two-hour delay. now we're going to have the latest closings and delay information running at the bottom of your screen all morning long. >> and i bet you a lot of school systems are powwowing right now to determine whether or not tey should have a delay or close school early. >> that's a very tricky problem the snow is going to start. it's goi to continue throughout the afternoon. at what point do they say it's the best time to get the buses back out there on the road? >> it's only going to start here in about another two or three hours. no problem now, we can get them to school. it's getting them home from school that's going to be the problem. right now d pavement across much of the metro area. but in west virginia and central shenandoah valley near charlottesville the snow is reaching the ground and fartr south and east, too, right near richmond it's beginni to reach the ground. that isdvancing to the east. and moving into the metro area probably around 9:00 this morning. so we're still abo three hours away before we'll see any of the flakes hitting the ground here closer to washington. look how cold it is. only in the teens to near 20 degrees. so certainly, whatever snow falls it's going to stick and so some light snow from midmorning all the way to the afternoon. this is the metro area forecast. highs only reaching the upper 20s. sunrise 7:21, sun set 4:48. here are the total amounts i expect, up to 1 to 3 inches in that blue band in the middle of the screen from highlands of west vginia across northern virginia, the district and the nearby counties in maryland. lighter amounts farther north. but up to 3 to 5 inches farther south and east. might be a little sleet mixing in. overnight tonight the snow ends and we'll have some sun back on friday. a look at friday and the weekend in ten minutes. how's traffic? >> lve look along 395 as you head up from the beltway, shirlington, and across the 14th street bridge, ooth sailing. nothing to worry about. as faras weather conditions right now. clear, dry pavement, good news there. let's head over to see if there's anything to worry about along i-270 as we begin to commute uth out of frederick. an earlier accident over to the shoulder now. just loading up as you make the trip in from 109. on the beltway, inner loop at route 5 had an earlier accident. also up in laurel, 197 near the vw parkway accident. police are on the scene for those two incidents. the rails so far this morning, metrorail and vre doing okay. marc brunswick 870 now 24 minutes behind schedule. 890 is 7 minutes late. and marc rail tells us now that metro veil will honor marc tickets this morning. eun. >> jerry, thank you vdot crews are bracing for what could be the first significant winter storm of the season. more than 200 crews are red die clear the roads once the snow arrives. tracee wilkins is live in vienna, virginia, with more on the preparations there. tracee, good morning. >> good morning, eun. yes, they have more than200 crews ready to hit the roads in northern virginia. but they have up to 1800 crews ready when we have significant snow fall. is is important. this is all about lessons learned after last year's blizzard. vdot met last night with concerned citizens from fairfax county to assure them that vdot is prepared for whatever snow may come on our -- during this winter. they have doubled plowing resources to 1800 tripling their efforts. they've also hired more drivers and staff, as well. >> we're confident we could stay on top of it andeep the roads more clear and in better shape than last year. >> vdot officials are also asking folks to help them out a bit after this snow fall. they're sayng if you fliv a neighborhood in northern virginia, why don't you go ahead and park your cars on one se of the street, and use your driveways, awell, so that they can clear out these neighbors faster. they're saying that eventually they're going to ask the homeowners associations to go ahead and make that a regulaon for all of these different complexes. but the meantime, they're hoping that neighbors will just work together and make that happen for them. tracee wilkins, live in vienna. >> all right, tracee, thank you. you maywant to make other plans if you take white's ferry work. it is closed again this morning. the ferry concting montgomery and loudoun counties was closed yesterday afternoon because of ice. >> wikileaks founder julian assange will be back incourt fighting to get out of jail. he arrived at the courthouse this morning. a judge will review this bai request again. swedish authorities want him to remain behind bars until his extradition hearing. they want to question him about sex charges. he surrender last week in london. meanwhile his supporters are trying to raise the $300,000 to post bail. they say he's being unfairly held because his website leaked hundreds of thousands of secret u.s. governmendocuments. the senate will once again decide whether