Christmas, seeing all this snow up here . Gabby adame very rare, rare laughs Patrick Walker are you cold yet . Gabby adame yeah. Latifa Javier Las Vegas its a great christmas, i like the snow right here, right now, last year it wasnt that great, but this year, totally worth it Patrick Walker reporting while the temperatures may only be in the 20s, its not cold enough to keep me from going up there and taking a turn myself. Patrick Walker a tough assignment. But someone has to do it. Even if its not very done very well. The more hardcore fun was just up the road. As skiiers and snowboarders packed the slopes at lee canyon. tania ramezani dallas, tx we came here yesterday, but this is my first day skiing, and its been amazing so far, the weather is great, and weve been having a good time. Sean Mcgill Las Vegas right now, theyre pretty nice, theres powder everywhere, and theres a good enough base for everything, so its fun. Patrick Walker about 80 percent of the resorts 30 runs are open. And Officials Say this is shaping up to be a much better season than last year. Jim Seely Lee canyon ski resort this is a world of difference, last year, for the entire season, we got around 70 inches, were approximately around 40 inches right now, so were just loving december right now. tania ramezani it was a lot of snow this year, and so usually weve never seen this much snow, so its good to have. Patrick Walker even more runs could open soon. The slopes. Patrick walker. 8 news now. Paula Francis the nevada Highway Patrol is cautioning travelers to the mountain to be prepared for backups and stopped traffic. Late this afternoon. Officers began turning drivers around on highways 156, 157 and 158 due to long backups on those roads. paul joncich strong winds may have created a bumpy ride for santa last night. Parts of the valley got blasted with with some heavy gusts. Keeley breland is here with look on what holiday travelers could be up against for the ride home. Keeley Breland Keely breland las vegas has now had more snow than new york city this season. Heres what were facing for the weekend. Highs will remain below normal. Breezy conditions. National Weather Service has issued high Wind Warnings near the Colorado River valley. Plan on more mount ain snow. As we head toward new years we will warm up and highs will be closer to normal. The next three days are shaping up to be mostly sunny and dry at the lower elevations. Winds will be what we have to deal with as well as some freezing overnight lows. Brr. Details in your full forecast. Paula FrancisMother Nature doesnt have any gifts this Christmas Day. Emergency Officials Say a tornado touched down southwest of the city. And damaged at least three homes. At least one person was injured and taken to the hospital. Two others were pulled from collapsed homes, but they are said to be ok. A fire chief says the damage is confined to one square mile. Heavy storms have been pounding alabama and mississippi today, bringing heavy rains and the threat of flooding in some areas. paul joncich metro police are investigating. After they say a woman shot her husband in their room at the plaza hotel in front of their child. 34 year old Maria Escalante faces the charge of murder with a deadly weapon. The shooting happened last night just after 10 at the plaza downtown. Witnesses told officers they heard the couple arguing inside a hotel room, moments before they heard gunshots. lt. Dan mcgrath lvmpd some of the surrounding rooms heard yelling and screaming, as well an employee, so those are our witnesses right now that heard the yelling and screaming prior to the shots being fired. Something led up to the at, dont know exactly what it was, i dont know if well ever find start with the witnesses and interviewing them. police say the couple had checked in for one night. And were not locals. The child is now in protective custody. Paula Francis social media is roiling with rants from upset fedex customers over late christmas deliveries. The company says its doing everything in its power to get shipments delivered by christmas, despite what they are calling slight delays. A spokeswoman said heavier volumes of last minute shipments and Severe Weather outbreaks are to blame. Today Fedex Express is running limited delivery operations in some markets to deliver shipments that could not be delivered before christmas. Over at ups, a spokeswoman said there hasnt been a big problem with late packages on their end. paul joncich helping foster kids have a merry christmas. Paula Francis how one local group is recruiting the help of some Furry Friends children without homes this christmas Paula Francis today, many children in our community are spending christmas in foster care. But the staff at child haven made sure to prepare a fun filled day for the kids. 8 news now karen castro shows us how a four Legged Friend also brought some holiday joy. < come here, come here. I know, im funny, come on, sit down. karen castro one by one, kids staying at child haven for the holidays were called up to sit around the Christmas Tree and wait patiently to open presents. go ahead and open it. karen castro when it was time to go, there was not holding back. you like it . You like it . Oh my goodness, you have a blurring their faces to protect their identities but their joy is clearly heard. dont