if you are driving this morning, give yourself a little bit of extra time because it could be difficult to see some spots. we will eventually clear the fog out by the 8:00 or 9:00 timeframe. shaina: thank you, jason. the snow on thursday meant a lot of traffic headaches but for many people it also meant the christmas they had been hoping for. kcci's vanessa peng shows us how iowans feel about snow on christmas eve. vanessa: just like the ones iowans used to know. >> it just wouldn't be christmas without snow. vanessa: mother nature brought what many had been dreaming of. >> i think it's beautiful. >> i expect to see snow around this time of year. vanessa: so far this winter, it's been relatively mild. >> when i saw the snow i was like it's about time. vanessa: some iowans can't imagine celebrating a green christmas. >> it's the tradition i mean you think of snow you think of you think of presents you think of family. vanessa: others will take green or white. >> i would have enjoyed it either way i'm on the fence about it i guess snow or no snow it's nice. vanessa: then there are those, that will take a quick sample of the white, and decide that maybe purple is the kind of christmas they want. >> i like having a purple christmas. purple christmas is when the snow is purple. no, i mean the snow is great skittles. shaina: as the snow began to fall thursday, the dot was forced to shut down part of interstate 35 after reports of multiple accidents. traffic between ames and story city was brought to a stand-still, after dozens of crashes and a lot of cars ended up in ditches. the tow trucks were very busy and people traveling southbound to des moines told us they just did not expect snowfall that fast. >> this semi was stopped and we all stopped behind it and i got kind of caused a chain reaction. >> the number of cars it's just , going up. everytime you turn around there's another one going in. , it's one person after the next semis versus cars smashed in. ,shaina: a live look now at the current conditions from 511ia.org a. you can see most of the state is clear this morning. there are a few roads still partially covered, you can see that in blue. drive carefully in those areas because roads can be slick. there was wild weather around the nation on including two more thursday, reports of rare winter tornadoes. the national weather service is now heading to northern california to determine the strength of those tornadoes. power lines and trees were brought down, and residents in modesto say the storm was unlike anything they'd ever seen. homes and cars were damaged. meanwhile people in the south , are still cleaning up after several deadly tornadoes across mississippi, arkansas, and tennessee. dozens of homes were destroyed, and thousands were left without power. mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency thursday. >> it is difficult, particularly this time of year, to see such damage and know the heartbreaks that go along with that damage. shaina: another big storm is developing in the southern plains right now, it's forecast to bring heavy rain and blizzard conditions to the region this weekend, and the first snow of the season for the unseasonably warm northeast next week. the stormy weather caused big problems for flights across the country thursday, especially along the gulf coast up through the northeastern part of the country. flight-aware, a website that tracks airline flights, showed 550 flights had been canceled nationwide with 4200 delays by midday. atlanta had the largest percentage of delays but many flights also were late in new york and washington, d.c. a different kind of problem at the des moines airport involving a des moines police officer. 23-year-old officer brady pratt while, according to him, he was practicing his quick-draw at the airport on wednesday. he says he accidentally had his finger on the trigger and fired a shot. officials say the bullet went into the ceiling, and no one was hurt. the police department says there will be a review of the shooting, and discipline for pratt is possible. sports news, the iowa hawkeyes are spending christmas day, in pasadena this year. the team headed to the eastern iowa airport thursday, hopped on a plane and took off to california. it's the team's first trip to the rose bowl in 25 years. they made it to pasadena just fine, and will have today to get situated before an official team welcome, tomorrow at disneyland. iowa will face the stanford cardinals at 4:00 iowa time new p.m. years day. that is one week from today. you can watch it on espn. eastern iowa police are warning hawkeye fans about fake rose bowl ticket scams. investigators say victims are buying tickets through craigslist. then meeting the seller to get them in person. some of those tickets turn out police say make sure to try to only buy tickets from a trusted source. count on kcci for team coverage from pasadena as the hawkeyes take on the stanford cardinals on new years day. our crews will be live