just moments away, the quiet before the crippling storm. people have live at team coverage. >> stocking up for a long weekend. we will check out the rush at local stores. >> a heads-up if you plant on hitting the roads. "good morning washington" continues right now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. good morning, washington. it is 6:00. i am julie parker. >> i am alison starling. we're glad you're joining us as we gear up for this massive storm system. we have a winter storm warning. local schools are not taking any chances. we want to get to the list.

>> it is time now to check your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. lisa baden is standing by with the latest on the traffic situation. we start with brian. >> we see our first report

southwest of town. light snow reported in shenandoah, virginia. it will start in central virginia. a winter storm warning goes into affect. snow is lifting its way northward. look at all of that moisture. it will grab some moisture from the mid atlantic. we will see a prolonged snow event. temperatures are in the mid 30's. there will drop a little bit this afternoon. a couple of inches on the ground by the drive home tonight. hefty snow and driving wind. this morning should be easy going. >> we haveeard from maryland commuter bus services. there will be running three hours ahead of schedule this afternoon care if you take a commuter bus in to work out of maryland, they will leave three

hours earlier to get you home than they normally would. i am sure the bus drer would tell you that. i want you to plan in case you have child care issues. you'll be leaving three hours earlier. we talked to the district as well as vdot to see if they can put the traffic signals on rush hour mode earlier, even starting at noon. so those going in will be leaving earlier to be the height of the storm, based on what we're hearing. they will try to put the signals to get you out of dodge earlier. for now, we will let you know what is happening with the news with alison and doug julie. >> thank you. the powerful snowstorm is taking aim and calling for as much just two feet of snow. >> maryland is gearing up with

more than 200,000 tons of salt an more than 20,000 people to help keep the roadways clear. pamela brown is live with the latest. >> road crews certainly have their work cut out for them. here to talk with us is susan hubbard. thank you so much. we keep hearing this will be a storm of historic proportions. >> we ppare as if we were preparing for a regular storm. the crews will be coming in around noon time and we will work 12-hour shifts until the streets are clear. all hands on deck, and the director to the administrators to everybody on down.

everybody, not just the dedicated sta, is out in the snow. >> any lessons from the big storm in december? >> hopefully we can get into the residential and put some salt down to preclude some of the freezing we had to deal with. in a storm like fiske, it takes anywhere from 36 to 48 hours to get into residential communities. we ask you to be patient. we ask you to park on even numbered side of the roadways and do not drive if you do not have to drive. >> allow the professionals to do their jobs. thank you for being with us. back to u. >> thank you. we turn from maryland to northern virginia where 1800 trucks are ready to clear the roadways. officials in the district have

9 of their own trucks and the of contract it out more than 60 other snowplows. police, fire, and other personnel are ready for long shifts. extra firefighters are being called then. suv's are being supplied to help any stranded police officers get to work. . hospitals are planning to extra staff this weekend. many of us are running out to the store to stock up on everything. grocery and hardware stores have been slammed. bj's in alexandria state open last night. shoppers were loading up on food and movies and anything else to wait elf the storm -- to

wait out the storm. " i know i'm not going to be out and about. i will be hunkered down at home. >> can you believe how long those lines for? many rushed to get snow supplies. in springfield, 400 shovels sold out in about an hour. an argument broke out over the last two shovels in the store. >> supply and demand. metro rail is open and running on a regular schedule. when snow reaches 8 inches, all of bald-ground service will shut down. the schedule will be modified depending on road conditions. for up-to-the-minute forecast, log onto wjla.com. 6:07, 34 degrees.

>> we do have other news. there is another warning for toyota drivers. there will be expanding its massive recall. -- they will be expanng its massive recall. >> why an old way of getting around is seeing new life. >> adam caskey will continue our live storm watch coverage with the latest unpredicted storm totals. and we have another check on the latest school closings and early dismissals. you're watching "good morning washington."

