survived is now back home with her parents in north carolina. she arrived 14 weeks before her due date. and weighed 10 ounces. mark strassmann was there for the homecoming in charlotte. >> i love you so much, baby girl. so happy. so happy. this is the best moment in my life. >> reporter: megan smith waited five months for this moment. the chance to go home with alaya, her baby girl. >> allaya. like don't cry. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm happy. >> reporter: allaya is a medical miracle. formed outside of the womb. >> they were thrilled when they learned she was pregnant. but early on they could see this was not going to be easy. barely 6 months in, the higher tension put megan at risk for a stroke. allaya stopped growing inside her. doctors had trouble finding a fetal heartbeat. megan needed an emergency c section. allaya was born, 14 weeks early. she weighed 10 ounces. and head to toe measured ten inches long. >> she is tiny. size of a small kilten or smaller. a baby bird. >> a neo nay toll gist says allaya was born half the size of the smallest premature babies at levine children's hospita

the commute. >> chris: christine, traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. let's take a look, injury accident, this is gilead road in front of novant health, a new accident, 77 southbound at the gilead road exit. that is creating delays for folks heading inbound across lake norman this morning. slow all the way up toward hambright road. heavy on independence expressway this morning, a couple of accidents here, the first one was at briar creek, second one backing up, at eastway drive an accident on central avenue, right before north sharon amity. that is a check of traffic, here is meteorologist al conklin. >> al: thanks, chris. a cold start to our day, but we're clear outside the mountains. this is lake norman from the vue.com, early sunshine out there, there is a bit of a breeze, it is cold, 22 the morning low, 21 in charlotte, up a degree off the low. 20 in salisbury, statesville, 12 in boone, windchill factor below zero, 21 hickory, morganton, 20 shelby, 20 in monroe. today, lots of sunshine outside of the mountains. maybe a couple of clouds this afternoon. no chance for m

chris larson. >> chris: first alert traffic is sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. injury accident on university city boulevard at ikea boulevard. that is between 85 and 29, expect you will find delays there. looking live at i-85 southbound, out at mallard creek church we do have a delay and lane closure inbound right hand lane off 74 on to 277 closed down as crews make repairs there because of water seep on the roadway. conklin. >> al: thanks, chris, out there this morning, show you the big picture, you can see the cluster of snow coming across the mid-south, that will bring snow showers, 2-4 inches over the next 24 hours more the mountain countyies. this is king street in boone from resortcams.com, dry conditions but temperatures cold, in the 20s. 24 boone, 31 gastonia, charlotte, 29 shelby, 28 for wadesboro. down toward albermarle and in monroe. so for today, start off near freezing, lots of clouds, maybe breaks of sun, a sprinkle or flurry possible, but no major accumulation outside of the mountains. 37, sunshine, windy, cold, dry and cold, increasing clouds on sunday, big stor

picking up here is the latest. >> chris: traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. we have an accident stylisted on albermarle road at sharon amity. that is creating delays for folks trying to make their way on the independence expressway. heavy traffic i-77 northbound at arrowood, stop and go traffic starting at 485, back in the green once you work your way up toward tyvola road. delays on the inner loop of 485 and heavy around arboretum area and southbound 77 coming across lake norman also a tough go this morning. that is a check of the morning al conklin. >> al: thanks, chris, out there this morning, a chilly start but sunny start, the sun has been up for 20 minutes and looking here at lake norman, a couple boaters out there, folks fishing this morning. again, kind of chilly, temperatures mostly down in the 20s, low 30s. 31 charlotte, 29 hickory, 26 shelby, 25 morganton, 28 statesville and 25 in salisbury. lots of sunshine today, in the next half hour we rebound getting up to 34 in charlotte at 8:00, lunch time, 49 and 54 late this afternoon. close to average this time of t

the commute with chris larson. >> chris: traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. signals are down over in the south park area, this is sharon at sharonview to the south of south park mall, you will find delays there, but we have seen numerous power outages here and i-77 west boulevard, volume heavy here and stop and go from 77, north to 485 and heading on the inner loop between matthews and providence road. here is meteorologist al conklin conklin. >> al: big dirt can youlation can big circulation bringing down high winds, will be with us all day long. down the hill main street in belmont in front of city hall, dry conditions and temperatures in the upper 30s right now. 40 charlotte, rock hill, gastonia, 40 statesville, 39 shelby, 29 in boone and 41 for hickory and toward morganton. a lot of winds with us today, gusts 25 to 30 miles per hour, back to 56 degrees under partly to mostly sunny skies outside of the mountains. partly cloudy, colder tonight, lots of sunshine less wind sunday a much warmer day. >>> in addition to the like button, facebook has now added buttons fo

