and new sidewalks. now, this is the first piece of major work they have had done on constitution in 60 years. and they're promising no more than two lanes to be closed in each direction as they're doing this work. but this work is going to be happening during all times of the day, including rush hour. you're definitely going to want to find your way around this area. it's going to be going around until 2012. again, beginning today, they'll have signed helped to detour you around the construction work zones. definitely know it's going to be a mess. think about it. two lanes open on constitution at a time. you know what it's like with all the lanes open. so just imagine. tracee wilkins live in northwest. back to you in the studio. >> don't want to go there. thank you very much, tracee. more later. iowa declared a state of emergency after a monster tornado. >> get back! >> storm chasers caught the twister on tape. authorities say it flattened about 20% of mapleton, iowa saturday night. no one was seriously hurt. another system brought drenching downpours and baseball-sized hail in southwestern virginia and north carolina. violent storms followed days of unusual heat in some places and cold in others. forecasters say another strong storm system will move across the country in just a few days. looks like we are going to experience severe weather after a nice, warm day. >> good morning to you. welcome, right? >> glad to have you with us. >> thanks for the coffee you guys left me. >> you're like what coffee, right? >> yeah. well, let's switch over and talk about that weather system. indeed, all part of that same weather system is headed this way. we're likely to see strong storms, severe weather of our own tomorrow morning starting about this time and running into 11:00 a.m. for today, it's going to be like early summer day. 58 degrees right now. we've got winds gusting out of the south-southwest at 18 miles per hour currently. we check on some of the other locations. buoy, 59. 58 in bening. aspen hill, montgomery county, 58. 63 down south in culpepper. we have a strong south-southwest wind. we've got storms already out ahead of the cold front through indiana. bus stop, 60 to 65. the storms will not move into this area or develop into 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. this evening. our best chance is for tomorrow morning. breezy and warm today. break out the sun shades, flip-flops. up to 84 to 87 degrees and breezy for the afternoon. jerry. >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. a lot of overnight road work particularly in northern virginia. i-95, the ramps to the capital beltway had been closed. they have reopened. right now headed north out of newington, 395 you should be good to go. we'll keep a watch for any straggling construction workers. capital beltway inner loop from rockville pike, i-95 doing great. outer loop smooth sailing. and construction around tysons corner, both directions inner loop and outer loop, keep an eye out for that. we will keep you updated. >> jerry, thanks a lot. the clock is ticking for maryland lawmakers to push through key legislation. still on the table, expanding rights for illegal immigrants and how much you could be paying for alcohol in maryland. darcy spencer has more on the last legislative day. >> reporter: delegate ivy of prince george's county says it's been a tough legislative session in annapolis and there are still a lot of bills hanging in the balance as lawmakers head into the last day. >> given the tough hand we've been dealt with the economy i think overall we found a way to come through it pretty well. >> reporter: one major issue left to be decided, a proposed 50% increase in the state alcohol test. ivy argues passing it will reduce underaged drinking. >> when we increased the tax on tobacco, underaged smoking went down. we can expect when we increase the tax on alcohol, then underaged drinking will go down. >> reporter: while lobbyists are proposing the levee some say it will generate $85 million, much of it for school construction. >> i support the extra taxes used for something worthwhile. in-state tuition rates at maryland community colleges for undocumented immigrants. >> we want them to contribute to the state of maryland if they go on to become successful professionals they will give back to the state of maryland because they are making higher wages and paying more taxes. >> if i had family members in pennsylvania and they decided they wanted to come live with me to get a better education in maryland, they would not be able to get this benefit like someone from another country. >> one measure that appears headed to victory, direct wine sales. marylanders can have wine shaped from wineries but not from retailers. lawmakers say they expect to work all the way through midnight tonight. in bethesda, darcy spencer, news 4 today >> this morning d.c. police are busy looking for suspects after six homicides in the last five days. the most recent happened early yesterday morning near 1st and irving streets. a 20-year-old man was shot and killed. friday night, another man was shot in southeast. the night before, 16-year-old jackson was shot in an apparent drive-by shooting outside his home on congress street southeast. last wednesday, three men were shot and killed in various locations throughout the city. no arrests have been made in any of these shootings. 