this a stock up on the bread or a broom type of deal. and let's get to topper shutt. there is freezing rain as well? >> we had half an hour or 45 minutes of freezing rain and drizzle and now it's back to snow. there is a cover out here on the weather terrace and temperatures in the upper 20s. but more of a broom and brush thing. and we talk about this being a nuisance storm and that is about what it will be. and this is our doppler radar. and you can access it at wusa9.com. in gaithersburg there is a heavy band of sleet and snow pushing across eastern sections of montgomery county about to go into howard county. snow here and there is still a mixture of sleet and freezing rain south and east of town down through southern maryland. all snow to the north and west. so here are the advisories. everyone is under a winter weather advisory, the immediate metro area is under advisory until midnight. more to east and north. 3-5-inchs across the bay and into philadelphia, 5-9-inches. closer to an inch downtown. and the white area is a 1-3- inch band. and we'll come back and talk about your commute and talk about when temperatures make it above freezing again. we know the snow was coming and so did the road crews. they were trying to make sure the highways would be ready and most of the snow didn't hit until after the rush hour but for a look outside, bruce leshan is live from the beltway in maryland. i see the snow still falling. >> reporter: yeah, it is started about 5:45 or so. and it steadily got thicker and heavier. this is the scene at i-495, the beltway and 95. and you can see the traffic is starting to slow down a little bit now. and here is what kind of accumulation we've gotten. just a dusting here on the guard rails. >> i'm waiting and hoping. >> you're hoping for something? >> yes, sir. we're ready to go. >> reporter: state highway supervisor cory tillery is one of the people who loves this stuff. >> going to be a long night for you? >> i hope. we're ready. we're geared up. >> his guys have pretreated the roads and now they are staging so they can hit it with more salt and start planning. >> are you ready to treat some roads? >> all ready. >> reporter: for long distance truckers, not so much. some have been following the storm north and it is not much fun. >> you have to be on top of your game. you better be on your a-game, absolutely. >> what are you hoping for tomorrow? >> a lot of snow. >> you're hoping for a lot of snow? >> yeah. >> and no school tomorrow? >> yeah. >> reporter: for most school kids in prince george's, the impending storm is a blessing. >> i'm going home early. >> reporter: schools let out two hours early. >> miserable because i have to go back to work. >> reporter: which left some parents scrambling. >> well it's better to get out early. >> i don't think it's necessary. >> so you think they jumped the gun? >> yes. we're kind of rushing now to go back to work. >> you're going to have to take him with you? >> exactly. >> reporter: topper said the worst would start around 7:00. so derek, we're going to try to get out of here before we get stuck. back to you. >> good luck, bruce. i can't believe the plow guys didn't get enough of this stuff last year. when the snowflakes fall and the winter weather comes we get up early so you can tune into 9 news now for the latest conditions along with the all- important school closing and delays. join howard, andrea, mike and monica at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. well there are a lot of other stories making news this evening as well. also ahead, a bmw goes boom. now investigators trying to figure out what caused the blast which sent car parts flying. and a gas leak -- we'll get to you. why one neighborhood said the utility company is giving them the brush-off. plus one murder per day. that's what prince george's county is averaging for the new year as police investigate homicide number 11. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in college park where the victim of the 11th murder in prince george's county in as many days is a 22-year-old college student. >> the house is filled with all guys and they're all university of maryland students. >> reporter: fellow students who live on the street are stunned by what happened here. a masked gunman coming to 8809 38th avenue at 11:30 this morning and inside the home confronting a 22-year-old student who lives here. student was shot to death. the gunman fled on foot. here is what investigators told us. >> the victim in this case is a full-tomb college student at the university of maryland. our preliminary investigation reveals he was involved in drugs and his chosen lifestyle more likely than not contributed significantly to this homicide. >> reporter: i'm kristin fisher in arlington where a very quiet morning was disrupted by a massive car explosion. >> it sounded like a big boom. >> i had just gotten out of the shower and i heard a huge explosion. >> you think bomb is what you think. that car is pretty torn up. it's a little scary and close to home. >> reporter: witnesses say it sounded like a car bomb but arlington county police believe it was an accident. >> we believe there were items stored in the trunk that for some reason exploded. >> reporter: the investigation is ongoing but police believe those items were a settling torches which are used in construction projects. they exploded just after 8:00 a.m., ripping apart this white bmw and scattering debris across the street. >> two people were seen running from the car after the explosion but that individual has been fully cooperative and is not in our custody. he is being interviewed. >> reporter: i'm lindsey mastis in fairfax county. neighbors here are upset because you can smell gas leaking from the street but washington gas said it will take a while to get it fixed. >> usually you hear there is a gas leak you should turn off the gas immediately. >> reporter: washington gas said they found out about the leak last week. but they insist the neighborhood is safe. >> we have a neighborhood full of kids and they are running around outside playing. are they breathing in anything they