get first alert traffic. >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. still following this accident off of wilkinson boulevard at berry drive, perfect picture of the nose of the truck caught in the power pole in one of the guide wires that secures the pole. one driver transported here with minor injuries and they will be working to clear that accident scene, you can see the left hand turn signal still on on that truck. the map system again, wilkinson boulevard at berry drive, wilkinson running in the green right now, inbound delays along independence boulevard, because of an injury accident on the ramps from independence on to 277, that is the brookshire and the john belk, we've got delay coming out of lake norman southbound especially. here is meteorologist al conklin. >> al: weather-wise, looking good this morning, chris, clear skies, pretty much all across the area. one exception a few clouds in down lancaster counties are heath springs elementary school, looking good there, most of us enjoying sunshine. current temperature, 52 in charlotte, still cooler n

north of charlotte and less than an inch south. the probabilities even. do we get an inch. less to an inch we don't think we'll see more than two inches. the forecast, boy. cold on saturday. look at the low. 35 is the high . pgh there is the monday storm. the high of 38. all of a sudden after the rain gets through we clear out. and it is delightful. we'll be digging out. back to the studio. morning for an up to the minute weekend. >>> i want to go back to the breaking news in charlotte where google fiber contractors cuts heat. if you heard that's a problem tonight. brook drive. the line has been fixed but piedmont natural gas is bringing in crews to go house to house to reset everyone's lines. that's going to take a long timing. a very cold night but house to house close to midnight here to make sure the lines are reset. they will be up waiting. sports next. >>> the nfl has fined the defensive back for grabbing and pulling the face mask of philly brown and taunting the panthers in the summer bowl. this is the play he grabbed the face mask and pulled to keep him from scoring. should ha

excavating it they started work duke said it is cleaning up and closing the ash basins across north carolina. >>> charlotte's mayor pays up after losing her bet with the mayor of denver. you may find this disturbing. take a look. jennifer roberts tweeted this out in a peyton manning jersey and hat. she tweeted it at the denver mayor saying she hopes they would meet at the superbowl in houston. >>> recognize this face? well you know that but how about this. this is greg olsen. he shaved his beard. look at this he tweeted this out. there it is gone. the caption, all good things must come to an end especially with a kiss from your daughter. >>> and after the game while we were on the field, we were feeling kicked in the gut as you were. bralin walking off the field. he is fighting cancer. they have fall non-love with him as much as he has fall non-love. i asked if he had a message for you fans. >> go panthers. that's okay we had fun. we should get a trophy for having fun. >> have you had a good year being the coach? >> i had it was a fun year. >> they should give a trophy for having fun if that

, don't be surprised a little bit of snow north of charlotte and as we go through the day tomorrow that should exit outside the high country. that is just an indication of the next frontal system setting the weekend. saturday we're looking dry outside the mountains. chance for precipitation only a 20% chance tomorrow, and then it ramps up big times as we go in monday. presidents day. the set-up, high pressure over the northeast, low pressure cut across the deep south and i think that will create quite a winter storm around here and details on that still unsettled, only thursday, but here is what we know right now, it will be dry and cold, 43. tonight, partly cloudy, 26. tomorrow, mix of cloud an sunshine, a few snow flurries and snow showers north of town. high, 42. windy and cold on saturday, 38, valentine's day is dry but very chilly, down to 35 here for a high temperature and as we go in monday, that is when the major storm comes in, exits on tuesday, we'll keep an eye on that and fill in the details. weather. >> christine: the city has been focused on the panthers but this morning a

foothillo 25 in boone. 30 hickory and morganton, below freezing charlotte, gastonia, shelby, 28 salisbury, statesville, albermarle, 29 in monroe. we'll start off cold, below freezing, lots of clouds, maybe a flurry especially north of town through the mid-day and start to see a few breaks of sunshine, not as warm, yesterday 48, today, 42, our eyes on the presidents day storm, more details coming up in a couple minutes with the seven day planner. >> john: thanks, al >>> crews started treating roads because of the possible winter weather. this video crews out during the afternoon treating streets with salt brine, actually that looks like night time footage. the state d.o.t. is out this morning brining bridges. >>> a traffic alert out of east charlotte we want to make sure you know about. one westbound lane of i-277 is shut down while crews tend to a water main break. the right lane of 74 westbound is scheduled to be closed down until 4:00 p.m. the d.o.t. closed it wednesday night after concerns about water collecting in the road and freezing. they handed over control of the situat