4:36 our time. security cameras can help find a person starting a fire at a high school in bethesda. someone through a device into a classroom at walt whitman late on friday night. it caused a small explosion and fire and set off the sprinkler system. it did about $50,000 worth of damage. >> while the questions have been asked whether this was done as a prank, it is a crime. >> this is a serious matter and will be taken it seriously. police have investigating it seriously. whoever is caught doing this will face very serious consequences. >> walt whitman high school is expected to be open this morning with no disruptions. there is good news this morning in the recovery of four firefighters injured in a fire last week. firefighter warren mike deavers has been released from the hospital. deavers and three other d.c. firefighters were injured friday when the roof of a burning home collapsed on them as they searched for survivors. the most seriously injured was chuck lyon, volunteer chief in riverdale. he suffered burns over 40% of his body. his stepson says he is up and walking in the icu. coming up in the day ahead, a judge will decide whether five new charges against a former uva lacrosse star will go to a grand jury. he is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and women's lacrosse player love near campus last may. felony murder and burglary are the additional charges. huguely is not expected to appear. a northern virginia man is expected to plead guilty to plotting to bomb the d.c. metro system. he was arrested in october after a six-month federal undercover sting. he's accused of recording videos of three metro stations. he gave the tapes to people he thought were members of al qaeda. he is a naturalized citizen from pakistan. he had previously entered a not guilty plea to charges. it has been one month since the deadly disaster in japan. we look at the progress and how people from around the world will remember the victims who died in the earthquake and tsunami. find out what prince william and kate middleton will do on their final public appearance. plus, veronica is tracking wild weather headed our way. welcome back. time for weather and traffic on the ones. 4:41. figure out a way to enjoy the weather today. it is going to be mighty nice. it's plenty warm. already 58 degrees the current temperature at reagan national. it's a little breezy with a south-southwest wind. 59 in capital heights. damascus, 57. low to mid-70s out to the west in ohio and west virginia. we'll see a high between 84 and 87 degrees. strong storms will our way early tomorrow morning. jerry? >> all right, veronica, we'll be prepared as we always are. for those coming out of columbia, white oak, silver spring, overnight road work with a couple of lanes closed. they may have just pulled up stakes. we'll keep a watch over it. inside the beltway, interstate 66, westbound direction headed out toward the dulles connector, right lane closed for overnight construction. one more stop out to the west. dulles airport to catch a flight, no worries. everything moving along very nicely. joe, eun. >> jerry, thank you. >> 4:43. 59 degrees. one month ago a deadly earthquake and tsunami struck japan. how washington will honor the lives lost. pain at the pump. just how much gasoline prices have risen. a final public appeara woman: my giant -- they're fantastic. i can't say enough about them. i can go in, get the things i need, and i know i'm saving money. why would i shop anywhere else? at giant, we want to thank you for making us the store you love to shop for over 75 years. this week, look for savings in every aisle, just for you. like boneless beef chuck shoulder roast, $1.99 a pound. and lean cuisine entrees, just 5 for $10. i pay for my groceries, and i look at the bottom of the receipt, i'm like, "yes! i did it!" that works for me. more savings every time you shop, with your giant card. our time right now is 4:45. here's a look at our top stories this morning. after narrowly approving a budget to avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers have to find ways to trim next year's budget. some say if congress does not increase the limit, the united states will not be able to pay its bills. a traffic alert on this monday morning, a major rehabilitation project is expected to begin today on constitution avenue. the construction work will stretch from 23rd to 15th streets in both directions. this road work ask not expected to wrap up until nearly 2012. a judge will decide whether george huguely will face five additional charges. he is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and women's lacrosse player yardly love. it's now 4:46. a verdict could be handed down as early as today when jurors reconvene in the barry bonds perjury trial. he is charged with three counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice. he has denied he ever knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs. he is baseball's all-time home run leader. if convicted, he could face 21 months in prison. a talked her got a little something extra in his apple juice. he went to an applebee's with his parents. they ordered the 15-month-old an apple juice. he drank the whole cup. the problem was it was not juice. his parents knew something was wrong when he began acting peckly. >> we took it from him. he laid his head on the table and dozed off a little bit. woke back up and got real happy and saying bye to people, hi to people. his food came and he wouldn't eat it. >> someone behind the bar mislabeled it as margarita mix. he's expected to be okay. his mother says doctors told her he could have died if he had had any more. applebee's released a statement calling the incident unacceptable and says it is conducting an investigation. we have breaking news in japan just as the country marks one month since a disaster there, we have just learned a 7.1 tremor was felt in tokyo. no word on damage at this point. but earlier in the day people bowed their hands marking when the 9.0 earthquake rocked japan on march 11th. it caused a crisis at the fukushima power plant. the washington national cathedral is holding an interfaith prayer service at 7:00 tonight. a cease-fire to end the crisis in libya. there are reports that moammar gadhafi accepted their terms. three members of the african union presented a road map for a cease-fire to the libyan leader yesterday, including opening the country to humanitarian aid and organizing talks with the rebels. one representative said there was discussion of gadhafi relinquishing power. they will frenlt the cease-fire terms to rebel leaders in benghazi today. and u.n. and french helicopters fired on the residence of the ivory coast overnight. the attack was in retaliation he authorized against civilians and u.n. forces. he has been holed up in his bunker at his residence for a week. the u.n. ruled he lost the country's presidential election last year. ee gist's president mubarak is speaking for the first time since leaving office. he said he did not use his position to a mass wealth and property. he said