from the first local station with news in high definition, this is 9 news now. rainy weather. finally moving out of our region. see what's left behind and the other changes this to the forecast for the rest of the week. in the storm's wake, flooded roads. find out where things are still bad and how to get around it. and as bad as the rain was, it is better than snow. winter conditions are flocking the nation from the plains through new england. good morning. i'm and ya roan. weather is the top story today. we begin here in the weather center with the man of the hour, meteorologist howard bernstein. >> why does it always have to be bad weather for that. why can't it be interesting weather? we have a lot of rain overnight. had some ice and a burst of snow yesterday evening as the precipitation moved in and right now looking at the last of the rains there. just pulling out of reedville and southern maryland. the lower eastern shore to the beaches seeing the rain now and much warmer temperatures to our east as the cold air gets wedged on the east side of the mountain. great example, we get the cold air damming. you see it east of the mountains. the temperatures are in the 30s. cumberland 32. charleston in the 50s. to our east, ocean city is in the 50s with 60s in norfolk. the little cold air wedge gets trapped and unless we get a good southerly flow it doesn't get scoured out. we had northeast winds for a while and struggled with that. temperatures in the mid-40s but fall to the 30s and in cumberland could be some slick spots especially in lesser- traveled roads. same story in the mountain areas. here in the district, we are running 45. 50s in southern maryland and the eastern shore. we'll see low, maybe mid-50s for a high today with a threat of passing shower but we had in some spots two inches of rain overnight alone and that's what caused the flooding problems and still leads to issues this morning, especially on the roads. with more on that we throw it over to angie. >> we have been tracking the the tricky spots that keep sneaking up on drivers. in fact on wusa9.com i have put a list on the major roads that are seeing flooding issues. definitely visit that before you head out the door. talk about the flood alerts that are across maryland and virginia. the annandale area is heavily affected one main road where we see a lot of standing water, old courthouse in vienna, fairfax county, a lot of water out there. be careful. we want to zoo in and find the inner loop at telegraph graph road. we are losing a couple of lanes because of the flooding and we are in the red and yellow. let's move to 395. a solid slick slow go it is. plus, 20 minutes in the car is what drivers are experiencing from the capital beltway to the bridge. a live look at the district. this is constitution and 15th in northwest. notice this is a great example of those pockets of water that are popping up across our region. next, we will head outside and talk to digital correspondent alex trevino. he has the latest from annandale and how the roads look like out there. >> we have on wood burn road. heavy rain moved out but created significant flooding. these cars driving by me in this neighborhood are having to detour on frost way. that is 500 feet where from where we are standing, just beyond the tree line. we are here for our own protection. a creek has risen about two feet above the road. clearly a dangerous area for folks here in their cars. this potent rain has presented problems for 3 people trying to get to work. our crew has seen plenty of high-risk intersections in northern virginia. to name a few old courthouse and beasley road in fairfax county, guinea road in annandale and 10500 block of burke lake road in fairfax station. route one and demfield drive is shut down. the roads are flick. be patient. take extreme caution. plenty of dangerous areas out there. live from annandale, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> thank you for the update. before we go i want you to know on 50 eastbound at route 70 is where we have crash activity that popped up and also going westbound -- or excuse me, eastbound at cape saint claire another wreck. there is a list of things to look out for. remember, wusa9.com we have them all tracked on that website. now, over to andrea. >> also to look for you see on the bottom of the screen a listing of the school closings and delays we have had in the region. it thereby throughout this newscast. snow lovers here you probably feel a little cheated. snow hit a good part of the country. this is what it looks like in omaha, nebraska. look at that. they have a foot of snow and the roads are treacherous. 1100 miles away a similar scene. this is what it looked like in new jersey. cars wrecked or stuck along interstate 80. there are plenty of school delays and closings in jersey as will today. all of this is having an impact in travel in and out of our area. you can expect any of those connecting flights from minneapolis or chicago to be delayed. probably some cancellations, as well. we spoke to a few flyers this morning and some are just dreaming of getting out of town to somewhere warmer. >> looks like we will be on time and skirt everything and head south where it is warm. >> reporter: where are you heading? >> cabo san lucas. >> we are glad it is not sleeting. it was very bad last night. >> with weather reich like in the best advice is to call ahead to make sure your flight is on time. on the weather page get live doppler nine thousand to check on conditions where you live. right now police are searching for a missing woman. 