rain. the back edge is approaching 321 and we still have a few pockets of ice possible north and west of town. heaviest rain on top of charlotte and i-77 moving east, mint hill, matthews, indian trail, wedding ton getting inton getting in the rain. back to the west you can see pink shading, we have pockets of freezing rain across the foothills where temperatures are close to freezing that will persist for a little while longer until this line moves out and temperatures will warm back in the 50s. the back edge now, big storm system pulling eastward. snow on the back edge will lift northward fairly quickly. futurecast, here we are early this morning, stop this at 8:00, the east of us, a few showers lingering in the mountain, i wouldn't be surprised one or two showers in the metro area and outside of the high country, a lot of sunshine in the mid-day forecast, by late this afternoon we see increase in cloud cover especially west you can see it at 4:00, that is the next system. this is very weak compared to the one that came through last night this. will bring a couple showers during the

clear and told. in charlotte, 34 degrees, light breeze out of the north, not much of a windchill factor, good visibility out here, unlike yesterday morning, fog is not going to be an issue this morning. we should have smooth sailing. heat up the car as you head out. 30 in jefferson. 29 boone. 26 morganton, 28 shelby, 27 lincolnton, 27 albermarle, 32 lancaster and 32 around chester area. starting off cold this morning but wall-to-wall sunshine all day long, 49 at lunch time getting up to 54, 4:00, which is about where we should be this day. looking ahead to tonight, cold again, temperatures dropping below freezing. 31 monroe, charlotte, 30 hickory, 31 shelby, 28 morganton, 26 boone. we rebound nicely tomorrow afternoon getting in the mid an upper 50s. a smidge above average this time of the year. if you like that trend, watch out from friday going in saturday and sunday we're still in the 60s here, maybe mid and upper 60s sunday. on the chiliier side of the high pressure system but on the backside plenty of warm weather and that is going to be heading in our direction. having said

ordinances like it. the north carolina legislature is allowed to vote to cancel local government policies. >>> another bump in the road in the search for new superintendent for charlotte-mecklenburg schools. two weeks ago the school board agreed it would decide on a superintendent search time line. that was supposed to happen at last night's meeting. but that didn't happen. as dedrick russell reports, while the community wait, board members are casting blame on why they are back to the drawing board. >> had we actually gotten a time line together a year ago. >> reporter: rhonda lennon speaking out, blamed board leadership for waiting so long to start a superintendent search. >> better late than never. >> mary mccray then fired back. >> i will take it upon my back to say that i will accept that, this also lies with the rest of this board. so not just on the leadership. >> at times the board sounded clueless. >> we don't know what we want. >> the conversation went back and forth among members. to speak. >> eric davis then said what some in the audience were thinking. >> tonight has

new campaign office last night in charlotte. it will be the base for ahead of north carolina's primary. south carolina's democratic primary is tomorrow and president bill clinton was drumming up support yesterday on a stop in rock hill. she is leading bernie sanders in most polls in south carolina. >>> the remaining gop presidential candidates laid it all on the line in the final debate before super tuesday, next week. this could be the last shot for them to grab supporters away from donald trump, who is leading in most polls. marco rubio and ted cruz dominated the debate, taking a lot of shots at trump but the front runner turned it around calling rubio a jokester and cruz a liar. >>> 12 minutes before 5:00. a live look at the charlotte skyline from scott clark nissan honda hyundai hd tower cam, a little cold, not raining the winds died down some, get the latest from meteorologist al conklin. >> al: get you out there and show you what is going on, first off on the five sweeps of power bit of snow, not much also going on, but hey, want to update you a little bit on what happened earlie

