look at the big break though to the south and west. we're going to get in a lull here in another couple of hours and this afternoon is when things go downhill. live doppler 9000 hd and we will show you that we've got an area of snow to the north, rain to the south and a little bit of light rain, sleet, freezing rain mixed right in the middle across the district. this is some moderate rain or sleet mixed in there and then some snows up to the north there and to western montgomery, loudoun counties, we see the really heavy stuff pull away. back on the weather computer, want to talk about temperatures right now which are in the low to mid-30s. they're not going to get much higher than that. winter storm warnings north and west. winter weather advisories, south and east on our day planner today. look for mid-30s with a lull this midday and then heavy snow returns later. monika? >> we do have an accident now to tell you about. we're going to start off with the yellow light not only because of the road conditions but because there is an accident blocking route 4 in lothian. we'll take you over to a map on the northbound side of route 4, it is blocked between talbot road and route 258. best alternate is to take route 2 and take that over to get around the situation. we'll keep you posted. otherwise, the interstates are looking ok. we'll take you to the beltway on the northside of town. we just spoke to maryland state highway and they said that they sent their trucks out at about 3:30 this morning. you'll find the interstates looking like this. not a clear camera shot because of the lens here but otherwise, things are looking good from 95 all the way over to 270. we'll take a look at 270 clear from father hurley boulevard toward rockville right now. basically from end to end. you're looking all right. a quick look in 66 inbound live at route 123, no problems from manassas through centerville and over to fairfax. in my next report, we'll take a look at d.c. roads at 5:10. >> snow is moving in and that means crews will be out salting and clearing roads for this morning's commute. >> great idea considering the live cameras we saw. >> surae chinn joins us from vdot with the latest on the conditions so far. good morning, surae. >> reporter: good morning. we really started seeing the snow falling around 2:00 this morning during our drive and now it has really tapered off to mainly rain. vdot, though, they haven't cut much of a break because they've been out pretreating the roads overnight to try to get ahead of the storm. steve shannon with vdot, the area manager talking about what's the plan for the rest of the day. >> we'll continue to increase our mobilization toward the rush hour this afternoon as we need to. fortunately, we have a little bit of a reprieve from the snow with some rain. we'll continue to monitor the roads and continue to treat as required. >> a little bit of the concern is the subdivisions, just trying to get out of your driveway and what i noticed during the ice storm, i saw a lot of vdot contractors in subdivisions. >> yeah, that's lesson learned from last year. we actually have quite a few more four by fours in our subdivisions. so, we're trying to stay on top of those. the subdivisions right now are a little bit snow-packed, nothing major. definitely passable. the main lines though are pretty much running water at this time. >> thank you, steve shannon with vdot. we'll continue to talk to him throughout the morning. vdot still trying to get ahead of this storm. as you can see, lots of business taken care of as they mix sand and salt together to get back on the roads to make sure you use the five second rule when you see the trucks out there. back to you two. >> good advice, surae. thank you. >> taking a look at other news that happened while you slept, we're facing snow but parts of florida is reeling after a deadly storm. >> this is pretty serious. high winds knocked down several trees and damaged homes overnight in orlando. and crews are now working to restore the power to thousands who are in the dark. the weather also contributed to a car crash that killed one person and injured two others. arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords is ready to move to a new rehab facility now that her doctors have upgraded her from serious to good condition. she was shot in the head nearly three weeks ago in tucson. doctors at gifford's houston hospital say they'll review her condition this morning. if everything is fine, she should be moved to the rehab center at the same hospital where she is now. >> the economy and unity were the key themes as president obama gave his second annual state of the union to a joint session of congress last night. democrats and republicans sat side by side in a show of unit why i for the wounded representative giffords. >> as he prodded congress to work with him, the president focused on the economy in his speech. he proposed targeted spending in education, technology and infrastructure. >> the challenges we face are bigger than parties. and bigger than politics. we need to out-innovate, out- educate and outbuild the rest of the world. [ applause ] >> now, the president is proposing