at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 starting tuesday. we'll also be live all morning friday leading up to the game. be sure to like kcci on facebook and download our mobile app for constant updates. as millions of people travel home to be with loved ones this holiday season, countless refugees from syria are trying to make a new home in a new country. and one new york city woman is using her hobby to help them stay warm this winter as they begin their new lives. marlie hall has the story. marlie: anna strasser learned to net when she was 18 and often , makes presents for family and friends. but this holiday season, the her knitting needles to help strangers in need. >> being able to do something even if it was just a little thing was important to me. marlie she read about a group of : syrian immigrants in munich who needed hats and scarves to face the harshest winter of their lives. hundreds of thousands of refugees made it to germany this year. >> i clicked on the blog post and read the rules and basically picked up my needles and started going. marlie in six weeks, anna : knitted eleven brightly-colored hats and a scarf. >> i give away most of the things that i knit anyway and so it felt like a pretty natural thing for me to do. marlie anna and other knitters : in the u.s. and canada made almost a thousand hats, scarves and other knitwear that were shipped to germany. the project began two months ago when knitting designer laura nelkin put out the call to her fellow hobbyists. a doctor in munich coordinated the distribution to refugees and photos of the giveaway soon went viral on knitting websites. one of them caught anna's eye. >> i was like, oh my god that , boy has my hat and it was a totally amazing moment. marlie: with the help of her friends, anna is knitting more and while much of the world continues to debate the politics of the refugee crisis these busy hands are working to spread a little warmth. marlie hall, cbs news, new york. shaina: the u.s. based project is drawing to a close now, since european knitters have gotten involved and are coordinating closer to the site of the refugee crisis. jason, everyone's dreams of a white christmas came true but is it going to stick around? jason: we actually have more chances in the forecast. santa dropped off the north pole and stopped. he has delivered over 7.4 million presents. that was be one heck of a sleigh. thank you, santa. if you are headed out today, we have a dense fog advisory for the middle portion of the state, winter weather advisory for those in the extreme northwestern portion of the state as they could be looking at a few inches of snow. if you are traveling, take a look to the northwest, a bit cooler. shaina: santa might be done, but others are still working at it. a group of volunteers is providing meals for families and need this christmas. kcci's emmy victor is live at mercy medical center to tell us more about it, emmy? emmy: it is going to be all hands on deck's morning at mercy medical center. they are preparing over 300 meals. it is something they have been a part of for many years and it takes nearly 100 people to get together to put on this effort every year. dietitians. males for meals on wheels and we have been doing it for the past seven years. it is a pleasure to be here on christmas day and provide the service to people in need. emmy: why is it so important to give those who are less fortunate a healthy holiday meal? >> not everyone can get a good meal so it is good we can provide it. emmy: what is on the menu? >> roast turkey, trustee, mashed potatoes, drinking casserole, pumpkin pie. emmy: they will be working all morning long to deliver the meals starting at 11:00 today. we will be back in about 30 minutes to show you all the effort. shaina: still ahead, holiday shipping rush. a last minute decision by fedex, that might help your packages make it under the tree today. plus, christmas at the vatican. christians this holiday season. and an omaha woman gets a special surprise. see the display her family has been working on for more than 3 years. if you happen to be headed anywhere early this morning, you are the extreme minority. there is no one out there. one car. do not expect very much traffic this morning for obvious reasons. if you do head out, keep in mind the roads might be a little bit slick in certain areas. right here at 235 and polk hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for just $70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. plus $400 in promo cards. >> this is iowa's news leader. this is "kcci 8 news this morning" with eric hanson, elizabeth klinge, meteorologist kurtis gertz and right now coverage with shaina humphries. shaina: welcome back at 5:14. as you know, snow hit the hawkeye state thursday, giving plenty of iowans a wonderfully white christmas. check this out from our ulocal viewer connie in dedham. a beautiful little deck shot. she tells us she measured eight inches of snow on her porch. another viewer in shelby says she measured nine and