find other places to get their education. live in north charlotte, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> i know you will stay on of this thank you. >> live to our alert center. alex giles is standing by. you got interesting information about cam newton? >> yes, this popped up on social media. first picture of cam newton's child. he posted this on instagram. there is baby chosen. my babies came in the mail referring to the nfl hardware that you see. but i'm missing the one i wanted the most and super bowl mvp. will have to do for now referring to the cute child he has there now. that is an awesome photo. cute to see. but i would like to see a photo of him in panthers pajamas. >> he will be running around before we know it. fun to hear from cam. >> right now we want to give you an update on that situation out of west charlotte this is a look where a truck took out a power pole on beech-nut road. it will take three hours to repair the pole. the pole is across the street there and it brought down the lines. obviously a great concern to the folks without power especially on a day as

from the news at 5:00. parents and school leaders concerned about violence at a charlotte high school after a fight broke out involving a here are pictures. we have what is being done to keep your child safe and zika in north carolina what you need to know to protect your family. those stories ahead. let's get it back to brigida and jamie. sphoo things have been busy at carowinds. >> it is a cool alert. carowinds tweeted out pictures of the water park expansion effort had us thinking of summer here. and pull up the pictures they have now. the live bulldozers and everything that is getting in shape for what appears to be a cool effort there at carowinds this is carolina harbor, the largest water park expansion in carowinds history and the largest water park in the carolinas when the expansion is done and they have a lot of picks up there. probably not warm enough for a water park yet. >> we can dream. >> it will not belong. thank you. >> we are on your side with the top consumer headlines. twitter and facebook taking apple's side in the public battle with the f.b.i. the companies suppo

continuing to see those sustained winds in charlotte on average 15-20-miles-per-hour with higher gusts. and the wind has drawn in the colder air so the temperatures are in the low 50s. 52 in the city. and elsewhere upper 40s north of the city. 52 concorde. 54 monroe and lancaster and 56 in wadesboro but on i40 we have the low to mid-40s and it's 30 in boone. and the snow showers have been going all day long. a little bit of a break right now. what is additionally falling but we have that winter weather advisory in the mountains that will go through 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. there could be light accumulations through tonight and into early tomorrow. but we will have more on the rest of the forecast and the weekend not far in the future and that is coming up. sponsored by people's bank. a check here on independence past briar creek road folks try and avoid this area as someone that uses it i will let them know to use an alternate route. this is beyond the metropolitan area. on 277 at the moment. power lines repairs and two right lanes are blocked. the accident by the plaza on independenc

charlotte to tell you about. >> that winter storm system is bringing snow to the north carolina mountains. schools closed again today as advisory. a live look at 184 in banner elk. it's white-out. here is wbtv's steve ohnesorge

not feel too bad. we started out at 17 that was the morning low in charlotte it was cold first thing but we have made nice recovery with the sunshine. lower 40s north of the city. and morganton are all at 43. and up in the mountains 27 in boone which is better than the teens from yesterday. up that way you made a little bit of improvement. this evening we will keep the sky clear and 40 at 7:00 and 35 by 9:00 p.m. we may see more cloud cover work towards the later hours of tonight. we have a generally clear sky right now, even in the mountainless, you have receive sunshine as the snow showers briefly shutoff. we have a disturbance upstream that we will be tracking so this will be headed in our direction tore tomorrow. it is a quick-moving small disturbance with the snow iowa. and this gets in here friday. more cloud cover and snow showers to the mountains and maybe flakes could escape outside of the mountains into afternoon. behind this, a fresh new shot of cold air is what we will be on top of us for the upcoming

, we have heard from parents fighting the possibility of forced busing at charlotte-mecklenburg schools. now we are hearing what a you are watching wbtv news >> announcer: wbtv on your side. wbtv news starts right now. >> 9-1-1 calls just released from the north lake mall shooting on christmas eve. you will hear from panicked parents. >> and the hot button issue. the school district working on a new plan to determine where your child goes to school. welcome back to first at 4:00 i'm jamie boll. >> i'm brigida mack. thank you for joining us on this thursday. concerned parents have been vocal about their feelings on forced busing and student assignment for today we are hearing from a student about the controversial topic. wbtv anchor maureen o'boyle has details on a packed meeting today. >> brigida, judging from the turnout of today's meeting it is clear that student assignment is an issue that matters to both parents and students. more than 100 people showed up for the forum here at cms' smith family center. some board members were there to answer questions and calm fears of forc