open my present, i open it. karen castro the children did not need any help opening presents but the staff with the organization received a lot of support from the community to make this day possible. All toys and other gifts were donated. dawn sanchez manager, child haven each children winds up with a nice show of gifts to take with them when they leave. karen castro the staff also received help from a furry friend. Some of you may recognize his face. Obbie and his owner are the recipients of 8 news nows act of kindness award. The 5yearold pooch is a service dog and hes no stranger to the kids at child haven. dawn sanchez manager, child haven hes well trained, interacts great with them and its another show of gentleness and love that the kids get attacked to and have a great time with. karen castro obbie stopped by to played fetch with the children. In return he got hugs and belly rubs. dawn sanchez manager, child haven thats just another example of the caring volunteers that we have in the community who come here to spend time with the kids and to bring their talent or Something Special to the kids. karen castro while playing with obbie and opening presents amused the kids. Did not. lets help pick up all the paper please, come on. Karen Castro Karen castro, 8 news now. Paula Francis there are 66 children staying at the child haven campus but there are more than 3thousand kids in the foster care system in clark county. paul joncich using the experience of homelessness to help others in need. Paula Francis how one local charity saved one man from a life on the street and how hes following their lead to pay it forward. < now at 6 with Dave Courvoisier and Paula Francis. The news of Southern Nevada is now. paul joncich dozens of volunteers helped serve more than 1,000 people at catholic the annual christmas dinner has reached hundreds of thousands of people for 50 years now. And as Sharie Johnson shows us, the impact could be even greater, with your help. Sharie Johnson food, fun and fellowship. estella foreman its good Sharie Johnson people with no home and little hope. Greeted with warm smiles and a hot meal. Catholic Charities Services are all thanks to staff and former volunteers, like housekeeper paul escobar. paul escobar during the day after the homeless have left for the day, i go up and clean where they sleep Sharie Johnson but paul has walked in these shoes before. paul escobar yes, i was homeless Sharie Johnson the california native moved here and couldnt find work. He ended up on the streets until he heard about Catholic Charities. Its why more helping hands are needed. deacon thomas roberts, president ceo, Catholic Charities of southern nv we do this every single day, so people can volunteer in this dining room every single day, 8nn reporter Sharie Johnson 30 volunteers made today possible but during the week Catholic Charities averages 30 volunteers which is they really need your help Sharie Johnson with dozens of programs helping every demographic with physical and mental needs, theres no such thing as too many volunteers or too few donations. Volunteers are placed where they can make the biggest impact in someone elses life. Or in pauls case. Even their own life. Sharie johnson, 8news now. paul joncich Catholic Charities celebrates its 75th anniversary in a few days. And every year, in some way, they help over 100,000 people. Paula Francis santa had to spend Christmas Day in the slammer in connecticut. santa what kind of name is that . Thats the name they gave me ho ho ho where do you live . Across from the workshop what workshop my workshop in the north pole where the elves make toys Paula Francis in the name of holiday fun. Naugatuck Police Released a video interrogation of santa claus today. The officers arrested a man they after catching him breaking into homes and stealing cookies. He was charged not just with burglary, but also with animal cruelty for leaving his reindeer on rooftops. But it turned out the police claim they nabbed the real santa. Saint nick was set free after listing all the presents the officers asked for in santa letters they sent as children. Paula Francis shorts and tank tops were the dress code on the jersey shore this christmas. The weather is so warm, people took to the beach and broke out their surf boards. The temperature has been in the sixties and seventies. Warm enough to ride the waves. And some surfers say. Bring it on its pretty warm, there are waves so i can surf and im happy buttd to its fantastic. Every time you get in the water is great, especially on christmas. Extra christmas surprise. Paula Francis some areas in the northeast are having have their warmest Christmas Day on record. Forecasters attribute the high temperatures to the el nino phenomenon in the pacific ocean. weather toss < Keely Breland some clouds over the valley. Clouds clearing this evening. It will remain chilly. Hope youve had a great christmas. Weve had some exciting weather. I didnt see any snow at my house, but i was living through everyone elses photos on facebook. Clouds will be clearing out for the next couple of days. Dry and windy. Weather headlines. Breezy in the valley, high Wind Warnings. Mountain snow. Current temperatures around the valley. The lakes, the strip, green valley. Current conditions in the southwest. Los angeles, phoenix, san