a half inches of snow in her yard. here's a pretty shot of a cardinal out enjoying the winter great pictures. this viewer tells us she put out food for the birds since theirs was covered up by the snow. when more beautiful photo of the greenebrier church in bagley. that just looks like a painting. if you have any pictures of the white christmas send them into , our ulocal page at kcci.com. it is so picture-worthy. jason: it took us until literally the last moment to muster up enough snow for christmas. go enjoy, and have a good time. 27 degrees right now is what we are starting at, a light breeze out of the west. fairly comfortable out there now. nothing by way of snow on the radar. that has all shifted to the northeast. expect cloud cover for a good pretty much will stay thick as afternoon hours. you are looking on an even wider spectrum and storms beginning to fire through kentucky, pushing eastward. that is just developing now and it will very slowly meander up toward the northwestern edge of the state, potentially bringing precipitation overnight. expect clouds today, temperatures climbing back into the mid-30's, on track for a high of 38 degrees. some warmer temperatures before a deep cool down. shaina: and christians from around the world gathered in bethlehem last night, to celebrate christmas. but in recent months, bethlehem has been a focal point for clashes between israeli troops and palestinian protesters. before the celebrations began last night, israeli authorities said three palestinians were killed in violence across the west bank. christian worshippers also gathered in saint peter's traditional christmas eve mass. pope francis focused on the theme of love and mercy, and encouraged all followers of jesus to live simply with compassion. tens of thousands of people flocked to the vatican again this morning to hear the pontiff deliver his christmas day speech. and in omaha, it's a christmas and birthday surprise rolled into one. seven children had a mission to make their mom's 75th birthday extra special. devonte mckenith shows us how. devonte: tis the season for christmas decor for the pfannenstiel family. but what you see here actually started in 2012 on independence day. that's when it was dad's 75th birthday. 75 american flags placed in the front lawn. >> when my dad knew i was behind it and he said you did it for me, you need to do something for mom. ernie's kids did just that. replacing the flags with christmas trees they made their , mother carol's 75th birthday, one heck of a surprise. the effort of getting all the trees started back in 2013. the signs, looking for the 75 and sensational birthday girl were made as her son traveled with precious cargo from texas to omaha, just to make this day one of a kind. >> car was loaded with 32 trees plus the metal signs. a 10 hour drive. devonte: every tree placed with care. making sure no bulb was left unlit. now one of the brightest homes on the block, represents one of the brightest people in their family. she knows she is a special lady to create us and i just want to give her a special memory of turning 75. devonte: in omaha, davonte mckenith. shaina: carol's birthday is exactly one week before christmas. we're told she was named after christmas carols. in your money news now, u.s. markets are closed today for christmas. but on wall street couldn't hold thursday, onto gains made earlier in the week. it ended the day mixed. the dow lost more than 50 points. the nasdaq was up more than 2. and the s and p 500 fell about 3. fiat chrysler has issued two recalls this morning. the first includes 350,000 jeep grand cherokees model years 2011 and 2012, and some dodge durangos. fiat chrysler says wires for the lights on vanity mirrors can overheat, leading to fires. the other recall involves about 60,000 jeep compass and patriot suvs with faulty clamps. no injuries have been reported. christmas delivery making it under the tree in time, you are under the wire but there's still hope. fedex says it will operate today in some markets, even though it's christmas, to ensure packages scheduled for christmas delivery do actually make it. it's also keeping its locations open across the country today from 9:00 until 1:00 so people can pick up packages that way. fedex says its employees volunteered to work the holiday. much of the northeast enjoyed mild weather this christmas eve . even santa claus himself took time out of his busy schedule to play a round of golf. >> it's a lot harder here in maine. i am used to playing on the icy hard grounds up in the north pole, but we're able to weather through and make it a good round. nice and relaxing before the big trip. shaina: the owner of hermon meadow golf club in maine says he can't believe his course is still playable on christmas eve. john snyder says in 22 years of , this time of year. but he was overjoyed when saint nick stopped by to play 18 holes before heading out to drop off more gifts. we know st. nick is all done for the morning. jason: it is a little chilly