6:10 on this friday morning. it is currently at 35 degrees in tysons corner. temperatures will be dropping when the snow moves in. maybe upper 20's in some locations. let's check the radar. you can see many areas of wight in west virginia and near winchester and south of the metro area. -- many areas in white. we do not see it snowflakes hitting the ground. the reports as of yet. if you do see snow, please drop off a line. wheather@wjla.com.

the snow will begin close to noon locally. we will see a few inches this afternoon. most will come between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. many people are comparing this to the december 19 storm. it should be just as big and slightly bigger with around 20 inches of snow in some locations and possibly more in others. >> we have been very busy in the traffic center, not necessarily with traffic getting into town right now. trying to facilitate your drive home. some businesses and schools may be leaving early to beat what adam m. brian is saying it will come. we have made a request for signals to be put on rush hour mode early. i have heard from bus drivers in southern maryland that their bosses will be leaving three

hours ahead of schedule -- their buses will be leaving three hours early. >> thank you. still to come, are you waiting to be wowed by the newest super bowl commercials? we will have a preview. newest super bowl commercials? we will have a preview.

>> this is "good morning washington," on your side. 6:14 is your time. we want to go ahead and lauren down the latest list of school closings, and we have some early dismissals. that goes for d.c..

district of columbia public schools closing early at noon today. in maryland, we have charles county schools close altogether, while howard county is closing at noon, montgomery county closing 2.5 hours earlier, prince george's county schools closing three hours early. washington county, 2.5 hours early. frederick county, 3.5 hours early. alexandria,rlington, clark county, culpeper, fairfax, spotsylvania county schools all closed. warren county, king george, loudoun county, page county, madison county, and manassa park also closed. winchester city, shenandoah county round out the list in virginia, and finally in west virginia we have morgan county, jefferson county, and berkeley county schools closed on this friday mning. so do not forget, the full list will be scrolling at the top and bottom of your screen all

morning. you can also go online anytime at wjla.com. to it has announced that dealers have received nationwide the parts needed to fix recalled automobiles. 270,000 prius highbridge in the u.s. and japan will be recalled because of brake problems -- hybrids in the u.s. and japan will be recalled because of brake problems. it could be up to three months before he makes a final decision on 10 americans now charged with child kidnapping. the missionaries tried to take 33 undocumented children across the border into the dominican republic last week. they remain in jail in port-au- prince. they are as popular as the super bowl itself. we are getting a few sneak peeks at some of the commercials that will run during the big game on sunday. this year's crop of ads includes

a lot of lower-priced products, a reflection of the economy. advertisers pay on average about $2.5 million for a 30- second spot. 6:17 is your time, and the big winter storm we're waiting for is already causing big trouble headaches. airlines have canceled hundreds of flights at the three major airports. kwadir robinson is that reagan national -- courtney robinson is at live at reagan national airport. >> it goes into effect at 2:00 this afternoon, going through sunday, depending on the weather. if someone looks good, then they will resume those flights, but the sun it looks bad, you can imagine there will be more cancellations, and not just that southwest of other airlines. already here and reagan, we are seeing is very busy out here. you can see people coming in, many of them coming in because

they are trying to eat change flights or they have already changed flights to get out of here early morning trade take a look inside -- same thing. long lines, many people trying to get out of here. two individuals for coming in for a conference bridge they found out halfway through their flight that the conference had been canceled. so right when they landed, the book a flight out of here. they did have to change that flight. another woman says as long as she is out of here, she is okay. >> we are supposed to fly out tomorrow morning, but we had to change our flight. quite a hassle. as long as i get to oregon, that is all that matters. >> many of these airlines are allowing people to change their flight without -- you do not

have to pay a fee if you do fly out, and that is good news or both passengers and four airlines because they do not have to with people on the tail end of the storm. another thing we want to make people aware of -- i have been speaking with people around virginia. one thing you should be aware of his taking care of your neighbors during the store sperm -snowstorm. in alexandria they have a buddy system. check on your neighbors, especially if they are elderly and homebound. let's start out here with brian van de graaff with the latest on the storm. some areas, brian -- is it way west, where they are starting to see a f snow flurries? >> yes, far west, alison. this is the snow, the closest here in southwestern virginia