a five-year budget freeze on everything but defense and entitlement programs like social security. the republicans who now control the house as you may remember, say the president's plan does not go far enough when it comes to controlling spending though. time for your money report of the morning. >> jessica doyle is here with a preview of the day on wall street. >> good morning, guys. wall street has a ton on its plate today. investors will react to the president's state of the union address about jobs. a federal reserve policy meeting wraps up today. we have new earnings reports being released and we've got new home sales that are coming out as well. checking the numbers, the dow stands at 11,977, fell about three points in trading yesterday. the nasdaq was up almost 2 points and the s&p 500 was up fractionally. yahoo! is cutting 1% of its global work force. that's the second round of layoffs in six weeks. in december, yahoo! announced it was laying off 600 people. this news comes on the same day yahoo! said sales fell 4% last quarter. in the meantime, the larger rival google is going on a hiring spree. the number one internet search engine plans to add more than 6,000 employees this year. that would be its largest expansion yet. google's work force grew by 23% last year. the company didn't say how many of the new jobs will be added in the u.s. so, you gotta wonder will the yahoo! folks cross the street and go over to google and take the institutional knowledge with them. >> why not. >> what do you have for us coming up? >> we'll take a look at local real estate prices because while the rest of the country may be suffering, we're actually doing ok. >> not too shabby. all right. thanks, jess. our time is 7 after the hour. next when the news continues, it appears president obama's former chief of staff can run afterall. >> it seems that way. >> find out how an illinois supreme court decision is keeping rahm emanuel in the race. >> it appears things are looking up for michael vick. he just inked his first endorsement deal since his release from prison. we'll be right back. a wintry mix this morning. still, we have a few closings to announce. prince george's county, fairfax have already told us they're closing for the day. in west virginia so far, grant and hampshire counties. more closings coming during this hour. look at the live live doppler 9000 hd. the blue to the north and west is where it is snowing. in the middle, snow, sleet, freezing rain mix and a plain old rain off to the south. in town, looks like a moderate batch of rain perhaps some sleet there over toward springfield up 395. out toward herndon, a report of sleet now mixing in as well. fairfax county with some lighter snows toward leesburg. ashburn, some moderate snow potentially there moving in toward western montgomery county. we'll be dealing with this little mix for the next couple of hours. a midday lull. on the weather computer, the day planner. snow is going to pick up during the mid to late afternoon. the evening rush, a lot worse than this morning. potentially four to eight inches when this is all done. it should be out of here by midnight. at 5:10, man cassam tanny -- monika samtani is here. >> hawthorne street northwest, south of nebraska avenue, may want to take 45th street as your alternate route. we'll take another look around the area coming up in my next report at 5:17. andrea? >> thank you, monika. other stories making news now, the nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a detroit- bound airliner on christmas day, 2009, will go to trial next october. 24-year-old umar farouk tried to -- had the bomb hidden in his underwear. passengers jumped the suspect and put out the flames. abdul mute alan has pleaded not guilty. >> it looks like he's back. rahm emanuel is back in the running. yesterday, the illinois state supreme court issued a stay to keep his name on the ballot when it comes to the mayoral election in chicago. the court ordered the election officials not to print any ballots without his name on them. >> our time is 5:11. next, bullying is a problem in schools all across the country. >> this region is no exception. see how a martial artist lesson of int inner strength is actually reaching out to students. hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. it's easy to spot a capital one bank. ♪ ♪ ♪ the most branches and atms in the dc area. one near you. [ all ] what's in your wallet? time to do weather first once again and howard has been sounding like ed sullivan. really big show isn't until this afternoon. >> warm-up this morning. >> we have all sorts of school closings. >> prince william. you see the others on our screen. >> loudoun, fairfax in virginia. hampshire in west virginia. carroll, montgomery howard and prince george's county in maryland. trying to keep my scorecard here. we're going to get into a lull. later this morning and then this afternoon, that's when the really big show gets going here and it is going to be coming fast and furious for awhile. looking at the radars over the past six hours or so, the moisture is coming overnight. just cold enough, especially from d.c. north that we've had some