56-year-old woman died after a fire at an apartment complex in montgomery county. the fire broke out just after 2:00 this morning in the 7600 block of maple avenue in tacoma park. firefighters say a pifl clothes and towels were on fire but the fire was put out by the time they got to the scene. firefighters say a person believed to be the victim's granddaughter was helping her. the woman was taken to the hospital with significant burns to her body. she died at the hospital. the fire is still under investigation this morning. a winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across parts of the south is causing power outages, slippery roads and numerous accidents in parts of kentucky and tennessee. for us the storm just skirted the southern suburbs. this video is from the fredericksburg area. snow covered the grassy areas but melted on the roadways. the weekend snow blanketed the campus of virginia tech helping launch the annual corps of cadets versus civilians snowball fight. six to eight inches of snow fell on blacksburg giving cadets and students plenty of ammo. both sides declared victory and will have to wait another year to try and dominate the other side. taking a look outside right now, we've got sunshine helping to warm things up. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast for midday. >> what a difference between here and just about 20 miles to our south where there is a coating of snow that's now melting. and look how much snow we did get across virginia from yesterday late afternoon into the evening hours as much as ten inches fell in that dark blue area. that's the zone right in augusta county. that is just to the south of stanton, virginia. they got ten inches. meanwhile charlottesville got six inches of snow and then over towards the fredericksburg they got one to two inches there and dusting to about an inch in the light blue zone. about an inch of snow fell in charles county. half-inch fell around mt. vernon and at reagan national, they had a trace of snow there last night. but areas to the north, just a few flurries. right now we are climbing into the upper 30s to near 40. 41 now at reagan national. later today it will continue to climb and as we look at the view from space over the last 12 hours, those clouds from that storm have quickly exited to the east and as a result we've got a blue sky with bright sunshine for the rest of the afternoon. temperatures climbing into the 40s to around 50 degrees. still a bit of a blustery wind out of the north and west. details on the rest of the week and weekend in just a couple of minutes. >> doesn't feel like the middle of february, does it? >> it won't in a couple of days either. >> thanks a lot, tom. today we celebrate the lives and legacies of two of america's greatest presidents -- abraham lincoln and george washington. news4 is in mt. vernon with more on a celebration fit for a xhaner in chixhan commander in chief. >> reporter: an incredible celebration, lots of re-enactments, lots of fun here at mt. vernon today. look behind me here. this is probably exactly what you envision when you think of mt. vernon. the iconic mansion a beautiful backdrop today for visitors. they started lining up at 7:00 this morning to get in to honor our nation's first president. >> well, it's very cold. >> reporter: a bit of a brisk day for visitors here at mt. vernon. more than 10,000 people are expected to celebrate george washington's 280th birthday. that's a lot of candles. >> oh, madam, time is a relative thing. perhaps in your time i am 280. i'm in my 60s. >> reporter: they say the early bird catches the worm, but in this case the early bird scored a tour of the president's mansion and a closer look at a new exhibit that takes visitors inside martha washington's kitchen. there are recipes and cookbooks the first first lady treasured, the pots that simmered in her kitchen, her heart-shaped waffle iron, and in here it even smells the way it would have back then -- the scent of cinnamon, coffee and warm bread. >> and everything was so historic. didn't know that they actually had to make like the food like that and everything so it was cool to see. >> reporter: the washingtons lived here for more than 40 years. now 500 acres remain part of the estate along with more than a dozen of the original structures. for some it was a first trip. for others a day of learning outside the classroom. >> we're looking at differences between the way they lived back in the 1700s and the way we live now, differences in the furniture, we're learning how they prepared food. >> reporter: but for general washington, after all the festivities with thousands of his closest friends -- >> when they arrive here to celebrate my birth night, well, i am rightly touched. >> reporter: it is a birthday that will end with one of his very favorite things -- >> i get two servings of creamed ice, french vanilla. and i love this creamed ice. mr. jefferson and dr. franklin had brought it back from france with them and mrs. washington will allow me two servings. >> reporter: only two servings, he said. when we spoke to george washington earlier, he told me he thinks this is the most beautiful setting in america. standing here right now, i really can't disagree. later today a group of 18th century characters will be arriving to surprise washington with some birthday