rain, then snow. we're tracking a holiday storm moving into our area on one of the busiest travel days of the year. >> and the road crews say they're ready for it, whatever comes our way. we'll have a live report on their strategy to help you get safely to your thanksgiving destination. so far, though, as you saw on that radar, just rain that we're dealing with now, but over the next two to three hours, those temperatures will keep dropping and this wet weather will turn into some wet snow. >> and you can count on nbc 10 and our team of first alert reporters. we have crews monitoring the roads and the changing conditions in places expected to

get the most snow today. right now our team of meteorologists tracking the rain and watching for the changeover to snow. >> yeah, you guys have been in early this morning watching all of this. and because of the potentially dangerous conditions, especially with all the traffic out there, we've actually issued a first alert for today. >> yes, and it looks like it is right on schedule. as you mentioned, we're two to three hours away from the first snowfall north and west, where temperatures are already falling. it's just rain in center city. that's a live view looking across the delaware from the adventure aquarium. the temperatures have started to come down, but they'll go even lower, which is why this is a first alert weather day. rain will change to snow as the temperatures fall from the 40s into the 30s and low 30s this afternoon will produce heavy snow north and west, accumulating through the day for hazardous travel and a potential for power outages. right now, look at all the moisture off to the south. that is all coming up from the south. the steady rainfall across delaware, south jersey and into

pennsylvania right now. still temperatures well above freezing, even in the allentown area, but there are portions of chester county and montgomery and bucks counties as well that have seen 30s this morning. it's 47 in northeast philadelphia, but a closer look at chester county. you can see middle 40s for coatesville and west town, and it is up a bit in glenmoore at 42 degrees. a system bringing in warm air to start with, but that will change as the day goes on. 37 degrees by 9:00, and the i-95 corridor will see a mix of rain and snow late this morning and into the noontime hour. the temperatures will stay cold this afternoon. we'll go through it hour by hour with the future weather when i'm back in less than ten minutes. first, first alert traffic reporter jillian mele is watching -- is there a lot of traffic for people heading to work today or is it all holiday traffic, jillian? >> well, you know, it's tough to say, bill. we are dealing with a vehicle fire, though, something serious i just got word of in new jersey. 295 southbound past route 206 at exit 56.

i was unable to get all of the details, so i'll go back to my computer and try to get more details about this. this just happened in the last few minutes, but i at least wanted to give you a heads-up that we have a problem on 295 right now. this is 76 right at belmont avenue. you can see a couple cars in both directions. no delays and no accidents on 76. drive times very average, about 14 minutes both directions between the blue route and the vine. still have this problem on the pennsylvania turnpike eastbound at ft. washington. the two right lanes are blocked as a result of an accident that happened in the overnight hours and crews are still out there trying to get that cleanup done. average speeds, though, in that area about 65 miles an hour. tracy? >> jillian, thanks. 5:33. let's show you a live picture of 95 in south philadelphia. just one of the major highways in our area that penndot will try to keep clear and safe when the snow does start falling. nbc 10's katy zachry is live at the mid-county toll plaza in plymouth meeting, montgomery county. katy, how are traffic conditions right now? >> reporter: hi, tracy. they're okay. i mean, we are seeing some light

rain, as bill reported. it has gotten colder and a little bit windier, but we are here live at the mid-county toll plaza. this is one of the busiest travel days of the year. it's our first winter storm. and penndot is watching the roads closely. as i said, we're seeing rain right now, but i'm told as soon as that switches to snow, plow drivers will begin treating the roads. now, penndot crews are monitoring their 300 traffic cameras in their king of prussia command center, which we visited yesterday. we stopped by to ask what they are doing ahead of today's storm. their plow drivers have done several dry runs of their snow routes. the equipment has been checked. the trucks are filled with salt and brine. penndot hopes a lot of people make their drive ahead of today's storm. we caught up with a few travelers this morning who did just that. why did you guys come home yesterday instead of today? what was your rationale? >> traffic. >> yeah. i was just really worried about traffic. there's been so many times where i leave at 3:00 thinking i'll be okay and then i hit so much

