 90 minutes to argue whether gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right tory everywhere in the u. S. Another hour will be devoted to whether states must recognize same sex unions performed in other states. A decision is expected sometime before july. After years of protest today, ringling brothers announced it will start phasing elephants out of its circus act. As Rebecca Cooper reports, the iconic symbols should be done by 2018. For decksades, ringling brothers headquarters was based here in washington. When the circus came to town the elephants paraded past the capitol. After years of complaints from Animal Rights activists, today the c. E. O. Said its time for a big shift under the big top. Its the best thing for our company, for our associates and for our consumers and most of all for the elephants. Peta often used you tube to lobby for the elephants and today the end is a time of great rejoicing for the Animal Kingdom and all the Animal Rights activists. Washington resident Stephanie Debow loves animals so much she opened up happy paws doggie daycare in northwest. Using elephants was a big reason she boycotted the circus. I dont go to the circus. I dont want to see the animals in cages. The coworker grew up loving the circus but preferred other acts seeing animals he loved inside a tent. As a kid i always liked the clowns and, you know, the acrobats and things more than the elephants. Its this new generation of animal loving circus goers that they say the company now plans to focus on allowing elephants to retire to the sanctuary they established in florida. We really just want to get back to what we do best which is creating Live Entertainment and creating incredible experiences that families can enjoy together. An entertainment sp for now the tigers and big cats will remain in the circus but the company that also produces disney on ice and monster jams and other major productions says it will now focus on hightech, high wire acts for the new generation of circus goers. In the newsroom Rebecca Cooper, abc 7 news. All right. Were getting word now of more School Closings coming in. Just heard from montgomery and Spotsylvania County schools, they will all be closed tomorrow added to a long list already. Thats right. Well keep you updated with the scroll and all the systems that will be closed tomorrow. Keep it tuned right here. Lets get to steve rudin with the latest on this system and how soon it will be getting out of here. Steve . Its moving out really really quickly. Thin band to the north and west of us over here. Its beginning to break apart. Thats the good news. But behind it we have really really cold air on the way. Take a look at our live Doppler Radar. The heaviest ofnning to exit Southern Maryland quickly moving across the delmarva peninsula. Once we get the weak band out of here, the conditions will begin to improve in terms of the skies clearing out. Its cold out there. 23 gaithersburg and 27 degrees in frederick. If you think thats cold, colder temperatures are on the way tonight. Single digits to lower teens, we could tie records at b. W. I. Marshall and at dulles with record challenging cold come early, early in the morning. That is what the futurecast looks like. It gets much better in terms of that cloud cover later on tonight. And our sunshine factor will increase dramatically dramatically for the day tomorrow and for that matter for the upcoming weekend as our temperatures begin to increase. Heres our forecast for tomorrow. 30 degrees for a daytime high. That is 22 degrees below average for this time of year. Winds will be out of the north at five to 10 giving us an added chill. Heres the next seven days. Feast our eyes on this. Daylight savings time starts early sunday morning. Our sun will set after 7 00. Even though were going to lose an hour of sleep ill take that in exchange for 50 degrees, lower 50s on monday. 50 on tuesday. Middle to upper 50s by wednesday and thursday. Im going to end you on one note here with a new record established today at Reagan National airport. 4. 6 inches of snow fell. The old record a long standing record set back in 1888 of 4. 4. New record snowfall for this date, march 5th. 4. 6 inches at Reagan National airports. Thats going back a ways. A long way. When they measured actually at 23rd and m streets. Interesting. Wow. In the 1800s . 1888. Did they even have rulers back then to measure it with . I promise i wont mention the word snow in this minute and a half. The caps are still scheduled to host the minnesota wild. Alex ovechkin is questionable for tonight. Hell be a game time decision suffering from a lower back injury. Hes certainly not in the lower half when it comes to scoring, though. In fact, hes leading the league in game winners with 10 total. He has 43 goals overall and tied with Nicklas Backstrom for most points so far with 67. Hell certainly be missed if he is out. All right, nats got started about 45 minutes ago hosting the mets in vieira florida where its 85 guys bear with me. Max scherzer pitched two innings and gave up a solo home run. Mets lead it 10 in the third inning and it starts in the spring. Bryce harper was asking for it last week. Set the foundation in vieira even though hes already claiming world series, he knows its easier said than done. Going to be tough. We think, you know were a good team and, of course we want to go into every single game thinking