48-year-old cynthia passmore lives in maryland. police say someone has used her atm card. if you have seen her please call police. the woodbridge campus of northern virginia community college will be open at noon today. that's because of yesterday's campus shooting. police are still searching for a motive. they say jason hamilton fired two shots at his math teacher. he missed. luckily no one was hurt. >> officers encountered him in the hallway and he complied with the officers' direction and told us where the weapon was. it wasn't immediately with him and we were able to apprehend him. >> reporter: investigators describe hamilton as a disgruntled 20-year-old student. he is held without bail. 3,000 northern virginia students will have to retake a huge test. the test is the entrance exam for the thomas jefferson high school for science and technology. it is consistently rated one of the top schools in the nation. there was a printing error on the exam, so a doover is needed. the makeup date is planned for january 23rd. virginia's governor elect vows not to raise taxes. bob mcdonnell made those comments yesterday. this despite suggestions from the outgoing governor democrat tim kaine that tax increases may be necessary to balance the budget. mcdonnell wants to bring in money with toll booths on 95 and they would go near the border with north carolina. he hopes to get them approved soon after taking office next month. a lot more coming your way here on 9 news now. howard is giving us a sneak peek at the weekend forecast. plus, today is the 9th of the month. did you call your buddy? coming up, celebrating breast cancer survival with a pair of survivors. this wednesday morning, here's what is in the news now. senate democrats are hailing negotiations which will drop government-run insurance from the health care reform bill. it would also drop the age of medicare down to 55. senate leaders want the bill passed by christmas. president obama will meet with congressional leaders today. the topic is new jobs plan. it would use leftover money from the bank bailout but republicans want that money used to pay down the deficit. a new statue in indonesia honoring president obama. he lived there as a child with which is why the statue depicted him as a 10-year-old. it is in honor of his nobel peace prize. he will receive the award tomorrow. now to howard for an update on the forecast. >> the good news is the heavy rains are over and we will be dealing with a passing sprinkle later on. today we will try to get temperatures in the low 50s. we are struggling with the cold air mass wedged to the west. to the east is where we see the warmer readings. we will cool off tomorrow and friday. friday's high only 32. passing shower, breezy and mild. mild east and southeast. west is chilly. in the 30s still and we will be lucky to get in the low to mid 40sin the western suburbs. partly cloudy, web did and colder, 28 to 36 and then tomorrow, partly sunny and blustery, only around 40. those west winds will gust between 20 and 25. some of the rain totals in excess of two inches in southern maryland. charlie in catlick had two inches and an inch and a half in culpeper. montgomery county an inch and a third and frederick two inches of rain and that's why we are dealing with flooding problems and the roadways this morning. check it out. the rains last night were heavy for a while. by 7:00, 7:30 the heaviest stuff is out of here. we were doing well. this is what i'm talking about. the cold is holding on. charlottesville 37. cumberland 32. we are at 66 norfolk. the winds are coming from the wrong direction for us. we have dropped to 42. we were 45 last hour. more pessimistic about that 53- degree forecast i made earlier. holding on in the 30s. upper 30s quantico, dulles to montgomery county. 42 at national. southwesterly winds at 8 with a dew point of 38. we may see a little sunshine if we are lucky but the big storm system producing all sorts of snow and wind, blizzard conditions. some snow drifts in nebraska and iowa, five feet tall. some will be bigger than that. this morning as we say good-bye to our rains the snows up here in northern new england, some of these areas are seeing ten inches plus of snow and then sleet and freezing rain on top of that. we showed you what was going on in the worcester, massachusetts area with the snow we are having and a lot of rain hitting new york and long island out to southern new england at this hour. we will watch a little low pull away and southwesterly winds will clear us out and warm us to the 50-degree range before the day is out. after today, there is colder temperatures for tomorrow. very cold on friday, 32. chilly on saturday, 38 with a rain/snow mick possible on sunday with a temperature of 40. andrea, back to you. >> thank you, howard, celebrate survival and pamper yourself a little at the same time. our next guest are breast cancer survivors who are offering up ideas to help get you or your loved one through the treatment. we welcome them to 9 news now. what is great about the two of you, you have known each other since you were almost in grade school at georgetown day school all the way through and have an incredible history. both found your cancers, the same type of cancers in your 30s. >> we have known each other since we were 7 years old and i got my breast cancer a little earlier than her when i was 34. discovered it urn my arm and had proactive doctors and got treatment right away and had the full deal, chemo, radiation, surgery, everything. >> melanie, you are going through the recovery right now. >> exactly. i was 38 when i was diagnosed. i'm a one-year survivor, so i had a bilateral mastectomy and five months of chemotherapy. so there is one book called "can you come here where i am "and you two know from where you are speaking and you came up with this very unusual gift basket. talk about this comfort suite as you call it. >> we looked back on some of the experiences we had during treatment. when you have chemo you are cold and scared an we came up with a giant size adult baby blanket. everybody knows you lose your hair, and i was really bad with my wigs and wore scarfs and people would ask if i was in the fashion industry. >> the champagne glasses. >> we wanted to add some fun to it. so with your doctor-approved beverage of choice celebrate treatment milestones. celebrate getting through the first treatment and survival. keep celebrating. it is a hard journey, but celebrate every milestone as you move through the journey. it will help you keep going. >> reporter: in order to document those milestones you have a blank journal here that people can fill in and also a book the two of you wrote together talking about not only being