he is willing to cooperate in any investigation to prove that. shortly after the speech air, mubarak and his two sons were summoned for questioning. this week first lady michelle obama and dr. jill biden are launching a new initiative for our troops to support service members and their families. the initiative kicks off with a special white house ceremony tomorrow. president barack obama and vice president joe biden are both scheduled to deliver remarks. thousands covered the national mall for the 45th annual kite festival. festivities included free activities. yesterday was the makeup event. it was postponed from two weeks ago because we had really bad weather. >> we had snowflakes. >> that was really good weather, because it was breezy yesterday. and today is going to be the nicest day out of the workweek. if you like warm temperatures, high temperatures, warm air, that's exactly what's going to be happening around the area. a week ago today we were seeing highs in the 80s. we tied the record last week. last tuesday we had severe weather. we will repeat it all again this week with warmth one day, thunderstorms another. 58 is the temperature at reagan national airport. we've got humidity. it's pretty high. 93% right now. so you'll notice moisture in the air. there's a tough of fog too and early morning cloud cover. south-southwest wind at 10 miles per hour. sun is up at 6:38. some of the other numbers already into the 60s, low to mid-60s from manassas, warrenton, over to the south and west. west of us, ohio, towards memphis, 71 to 76 degrees. we will see temperatures today rise. close to 90 degrees. a few locations in virginia as well as north carolina. then by tomorrow, cooler. only in the 60s. here's the reason why. we've got severe weather off to the west. a couple of tornado reports yesterday in wisconsin and severe weather is ongoing with tornado watch. down through southwestern arkansas and eastern texas. here's that line. it will be moving into the area tonight. we could have showers, storms around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. a better chance early tomorrow morning between 5:00 and about 10:00 a.m. or so. then we continue with a few scattered showers. for the afternoon, breezy, 84 to 87 degrees. very warm too. it will feel like a day in june around here. the evening turning mostly cloudy. showers and thunderstorms. a few will develop as we fall from 74 to 67. a look at your tuesday, cooler. 64 even after the thunderstorms tomorrow morning. we're left with showers and a high of 70 degrees on thursday. so at least the end of the week is going to be quiet and fairly nice like spring. >> look forward to that. and we look forward to today, of course. who is not going to love 85 degrees? new york avenue inbound, a few customers along the way from maryland towards bladensburg road. good to go down to the 3rd street tunnel. rhode island avenue, east capital street looking good. trip along interstate 270, frederick to rockville moving along well. overnight road work has been wrapped up. all through lanes reopened. virginia, crews were out patching the proverbial potholes along 95. they have finished their work. jerry, thanks very much. the pain at the pump is getting closer to the dreaded $4 gallon mark. prices have dropped 19 cents in the last three weeks. local averages. d.c. drivers are paying $3.93 for a gallon of regular gasoline, up two cents this weekend. maryland, prices $3.74. virginia's average, up one penny to $3.67. west virginia prices are hovering at $3.79 per gallon. the royal wedding is less than two weeks away. this morning the couple will make their last public appearance before tying the knot. they will take a day-long trip to darwin. they will attend the opening of the new academy and the prince will present a new award in his honor. they will not make any more public appearances until their wedding on april 29th. we are all waiting in anticipation. indeed. 4:53. you plan before disaster strikes. what's safer than backing up your digital files on an external drive. why parents need to pay attention to their well, tonight a shakeup is coming to the newest version of law and order. after a winter break, the west coast version is getting a reboot. original cast member albrecht is leaving the show. there will be a new but recognizable face of the show. dela garza will preprize her role. and you can catch the two-hour premier tonight at 9:00 right here on nbc 4. fires, floods, tsunamis, natural disasters of all kinds are some of the ways you could lose the valuables in your home. your pictures and videos could be lost forever. do you have those files backed up just in case? nbc's chris. >> reporter: it's that time of the year when much of the country is subjected to either tornados, flooding, mudslides, wildfires, lightning strikes, and pretty soon hurricanes. plus, there's also the occasional water main break or house fire. that can put property and memories in serious jeopardy. that's why consumer advocates are on a back up your digital data campaign. >> if you don't have a backup of the memories, the photos, you're going to lose a lot. you're going to lose a big chunk of your life now. >> reporter: paul reynolds at consumer reports says there are too many options these days and few excuses for not backing up digital data. >> the first thing is make sure it's on something else other than the primary device it's on, mostly your computer. >> keepsake videos and photos should be transferred to a cd, dvd or external hard drive. then he says remove it from the prem advertise. >> the hard drive doesn't do a whole lot of good if it gets consumed by the same fire that gets your computer. >> take it to a relative's house. >> or think about an online backup, taking your information up to the cloud, up to a server of a service that will store it for you. >> reporter: cloud servers like this at&t server in texas has gained in popularity. it can be accessed through a variety of devices, not just a home computer. it's natural to worry about your children but parents may not be worrying enough about themselves. researchers at the university of minnesota analyze the dietary and exercise habits of parents with kids under 5. they found mothers in