snow. dropped a quick half-inch, upwards of an inch in spots. that caused problems on the roads. to our south though, that's where we have areas still of rain in southern maryland down toward fredericksburg and even down toward quantico. on the border line with the rain/freezing rain. we're going to take the tour for you on the live doppler 9000 hd. the purple area, that's that mixed bag of freezing rain, sleet, the rain is green. the snow is the blue colors. darker blue colors off to the north. still coming down in bursts in spots. we show you this. coming in toward arlington now, parts of fairfax county, this orange area, this is likely some moderate sleet or just a heavy cold rain but moderate sleet is what i'm anticipating moving into clip rain. brandywine, south into charles and st. mary's county still dealing with rain. heading in toward montgomery county. loudoun county, we're still dealing with some snow. especially the northern parts of the county. leesburg was reporting snow. waterford, hillsborough, however, closer to fairfax, reports of sleet mixing in. up around sterling and gaithersburg west toward seneca. a snow/sleet mix. as we go into howard county, heavy stuff earlier. dropped 3/4 of an inch to an inch. lighter to moderate snow showers going on there. one more stop north and west on the radars. we'll take you up into jefferson county, west virginia and frederick county. see the little areas of purple showing up between frederick and harper's ferry. that's some decent snow coming down there. but this is just the warm-up act. your moms bus stop forecast, places down south. rain, sunrise at 7:19. today, look for a lull midday. as temperatures hold in the mid- 30s. some areas out west may still be dealing with rain/snow mix by noon. we're going back to snow. low 30s. some of the snow will be moderate to heavy at times. it will be heavy and wet. national at 34. notice the freezing temperatures in manassas, leesburg, andrews, annapolis, down south, 36 in fredericksburg and across the bay in cambridge and pax river, you can't see but they're 36 as well. they're dealing with some lighter rain showers there. 34 above freezing at national with a north-northeast wind at 7. with that wind direction, we're not going to warm up much. the moisture this morning, see the first batch is coming through now. be here for another couple of hours. there is the break. for the middle of the day. look back to the west. the upper storm spinning western kentucky and tennessee dealing with some moderate snow coming out of that. that gets here later and with the onset of nightfall, that will help cool us even more. looking ahead on the future cast. here comes the snow this afternoon. by 3:30, we're going back to snow north and west of town. still rain south and east. by 5:45, snowing just about everywhere, some of this will be heavy in spots. even through 8:45, 9:00. some snow. by midnight, it is pulling away rather quickly. we'll see an improvement big- time overnight with the winter storm warnings north and west. gotta show you how much i think we're going to get. the dark blue area, a general four to eight, three to six south. the next three days, we've got temperatures today in the 30s. tomorrow in the 30s. the sun returning. friday in the 30s. maybe a flurry or snow shower. saturday, a flurry. monday, potentially a little light snow also at times. monika, over to you. >> thanks, howard. as we see more and more traffic head out, we're seeing more and more problems. there is one accident in the district. we'll take you to a map. it is blocking fox hall road right here at hawthorne street south of nebraska avenue. i suggest you take 45th street to get around this problem on fox hall road. the accident blocks fox hall at hawthorne street. let. >> take you over to a live look on the other side of the district. inbound new york avenue, you're going to find mainly wet road conditions, all of the main roads have been treated so, again, as you head out, it will be your neighborhoods and your back streets that will be the tough toast deal with. let's take you over to the dulles toll road. two accidents now reported on the inbound side. one at route 28 and the other one at route 7. we'll keep you posted on both. take you over to the beltway as you look at live at route 50 in virginia, no problems to report between the american legion bridge and i-95 and a quick look at 270 in germantown, volumes right now. we'll take a look at area roads at 5:25. back to you. the snow is piling up and so is the worry when it comes to the afternoon commute. so, we just got two new school closings. warton county in west virginia, frederick county in maryland closed. we have the list that continues to mushroom so check them out. >> morgan county, west virginia. >> sorry. >> frederick county, maryland. >> got it. >> renowned martial arts expert is doing his part trying to stop bullying in d.c. middle schools. >> it was part of john barone's national antibullying campaign. the karate expert was a child bullying victim. he talks about building inner strength. >> there are moments you should walk away. it takes a person who is strongest to walk away. something as simple