and down toward staunton. we do see little bits on the radar, but nothing down and south " -- in southwestern virginia. this will go north word. it will affect the rest of the metro area at 10:00. you can see all the moisture down to the south. more energy off the atlantic coast as another load starts to form. that brings in the energy with cold air and brings us the snow temperatures outside this morning -- some of us are above freezing and we may climb into the mid 30's for a little bit before the temperatures drop and the snow starts to fall. becoming a storm system off the coast, and that will kind of wallop us later tonight and tomorrow morning. snow will continue tomorrow afternoon before it moves out, and right now looks like sunday and monday, we're good with sunshine.

snow here by this afternoon. look at this -- tonight, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening, starting to move out sunday. we will expect that snow for a good 36 hours. best chance, about 20 inches. some areas have the possibility of hitting 30. south of town, a little bit less. if we get 18 inches of snow, we could be in the top three winter storms in d.c. lisa baden, what is happening? i was watching you guys this morning and you were showing video of the grocery stores backed up all the way down the aisle. we sent newschopper 7 out to look at the grocery stores this is a safeway in virginia, just to give you an example. those of you who did not get to go last night may want to head out early this morning. they have been restocking the shelves early this morning. look at the parking lots there. here we are in 95 in virginia.

red is the southbound direction, headlights coming northbound. julie and allison, back to you. everybody is up early getting their last-minute shopping done. >> we are checking in with clay anderson on our phone, with pepco. what kind of prep can you do as a power company? >> julie, alison, good morning. we have extra crews already prepared, as well as our customer personnel. we are prepared to work throhout t storm, and those folks who have not been to the story yet, please pick up some batteries. we do not want any of our customers or residents in the washington metropolitan area to think about candles is your power goes out. if your power does go out, give us a call at pepco, 1-877-737-

2662. >> , meteorologist has been saying that the snow will be significant in that it will be a heavier snow, and also there will be wind combined with that. i know you all have been monitoring that situation. do you have any inclination about the chances for a major power disruption around the area? >> we are keeping an eye on the storm, alison, no doubt about that. the heavy snow causes the branches to sag on to power lines, and also the strong wind brings the possibility of a safety factor for the cruise. -- for our crews we have a 24-7 operation, as you know. from the beginning of the storm through the end. >> clay anderson from pepco, we appreciate your time. 6:23 is your time now.

outside we have 35 degrees. >> next, the upside of a down economy. more people looking for a less- expensive way to get around town.

welcome back, everybody. 6:26 is your time for the tough economy, traffic, and tight parking have some commuters fleeing the freeway and metro. they are flocking to the bus. stephen tschida has a fresh look at an old way of getting around.

>> nikia barnes used to drive to work. now she takes the bus and enjoy the ride. >> when you are on the bus, you can listen to music, read a book. you cannot do that in traffic. >> while she snaps into her ipod, some use their iphone. applications provide up to the second arrival times. but i do not have to wait in the cold for more than three minutes. >> preston hajj is fines the bus more comfortable than metrorail. >> if you get on the platform at the wrong our -- at the wrong hour, there can be delays. it can be stuffed with people. >> she likes the view. >> it is a little bit cheaper and you get to see everything. >> then there are commuters who prefer the access of the bus. it stopped on almost every corner, and you never have to look for parking. >> it is the best option for

me, and to contend with the st. meters, we are not zone for it, so dr. mike >>. >> the number of people riding metro overall is down. metra blames the job market and not dissatisfaction with the system. >> thing to consider on another day when the snow is not so bad. 6:28 is your time. we still have another half hour. >> coming up, our oprah contest winners get a live show in the surprise of a lifetime. >> we are preparing for the big snowstorm headed our way.

wayne and mary met in kindergarten. they've been together ever since. for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. vows that were tested and kept.