gifts. he tells me he is very excited. remember, admission today is free. usually it will run you about $15. so come out today for free until 4:00 p.m. lots and lots of fun. >> so he doesn't eat cherry pie? >> no cherry pie, apparently. apparently that's just a myth, the whole cherry tree thing. but he does like that iced cream and creamed ice. >> sounded really good to me, too. thanks a lot, melissa. we'll check on the midday traffic now. >> it's been so quiet. in fact this is a perfect day for you to get out on the roads. the sun is shining and barevy any volume at all. a live look at the beltway an university boulevard, inner loop and outer loop nice and clear. only ten minutes from i-95 to i-270. the beltway in virginia nice as well. a live look at van dorn street. no issues crossing over the wilson bridge. you're at 56 miles per hour, that trip only taking six minutes. back in just a bit with another look at your traffic. u.s. park police are investigating a one-car accident near the d.c.-maryland border. it happened around 1:20 this morning. the car went off the vw parkway near route 50, slammed into a tree and burst into flames. police tell us the driver made it out and is okay. no one else was in the car at the time. you've likely noticed gas prices have hit a record high for this time of year and will likely pay even more in the weeks to come, we're hearing. here's news4's tracee wilkins with why. >> gas prices are back on the rise and they're expected to get even higher. this time around it is not because of anything we've done. analysts say it is what's happening in the rest of the world. in 2008 we saw the highest prices for regular gas ever. since then, we've experienced lower prices with enough ups and downs to convince some people to change the way they drive all together. >> i have cut down on my gas use quite a bit since the past -- probably about the past year. quite a bit. my car's happy about it. it has less miles on it. >> reporter: she's not alone. americans have been cutting back on gas use across the country. that means lower demand. and you would think that we'd see some rewards for that at the pump, but that's not the case according to analysts. in fact, they are predicting that soon prices will get much higher. >> i don't have no answers for that. you know? they're making it hard on everybody. >> reporter: while our demand has decreased, it has increased and the rest of the world. according to aaa, that, coupled with market speculation and fear, could mean prices for regular gas nearing $4 by spring. >> what can we do about it? i think it is horrendous but what can we do about it. >> the gas constantly going up. but you got to pay for it. >> reporter: aaa is reporting gas prices have already jumped 10% since the beginning of the years. this week gas prices passed the annual record average of $3.51 establish last year. according to aaa, it is very early in the year for this kind of increase. if past years have taught us anything, it is that prices will start to rise sooner than later. >> only thing we can do is just cuback the best way we can and expect it to get even higher i think. at some point i'm sure we will adjust. >> reporter: analysts are predicting that gas prices could start hovering around $4 per gallon by april or may of this year. district heights, tracee wilkins, news4. police are keeping watch over a mosque in falls church to protect it from potential hate crimes. federal investigators learned that the man accused of trying to bomb the capitol on friday prayed at this islamic center before his arrest. however, the fbi says he was not a regular worshipper at the mosque. dead al qaeda leader anwar al awlaki was an imam at that mosque before taking a radical turn and leading the terrorist organization in yemen. ten minutes after 11:00. a deadly avalanche in washington state. a survivor talks about the equipment that may have saved her life. plus making that next visit to the dentist is a little bit easier for parent and child. stay with us for we have a developing story in north korea. country says live fire military drills by south korea could prompt "total war." this is video of the last time south korea conducted live fire drills back in march of 2010. they conducted the drills despite threats from the north and said they were prepared for any retaliation. north korean officials said these drills will lead to a complete collapse of ties between the two koreas. right now nuclear inspectors from the united nations are in iran inspectors want proof that iran does not plan to use its nuclear program to develop a weapon. israel has said military action could be needed to prevent that from happening. the united states and britain are urging israel to be patient to allow international sanctions to work. three men are dead this morning, killed in an avalanche and this morning we continue to learn new details of the deadly incident. professional skier was part of a group that skied in is cascade mountains southeast of seattle, washington. this morning on the "today" show she said she survived by deploying her air bag as the avalanche carried them down the terrain almost 2,000 feet. >> one of the skiers triggered the avalanche. we were -- the skiers that were below that were caught in the avalanche, we were considered to be in a safe zone and we didn't really