50s out there right now. north of the city, we are in the mid-50s. fuf 5 from salisbury to statesville. 45 in boone and charlotte we are at 58. we'll bring up the towercam shot and it is a picture perfect friday afternoon. you are 57 in lancaster and monroe. satellite-radar confirming the clear sky with the exception of the mountains where you have cloud cover hanging on for you. if we zoom out and look upstream we have cloud cover off to the west it will be edging our way as we head into the weekend which is why it will not be sunny for saturday or sunday. but that will not stop the temperatures from soaring well into the 60s on either day. and this evening, partly cloudy at 5:00 p.m. and down to 54 falling into the 40s once the and more on if we could possibly see showers in areas to accompany the clouds. that is coming up in the first alert forecast in a couple of manipulates. let's -- minutes. let's check in on the commute. >> your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. i-77 and 485, we've got a problem on 485, folks. arrowood road may be an indication of this congestio

phone. >> an arrest has been made after area fire stations. charlotte-mecklenburg police arrested this man johnny bing in the north lake mall they found stolen items. the fire department says the break-ins started two weeks ago and targeted while crews responded to emergencies. >> a lawsuit filed against the charlotte apartment complex in the university area where a student was shot. according to attorneys the lawsuit was filed on behalf of tyron miller he was shot two days after thanksgiving. the lawsuit claims the complex did not provide adequate security. >> right now it is time for the first check of traffic this afternoon right to tonya rivens. >> thank you, brigida. and good afternoon your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. as we check in here independence boulevard it is a mess already to start out the evening commute. we've got power lines. emergency repairs on independence right past briar creek road. and two right lanes are blocked. center city as we look on this dot camera. there's quite a bit of stop-and-go traffic. monroe road is a better alternate rou

charlotte. some of you north of the city in the mid-40s from salisbury boone and in charlotte around 50. but we have some of you in the lower middle 50s south and east of the city. not nearly as windy but a little bit on the breezy side. we have winds still at 5 to ten-miles-per-hour. 15-20 up into the mountains. these will continue to back off more so as we head through the night. by the time we head into the weekend we will be talking about a calm wind in place. down to 47 at 5. 42 at 7:00 and 40 by 9:00 tonight is going to be colder. while this morning we started out about 32, tonight and into tomorrow morning we will drop down into the mid-and upper 20s. 27 is your wake up for saturday morning. and then we warm-up progressively through the weekend. we'll talk about those numbers that you can expect and a look at the seven-day first-alert forecast coming up in a couple of minutes. thank you. overturned tractor-trailerused problems earlier today.is shutdown brookshire 8:00 a.m. of course this is back open. let's check in for the first time this afternoon with tonya rivens wi

. we have one by old concorde road at orr road and north tryon street. caution needed in this area and secondary at neil and olwin boulevard. >> thank you. students in charlotte-mecklenburg schools are struggling with math. >> a local nonprofit is working to change that but they need your help. children in our if you're going to say "better ingredients. better pizza." you better deliver. which is why i'm introducing our new papa's quality guarantee: love your pizza, or get another one, absolutely free. get any large pizza up to 5-toppings for just $9.99. online only. at papajohns.com >> welcome back to first at 4:00. >> time for our monthly segment with share charlotte i'm joined by emily elliott and kelly brooks. welcome today. >> thank you. >> let's jump right in and introduce the nonprofit we are highlighting for today. kelly, why did share charlotte choose to introduce us to heart math tutoring? >> it's almost valentine's day. but there's so many gaps in the community that need to be filled and our local non-profits are out there fill to go for us here in charlotte and heart ma

. 5:31, here is chris, first alert traffic. >> chris: traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. let's start with a look at lake norman commute, coming inbound on 77, in the green, mooresville, davidson, huntersville and 485. that means the rock hill drive time or the lake norman drive time, excuse me, running at 15 minutes with average speed of 65-miles-per-hour. looks pretty good across the charlotte metro area, now let's talk about rock hill, coming northbound this morning, on i-77, current drive time for rock hill, 22 minutes with an average speed of 63-miles-per-hour. let's take a quick live look this morning, i-77 clanton road, volume of traffic starting to smoothly. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> john: bus drivers were out early in the cold temperatures, starting up their buses to make sure they are warm when the child climbs on board. take a look at these temperatures, it is brutal cold out there this morning. today bus drivers are getting special recognition for the work they do. mark davenport is following that