to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. the house passed a stand-alone bill yesterday that would allow service members to acknowledge that they are gay. democrats in the senate say they're committed to bringing the legislation to the floor of congress before congress adjourns for the year. but no time has been set for a vote on the bill. and today, president obama will discuss a white house review of the r in afghanistan. the status report is expected to conclude that u.s. forces can begin toithdraw in july as planned. it will also reportedly find that afghans will be ae to take over security in their country by the end of the year 2014. this is the first major review of the president's shift i strategy in afghanistan which he unveiled back -- rather a year ago in december. >>a show down at the capitol over the president's tax compromise. the house is excted to vote on the controversial cuts and extensions. the senate already passed the $858 billion package, renewing the so-called bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the month. also extending unemployment benefits and cutting the social security tax. it also allows the states as large as $10 million to pass to heirs tax-free. the president brokered this deal with republicans but house democrats say the cut in the inheritance tax is an especially bad idea. >> we worked hard to negiate an agreement that's a win for middle-class familieand a win for our economy. and we can't afford to let i fall victim to either delay or defeat. >> this is a bad deal for the amican people. >> is it the right thing to do, to borrow money from the chinese to give tax cuts to billionaires? >> house democrats will try to reduce the size of the inheritance that can pass to heirs tax-free but the house is expected ultimately to pass the senate bill. it is still tough to watch a gunman fire shot in the middle of a school board meeting. now hiwife is speaking out about his mind-set. >> the new survey that may make you rethink your commute. the time most people in the area lee for work. >> 6:07 is yo time now. 22 degrees. the snow isn't here yet but meteorologist tom kierein says it won't be long until the snow arrives. your weather and traffic together on the 1s are next at 6:11. iñ time for weather and traffic on the 1s at 6:11. more schools closing due to anticipated snow. have an addition. spotsylvania county schools in virginia now closed today due to snow. it is advancing toward the region. look at the radar here over the last couple of hours, you can see that snow ming across west virginia, into virginia. shenandoah valley,dvancing toward the metro area. still about two to three hours away before it reaches the metro area. it's cold enough for the snow to stick. only in the teens to near 20 degrees now. it looks like we'll have light snow from midmorning until early evening and t metro area. highs reaching just t upper 20s today. total amounts about one to three inches here in washington and the nearby surbs and across northern virginia into the highlands of west virginia and our eastern suburbs. where you see that bottom zone, that is where they could get higher amounts of snow. three five inches, and might mia little bit of sleet, too. that will keep the amounts down in southern maryland, fredericksburg, to charlottesville. may mix with som sleet before it ends by late afternoon and early evening. higher amounts, as well, farther to the south, and into central virginia. and into north carolina. but lighter amnts farther north of washington, maybe only about an inch accumulation there, about 30 miles north. and for the evening, though, it should be ending, and cloudy. a little sun back by dawn tomorrow, and as we get into the weekend, looks like we'll have a dry, settled pattern. looks like that coastal storm that was threatening usfor sunday looks like it will be farther east how's traffic? >> up on the beltway in maryland, on the outer loop as you travel from college park to silver spring route here at the route 29 interchange, volume only, the good news is all the lanes are open. the butter is, no weather concerns, no snow, rain, sleet, whatever. and the inner loop looks like we're moving along well. salt trucks at the ready. i-66 pretty heavy traffic out of manassas near the visitors center, which is over to the shoulder. so the travel lanes should be open for you. out to the rails we go. still doing fine. metrorail and vre. marc is having issues, brunswick 870 is 26 minutes late. 89011 minutes late and metrorail will honor marc tickets. >> 6:13 now. 21 degrees. want to know who is starting at quarterback this sunday for e redskins? why you shouldn't ask mike shanah shanahan. >> michael vick explains why he wants to get a new dog. >> d.c. mayor elect vincent gray set to announce a pair of key appointments today. who he wants to lead the police and fire departments. when my husband got sick and couldn't work anymore, it was up to me to support our family. [ male announcer ] karri danner went back to school, to become a nurse. my educationade all the difference... [ male announcer ] but now some in washington want regulations restricting access to career colleges and universities, denying opportuny to millions of people li karri, letting government decide who can go to college. it's my education, and my job, it should be my choice. [ male announcer ] don't let washington get in the way. standard on every 2011 jaguar. winter will never feel t same again. special lease and finance offers available for a limited time. see your d.c.