traffic going through new york. so, i left at like 7:00 and i still hit a little traffic, but it definitely wasn't as bad. >> reporter: and coming up at 6:00, we will hear from penndot about why the storm last winter in their mind were easier to tackle than this storm we're about to see in the next few hours. reporting live at plymouth meeting, katy zachry, nbc 10 news. >> and today is the busiest day of the year on the pennsylvania turnpike with an estimated 500,000 drivers on the road on the turnpike alone. and because of the storm, turnpike officials say they will reduce the speed limit on the turnpike, if necessary. they also advise drivers never to pass or tailgate a snowplow. that seems obvious, but they want to remind drivers. turnpike officials expect today's heaviest traffic will be from 3:00 until 8:00 p.m. >> a good reminder just to slow down for everyone out there to really get safely to where you need to go. it's already shaping up to be a busy day at philadelphia international airport. >> and today's storm could throw a curveball to thousands of travelers flying in or out of town. here's a live picture from the

airport. all morning long we've been talking with travelers and airport officials. so far, no delays. we will check in with nbc 10's jesse gary in the next hour to find out what the airport is doing to make sure at least one runway is always clear. and if you are flying today or you're picking somebody up at the airport, put this number in your cell phone. it's always good to have. 1-800-phl-gate. you can check on departing and arriving flights and their times. and another place you might want to check on the status of arrivals and departures is amtrak. a live look at 30th street station in philadelphia. again, a busy day expected on the rails, and there could be some delays. amtrak is expecting a record number of riders this thanksgiving. amtrak says it will have extra trains running up and down the northeast corridor. remember, here's how you stay on top of things. you can get realtime weather information, no matter where you're traveling, if you're on the road by train or by car. you can check out the nbc 10 first alert weather app. it's a free download. get that before you go at nbc10.com. it is 5:36, and we're

following breaking news just into the newsroom. two fbi agents were shot in st. louis county and here is a live picture from the scene. investigators say a man barricaded himself inside a house and fired. we don't know the conditions of the officers, just that they have been hit. this happened about five miles away from ferguson, but we need to be very clear. right now, st. louis police say there is no connection to the violence that's been happening in ferguson to this incident. so, again, two fbi agents shot in st. louis county. we'll continue to monitor this story and bring you new information as soon as we get it. also, we are continuing to track that holiday storm. bill? >> which is producing rain right now and wind, too. you can see it in this view from the loews hotel in center city. strong, gusty winds will be increasing as we go through the afternoon. and that rain will change to snow as the temperature drops, especially north and west. right now 47 degrees at 5:37.

it is a rainy start this morning. rain across the area. the first alert weather radar showing steadier rainfall now moving into chester county and into northern new castle county. delaware county is getting that steadier rainfall, but north and west, where the temperatures are colder, it is right now just rain, and it has yet to reach the pocono mountains. scranton is waiting for the first rain this morning. there's a lot of moisture to our south and west. and look to the southwest. that is snow in the mountains. that's the first sign of the cold that is coming. this is one of our future snow models. it shows at 2:00 this afternoon, look at the accumulation for the pocono mountains, for allentown, for pottstown. but philadelphia and wilmington less than an inch at that hour. as we go through the day, howev however, we will see that change, and numbers will be

accumulating and significant north and west. so, a rainy start, but snow will be developing, and the temperatures dropping. 48 degrees now. by this afternoon, later this afternoon, we'll be hovering right around the freezing mark. so, the rain will start to stick as the temperatures come down. winds gusting to 30 miles an hour this afternoon. the updated snow totals when i come back in less than ten minutes. good morning at 5:41. we have a tractor-trailer on fire in new jersey, 295 southbound just past route 206, which is exit 56. it's unclear exactly how many lanes are restricted in that area, but we do know this is happening at mile marker 55. so, just keep that in mind. leave yourself extra time and watch for a slowdown to build in that area. heading outside, 95 at girard avenue, you can see looking pretty good out there. no delays and no accidents to report for drivers on 95. and then, heading into delaware, route 13 at townsend boulevard, you can see the roads are wet there. they are slippery, so take your time this morning. tracy? >> jillian, thanks.