. >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. once again this morning, crews making repairs inbound lane closed, as you make your way to 277. that will cause delays. looking at briar creek, independence inbound toward the city, no problems so far this morning and we're looking good across the area, most of the major interstates running in the green. an accident here on providence road at south wendover, be aware of that, right now providence not showing any significant delays either. you're never more than seven traffic on wbtv news this morning. kristen miranda with the headlines as they hit the wires. what is happening now in the alert center? >> kristen: keeping an eye on the markets. we have been talking about this, asian markets already operating this morning and i wanted you to look at the numbers, japan's main stock index dived nearly 5% leading the other markets lower. i know investor are keeping an eye on that. the beginning of the year when china's market was that was propped up by government buying plunged dramatically. we have been watching

morning. >> chris: al, thank you, first alert traffic sponsored by yota of north charlotte. center city injury accident this morning, south caldwell at east 4th street, expect that you will see emergency crews there, that is right off 277, we're looking live now at i-77 rest area coming off the south carolina state line, roads are still wet here across the charlotte area this morning, most of our major highways are running in the green, a few slow downs independence boulevard down toward providence road. up in iredell county, if you're coming south on 77, different story, they had an accident overnight that shut down the interstate, we're still seeing delays, wbtv's mark davenport is on the way to the scene there, we'll bring you more on that but slow, certainly. the rain again starting to slide morning and moving up to the north so huntersville, concord you're driving in on the wet roads. but overnight it has been a mess, wbtv's ashton pellom is live this morning joining us with a what would what folks are seeing. >> reporter: good morning, chris. it is sloppy out here this mornin

, >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. we updated the location with that accident on wt harris boulevard, they moved that to near robinson church road along wt harris, be aware of that if that is part of your morning commute. i-77 from woodlawn volume still right, running smoothly this morning and most of the major interstates no problems there. wilkinson earlier accident if you're inbound this is just past the billy graham parkway, and again, taking a live look no problems here if you're coming from matthews, 12 minutes, 15 from providence road, concord to center city, 20 minutes at 66-miles-per-hour. that is traffic, christine, back to you. >> christine: north carolina lawmakers will be back in raleigh for a special session. they are set to vote on this re-drawn map of the state's congressional districts. we're on your side what the new map would mean for our area. >> john: christmas eve was a scary scene for shoppers at we're hearing some of the 911 calls just obtained by our news partners at the charlotte observer, so compelling. you're never more than

corner, chris with first alert traffic right now. sponsored by toyota of north charlotte as we head back in the work week, a live look i-77 west boulevard, volume of traffic heading in toward the city, no problems, southbound a little lighter. still a whole lot of green out there early on, 77, 85, both looking okay around the 485 perimeter, no problems there. do want to give you a head's up, lynx blue line construction on south tryon or north tryon at ken hoffman drive before you make your way up to wt harris boulevard. man, not going anywhere this morning. concord to center city, 18 minutes, lake norman to center city 16 minutes. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> christine: looking ahead, thank you, chris, as we ntioned earlier, charlotte city council members will once again take up the issue of an ordinance designed to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. and the battle has gone beyond charlotte with governor pat mccrory now weighing in on the issue. wbtv's mark davenport is li

, thank you, first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. keeping an eye here on your tuesday morning commute, most of our major highways are this morning, so 77 and 85 no problems as we swing in center city, we do have two accidents, the first one about 15, 20 minutes old now, mcdowell street at east 4th, you may find delays coming inbound along east 4th street, that one-way section there. as you work over to west trade street and graham street, an accident listed there, not seeing significant delays along north graham and john belk and brookshire both running in the green except for slow stretch on the outer loop of the john belk making your way over toward independence. that is a check of the morning traffic, christine, over to you. >> christine: we continue to follow breaking news where a swat situation has come to an end in northwest charlotte. >> john: here is a live look at the scene on pointer ridge drive where police arrested a man wanted for murder. ashton pellom has been on the scene throughout the morning, he will be joining us live with new details at the

north charlotte. and we're giving you a live look here, this is i-85 at freedom drive, kristen hampton covering the roadways this morning and you can see from that live picture the spray coming off the vehicles. roads are wet, visibilities are low, allow extra time for your let's look at the mapping system, most of the majors still running in the green this morning. seeing a few slow downs, providence and up toward the albermarle split. now a little further to the north up toward huntersville, sam furr at par drive off old statesville, not seeing delays as of yet. a further down to the south, gilead at old statesville road at the crossroads to the huntersville-concord road, another accident came in i'd say 15 minutes ago. here is another live look i-77 at arrowood and certainly starting to see those roads wetten up with the rain during the overnight hours. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this >> john: we'll continue to follow the severe weather that devastating parts of the southeast. >> christine: get to kristen miranda with more new vid