-area jagr dealer to learn more. day, d.c. mayor-elect vincent gray will appoint several key people who will serve under his leadership. there will be some new faces but one person expected to keep her job is d.c. police chief cathy lanier. megan mcgrath is live in police headquartersn northwest washington with more on this news. megan, good morning to you. >> reporter: well, good morning, eun. that's right. vincent gray later this afternoon is going to be making two key public sety appointments. and news 4 has learned thatray will be keeping chief cathy lanier as the chief of police here in the district of columbia. now, lanier has been talking to the transition team for quite some time. she's made it very clear that she considers herself to be a reer employ ear here in the district, and that she wants to keeper st, and she, indeed, will remain the police chief here. now, lanier joined the department in 1990. she's the first female police chief. gray will also announce the replacement of fire chie dennis ruben later this afternoon. news 4 has learned that the new fire chief will be kenneth ellerbee. ellerbee h been with the department for awhile. he was the former assistant chief here in the d.c. fire department. he did leave to become fire chief in sarasota county, florida. he kept his house in d.c., though. kept his ties to the district of columbia. and now we have learned that he will be coming back to the district as th new fire chief. now vincent gray will make the formal announcement later on this afternoon, a press conference is scheduled for 1:30 is afternoon. but again, two very high profile, very important appointments. we're expecting to learn more and get the official word later this afternoon. eun. back to you. >> all right, megan mcgrath in northwest thisorning. thank you. the murder investigation of a university of virginia lacrosse player has taken an unexpected turn judge is now reviewing the medical records of yeardley love. she was found dead in her apartment earlier this year. her former boyfriend george huguely is charged with her murder. but now huguely's attorneys believe, or rather they say an irregular heartbeat may have actually caused her death. a judge will examine the medical records before deciding whether huguels attorneys can have them. today we expect to hear from the security guard who exchanged gunfire th a man after he opened fire on a florida school board meeting. an authorities believe the man had been planning the attacks for awhile. just a warning, some of this video is very intense and could disturbing. 56-year-old clay duke painted a red "v" on the wall, pulled out a pistol and began ranting about the firing of his wife byhe school system. one woman, ginger littleton, as you can see there to the left of your screen, was allowed to leave but ca back and attacked him. then the guard, exchanged fire with duke before duke turned the gun on himself. duke's wife says her husband was ally a gentle man who suffered from bipolar disorder. >> from a man that was a proud man, that loved his family and his wife, and that honestly would do anything anything to protect him and love them and provide for them. the economy and the world just got the bette of him. >> police are looking at duke's facebook page where he posted a copy of his rant, and a calendar in his mobile home with tuesday's mobile phone -- with tuesday's mobile home rather with tuesday's date circled. michael vick has certainly had his ups and downs recently from superstar to alleged dog fighter and killer to convicted felon and now once again a superstar quarterback. now he says he'd like to own a dog ce again although he currently cannot legally own a dog because of his 2007 sentence for owning and operating a dog fighting ring. >> i would love to have another dog inhe future. you know, i think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process. i miss having a dog right now. i wish i could. my daughters, they miss having one. and that's the hardest thing is telling them we can't have one because of my actions. >> vick now mentors children about the cruelty of dog fighting. we still can't be sure who will start for the redskins at quarterback this sunday. there are several reports that donovan mcnabb will be benched against the cowboys inavor of rex grossman. apparently some coaches are concerned about whether he is healthy