in some spots. nine inches of snow, i think you would lose just about every golf ball you hit. today, even with the visibility we have it could make things relatively difficult. a dense fog advisory out until 9:00 for the central portions of the state, visibility generally half a mile. clouds have been lingering and will continue to do so throughout the day. there is some potential for precipitation so if you have travel plans, you will want to keep your eye on the weather. that is a pretty mild start to the day, considering the average this time of year. 38 degrees by 3:00 p.m., cloud cover sticking around all day long. as we head into the evening, there is definite potential for precipitation. the next system will largely bring a band of precipitation to northwestern portions of the state. there is a chance for a mix if you are in north-central, and light rain south of their. minneapolis are portions of south dakota, you will be encountering a little bit of snow. i do not think we will see much snow. you can see futurecast driving in the clouds, starting off the snow around 9:00 p.m. for the extreme northwestern edge of the a mix in fort dodge for the early morning hours tomorrow, and the system is out of here. we will be keeping the cloud cover around. snow totals, around two inches in spots. we do not drag much of that off to the south. so we may see some flakes but do not expect anything in the way of accumulation. there is a winter weather advisory for the northwestern portion of the state. otherwise, a mild day temperature-wise. mid-30's, a chance of precipitation late into the evening and into the overnight. upper 20's to low 30's next week. and hats you got for christmas. shaina: still ahead, timeless tradition. a look inside the white house, as the obama family celebrates the holidays in our nation's capital. that rejects a corrupt campaign finance system. you can't level the playing field with wall street banks and billionaires by taking their money. by taking their money. shaina: it a few days, it will be time to take the holiday decorations down. that's what thousands are doing at the white house, which has been giving tours all season long. our nikole killion takes us along and introduces us to some of the volunteers who actually decked those halls. nikole: at the white house. >> welcome to the white house. nikole: a timeless tradition. >> i want to once again thank all the terrific volunteers for creating this winter wonderland of american traditions. nikole: and it's no easy feat, these behind the scenes photos from the first lady capture the before and after as nearly 100 volunteers from all across the country trim every tree and deck every hall. >> we go home dead tired at the end of the day. we come back with a lot of it's been great. nikole: ellen carley of michigan assigned to the china room where the decorations were designed by fashion icon carolina herrera, this year, there are 62 trees. and more than 70,000 ornaments, like these in the library. all the ornaments on the trees are hand crafted. >> they feature marbleize paper from hand bound books. nikole: beyond the branches, there's a garden full of snowmen, the traditional gingerbread replica of the white house in dark chocolate and in keeping with the first lady's joining forces initiative. >> this is if a military family wishes to write a note. we have the paper and the stationary to do it. nikole: a decorator's dream come true. thanks to helping hands that and bright. in washington, nikole killion reporting. shaina: in case you're wondering, volunteers were selected after submitting an application online to the white house earlier this year. they were announced this fall and came to washington to decorate the week after thanksgiving. , bowl bound. the hawkeyes are in pasadena. hear from longtime broadcaster bob brooks about the last rose bowl trip two decades ago. plus, christmas is here. massachusetts stopped a grinch.hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for just $70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! yes! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. shaina: right now at 5:30, kicking off your christmas weekend with a nice coat of snow from thursday. and we could see more tonight. jason has the storm team 8 forecast. >> the most-watched morning news in central iowa. this is iowa's news leader. this is kcci eight news this morning. shaina: and a very unusual christmas service for a "star wars" and busiest. see how one church in new jersey is using the force to tell the christmas story this year. good morning and merry christmas to all. i'm shaina, along with jason. we did get the white christmas and most places. jason: some people got more of a white christmas. shaina: we got a dusting in des moines. jason: it looked good, but i know it made for some traffic headaches. get out and enjoy your day. the wind chill ames, 13 degrees. anytime we inch close to single digits. we are going to keep the clouds we see on satellite radar right now, but