shouldn't be? >> reporter: ruben rodriguez said if a natural gas leak does not pose a immediate threat, other corrective action will be scheduled for a later date. he said gas leaks that do pose a threat get priority. >> money speaks and if the gas company thinks there is liability out here, they would be taking it a lot seriously. >> 9 news now has learned d.c. police believe the areas most stupid criminal is now behind bars, as least that's how police describe a burglary who used a stolen computer to take his own picture and post it on the victim's facebook page and that is just the beginning. bruce johnson putses a name and other details to the face that -- puts a name and other details to a face that has haunted a family for weeks now. >> reporter: mark fisher wrote about the break-in to his home late last year. >> it's frustrating to see what a low priority this is for the police and for the whole system. >> reporter: the columnist said the burglar used one of the stolen computers to snap a picture of himself and then post it on a facebook account. the burglar took a bunch of stuff, computers and cash and the code he's wearing on facebook is the code he bought from -- the coat he bought from macy's. >> none of the things that were taken were returned but the most important thing is we're okay and that this guy be locked up. >> reporter: d.c. police sources say they are now convinced the man in the image is 19-year-old rodney knight. he's lived at a number of places in southeast, including here on martin luther king avenue. and court records obtained by 9 news now show rodney knight has an extensive record for burglary and theft in d.c., virginia and new york. according to our sources, this house on alabama avenue southeast is one of the residents listed for rodney knight and this search warrant said police were here recently and looking for a couple of laptops, about $400 in cash and that coat that was taken from mark fisher's residence. rodney knight has not yet been tied to the burglary. the case will be presented to a grand jury but he's already in custody. picked up on january 2nd for carrying a concealed weapon. >> and the fact is unless you've committed physical crime against someone, you almost get a free pass in our system and especially in big cities like washington. >> reporter: a spokesman for the u.s. attorney's office bill miller said he cannot comment because the case is still under investigation. bruce johnson, 9 news now. >> and rodney knight is due on charges unrelated to the fisher burglary later this month. well start spreading the salt. michael bloomberg pledges a better snow-fighting effort this time around. plus the man with the golden pipes. we'll tell you what the l.a. police voiced about him. those stories and much more just ahead. we didn't do the job that new yorkers expected of us in the last storm and we intend to make sure that doesn't happen again. >> following a little blizzard of criticism for the way the city responded to the last snowstorm, michael bloomberg is promising to do better this time around. new york city is expecting around a foot of snow in its third large snowstorm in the last three weeks. well that homeless man who became a big sensation because of his golden pipes is feeling a little heat for raising his voice. officers in california were called to investigate a complaint involving ted williams. los angeles police say williams and his daughter had gotten into a heated argument last night. they were brought into the station and calmed down and a spokesperson said it was all minor stuff and there was no sign of violence. the 53-year-old williams was in l.a. to tape an episode of dr. phil. well lawyers for wiki leaks back in court today. julian assange trying to prevent his extradition to sweden. if he is extradited, he is feared to be turned over to this country. the founder of the whistleblower website could be detained at guantanamo bay or face other charges. a full hearing is scheduled for next month. and we're waiting on the snow. topper has an update and a new assistant. >> hi, my name is [ inaudible ] and today we're introducing snow. >> sign him up. we'll introduce you to our youngest weather-watcher. topper, look out. turning to the latest investment developments to the -- developmented to the fam -- developments from the family in tucson. the loughner family released a statement. they wish they could change the heinous event on saturday. loughner is being held without bond. police say he opened fire over the weekend killing six people and injuring 14 others. officers believe giffords was the intended target and that loughner had been tracking her for years. meantime doctors are remaining hopeful about the recovery of congresswoman giffords. she's still in critical condition but now breathing on her own and that's more reason for optimism. >> we have a shot. we have a chance. she has a chance to make a functional recovery. >> that is extraordinary because doctors say less than 5% of people recover from the sort of injury that she suffered. president obama plans to travel to tucson tomorrow to lead a public memorial for the victims of the shooting. meanwhile arizona lawmakers passed emergency legislation today designed to prevent picketing at the victims funeral as by members of the fundament church known as demonstrating at funerals for servicemen and women. and secure sit a concern -- security is a concern tomorrow. there is now a plexiglass wall in the house gallery and that separates the public. and barbara boxer is promoting laws against gun supporters. >> there are a lot of flags that went up and said this guy is trouble. this guy is going to hurst -- hurt somebody. that's how you intervene in something like this. gun laws aren't going to do it. >> utah republican jason sheaford said he'll be carrying his licenses glock pistol with him in his district. and same thing with heath shuler who said he will pack heat when he's back home in the district. hi, my name is [ indiscernible ] and today we're introducing snow. it snowed today and there is a lot of snow. there is snow on everyone's porch where they go. so