thanks, hon. even when cancer hit and cost wayne his job. and scleroderma hit and cost him his hands. and then the wall street crash hit and cost them their life savings. still, they struggle on just to get by, to keep food on the table and to heat their home. mary: the wood stove helps us saven oil, but it's getting harder and harder. at citizens energy, we know the hurt you must feel. we know it's hard for proud people to ask for help. i just want to let you know how happy we are that we can lend a helping hand. wayne: we never thought we would be cold in our own home. mary: thanks to citgo and the people of venezuela. hi, i'm joe kennedy from citizens energy, your nonprofit oil company. if you need help staying warm this winter, give me a call at 1-877-joe-4-oil, because no one should be left out in the cold.

live and in hd, this is "good morning washington, on your side. >> thanks for joining us today. i'm alison starling. >> i'm alice -- i'm julie parker come in for doug mckelway. we want to bring you the latest closings and early dismissals. >> we do have a few of these

early dismissals. also in maryland, we have charles county close, howard county shutting down early at noon. montgomery county, 2.5 hours early. prince george's county, three hours early. >> also, howard county will be closed three hours early today. frederick county, maryland, 3.5 hours early. washington county, 2.5 hours early. >> we are moving on here to st. mary's county schools closed, charles county schools are closed, too. >> and in virginia, the list of closures begins with alexandria city, arlington county, clark county, culpeper county, fairfax county, an spotsylvania county schools. >> the list continues with more on king george, loudoun, page, madison, manassas city, and manassas park. >> prince william county schools closed, stafford county, fox yeaauquier.

>> let's check on the latest on the winter storm warning. adam caskey is at tyson's corner. we are starting to see some snow west and south, right, adam? >> especially down near lynchburg, roanoke, and even in staunton, virginia. obviously we have no snows mauling in tysons corner. you see a lot of white on the radar screen. however, most of what is white is not hitting the ground yet. the air has not saturated yet so the snow can hit the ground. to the west, west virginia and western maryland, you see the white and pink. even though we are below southern maryland, you can see that as well that is not all hitting the ground. it will push on in later this morning and especially midday today. around noon is where we should see the snow locally. but the heaviest snow will be

between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.. the best chance of accumulation, between 18 and 24 inches, with a chance of 25 to 29. that is possible, with a slight chance of hitting 30 inches in a few locations here and there. that chance does exist in it is not likely, but the possibility is there. let's go back to alisa with the morning drive. on route 7 here in tysons corner, traffic has picked up in the last hour. >> we are noticing that too, as far as interstate travel. we're seeing if they can put us on rush-hour mode early. we are going to have on our website, soon, wjla.com, an early-release schedule for an tsmta buses. this is the second grocery store we have flown over in the last 10 or 15 minutes, and they are filling up quickly. >> lisa, thank you.

we go to d.c. where a snow emergency will go into effect at 9:30 this morning. >> city officials already have a head start on clearing the roads. mike conneen is live to tell us more. >> good morning. the snow emergency starts the district. you want to move your vehicle or you could be ticketed and towed it. joining us to talk about it is john from vdot. what did you learn about d. possible is it? >> the big thing for us is that we have not -- we have had not just the blizzard, but other smaller storms as well remember, our crews have been called out twice this week alone, so they have had a lot of practice this year, and i think that really helps break at the beginning of the season we might have a few new drivers, drivers that are unfamiliar with the routes.

that should not be the case anymore. >> we saw in the december blizzard a lot of sidewalks went unshoveled. >> that was a big issue. the mayor was driving to one of the snow press conferences, and their vehicle came close to somebody who was walking in the roadway. we understand why people are doing it. it was very hard to walk on the sidewalks. we asked pedestrians not to do that if you can avoid it. it is another reason for people to stay home. also, it points to how important it is, both businesses and homeowners, to shovel their sidewalks and shovel them often. do not wait until it is over. do it as soon as you can. >> john locke, thanks for joining us. it is going to be eight -- john lau, thank you for joining us. if you're planning on using mass transit, including metro, if they get 8 inches above ground, they could shut down the runways