precipitation will hold off until late this evening. a layer of fog has developed and that will linger into the midmorning hours, taking for some very low visibility. if you are headed out and about, be safe and diligent, on our way to a high of 30 degrees. shaina: right now crews with the , national weather service are headed to northern california to assess the strength of two rare tornadoes that touched down on christmas eve. the unusual holiday-time weather pattern triggered deadly tornadoes in the south this week blamed for at least 14 deaths in , 3 states. don champion has the latest from new york. don: on this holiday of giving, some people in northern california are taking stock of what's lost after an outbreak of >> seeing trees swirling like they were in a blender. it was pretty scary. don: cell phone video captured the twisters roaring through el dorado county and modesto, bringing down powerlines and uprooting trees. >> we've been here for 45 years and we've never had anything like this before happen. don: mike churchill saw a tree crash down on his neighbor's car. a child was inside. >> they can't said, hey, mom, stop and it hit the back and , just barely hit the car on the back and of the suv. don: the rare twister in california comes as people in the midwest and south continue cleaning up after an outbreak of deadly tornadoes this week. pastor barry reynolds, whose church was among hundreds of structures destroyed in mississippi, called it, a test from god. >> he testing out faith, testing how strong we're gonna be don: at this red cross shelter in holly springs, donations of food, clothing and even christmas gifts have poured in. anywhere i have worked. don: neighbors determined to keep the giving spirit alive in the face of so much loss. don champion, cbs news. shaina: another bizarre storm, developing in the southern plains, is forecast to bring heavy rain and blizzard conditions to the region this weekend and the first snow of , the season for the week. an update now on the latest road conditions across the state from the iowa dot. everything is all clear here in the metro. you see that blue to the west of us in des moines. those are partially covered pretty good. that was not the case thursday afternoon. parts of interstate 35 shut down after reports of multiple accidents. the dot closed southbound traffic between ames and story city after dozens of crashes and cars in ditches. swerve off the road to avoid all the accidents. the tow trucks were busy and people traveling southbound to des moines told kcci they didn't expect so much snow so fast. to the northeast, -- storms from the gulf coast to the northeast are also causing hundreds of flight delays for people trying to get home for christmas. long lines filled international airport. flight-aware showed 550 flights were canceled by midday thursday. here in des moines everything is , on schedule as of right now. earlier this week at the des des moines airport another a des moines police officer accidentally fired his service weapon inside the airport. the report says 23-year-old officer brady pratt drew his duty weapon from his holster wednesday to practice his quick draw skills. he accidentally discharged a round into the ceiling tile. no one was hurt. this christmas morning the hawkeyes are waking up in pasadena. the team left just before one airport in cedar rapids. this is a historic trip. it's the hawk's first rose bowl trip in 25 years. legendary sportscaster bob brooks was on board and was hoping it was a better rose bowl trip than the first one he made with the team back in 1956. >> we are going to have a big ceremony and celebration, and kind of a pep rally. it snowed, sleet it, and we finally wound up leaving. shaina: today, the team will get situated at their hotel for the next week. the official rose bowl welcome event is saturday the 26th at disneyland. count on kcci for team coverage all week long from pasadena. our crews will be live at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 starting tuesday. we'll also be live all morning leading up to the game. let's get a check on the weather. jason: i am sure i am not the only one that is sad, but it is a sad time when you finally see santa going back to the north pole. dense fog advisory through the central portion of the state. other rise later on this evening, a winter weather advisory for the northwestern portion of the state. a bit of a mixed bag. mid-30's. average highs are in the low 30's, and you look off to the southeast and there is a basket of warmth but a bucket of cold to the northwest, 28 rapid city, 23 bismarck. the most impactful weather will be northwest of us as the system pushes through. as we head into the evening tonight, there is a chance we shaina: christmas is a day of giving and dozens of volunteers are helping provide a warm meal to families in need today. kcci's emmy victor is live at mercy medical center, where hundreds of holiday meals are being prepared. emmy: 75 volunteers are giving up time with family and friends to serve the community in the kitchen at mercy medical center, preparing over 350 meals for those less fortunate. we will pay attention to the turkey. they are preparing over 250 pounds of turkey to serve to those in the community. 