francisco. Our almanac today showing below. Nationally. Flash flood warnings as this storm move north. Quieting down in the northwest after while weather the last couple of weeks. Still cloud cover over some valley areas. Mountain snow. And breezy conditions. West coast blizzard warning. Hard freeze warnings in parts of clark county. High Wind Warnings. To our east blizzard warnings. Active weather moving in with this storm. Las vegas will remain dry. It will be the winds this week. Right now seeing clouds rolling and breezy. Brrr check out our recreational forecast. Mount charlston seeing some snow, while it will be windy at lake mead. Speaking of recreation, check out the ski report. Simply go to las vegas now dot com, click on sections and weather. And youll find the latest conditions on local and regional slopes. Tonight. Mostly clear. Overnight low near normal. Tomorrow, sunny skies and breezy. 7day forecast. Looking ahead to your new years eve celebrations. < paul joncich the spirit of the season knows no boundaries. Paula Francis a group of muslims is making that point by make christmas dinner for the needy. And even though muslims dont observe the christian holiday. Thats not stopping them from spreading the message of giving. They are preparing for a full christmas feast. Here in the kitchen of loaves and fishes. The art of giving is going on. Its a wonderful thing that they do, they make it easier for us. These are muslims volunteering for a christian holiday. Our community personally doesnt celebrate. But we feel like cuz we dont doesnt mean other shouldnt get a good meal on christmas. Muslims just celebrated ramadan a holy month of fasting. When you feel hunger, you automatically understand the giving part of it. Can not watch somebody go hungry. Dr. Firdos sheikh is with the National American muslim voices foundation. She tell us thy are feeding a thousand people. Then she says thats not enough. She is calling on fellow doctors to give. We are blessed. Lets give some more. So for today. They are feeding a thousand but they are working on tomorrow. Imagining how many more they can feed. paul joncich talk about a wrong number Paula Francis the phone call an astronaut made. All the way from the International Space station. And why the person on the other end of the line. Thought it was a prank. paul joncich plus. A stranger saves christmas. The family. Who thought they lost everything. You dial the wrong phone number. Now just imagine how embarrassing it can be when you dial the wrong number from outer space. Thats what happened to british astronaut tim peake. He realized what happened after arriving at the International Space station december 15th. And decided to mark the encounter with a tweet. He posted id like to apologize to the lady i just called by mistake saying, hello, is this planet earth . not a prank call. Just a wrong number so, somewhere here on earth is a woman who is either very annoyed or surprised beyond belief. paul joncich we are less than a week away from new years eve. And one of the biggest parties in the nation. Will be right here on the famous las vegas strip. And if you dont feel like taking on the huge crowds. Spend the night with 8 news now. Well be live all across the strip, downtown and where locals are. Complete with live music and strip entertainment. Including matt goss, the jabbawockeez. And mat franco. Our broadcast kicks off at and goes through midnight. Paula Francis and during our special, one lucky viewer will get their mortgage paid for a year. Weve teamed up with our sponsor. Gavish real estate. To pay up to 15 thousand dollars. Well randomly choose 8 finalists to attend the zowie bowie show at red rock on new years eve. And well announce the winner during our live special to enter. Just head to our our 8 new now facebook page. You must be at least 21. Have a mortgage or lease on a home and be in Good Standing with the lender and owner. Paula Francis one iowa family thought their christmas had been lost in a fire. paul joncich a garage fire on monday burned up all of the familys gifts. Along with their cars, bicycles and other property. Sarah greene reports on how one jolly man in red turned things around for them kate and joshua vrieswyk havent always had the happiest of holidays, between joshs 8 years as an active duty marine and Health Emergencies due to kates lupus. And after a fire destroyed the vrieswyks garage this week, they say theyre just happy they have a home this holiday. However. They werent sure how a christmas. The childrens gifts were stored in the garage. kate wrieswyk weve always worked hard to give our kids whatever they need, or even try to give them what they wanted and for us to think that it was all going to be taken away from them. And they did nothing to deserve that. It was really hard. When santa and mrs. Claus heard what happened from a close friend, who also happens to be the vrieswyks neighbor. They knew they had to help. They brought all three kids toys, a gift for mom and dad, and gifts for the vrieswyks neices whose gifts also got destroyed in the fire. josh vrieswyk their eyes just lit up so huge, just gracious that you know they came. A lot of excitement in the kids, and let them know that santa and theyre might have been a bad thing that happened to the house and the garage and all of tha