and local transportation. we saw it was in december, it was shut down midway through the day. so have a backup plan. reporting live in the district, mike conneen, abc 7 news. if you live in virginia, state leaders warn you to be prepared to be snowed in for a couple of days. governor bob mcdonnell already declared a state of emergency pretty virginia national guard is placing soldiers on standby. presidents in arlington county are being told to be prepared to shelter in place for up to five days. and in maryland, prince george's county has now declared a snow emergency effective at 7:00 tonight. hardware stores and grocery stores have been packed. at area supermarkets yesterday, people waited in line for up to an hour. getting a shovel has been a big challenge. at cherrydale hardware, people

clamored for shovels. >> people ask if they can reserve them or pay for them in advance, and we cannot. >> the last delivery of shovels was trucked in from pennsylvania, and they sold out in half an hour. >> and there was a fight over the last two. 6:38 is your time now rate is friday morning and we have 35 degrees outside. >> as we go to break, another chec( music playing )

if toyota gets credit for being the most fuel efficient car company in america, well, then how do you explain all this? chevy malibu, cobalt, silverado, and the all-new equinox. compare them to anyone. may the best car win.

hi. i teach cosmetology here. "good morning washington"! 6:40 a.m. right now it is 35 degrees. i have been tracking the snow on our doppler. the leading edge is moving from lynchburg approaching the charlottesville area, and it should be making the metro area by midday. many people have asked me, how will this storm compare to the whopper we had in december where we average between 15 and 20 inches? this will be as much and i think likely a little bit higher than the previous snowstorm. so years from now when you're thinking back to epic washington

snowstorms, you are going to think back to this one in early february, 2010. let's take a look at the forecast. we have a little bit of snow on the ground at tyson's corner, and i want to encourage you to clear out and carry on your deck orlon to take fresh measurements. send us your snowfall -- -- i want to encourage you to clear out your debt or your lawn to take fresh measurements and send them to us. your commute, anywhere from 1.5 to 4 inches, depending on where you are paid by 11:00 p.m., that is when the storm will really start cranking. that is when we will see most of ours number -- hour snowfall, between 11:00 p.m. at 7:00 a.m. storm totals, around 20 inches. locally, higher amounts anticipated, especially just south of the metro area. back to alisa with the morning drive. >> i have been doing this 18.5

-- back to lisa with the morning drive. >> i have been doing this for 18 and a half years, and i never say do not allowed unless you have to because many of you have to go to work. as far as bus schedules, mass transit is concerned, we are going to forward all of this over to our website, wjla.com. so make sure you check the web site is case you take one of the commuter buses or if you take metrorail 80. trained 890 is cancelled for today. this is the fair lakes shop, where vdot trucks are going to fill and load once again to spread more chemicals. >> the helicopter was over some grocery stores earlier today. there is a lot of activity there, too. 6:43 is your time. we have 35 degrees.

you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington" with doug mckelway, alison starling, brian van de graaff with the weather, and lisa baden. >> if you are just waking up on this friday, we have the latest school closings and early dismissals on your screen. the district is closing today at noon. in maryland, st. mary's county and charles county schools are closed. also, howard county will be closing three hours early. montgomery county, 2.5 hours early. prince george's, three hours early. frederick county schools in maryland will close 3.5 hours early. washington county, 2.5 hours early. in virginia, alexandria city schools are closed

arlington county, clark county, culpeper, fairfax, and spotsylvania county hool districts are closed. warren county, king george, loudoun county, page, minute -- madison county, and manassas city and manassas park county schools are closed. prince william county, stafford, winchester, shenandoah county schools closed today. finally in west virginia, morgan, jefferson, and berkeley county schools are all closed. >> it is 6:47. the maryland state highway administration is gearing up for this storm. that agency has more than 200,000 tons of salt and more than 2000 people are out there ready to keep the roads clear. pamela brown continues our stormwatch coverage. pamela, good morning. >> good morning to you. we just learned that the county executive in prince george's county will be issuing a state