5:41 right now. one of the first places to see the snow today will be chester county. nbc 10's monique braxton is live in thorndale this morning as people prepare for that snow. monique? >> reporter: good morning, tracy. it's been raining here for about 30 minutes, and i just checked in bwith penndot to see how reay they are for chester county. i'll have that information for you after the break.

at 5:45, we have new information on the breaking news we just brought you a moment ago from missouri. two fbi agents were shot in st. louis county. this is a live picture of that scene there. now, in just the past five minutes, we've learned that those agents' injuries are not life-threatening. again, not life-threatening injuries, but the two fbi agents were shot. here's what happened. investigators say a man barricaded himself inside a house. when the fbi responded, he fired at the agents. now, this happened about five miles from ferguson, missouri, but just to be clear, right now, st. louis police say there is no connection to the violence that's been happening in ferguson in the wake of the grand jury's decision. so, again, two fbi agents shot. their injuries not life-threatening. we'll continue to monitor this story and bring you any new information as we get it. now to our holiday storm. first alert radar tracking the rain and snow moving into our

region. most people will see at least some snow accumulation before the day is over. one of the places that will get the highest snow totals is in the poconos. here's a live look from our camera at camelback mountain in monroe county. some of the first flakes will likely come down in the poconos because of the temperatures there. chester county also one of the first places that will see the changeover to snow. nbc 10's monique braxton is live in thorndale. monique? >> reporter: hi, tracy. a huge difference here in the past 45 minutes. a steady, cold rain now. we've seen a few people coming to gas up, most getting ready for work this morning, also folks going in to get a cup of coffee. while you were sleeping, i checked with penndot to find out specifically what they have ready for chester county, and they tell me that 44 trucks will roll out as soon as the first flakes fall. then they have another 74 on standby. as you mentioned, this is

normally where the tremendous amount of snow falls whenever we do have some significant snow. we're going to stay here and monitor the situation, also talk to people, hopefully some folks who are hitting the highway and others that are going to work before thanksgiving. live for now from thorndale, monique braxton, nbc 10 news. we are starting off with rain this morning. that's a live view from cape may. steady rainfall is what we're starting off with. what we will wind up with is snow, not at the shore, however. it's just going to be rain there. it's north and west that will see the first snowflakes, and that will happen first thing this morning and eventually come into philadelphia, too. look at the temperatures. 35 degrees in mt. pocono. trenton and wilmington have rain that is falling with readings in the 40s right now, and that rain will change to snow as the temperatures drop. but it's a rainy start across the board this morning. falling temperatures as the morning progresses will lead to

snow north and west. and during the day today, that's where we're going to see the heaviest snow, in areas north and west. 41 right now in reading. waiting for rain in reading. probably getting a few sprinkles at the airport. philadelphia is getting a steady rainfall with atlantic city, both locations temperatures are in the 40s. we will see some of the first snowflakes falling in the mountains and the heaviest accumulations will be in the higher elevations of the pocono mountains, while it is heavy rain at times. could see 1 to 2 inches of rain in parts of south jersey and into southern delaware. steadiest rainfall with moderate showers in eastern chester county now, but it is just rain and the rain extends past the lehigh valley at this time. more showers to the south will keep this storm system with us right on through the day. here's your hour-by-hour future weather. at 7:00, rain. by 8:00, we'll be watching north and west. there you can see the first snowflakes off to the north of allentown and into the pocono mountains. should be showing up on our live