125 will go to those less fortunate. i'm going to pan your attention to the mashed potatoes. you can see how big this pot is to make the amount of food they need for those in the community, to my right, you can see water being boiled. that is for the mashed potatoes they will be making this morning. they will be serving a lot of those as well. it is a all hands on deck effort for volunteers. you will see lots of different hands moving and scooping. they will be here all the way until 1:00, 2:00 delivering the food and getting everything ready that they need to make someone else's holiday a lot brighter. we will show you some of the other food they are making in a little while. shaina: santa's helper assigned a new task. meet the elf on the shelf that is helping a local police department while spreading some holiday cheer. plus, caught red-handed. christmas has been saved. see how police catch the grinch in action last night. and, a cosmic christmas. newest "star >> this is iowa's news leader. this is "kcci 8 news this morning" with eric hanson, elizabeth klinge, meteorologist kurtis gertz and right now coverage with shaina humphries. jason:shaina: welcome back at 5:42. the morning crew here at kcci is wishing you a merry christmas. along with some of our loyal viewers. in-law's pups. look how cute they are. i cannot believe they all looked in the same direction at one point. 1-year-old lydia and 1-month-old lyla are waking up to their first christmas this morning. this is a photo of their first visit to see santa. keep sending in your photos to our u-local site. i know we have a lot yesterday of all the snow. jason: we are off to a wonderful start to our christmas. we do have some fog, and we will be on track for a high of 30 degrees. over the last -- a high of 38 degrees. back in 2012, all of us are happy that is not happening, a high of 13. that is a little too frigid. a dense fog advisory out for central portions of the state. will want to take it a little slower. we will see some glorious snow on the melting trend, and show you if we can expect anymore, coming up in just a bit. shaina: you know the elf on the shelf. but in pennsylvania, there's now elf of the force. the police force, that is. melissa nardo explains how the new police recruit is helping to spread some holiday cheer. melissa: sworn in to protect and serve. the elf on the shelf is the eyes and ears of santa claus, watching to see who's naughty and who's nice. >> as you may or may not know, he goes back to the north pole every night. melissa: however this elf, is taking on a little more this holiday season. sarge is the newest officer sworn in to the west manheim township police department. the stuffed officer is taking conducting official police investigations. itemized pieces of evidence. melissa: testing out his skills as a sketch artist. >> he made use of our leg melissa: and even getting into a little trouble. >> i'm able to capture a photo of him when i come in each day at work. melissa: sgt. toby wildason makes sure to document his every move on the department's facebook page. sarge is quickly making friends. >> it's been an overwhelming response. it's kind of made it enjoyable. i've actually gotten a lot of good comments on our social media. melissa one of his followers : even writing a letter. >> she said what a difference it , makes, it's a great concept and we're sure it is reaching our great town of hanover. it's special that one person, or elf, can make such a big difference in life. melissa showing a different side : of law enforcement. >> the goal through the use of sarge our scout elf is to get followers that would maybe not otherwise follow a police facebook page. melissa and ultimately helping >> and when we need the communities help in a situation, we already have that base of followers built up. melissa after christmas he'll be : heading back to the north pole, but he'll surely have a spot on the force next year. shaina: apparently, the grinch as been busted. police in dartmouth, massachusetts posted this holiday themed parody of the tv show cops. the spoof shows officers nabbing the grinch red-handed as he pretends to break into a house and steal christmas. the green-faced thief was then taken to the police station and had his mug shot taken. he was found guilty of attempting to steal christmas. his sentence he has to stay 39 , and a half feet away from dartmouth and he must do community service at santa's village amusement park in new hampshire. some "star wars" fans are so devoted to the movies, they say it's like a religion. now a new jersey church has combined the bible with the blockbuster, to deliver a unique christmas service. pastor tim lucas and "star wars" enthusiast is using the force to tell the christmas story this