were going to win and what we need to do. No sure shot, keep going out here and working hard and hitting on all cylinders and get to work. This is fun. L. S. U. Fan anthony wade hit a Half Court Shot to win an xbox. Thats great and all. Houston rockets fan. He had a chance to win 25,000. So he nails it. Whoa xbox, 25,000. Which one would you rather have . And, of course youd take the xbox. Uh no. If youre 20 years old or younger, youd take the xbox. Exactly. Everyone else will take the 25,000. Way to go. Lucky day right there. Well, tonight at 6 00 the one hearing that still went on on capitol hill today. But first a little more fun in the snow. I know grandmas house isnt the most exciting, but its only for a few hours. Look what ive got. When you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture qualy, super fast internet, and americas most reliable network. So you wont miss a second of that movie, that game they love, or those moments with ly. Can we sleep over . Please come on make your house the house when you get more from verizon fios the tv Service Rated 1 in hd picture quality and signal reliability based on Customer Satisfaction studies plus americas fastest, most reliable internet. And for peace of mind, get a price quote in writing and professional installation from a highly trained verizon technician. Hurry now to get this deal that cant be beat. Get a fios triple play online for just 79. 99 a month a price guaranteed for two full years. And when you sign a two year agreement, get an incredible 300 bonus. This great deal wont last. Visit verizon. Com worryfree to learn more today. Call the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities at 800. 974. 6006 tty v we are back now with a live look now at the National Mall. You can see the Washington Monument barely in the background through that mess there. Looking more like london or russia here than it looks like the washington, d. C. But this is clearing up and heading out and well be out of here soon. Alison . Quite a dreary picture there. The snow of course, brings with it fun and frustrations depending on who you ask. Thats what diane cho found when she went to check out the snow situation in Anne Arundel County. For a little while here we didnt see anyone outside in this neighborhood but now, some are starting to venture out to start shovelling their driveways. You can see how much snow we have here in Anne Arundel County. Many are tired of dealing with it and we talked to several people who told us they love it. We found one 11yearold said he was gathering snow for his castle waiting for his dad to finish up shovelling so they could go sledding. His father says he didnt get to enjoy the winter storms last year at this time because he was deployed in afghanistan so this year, he wanted to make sure that he could make up for it by taking him sledding. Not far from them, we found the 18yearold Brandon Henry riding his four wheeler out there. While some were dealing with one headache after another getting stuck or sliding off the road because of the conditions, others told us they wouldnt have it any other way. Ive always been on four wheelers and dirt bikes my whole life. Its fun to get out there and play a little bit. I love it. Im hoping when i get home i can fire up my snow blower and go to town. Again officials are urging people to stay off the roads and use caution if you do have to head out tonight. In Anne Arundel County diane cho, abc 7 news. And thats it for abc 7 news at 5 00. Of course, our storm watch coverage of the Winter Weather continues right now at 6 00. And right now at 6 00 spinning wheels, cars stuck in place on snow and ice covered roads. The winter storm weve been warning you about us and hit with a force that we feared. We have Team Coverage getting you up to speed on the conditions in virginia d. C. And maryland. Steve rudin in the storm watch Weather Center. Where do things stand right beginning to improve. The heaviest snow has movement out of here. Few flurries in arlington and youll see the same in district and alexandria as you move through the next halfhour or so. Look at these temperatures. 23 gaiters erzhersburggaithersburg. Lexington park maryland at 28 degrees. All below freezing. This is just the beginning of super cold air thats on the way later on tonight. Doppler radar shows all of the action now drifting towards the east. We have that one band off to the west of us hagerstown west virginia, really dont expect that to amount to a whole lot. Look at the snow totals. Eight inches in winchester. Six inches in frederick. Five inches and seven inches in front royal. Germantown coming in with around six inches of snow and we broke the record at Reagan National airport. 4. 6 inches fell today. The old record set back in 1888 was 4. 4. Heres the hourly forecast moving through the overnight. Its going to get cold around here. A lot of refreezing late tonight, early tomorrow morning. More on that and what to expect for the next seven days coming up in just a few minutes. Leon . All right, steve. Were getting School Closings in for friday. Mainly just a few of several at this hour. Montgomery and Prince William counties as well as alexandria city and Falls Church Schools are all closed. Stay with abc 7 and wjla. Com throughout the evening for School Closings and delays as they are available. Now, the reason for closing those schools, rather obvious b