anticipate it, but when we saw it happening, we knew exactly what was happening and it's amazing how quickly an avalanche happens and it progresses very rapidly into something really major. and when i was caught in it i immediately pulled my air bag. >> the air bag works by pushing the skier up above the snow. all the men killed in the avalanche were expert skiers. avalanche warnings wish use in that area. well, today is the 50th anniversary of a moment that changed america forever. >> godspeed, john glenn. >> oh, the view is tremendous. >> 50 years ago today, john glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. aboard friendship 7, glenn rocketed into space and orbiting the earth for about five hours. it was a monumental step in space exploration as it helped america pull even with the soviet union in the space race. glenn says he relives that flight so often, it seems like it happened just a couple of weeks ago. you can imagine how exciting that must have been, tom. i know you wish that you had been on that trip. >> i had the honor of meeting john glenn on the 25th anniversary of the flight. we were standing right next to freedom 7. the capsule is there. can you see is at the air and space museum right here in washington. today would be a good day to do that. we've got lots of sunshine and temperatures are getting above freezing after a very cold start. there's a live view from our city camera showing the beautiful blue waters of the potomac reflecting that clear sky. right now 41 at reagan national. a wind out of the north at about 10 miles an hour, diminishing thankfully. over the last 24 hours, all that white is snow. it came so close to us, just into our southern suburbs. then after midnight it moved off to the east and it now off the atlantic seaboard. the storm is gone but it came very close to us. it left about a trace of an inch of snow at reagan national. about a half-inch there at george washington's house in mt. vernon but that's all the melted now with the sun. now in southern maryland where they had about an inch in parts of charles county, that snow is also melting. but it's not melting much. farther to the south, charlottesville had six inches. these are the temperatures right now. it is in the upper 30s to around 40 degrees much of the region. out of the mountains of western maryland, west virginia, too, it is getting above freezing there. this morning we've had those clouds rapidly exiting off to the east and we've got plenty of sunshine as high pressure's moving in. going forward over the next 48 hours, high pressure in place here. clear sky tonight. and then by dawn tomorrow, we'll have some sunshine and a few clouds maybe during the afternoon. there might and few sprinkles on the eastern shore. then as we get into wednesday, we'll have some sun in the morning, then a few clouds again developing wednesday afternoon. so let's take a look at what's going to be happening for the rest of the afternoon. sunny and cool. it will still and bit breezy. wind may be gusting a little bit around 10 to 20 miles an hour areas especially to the north and east of washington but winds diminishing south and west. highs reaching near 50 where there's no snow on the ground and just in the low 40s where there is. and clear, chilly tonight, a light wind. we'll be in the low 40s early evening, upper 30s by midnight. then by dawn on tuesday, back to work and school. temperatures will be in the upper 20s and low 30s as we start off tuesday morning. so a cold start back to work and school tomorrow morning. then during the afternoon near 50 and a few clouds around. then warmer weather moves in with a southwesterly flow on wednesday. highs near 60 degrees. that will melt a lot of the snow and then on thursday, too, back up around 60 degrees again. by the end of the week on friday there is a possibility of some rain. no more snowstorms, does not appear, in the next seven days. and then on saturday and sunday, morning lows near 30. afternoon highs chillier, more typical for late february, in the upper 40s to around 50 degrees. all day long can you follow me on twitter and also friend me on facebook. i'll have all the latest -- >> i'll be your friend, tom. >> will you do that? i update twitter and facebook a lot. can you stay up with the weather that way throughout the day. >> all right, tom. thank you so much. we'll see you again shortly. let's head back out to the roads now. good morning again. >> good morning. so far still looking really good in our area. live look at i-70 at father hurley boulevard, southbound as well as northbound, no issues on i-270. traveling in virginia, i-66, very nice view. if you're heading east and west, very clear. eastbound making your way to the beltway, a good travel speed -- 50 miles per hour. to get from fairfax county parkway to the beltway, that trip right now only taking 12 minutes to do so. great day to hit the roadways. back to you. it's 19 minutes after 11:00 now. still ahead on "news4 midday" -- recycling -- or reciting history. d.c. students honor abraham lincoln on this presidents' day. we'll do that here live. plus we're cooking one of lincoln's favorite dishes. chef from lincoln restaurant is here to show us how to do it. first here is a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. 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