dressed as han solo, the pastor of the non-demoninational contemporary christian church, drew parallels between the bible and star wars, particularly in the good versus evil cosmology. >> we're telling the story of christmas from the book of revelation. it's the last book in the bible which imagines on christmas eve this battle behind the stars , between the dark side and the light, the forces of god versus the forces of evil. shaina: congregants had glow sticks shaped like light sabers instead of lighting candles, there were dancing storm troopers. participants were able to sit and take a photo with darth santa. and of course, a "star wars" nativity scenes with princess leia as mary and han solo as joseph. no star wars character replaces baby jesus, however. we will head out live to the roads, take a look at i-235 and mlk junior parkway in des moines. you can count on one hand how overall, we're looking pretty good. jason has the latest timing on more rain and possibly snow, and remember to take kcci with you today. praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for just $70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! yes! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. >> weather is never more than 5 minutes away, only on kcci 8 news this morning. i hope you are having a great start to your christmas morning, 5:51. we have a little bit of whether going on, not snowy as we just have cloud cover, but we have some dense fog that has formed at the surface, they can for some limited visibility. visibility down to a quarter or half a mile, fairly widespread within this dense fog advisory, so be saved if you are doing a bit of traveling this morning. stay bundled up to wind chills in the teens in portions of northern iowa, and low to mid 20's in areas south of that. temperatures climb above average, 38 degrees. had. high pressure is off to our northeast and that will continue to depart. system to bring a little more precipitation. i think we will have a chance of that mainly through the overnight, and tomorrow in the morning. it is looking like that will largely fall as rain and a mix. futurecast thickens the cloud cover as we head through the afternoon, and you can see the first signs of the system start to roll in through the evening hours. as that punches through, there is some heavier snow in extreme northwestern and northern portions of the state. i do not think this will amount to much, maybe a couple inches in some spots, otherwise this thing is out of here very quickly. that is going to be limited to the extreme northern and northwestern portions of the state. as far as other precipitation goes, a chance of a little bit of rain and a mixed central iowa into the late evening hours temperatures in the mid-30's, and we will hang onto all of that mild air. we will be writing this lead downward to 20 degrees next friday. shaina: that sounds somewhat pessimistic. we will enjoy the warmer temperatures while they last. still to had -- still to come, shaina: an algona teen who was the hospital that saved her life. kcci's rose heaphy explains, she wants to make it a warmer christmas for all the families in the nic-u. rose: grace braun of algona is making a special delivery. 50 fleece blankets to blank children's hospital. >> they always say it's better to give than to get. rose: 14 years ago, grace was a small bundle of her own. she was born nine weeks premature. medical staff airlifted her from algona hospital to blank to receive care. she weighed less than four pounds. >> very scary, especially being a first time mom, not knowing what to expect. rose: grace spent her first weeks in the neo natal intensive care unit. enough time to leave an impression on her family. >> i wanted to somehow give back since i spent the first six weeks of my life here so it's , kind of an important place. rose: for the past 3 months, grace hand-made fleece blankets, wrapping each one with a note, explaining her story in the nicu. >> families that are in the nicu rays of hope. like a vision of the future that the nicu will be a thing of their past. rose: a part of grace's past. and now years later, paying it forward with warmth. >> i was really small and i'm not anymore, so it does get better i guess, so yea, good is , coming. shaina: grace says her church helped donate supplies for the blankets. "kcci 8 news this morning" is live with new overnight news . here's what we're working on for 6:00. emmy: i am emmy victor, live at mercy medical center where they are preparing thousands of meals for those less fortunate in the community. how many they are preparing, and why they are doing this. jason: fog, rain, and snow chances in the forecast. shaina: and before we go, here's a live look out at i-235 at moines. you can see the coding of snow on the side of the roads but it did not stick to the road. we have a couple of areas that might be slick, some partially covered roads in central iowa. if you have to head out, you

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