the straight-shine wind storms sweep over large areas at high speeds. they can come without any warning and can have the impact of a hurricane. they affect a larger area than most tornadoes. in the u.s. we only see about six of these a year. reporter: a tough 72 hours in the washington, d.c. area. this car was smashed by debris coming off the rooftop of an apartment building some 179 fully occupied apartments have been evacuated. part of roof was ripped off so smashed cars in the parking lot. we have seen destruction like that throughout the greater washington, d.c. area. lights are out, utility crews
downpours, now pushing into the greater washington, d.c., area. if you re heading out in d.c., from now probably until about 6:30 or so, you re going to get caught in the middle of this. that means a very slow commute around the beltway and everywhere around d.c. baltimore, it looks like the heavier rains are out on 70. it looks like some of that will miss you up to the north so that s good. i think the rain to the south has another half hour to 45 minutes until the heavy stuff moves your way. if you re wondering about philadelphia, just some showers for you right now. new york city actually looks pretty good. i think you ll get through the heart of rush hour with minor wet weather. the heavier rains in new york should come midmorning to the noon hour. as far as the east goes, that s kind of the worst of it. the rest of the country looks good, good thunderstorms last night drenched us in south texas, that s starting to improve. some of that is now pushing down through brownsville. just
able to attract the support i need. reporter: the obama campaign is picking up the primary season attacks on romney and his time with bain capital. like a vampire, he came in and sucked the life out of us. reporter: team romney is firing back with an ad saying he and bain were job creators, not job killers. when i started we had close to 1400 employees, now over 6000. reporter: a primary season skirmish, now prime-time in the fight for the white house. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. here is your first look at some of of the other news in america today. in florida, police have arrested 31 men who thought they were going to meet children for sexual enkournlts. instead, there were undercover officers waiting. police say it shows the battle against online predators is far from over. one of the suspects allegedly brought his own child to the home. in illinois, a school bus full of children slammed into the back of a big rig. the bus driver and a student were seriously hurt
national weather, we check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins who i guarantee probably can t even touch his toes. am i right? are my legs straight or bent? i imagine you re that guy like i can t tie my own shoes. really? share velcro. oh, right. good morning, everyone. rainy weather once again moving through the mid-atlantic. in d.c. and baltimore, heavy downpours, may even hear a clap of thunder or two. throughout the afternoon hours, we will see additional showers and storms popping up to the south. looks like a one-of two punch for the mid-atlantic, showers and storms this morning, may get a break, even some smien, then more storms, justs a very humid air mass out there from the carolinas through virginia, all the way up into new england. just a light rain continues now all the way up through vermont, new hampshire and maine. let s focus on the worst. if you re triefing on i-905, north virginia around fredericksburg, this is pouring rain, red and orange is
if you re in washington, d.c., the frederickburg area, a lot of heavy rain is sliding your way. if you possibly can, i know a lot of people don t have leeway on your morning routine, but if you can avoid the roads in d.c. over the next hour, try to do so. probably by about 7:00 it will start to clear out. right now, downpours are heading right over the top of d.c. and now baltimore is starting to get swallowed up too. further to the north, light rain and showers through central p.a. and all through upstate new york, vermont new hampshire and maine. not bad from boston to hartford to new york city. as far as the forecast, on-and-off downpours during the day, very humid air mass. we will get breaks during the day, when it does rain, though, it will likely rain hard. chicago area also to milwaukee back to the quad cities, a chance for strong storms today with large hail. but that will be very scattered. bill, thanks. coming up, who s joins britney? who said no to the tanning mom? and