vowing to fight charlotte's new non-discrimination ordinance, what north carolina has house speaker wants to do. >>> good morning, thanks for waking up with wbtv news this morning it is 5:30 i'm john carter. >> christine: i'm christine sperow. school delays one added to the list, listen closely, avery, and mitchell county schools on three-hour delay this morning. alleghany, ashe, who just called in to say they are on a two-hour delay as well as watauga county schools on a two-hour delay. we're continuously updating the list at wbtv.com/closings. we'll let you know of new ones on the air first. >>> go to wbtv meteorologist al conklin for more details on the forecast. >> al: getting a little bit of snow in the mountains and wind gusts 40-miles-per-hour, that coupled with temperatures below freezing perfect recipe for slick conditions and poor outside conditions, not going to so they are delaying the schools, good move up there. you can see we do have a winter weather advisory through 7:00, another hour-and-a-half, that might get extended, wind, cold, snow showers in the high country.

sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. start with a live look here this is 277, the john belk, that is coming toward us going up toward bank of america stadium, no travel here on the southbound lanes as you make your way over toward the independence expressway. looking at our mapping system, 485 looks good. slow downs on providence road inbound, 74, wt harris, a few slow downs over there. it is a different story on central avenue where a section at 4913 is closed down because of an overnight fatal accident involving a hit and run and we also have a new accident at central avenue and north sharon amity. so again, that section of central avenue closed down with a second accident at central of that creating delays. if you're looking for alternates that would be norland or eastway drive or if you can make your way through that intersection at north sharon amity, that would get you to highway 74. wbtv's mark davenport has been live on the scene of this fatal accident during the overnight hours, he joins with us more on the investigation this morning. mark? >> reporter: yeah, chris, as you w

. the temperatures just brutally cold beneath that high while we are in the 30s in charlotte upstream we have single-digits and subzero readings far north enough and the center of that high is going to be drifting south as we head into tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night and by sunday morning it's anchored on top of us which is why sunday morning is going to be the coldest we will get into the teens and then single-digits into the mountains. so as far as tonight is concerned low 20s on tap for the low. 23 in the charlotte area for day break saturday. and saturday afternoon you will hold in the teens into the mountains. maybe early morning snow showers but then for you, the sun should break out. unlike today where it stayed cloudy all day sun is back out for us for tomorrow. much. still around freezing for the foothills into the charlotte 30s. similar to today with the 37 high and the south carolina counties will be in the upper 30s but with the breeze, too and breezy at times out of the northwest at 10 to 15-miles-per-hour. then as saturday night into sunday morning where we will hit the l

, >> back to the break news with the eight-car accident in north charlotte. 485 near i-77 bridge near w.t. harris. live pictures here from our wbtv news photographer in the car driving around to show you how slick the roads are. and we want to go to the newsroom where alex giles. and i understand you have new information and how many people have been hurt? >> we don't know how many people by medic no life-threatening injuries. look at the scene. lots of flashing lights there. that motor vehicle vehicle involves eight vehicles and according to medic there is ice on the bridge there. drivers in the area need to be careful. we've learned from fire that 485 outer loop is shutdown because of this accident. and you can see why. just the commotion they have going on. looks like several units police and fire responded and it looks like a mess out there. got to urge people to be cautious on the roadways. >> it is at mess on 485 made for more tonight with the weather and now that. >> this is what we were worried about aand the rain got here and here comes the slick roads. and you can see by the

draw in north carolina. the lines for two districts were ruled unconstitutional including one that reaches into charlotte. good evening nice to have you with us i'm maureen o'boyle. >> i'm paul cameron. lawmakers are hoping the supreme court will give them more time. changing the maps means changing who many of you can vote for so we sent nick ochsner to raleigh he is following the process tonight. >> one committee room was lined with five versions of approved congressional districts and all of them stretched from charlotte all the way up to greensboro but that district is the one ruled unconstitution alibi a panel of judges weeks ago and that prompted the new debate over districts. >> after four hours of voting and debating... >> i'm making clear that our intent is to use the political data we have to our partisan advantage. >> a panel of three dozen state lawmakers sent out a list of >> it is a short time-frame it takes months to draw maps. >> the task will be compressed into a few days to meet the friday deadline. one rare point of agreement between republicans and democrats tue