as yelling stop. and using that word and using it in the schools and making that the policy would make the most sense because as soon as you hear that word, it draws attention to the situation and it could save a child's life. >> he also called on students to do one amazing act of service for another person or charity. >> our time right now, 5:20. sports is next when the news continues. >> the wizards square off against carmelo anthony and the denver nuggets. brett haber has the highlights. >> we take a break. it is time for the question of the day. >> what is the number one item we're most likely to buy the wrong size of. is it a, gloves, b, pants, or c, hats? put your guess on our facebook page. we'll reveal the answer in about 30 minutes. here's live doppler 9000 hd. we've got some rain south. still that mix right in the middle here across the district. fairfax county, southern montgomery and some areas of snow to the north. we've had reports anywhere from a half an inch to an inch in spots from this morning. that's created some slick spots on the roads. this is not the big show. that will happen later this afternoon. this will be around another couple of hours. winter storm warnings have been issued by the national weather service. north and west of washington. montgomery, howard, carol, frederick. loudoun, northern fauquier, the whole shenandoah valley west of the blue ridge. frederick county schools, virginia are closed. the list is getting longer and longer. we'll have a whole update coming up at the bottom of the hour. it is also scrolling on the bottom of the screen. we're under winter weather advisories here in washington. as far as today is concerned, we have the snow/rain mix now. i think we could have a midday lull if temps hold in the mid- 30s. by 3:00, everybody back to snow. that snow is going to be moderate to heavy at times. the evening rush should be really rough. again, updates coming at the bottom of the hour. >> it is time for 9 sports with brett haber. the best sports in town. >> good morning, everybody. the wizards seem to be allergic to road games, carmelo anthony and the nuggets can't get enough of them because when me will, o is on the road, he doesn't get booed by his own fans. it has got than bad for the trade demanding superstar. melo and the nuggets. last night, he was doing damage in the powder blue blowing by rashard lewis. he had 23. late second quarter, trevor booker trying to beat the halftime buzzer and spinning. he does. he calls blasts. wizards head in down 11. it never got closer than 9. chauncey billups to the throwdown. he only needs one name, nini. >> college ball last night, it was a tech thing. for the yellow jackets, this is eman with one of his seven steals and the finish. he had a triple-double. 22-12. hokies fall by 15. after three years in the corporate wilderness, michael vick has signed his first endorsement deal since being released from prison. it is with the football equipment manufacturer unequal technologies. vick, you see, wore their pads after his rib injury this past season. the company president says he has paid his dues. he deserves an opportunity. >> that's a quick look at sports this morning. i'm brett haber. have a great wednesday, everybody. >> 5:26. our weather team called it. snow is blanketing the region. >> take a live look at route 118 in germantown, maryland. the question is how long will the storm last? how much snow can we expect? >> howard is up next. but first, we go to monika with a look at traffic. >> a list of accidents right now. here is one. southbound on the gw parkway, just past route 123. we'll update you on this accident, one on fox hall road and a look at the beltway coming up next at 5:30. you're watching 9news now. stay with us. welcome back to 9news now. 5:30. i'm andrea roane. >> we're glad you're here. thanks for joining us. i'm mike hydeck. manassas park in virginia and jefferson county schools in west virginia closed. monika has the issues on the roads in just a moment. weather first with mr. bernstein. >> many schools now, the eastern panhandle, the big ones here in maryland, a lot of northern virginia are now falling by the wayside here. a lot of happy kids and teachers although someone said in montgomery, even though the schools are closed, the administrative offices are open today. >> yeah. they won't be happy when they find out they have to make up the days. >> we get a few snow days a year. because we've had thankfully a fairly light winter so far. but the snow has moved in along with some rain this morning. we've been watching it all night. just cold enough. that it has turned over from rain to snow here in town and north of us this morning. let's go to weather computer please. we can show you the moisture moving up from the south. this action came in. we had a nice little burst of snow this morning. unfortunately, that put anywhere from a half an inch to an inch of snow in spots. now, we've got the snow which has turned over to sleet and light rain in areas. dulles was sleeting. national had light sleet and rain last check. live live doppler 9000 hd, we're looking at rain down south of town. you get south on one there, southern