diagnosed but moving forward through the treatment and then coming out and lossesoming on the other side. i love that part of it. >> that is part of the journal. we have blank pages, but there's also stories we have written that are humorous. some are very heart felt about our experiences to try to encourage and inspire someone who may be going through the same thing. >> we are meeting for the first time with elizabeth but we have met melanie before and profiled her and in the gift basket are human hugs greeting cards that are specifically breast cancer themed for the patient and the survivor. talk about how you know the message in your cards worked and also you have thank you cards in your packet that say for example thank you, how cool it was for you to help me sort out my bills. how do you know this is what makes a difference. >> because when i was in the middle of treatment, i came home opened my bill and filed them in the top of my closet and six weeks later my husband discovered this and took over paying the bills in the family. when you are going through this crazy time you need help. and we realize with the thank you cards people say how can i help and sometimes it is hard to answer that. if you give them a thank you note for something they will do for you in the future it helps everyone. >> it covers everything from watching the kids, cleaning the house and loading the ipod with some great songs on there. we have a link to this and you can learn more about other breast cancer resources and prevention by going to wusa9.com and sign up to be part of buddy check 9. there's a link at the top of the home page. we thank you for being with us. happy holidays and continued good health to you. >> thank you. up next, we are going to the kitchen, a little green holiday cooking. the folks from great stage restaurant and howard county are here. we'll see what's on the menu when we come back. you are looking at a cloudy dreary day. the clouds are gone at the jefferson memorial there. it is 9:20 and we have 42 degrees. we are in the kitchen now and my guest is here to put a touch of green on your holiday menu. this is chef russell from the great stage restaurant in clarksville, maryland. and this is courtney kauffman, manager from great stage. welcome. >> thank you for having us. >> so you are a vegetarian restaurant. >> vegetarian, going vegan, yes. >> and you are making. >> a keenwa. >> what is that. >> it is a gluten free grain that provides plenty of protein and essential amino acids. >> how do you make it. >> what while you are doing that, slowing oil in there courtney was telling us just before you came on. you are going from vegetarian to vegan. i said what is the difference. >> vegetarian includes egg and dairy and vegan is no meat, no egg, no dairy and just completely all the plant-based diets. >> isn't that a risk when you go that narrow in your menu? >> we don't think so. we think we can provide all the flavor that people are accustom to with traditional cook and provide the nutrients. in fact maybe more nutrients than traditional cooking may provide. >> all right. russell. you have thrown in there. >> keen wa. >> we are the only ones an our area doing this, going vehiclen. there's a lot of other things to it. we focus on gluten free and raw and reduced soy. >> there's enough demand from the customer base out there that you are confident this is the stuff to go. >> very confident. >> and nobody else is doing this? >> no. that's why we are doing so well in an economy that is suffering a little bit because we are standing alone. >> keenwa is there and now mushrooms. >> some caramelized pear onions and of course some spinach. >> saute that with everything else. >> red cabbage for color. >> presentation is half of the battle. >> half of it but the nutrients, too. we side the protein and amino acids we have vitamin c antioxidants a healthy dish. >> mao how do you attract someone who is not a vegan to come and try this and say okay i can do that. >> it is easy. i one vegan myself. i have been cooking for 18 years in conventional methods and i switched to vegan cooking. so it should attract all sorts of people not just people who have always been vegan. >> this starts january 1st. >> and this is a particular dish that will be on the menu and it is fantastic because keenwa is a complete protein and you have the spinach that provides iron, the mushrooms add in protein. >> and strong muscles according to pop eye. >> that's right. >> that's right. you won't miss them in the dairy that people are more used to. you will be helping your health with reduced fat and cholesterol and helping this environment, too by more sustainable agriculture and less pesticides and that kind of thing. >> we will taste the keenwa and this little dessert you brought also. >> i brought a dare rot cake. >> and look at the seven-day forecast. you are watching 9 news now. here's what is on tap. the frugal socialite will have tips for holiday travel. taking your call anding you out of debt. the comfort basket $150 complete. we have a link how to get that or items sold separately if that is too much and we thank you for that. >> the weather is getting better than it was morning. it felt cool out there and at 53 i'm a little anxious about that but maybe a passing shower. the heavy rains are gone. tomorrow and friday getting colder and then maybe rain or snow again on sunday. and andrea,. >> caramelized onion. >> i'm not a fan. >> they are going from vegetarian to vegan on january 1st. >> a reminder out there, at wusa9.com we have all of your flood watches we are talking able. not necessarily that it is flooding now but we are dealing with standing water from earlier. all the major roads that are affected throughout virginia, maryland and dc. >> even know no flood warnings are out at the moment we have high water some of the creek and streams and melting snow on top of it and two inches of rain overnight. that caused the problems. >> and tomorrow sunshine and a rainbow. i will be back with howard on 9 news at noon. until then have a great morning. don't forget to check out our link. great gift. see you later. let's eat up.