everyone's having fun out in the snow. now back to you -- now back to you. now back to you. >> is that a comb that he's got there? i think that's a comb? >> that is not topper shutt from 30 years ago. that is aiden issacs, the newest member of the 9 news now weather team. he works cheap but has to go to bet early. no he's a young guy playing tv in louisville, texas, but i guess that was topper shutt 30 years ago. >> and he was in texas with snow. between the two storms, i'm telling you they have covered so many miles in terms of laying down snow, the plains, great lakes and louisiana. >> and now new york is about to get hit again. better them than us. >> well speak for yourself. and the weather terrace is going to snow and covered out there. and thank you for sending in your storm reports. mary lou from la plata said it looks like it's wet but it's black ice so be careful walking to get your paper. she had to go to the mailbox. so log on to our website at wusa9.com. fill out a storm report and let us know what is going on, especially snow amounts and road conditions. let's talk about temperatures. everybody is below freezing so when we had the liquid precipitation is was either freezing drizzle or rain. that falls liquid and freezes on contact. 27 at gaithersburg. 29 in reston. 30 downtown and 30 in springfield. satellite picture, radar combined, we have two storms. this is the storm from the midwest. we're going to get sloppy leftovers from this storm. that will probably give us most of the snow. the coastal storm which will hammer new england is still off the carolina coast and it will intensify. but by the time it gets cranking it will be past our parallel which mean it's will be north of us and not much precipitation from that one either. but between the midwest storm that will fizzle out eventually and the upper air support for that midwest storm, we're going to get our inch or so across the metro area and probably closer to 3 up toward hagerstown. now in between storms. light snow tonight. it will end around midnight. roads are still slick and because we had the period of sleet and freezing rain. generally 1-2 inches, but closer to 3 inches north of town and northeast of town. in fact, by midnight tonight, maybe an inch and a up toward gaithersburg. and almost an inch downtown, and almost two inches up toward frederick. it will snow west of the divide so you folks in oakland are under a winter storm warning. it will snow until further notice, well at least until thursday it looks like. so 1-3 inches. this hasn't changed from yesterday. closer to 3 in hagerstown and 1 downtown. and east 3-5 inches and up toward philadelphia, hammertime when you get up toward hartford and springfield and north of the mass pike. and looking at live doppler 9 now, that is good snow up toward hagerstown. an inch and a half down in smithsberg and you see the magenta, which is a mixture of sleet and freezing rain -- freezing rain. this is heavy sleet moving to the east side of 29 and headed toward beltsville and laurel and that won't do the roads good. and i think you'll go back to snow in the next couple of hours but a respite in between the bouts of precipitation. and back to computer. for tonight, cloudy, breezy, snow, a mix possible early and low temperatures 22-28. winds will pick up a little bit. next seven days, it stays cole. temperatures notice 30s and low 30s by friday. maybe a snow shower on saturday, with another little clipper passing to the north and then back into the 40s. and right now tuesday, the next storm, it looks like snow to rain here in the metro area. highs in the mid-40s. >> how wonderful. >> i know. >> thank you, topper. from our weird news file, she's middle aged and her hair is gray and she has a look some would call unique. yet she may be germany's hottest new star. she is heidi the cross-eyed possum and she's got 82,000 members. they're about to put out a heidi toy. she hasn't gone public yet at the zoo. they are opening a special exhibit. meantime, nobody saw this coming when heidi showed up from denmark with her male companion but after a photo appeared in the newspaper, what is not to love. zoo officials say that the eye condition doesn't bother her because they are nocturnal and small is more important to them. >> i think she's cute. we want to hear what you think. send you are e-mails to mcginty's mail bag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back. in the mail bag, our facebook page blowing up regarding members of congress and whether they should carry guns for their own protection. josephine said heck yeah. it's better to have a gun and not need it rather than the other way around. if you choose not to carry, then it's on you. and similar from pamela. i think we should all be allowed to carry. with a background check and proper accountability it's our constitutional rights. but fitzgerald ross is of a different mind. heck no, a lot of them are too old to even be carrying driver's licenses let alone a firearm. and david seems to wonder if it will do any good. the state of arizona has the most liberal handgun laws in the nation. right to carry concealed a weapon. and yet that failed to stop the loon from taking the lives of innocent people. as for members of congress carrying guns, forget it. you know what i think we ought to know that the senate sergeant at arms terrance gainer said he didn't think carrying firearms would make the members much safer. he said they should leave the law enforcement to the professionals. i guess personally i'm in the -- is that what we've come to crowd. i'm sure you can carry everywhere it's legal to carry them and that's what our north carolina resident and redskins quarterback heath williams said. what if he makes a mistake and shoots its wrong guy. perhaps it is a sign of the time but it feels crazy to me. how does it feel to you? drop us a line. the address is mail bag at wusa9.com or join the conversation on our facebook page. that is our report. i'll be back here tonight at 11:00. we'll have the latest on the snow. we'll be here and see you then. bye-bye. 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