fairfax going down into prince william. that's probably some rain. a lot of areas having some sleet, some light freezing rain and some light rain. out into loudoun county though, got a report just a few minutes ago from dave on facebook saying moderate band of snow coming through. down toward ashburn and dulles, this is sleet coming through. montgomery county, look at this. in gaithersburg, a live shot in germantown. they could be on the border line there of the more moderate sleet and snow headed up. we'll look at that coming up in a little while. one more stop on the radar. want to take you into howard county, the more moderate snow is popping here. had reports in fulton of about an inch of snow. watch out for the slick spots there. back on the weather computer, temperatures, they're running in the low to mid-30s. hagerstown down to 28. oldtown, maryland, an inch of snow there. washington county schools closed. you're know closed, washington county. four to eight with lighter snows off to the south. we'll break down the timetable of this when i come back and i see you in just a few minutes. monika samtani, lots to say, lots to do. >> a lot to say and a lot to do. the interstates have all been treated. the bad news is that this is the calm before the storm. so, i think what's happening is a lot of people are heading out early to get everything done. get to work and get back in time before the next bit of the storm heads through. right now, what you're seeing is a lot of accidents, actually. especially on the smaller streets. fox hall road is closed at hawthorne street northwest. that's south of nebraska avenue. take 45th street instead. again, fox hall is blocked at hawthorne street. take you over to a live picture of the beltway. not a pretty shot but rest assured the beltway looks fine. the lens is just wet here. there is an accident northbound route 193, university boulevard approaching the beltway. a three-car accident there in silver spring. take you over to another live picture. southbound gw parkway, getting word of an accident there as well. 66, incident free as you head in from route 50 toward the beltway. in my next report, another look at university boulevard at 5:38. back to you guys. >> at 5:33, we want to recap the morning's top stories. arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords, her condition has been upgraded from serious to good. >> she was shot in the head nearly three weeks ago in tucson. doctors at giffords houston hospital say they're going to review her condition this morning and if everything is fine, she's going to be moving into the rehab center at the same hospital where she is now. >> democrats and republicans sat side by side in a show of unity for giffords during the president's state of the union address. during his speech last night, the president proposed a five- year budget freeze on everything but defense and entitlement programs like social security. republicans who now control the house say the president's plan doesn't go far enough to get spending under control. >> if you're just waking up and peeking out the window, you're realizing in many cases in your neighborhood, a winter storm is headed our way. howard bernstein will be up in a few minutes with the forecast. surae chinn now joins us live from vdot facility in alexandria where crews are getting ready for a busy day there. good morning, surae. >> that's right. >> vdot has been ready. we've got a little bit of everything going on. earlier, the heavy snow. then changing back to sleet. rain and now we're getting the sleet/rain mixture. it is interesting, coming down right now. here is some of the snow that came down earlier today. and it was a heavy, wet snow. coating the roads, coating the cars, sidewalks, subdivisions. and here at vdot, the salt zones in alexandria, lots of activity here. folks gearing up as you said with the salt/sand mixture. they've pretreated the roads overnight. they're getting ready to go back on the roadways. they're also really gearing up for this afternoon. >> concentrating on the all of the roads, the main lines. we have a huge number of trucks. and then in the subdivisions, that was one of the lessons learned. we're really hitting the subdivisions harder this year. >> so, we want to show you 495 here, traffic is slowing right now. the roadways are wet. there will be some slick spots. just remember vdot wants to remind you to give the plow trucks plenty of room. plenty of space. remember, that five second rule. mike, back to you. >> thank you, surae. it is time now for another your money report. >> jessica doyle is back with a look at local home prices. >> this is another reason why we can say yet again, thank goodness we live in the washington area. the reason why, the local real estate market remains the strongest in the nation. new numbers are out from s&p 500 day schiller. including here, the median prices declined by 0.1%. on a year-over-year basis, washington was one of only four major markets to show price increases. it was the biggest yearly gain reported. l.a., san diego and san francisco also showed yearly price gains. the biggest factor to drag down home prices is the continuing