cameras. at 9:00, look how things cool down in the atmosphere for bucks, montgomery and chester county especially seeing some snow and into delaware county. and as the morning progresses, 10:00, that rain-snow line will inch into portions of burlington county and even camden, gloucester and a few snowflakes are possible in salem county. new castle getting some snow at that time. and look at 11:00 this morning. that is snow on the i-95 corridor north and west and accumulating snow at that. snow will be steady at times at noontime and accumulating as we go through the afternoon. the temperatures will be coming down. at 1:00, you can see the snow will be inching back a little bit. there's some warm air that will try to come in with a storm system, so at 2:00, we could see a rain-snow mix in philadelphia, while north and west it is steady, accumulating snowfall. by 3:00, you can see that warm air is making more progress in delaware and south jersey, which is going to be in for more rain, while some steadier, if not heavier snowfall is coming in to

chester county, berks and into the lehigh county area. and by late this afternoon, could be turning into a slushy mix. if the warm air does come in, as this computer model is suggesting, that will severely limit the snow totals for philadelphia, but not north and west. look at that ski resort snow, 8 to 12 inches with this storm system. the lehigh valley into berks county, portions of chester, montgomery and bucks county will see 5 to 8 inches, while the immediate northern and western suburbs are looking at 3 to 5 inches of snow. but then go through the city, and that rain-snow mix is going to limit the snowfall to around 2 inches in the city, less for portions of delaware and south jersey, 1 to 3 inches. and farther to the south and east, might get a snowflake or two at the end of this storm system, but it is going to be very limited snowfall as the temperatures are going to be staying warmer at the shore and southern delaware and south jersey. so, we'll see afternoon

temperatures in the above-freezing zone for those locations. but north and west, what stays on the ground will stay on the ground right on into thanksgiving. >> but along that area where the rain-snow line can move, right? so, once it changes over, it might not stay snow. then we might get rain again. it's all a slushy mess. >> it is true, and it's interesting because that computer model is one of the superstars of computer models in the short-term that updates every single hour. so, every single hour we're on the air, you'll see new information with that. and earlier, it showed that rain-snow line moving more north and west during the afternoon. now it's showing it more as snow. so, that would suggest more snow, especially in the immediate suburbs of philadelphia. >> and higher totals in the mountains. >> so, things are changing hour by hour. our nbc 10 first alert meteorologists will be tracking this holiday storm all day long. if you can't be in front of your television, you can still get the weather information you need. and again, it's changing, so you can follow our team on twitter for expert advice and updates on the go. >> and you can also follow nbc

10's first alert traffic reporter jillian mele on twitter, always posting any traffic problems. >> for any big issues. you just told us about a tractor-trailer on fire. is there anything else we need to know about? >> we do have a couple problems out there this morning. the big problem for drivers is that the roads are wet. this is route 1 at creek road in delaware county and you can see the spray coming up, so watch for slippery conditions this morning. slow down and take your time. let's update you on this problem we've been following all morning long on the pennsylvania turnpike eastbound at ft. washington. it was an accident that happened around midnight involving two tractor-trailers. through much of the morning, we had two right lanes blocked, but now just the right lane is blocked, so crews have made some improvement out there to get more vehicles by the scene. we have two water main breaks, one in bridgeport, david road at crooked lane and another in the bustleton section of philadelphia, witler street and bowler street. new jersey transit has cross-honoring in effect. and finally, a tractor-trailer fire 295 southbound past route

206. we have lane restrictions there. it's happening right at mile marker 55. beginning today, pennsylvania state police will be putting extra effort into keeping your safe on the roads during your holiday trip. troopers are holding sobriety checkpoints in philadelphia, montgomery and delaware counties through sunday. they're also on the lookout for aggressive drivers. state police say there were 133 crashes in those counties last year around the thanksgiving holiday. five of those alcohol-related. and as this holiday storm intensifies, you can count on nbc 10 to let you know what to expect in your neighborhood. after this break, we're going to take you region by region to tell you exactly when the snow will start to fall in your area and how much you can expect to see on the ground when it's all over. revealed through the work of its scholars and graduates. it has inspired strength and purpose. an enduring symbol of passion and excellence that is not static, but moves among us. a feeling...a shared experience, a reminder that we are connected for life.