of emergency that goes into effect at 7:00 tonight. that means if you are driving on certain roads after that time, you could be ticketed. transportation officials say they will be operating at the highest level with all hands on deck. that means 2400 people will be ready to respond. officials asked if used -- officials ask that you stay off the rose come apart in a garage, or park on the even numbered streets. it is important to - stay off the roads, parked in a garage. >> normally we would get into neighborhoods within 12 hours, but that is a snowfall of two or 3 inches. something like this come a to be 36 hours, 48, and it could be more because we have to get done something like this, it could be 36 hours, 48 hours, or more. >> crews have been loading up salt. at 10:30 this morning, montgomery county executive ike leggett will be holding a press

conference on preparation. reporting live in glendale, pamela brown, abc 7 news. now we turn to traffic and weather every 10 minutes. brian, i know this snow is going to be thick and heavy, and we also have the potential for some strong wind. >> that will be an issue later tonight. we think probably the heaviest snow will be from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. tomorrow one to 2 inches an hour at times, and gusty wind. that will be a big issue for a lot of people. prep is not completed, hopefully under way. we have a couple of things to get into right now let's get a shot outside where it is cloudy but called. downtown, temperatures may be in the 30's for a while. the closest we see is still well down to the south and west, down toward stanton. it is down to lynch bergen roanoke, which is in and out of your screen down to the south

and west. 30 in martinsburg, 30, king george, 37 downtown let's go to the maps and laid out for the big pture storms can hear. high-pressure overhead, starting to overspread the area. all this a winter storm warning for today all the way to saturday night. let's go to the maps and i will showou what it looks like pretty storm will work across our area, bringing with it hefty amounts of snow. 're talking and extended period of snow for 36 hours, which could increase the chance of travel troubles, obviously, with the heaviest tonight and tomorrow, 18 to 24 inches before it is all said and done. we want to remind you about something quickly. starting next week, we are going to do our florida friday give away. we are going to do it every monday through thursday, giving away clues between 6:00 37:00. go to our website, keyword

"florida." live on the air, i will give a lucky winner a pass to florida, including hotel, air fare, and a bunch of goodies, and hopefully you will take me with you. we have been out and about this morning trying to cover all the bases for you. newschopper7 has been looking at grocery store parking lots. right now they are looking at 7100 and route 28 in virginia. we have courtney robinson out at reagan national airport in case you're heading out to the airport this morning so you well know what to do prado to our website, -- so you will know what to do. go to our website wjla.com. we will come back and

finally, three lucky abc 7 viewers and their guests got the experience of a lifetime. >> they won an expense paid trips to chicago to see a taping of the oprah show. this unforgettable journey full of surprises. >> standing in harpo studios was a dream come true for three abc 7 contest winners. sandra homes of laurel, maryland.

>> she said we are going to open up, and we put up our hands and started screaming like crazy. >> she met her daughter, jessica, about the trip. >> i called her as soon as i got the men said you are taking the. >> and she brought her boyfriend, andy, who quietly admits he loves oprah. >> the guys at the office give me a hard time. >> everyone was wondering why we had our own camera, including oprah. >> what is the camera for? bu>> wjla. >> i just wanted to know what the camera was for. well, nobody told me. well, if it is dawjla -- >> this is a wonderful treat to have won the wjla contest. >> renee simpson, abc 7 news. >> looks like a fun trip.

that's getting quick last look at traffic and weather together. >> newschopper7, they have been all over it this morning, looking at a grocery store parking lots, which are full. in stark contrast, this is the vre commuter line. not too many folks taking the train in this morning, brian. >> well, hopefully, you will telecommute. warnings are up for central virginia and will be in the district for 10:00 this morning. a couple inches by the traditional drive home tonight, an overnight tonight, heavy snow. we could have over a foot by tomorrow morning with a gusty wind blowing things around. we're talking 18 to 24 inches in spots. that does it for "good morning washington" this friday. more news at 7:22. captioned by the