problem with foreclosures and a government watch dog says the white house program to prevent foreclosures is still falling short. meantime, researcher realty track projects this year will be a record year for foreclosures nationwide. >> this is a big deal if you want an iphone. verizon will offer an unlimited data plan for next month. this deal is for a limited time only. customers who sign up during a specific window will have unlimited data on their iphones for the life of the verizon contract. the company isn't saying how long this temporary offer will last. after that initial period, it will move to a metered system similar to what at&t uses. that plan charges customers for the amount of data they consume. this is a big deal. data is expensive. the reason i'm probably going to stay with at&t, i've got unlimited data because i've been grandfathered in. i'm not going anywhere. other people need to think about these things. >> if my two years doesn't expire until december, i could be stuck. >> you could be. >> well, depending on what their parameters are on the date. >> it is one thing to compare prices month to month in terms of how much it is going to cost you. it is another to look at the data and how much will you consume because if you download pictures or whatever, it is huge. >> i think they'll set up competition between the two phone companies. >> absolutely. >> before we go to commercial, how's this for a holiday? today, the 26th is national peanut brittle day. >> i love peanut brittle. >> the sweet and salty nutty confection was first created in the early 19th century and it has been making dentists rich ever since. it is believed the irish brought the treat to the united states. so, just something to think about when you hit the snack machines to celebrate peanut brittle day. >> a real mess out here on the weather terrace. we've had snow, sleet and rain coming down. a real mess out here. you can probably hear the sleet pounding on the umbrella out here in northwest washington. with temperatures just above the freezing mark. hey, a couple of closings to announce. carroll and allegheny county schools have announced they're closed. warren county in virginia. the whole list is scrolling at the bottom of the screen. also available at wusa9.com. want to take you north of germantown this morning. where we're dealing with not just snow -- not just sleet but some snow there. we've had many reports anywhere from half an inch to an inch of accumulation from what we've been receiving this morning. this is live on route 118, germantown road up in montgomery county. this morning, what we're looking at, live doppler 9000 hd, is a mix of snow to the north. some sleet, freezing rain in the middle. plain old rain in southern maryland. all of that blue, some of the darker blues, we've got the moderate burst of snow. as you look out to the west, out toward i-81, we're seeing some breaks. i do think in another couple three hours, we'll get into a lull. this afternoon, that's when things really pick up. so, while this early burst of snow has managed to close many schools for the day, it is the afternoon that could really watch out for. day planner, about 35 or so for 9:00. rain/snow mix. noon, there could be a lull. but by 5:00, low 30s. snow, moderate to heavy. good for packing. but maybe not the best for sledding. when it is done, by midnight, four to eight will had fall across the region. we'll have more coming up in big weather in a few minutes. right now over to monika samtani with timesaver traffic. >> howard, we've got a couple of bad accidents right now in prince george's county. we'll start off with the one southbound on i-95 between route 175 and route 32, only the left shoulder is going to get you by here. you want to take route one or the bw parkway instead. other accident is northbound 95 before route 198 and that blocks the two left lanes in laurel. we'll update you on both situations coming up in my next report at 5:48. mike, andrea? >> thank you. and just yet another closing came in. manassas city schools closed now. our team called it right. snow and sleet and freezing rain blanketing the region this morning. >> all right. the time right now again is 5:42. here is a live look at route -- this is the capitol hill. last night, it was occupied by the president and both houses of congress. we'll have more on that. >> and everything you need to know about closings and delays as you head out the door as well as a forecast. and it is birthday time. if you're celebrating it with veteran actor scott glenn. guitarist eddie van halen, 58. >> ellen degeneres turns 53. british soul musician from the group soul 2 soul. he turns 48. we'll be back. >> the school closings are rolling in and the roads are deteriorating. >> right, but this is a temporary situation this morning. we're going to get a lull. and then this afternoon, we're going to get more snow in anne arundel county schools. they're on a two-hour delay. this is a tough call for the administrators. you get a two hour delay but you might have to have an early dismissal. i don't think you can do both because then you don't get enough hours in the school day. that's why, given