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this is usually the part of the show where we take you county by county, showing you news happening in your neighborhood. all that news is weather today, and that's why meteorologist brittney shipp is here to let us know how this storm is going to play out in the counties north and west. we're talking lehigh, northampton, berks, some of those counties and in the poconos. >> yeah, because in those particular areas, we're going to

see different things versus the i-95 corridor or south jersey or even parts of delaware. so, we'll start off north and west and also the poconos, where we have a winter storm warning that's going to go in effect in the next hour. what that basically means is all of our travel conditions are going to deteriorate. take a look at what happens between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. we're going to see a quick changeover to mainly snowfall for reading, allentown, quakertown, stretching down into pottstown, doylestown, even into mt. pocono as we head into the rest of the morning. some of our heaviest snowfall will come down as we get into the afternoon. so, we do expect upwards of 8 inches. by 6:00 p.m., we're going to start to see more rain working its way in. by 10:00 p.m., we will also start to see a little bit more of the snowfall tapering off. >> so definitely the highest totals there. now, the i-95 corridor philadelphia area. what are things looking like there? >> that will be a little tricky right along the i-95 corridor. we will see more of a mix of rain and snow. by 9:00 a.m., we'll see more of the snowfall mixing its way down. so, if you take a closer look,

this is the rain-snow line where you start to see the pink, that's more of a wintry mix. and as we head into the rest of the morning, we'll continue to see that wintry mix on and off mixing between wet snow and also rainfall. there's a winter weather advisory in effect. that's going to stay in effect until 10:00 p.m. it doesn't go into effect until 9:00 a.m., so, before 9:00 a.m., we expect to mainly see rainfall, but then we'll start to see more of a rain-snow mix as we head into the rest of your afternoon hours. >> all right, so, now let's go south and east. we're talking about kent, cumberland, salem, cape may, atlantic counties. will they see snow in those counties? >> they are going to see a chance of snow, although we are going to see temperatures staying warmer, so it's going to be harder for that rainfall to switch over to snowfall. if we take a closer look hour by hour, we'll show you what to expect as we head into parts of south jersey. so, by the late morning hours, it's mainly heavy rainfall. the other concern with that is going to be flooding. so, it's still going to be difficult when you're trying to travel and get where you need to go. but if i back this up, you can see by 6:00 p.m., as our temperatures continue to fall throughout the day, we are going

to see a better chance of some of the rain switching over to snowfall even for kent county, new castle county, cumberland and cape may atlantic, that's mainly going to stay rainfall today. >> meteorologist brittney shipp, a detailed look at what every county in our viewing area can expect as the storm moves through. here's how you stay updated through our first alert updates on air, online and on your smartphone with the weather app you can download now. >> good information, guys. thank you. you're watching nbc 10 news. "nbc 10 news today" at 6:00 a.m. starts right now. it is the busiest travel day of the holiday season. it's here and there is messy weather to go with it. this is a live picture from chester county. as brittney just said, they're expecting snow today. right now, though, rain coming down. >> now let's look at the first alert radar. hour by hour, the temperatures are dropping, so all that green that you see will soon be purple and pink. that means snow. we'll get your first alert

forecast hour by hour. we have you covered with everything you need to know. good morning. this is "nbc 10 news today." i'm tracy davidson. >> and i'm vai sikahema. to borrow a phrase from one of your favorite songs, it's not all about the bass today, it's just about the snow. we have live, team coverage of the holiday storm, keeping an eye on the roads and tracking the snow to find out when the rain will turn to snow. let's get right to nbc 10 first alert meteorologist bill henley. good morning, bill. >> good morning, vai. we'll see that north and west of the city. it is a steady rain in philadelphia. the wind is a bit stronger than it was first thing this morning. it will be increasing this afternoon. that will be colder air moving into the area. it is a first alert day, as rain will change to snow. significant accumulation north and west, while it will be wet snow on the i-95 corridor. north and west areas will see the snow piling up this morning and this afternoon, leading to hazardous travel and the potential for power outages. right now it's just rain and a steady rain that started in delaware and south jersey, has moved into philadelphia and some of the suburbs, too. stdi