enough to play. mcnabb insists he's fine. as for the man who will make the ultimate decision, head coach mike shanahan isn't saying who will start. >> you know, i don't go through the starting lineups. i told you guys that before. talk about it every week. sooner or later, you come to the game, you'll find out who's starting. >> if i don't get the -- get that from, you know, the guy who makes the decisions, then i don't focus on it. the only thing i can really put my mind on is what we need to do in order to beat dallas. >> the redskins and the cowboys square off at 1:00 sunday down in dallas. and the caps' slide contins. they dropped their seventh straight game, this time an overtime loss to the anaheim ducks. remember our viewer who wrote in boone nasty. >> yes. >> how we're feeling about the capitals. we are, indeed. >> all right. well we have just heard from stafford county schools that the school syste is closed. on a code two. >> sms like virginia school systems are dropping like flies due to the snow. >> it's a good decision. because there is snow now beginning to fall from near richmond to charlottesville and farther north and west into west virginia. no snow into the washington area yet. still probably about three hours away. it really is not going to start accumulating until around noontime a during the afternoon here holly. right now it's certainly cold in the teens to just near 20 degrees. 23 now at national airport. and we'll have some light snow beginning from mid morning. areas just south and west of washington to the metro area by late morning around noontime during the afternoon. highs only the upper 20s. one to three inch total amounts there. that band in the middle, higher amounts farther south. lighter amounts farther north. and then iday, saturday and sunday looks like they'll get above freezing. so some of that snow should be melting, it looks like that storm might hit us on sunday is going be pulling farther east and keeping us dry for sunday. and cold, though, through next week. jerry, how's traffic? >> let's head on out, chopper 4 on the job for us this morning. if you think it's cold you should be about 2,000 feet up in the air. that's cold. i hope ty're bundled up well. folks on chopper along i-270 as you make the trip sth out of germantown to gaithersburg and rockville. right now all travel lanes are open. so good news there. getting busy. eabound i-66 near manassas, very close to cub run. an earlier incident which was in the roadway. over to the shoulder. but flash of lights are enough to slow youown as you come in through manassas. again lanes over and no weather-related issues this far west. new york avenue looks pretty good. minimal traffic light delays as you head through northeast en route to northwest. out on the rails -- oh, i'm sorry, american legion bridge also moving along very nicely both directions. getting a lile ahead of myself. now out to the rails. metrorail and vre doing all right. marc brunswick 870 and 890 are both delayed. brunswick win days. joe and eun? >> thank you, jerry. >> 6:23 is your time now. 21 degrees. a new report takes a look at how the commute is changing in our area and when you shouldn't lee for work. and how d.c.'s marion barry had his car stolen and why it is an obvious but still a very good lesson for all of us. >> a news 4 health alert. kids and caffeine. we have the surprising results next. it turns out adults aren't the only ones getting their daily caffeine fix. rearchers at the university of nebraska say out of a survey of 200 kids, 75% had caffeine every day. children as young as 5 consumed caffeine daily. kids 8 to 12 had the equivalent of about a cup of coffee each day. that is a lot of caffeine for a little kid. >> yeah. >> as you drive to work you know just how bad the traffic is. >> but there may be a bright light at the end of the tunnel. according to "the washington post," a new census data report shows that more and more washington area residents are ditching their cars for publ transportation. betwn 205 and two nine, 14% of washington commuters used public transportation and that is up from % recorded during the 2000 census. fewer people are also driving solo. 66% of drivers travel alone. and that's compared to 68% in 2000. thmost common time for people to leave work -- leave for work, rather, is between 7:00 and 7:29 a.m. right after they watch us. >> exactly. and so if you wait till 7:30 you're home free. >> your ride to work this morning may be snow-free b your ride home will not. >> coming up next at 6:30, meteorologist tom kierein is going to let us know when the snow will start to fall in your neighborhood, and just how much you might expe. snow worries for now. snowstorm is inching closer to the metro area. meteorologist tom kierein is going to lets know when it will arrive and just how mu snow you will see. >> that's cute, joe. >> i only say them. don't write the thanks for waking up with us this morning. i'm