the morning and the afternoon, they just said you know, we can't do it. a lot of school closings. let's show you what's been happening over the past six hours with the regional dopplers. the moisture has been moving in from south to north. we've been border line cold. low temperatures, low temperatures -- my microphone is falling down. low temperatures falling down into the low 30s. a couple of spots in the low 20s. this is what happens when you go in and out with the coat on sometimes. moisture moving off to the north and the east. reports of half an inch of snow in boyd. 3/4 up in fulton and howard county. about an inch in annandale. that's a snow lover. he may be just saying it is an inch when it is a half an inch. regardless, we have spotty areas. the ground has been covered. roads are slick. we still have snow going on in northern sections. right in the middle, sleet/rain mix. plain old rain, calvert counties, anne arundel on a two-hour delay. the eastern panhandle, frederick, clark county schools, virginia, just came over are closing because of what's been going on. outside in northwest, a mix of sleet and rain kind of ugly out there. montgomery, fairfax counties, moderate rain and sleet in spots with the snow off to the north. and into loudoun county, leesburg about to switch over to sleet but you go north on 15 into frederick county, pockets of snow there and montgomery county, still snowing nicely there. germantown, a live shot out there. mark has been out there all morning. still looks like we've got some snow and sleet coming down there and that's right there on 118 not far from middlebrook if you know where the safeway is. mark is hanging out by the sunoco station by germtown road. we'll show you the momslikeme.com bus stop forecast for you guys going to school this morning, that will be our southern friends. also d.c. is open. rain and snow in the 30s. sunrise, 7:19. sunset about 5:21. look at the freezing in montgomery and loudoun county. this is why we've got problems on the roads. we're up to 34 here. springfield at fort bell voyeur, temperatures are critical. a north-northeast wind at 10. we won't see much of a warm-up. the moisture this morning, it is going to break. there is a lull here. we'll get into that later this morning. this is what's coming into the afternoon. timetable on this. through the middle of the day, we get into a break here. out west, here comes the moisture again. by mid afternoon, most of us are snowing. by the afternoon rush hour, it is a mess of heavy, wet snow. by midnight, the stuff is out of here with the winter storm warnings north and west of d.c. we're in the advisory and ultimately, i think the blue area is a 4 to 8 inch band of snow. three to six toward fredericksburg and la plata and mechanicsville and a little bit less south and west. the next three days, temperatures today with the snow in the 30s. picking up this afternoon. 35 tomorrow. 36 friday. and beyond that, it does look like we're going to have some quieter weather for the weekend. monika? >> roads have been treated, especially the interstates. and we seem to be heading into a bit of a lull here. that doesn't mean road conditions are great. in fact, we have a serious situation on 95 coming out of howard county. we'll take you over to a live picture at route 32. the accident sits southbound on 95 between route 175 and here at route 32. you can't see it in the camera shot. the accident involves a tractor trailer, a jeep and a deer. all lanes are blocked. southbound on 95 as you head south out of baltimore between 175 and route 32. so, you're going to have to take route 1 or the bw parkway as your alternate route. let's take you over to a map. another accident in laurel on the northbound side of i-95 before route 198. that one blocks the two left lanes. another map, this one is in the district. an accident, for awhile now, at hawthorne street, south of nebraska avenue, take 45th street as your alternate route here. a quick look. some good news. southbound on the gw parkway at route 123, that accident has been cleared. in my next report, we'll update you of course on the accident on 95 at 5:57. andrea, back to you. a more competitive america, more spending on education, research and technology and unity in a newly-divided government. president obama declared in his state of the union address we'll move forward together or not at all. joining us to talk more about this united front at last night's speech, at least for awhile is ann from cq roll call. good to you have here. >> thank you for being here. >> a preview in the daily beat said the state of the unions are usually just political theatre. was this good theatre or was there something substantive in the speech? >> i think it is a little bit of both. the state of the union is really the president's opportunity to set the agenda that he wants congress to work on for the year. and certainly, you saw some theatrics. you saw members of congress sitting together with people from the other party. even though it is not clear how much they're willing to work together. but the president did lay out what he wants congress to work on. he's calling for more bipartisanship, he wants them to focus on jobs, he calls for a changes to tax rules as a way to boost the economy. and he talked about education reform which is something he thinks republicans could work with him on. >> but haven't we heard this all before and they really weren't all that enthusiastic about he didn't call for new spending. he called for investment and the republicans, even before the speech didn't like that word. >> well, you have to remember that this year, the president is really more on defense than he was last year. you had speaker boehner sitting behind them, not pelosi. he's unsure how much he can get from congress. so, one of the things he's very concerned about is republicans trying to reel back the programs he thinks are important. last night, we saw him making the case for the programs and why they need to stay. >> talk to me about your -- you're a blogger, in weather like this it is good you can work from home. especially the republican response and the response from the tea party? >> you know, it is interesting. i write for congress.org which focuses on activism and what we saw yesterday from the president in terms of activism, the president mentioned repeal of don't ask, don't tell but he didn't take the gay rights agenda further. he mentioned immigration which was a big issue last year but again, it is unclear whether it is going to go anywhere this year. as far as the tea party responses go, i think that paul ryan clearly was playing to the tea party when he was talking about the constitution and the importance of limited government. those are clear tea party talking points. >> it is amazing. it will be interesting to watch. thanks for being here with us. >> thank you so much. mike? >> thank you, andrea. time for the question of the day. what is the number one thing that we're most likely to buy the wrong size of when we shop? the answer to today's question of the day is gloves. no way. i would have bet pants for sure. so, what do you think? we'll read some of your facebook answers in a little while. time now, 5:54. there is something special about watching a game, a live game with a cold beer. but with long lines at the concession stands, is it really worth the wait? next, we'll show. >> new gadget that speeds up the wait time by filling up your cup from the bottom up. keep it here. [ female announcer ] dry, itchy skin? ordinary lotions may not help. new cortizone-10 hydratensive relieves it with moisturizers plus the power of cortizone-10. new hydratensive lotion. >> national airport, they have a mix of sleet and rain. rain down to into calvert, st. mary's county, most of charles right now. the wintry mix moving into fairfax and montgomery and howard there. has been anywhere from half an inch to an inch with snow/sleet accumulation. northern loudoun. as you head up too winchester, dealing still with some snow. the moisture has been coming in. we'll watch this early batch this morning. this is a preview but this afternoon, the second piece of energy comes and the snow from that is going to get rather heavy. your temperatures up below freezing north. we're still 34 and we're looking at temperatures today in the mid-30s with heavy snow by this afternoon and evening. mike and andrea? >> i'll take it from here, howard there. is an accident in howard county southbound on 95. it is closed between route 175 and route 32. you'll want to take route one or the bw parkway as your alternate route. we'll keep you updated on this. mike, andrea? >> thank you, monika. >> a new beer distribution system that fills cups nine times faster than standard taps is now being used in philadelphia. >> if you hate waiting in line, this is a solution. dave tells us about a new gadget simply called bottoms up. >> check it out! >> a new way to pour beer from the bottom up. tuesday at the wells fargo center, arena officials say this will cut wait time for beer in half. and it is a perfect cup every time. just in time for the flyers game. >> the beer is placed on a little pump but at the bottom, there is a magnet in your glass so the beer is being filled from here. it seals the beer in. when you're done, you'll have a little magnet for your refrigerator. a little souvenir. >> the game is about to start. the stadium is packed. here at the bottoms up beer stand, look, no line! some of the people were only in line to take a video of the new pouring technique. >> i couldn't believe it was even possible to do that. >> but those looking for a cold beer for the game without missing the action, this was perfect. >> it is great. there's no head. it is perfect. it just fills it right up. it is awesome. >> two gulps, it was good. it was good. my boys are looking forward to i guess a little medallion there or whatever it is. >> dave huddleston reporting. that was cool. >> i hope you can do it for soft drinks, too. >> it makes a lot of sense. >> the little things please us. you're watching 9news now at 6:00 a.m. good morning. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck before. we get to weather and traffic, we have a lot of school closings that have been pouring in over the last hour. let's start in maryland. all of these schools are closed...