information about a disturbing trend in north carolina. and more people are dying from drug overdoses. the "charlotte observer" found federal data that shows 16 out of 100,000 people die from drug overdoses each year that is 1600 people. experts say growing addiction to prescription pain killers is behind the numbers a cording to a report from the state, those drugs killed more than alcohol, cocaine and heroin combined. >> in the newsroom pictures of an animal abuse case in rock hill. over to alex giles in the alert center he is live with more. >> it's hard to look at. got this information from the ebenezer animal hospital. look at the alarming photos. police say brody the puppy was brought into the hospital this weekend and thought he had been stabbed. turns out they are bb gun pellets. bb's are still inside of the he is doing ok. brody was on pain meds and is expected to make a full recovery and then up for adoption. police are looking for whoever is responsible for shooting that puppy with a bb gun. who would do that? >> it makes no sense. let's update the traffic tonya rivens in t

right now in the charlotte area. and 40s north and west of the city on 40 and 30 in boone. mountains barely made it above the freezing mark today. and yes, it is' going to be on the windy side through the evening hours. north winds at 15-20-miles-per-hour with slightly higher gusts. temperatures through midnight fall to 40 and the low in charlotte will be 31ment a colder start to friday morning. low 20s for the mountains for the day break friday temperatures. and we have more sun and warmer temperatures as we turn warmer through the weekend. we'll talk about those forecast details in a couple of minutes. >> back to the story at the top of the newscast. big drug operation underway in union county today. 189 kilos of cocaine now off the street. wbtv's brody o'connell was there when armed police started knocking on doors. the story new at 5:00. >> 9:00 a.m. at a secure officers from agencies load up. their targets include 16 different suspected drug dealers. including kingpin ernest bevin. >> he is a criminal and a thrug he is somebody that you do not need in your neighborhood. >> sheri

north charlotte. taking a live look at i-77, clanton road, volume across the charlotte area still light. drive times, coming up from rock hill, 21 minutes, 65 miles an hour. concord to center city, 19 minutes and lake norman southbound, 15 and 66. looking at the mapping system, most of our major highways continuing to run in the green. looks like we may have a few slow-downs on outbound providence road as you make your way past fairview and sardis, head toward the rush hour. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> john: the countdown is on to the south carolina primary, in less than two weeks voters go to the polls. the republican primary is february 20th in south carolina. >> christine: they will try to earn your support at a forum at winthrop university. mark davenport outside burns auditorium, the site of the forum. what can folks expect tonight who are attending? >> reporter: christine, they can expect fan fare, very very quiet on the campus of winthrop university right now. it will not be the case in 12 hours from now. that i

restore heat to their homes in north charlotte. we're told google fiber contractors cut a natural gas line last night in the highland that is near law rule laurel run. the lines are fixed. crews are re-setting everyone's line. for a lot of people an extra cold start to the weekend. >> just kind of bundle up and hope whatever they're doing it fixes it. >> i'm >> i'm hopeful they will get the gas back on so we have heat. >> it is cold, i got an infant, we have to get this done quick. >> bad time on that. they sent in crews and other areas to restore heat to the homes. >>> live pictures in downtown boone, this is from resortcams.com, a very chilly morning and they have, well, a long day ahead of them, a cold, cold saturday. a lot of people up in the mountains getting skiing in. the roads d.o.t. working to keep those roads sanded. >>> d.o.t. crews on stand-by across charlotte area ready to brine street at a moment's notice. charlotte had crews out a few days ago taking care of bridges and overpasses and the nc-dot alerted some of the independent contractors. >> kind of a critical situ

. here is chris, first alert traffic. chris: al, traffic is sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. no problems early out there on thursday morning if you're getting ready start the morning commute. looking live at i-77 near the rest area coming off the south carolina state line, volume very light. rock hill to uptown, 21 minutes, concord to center city, 18 minute commute. lake norman southbound, 16 at 64 miles an hour. mapping system giving us a green light on all of the major highways. that includes providence road, independence boulevard, albermarle all running in the green this morning. that is a first check of traffic, guys, back over to you. >> christine: in five hours, state lawmakers will meet in raleigh for a special session to approve a re-drawn map for the state's congressional districts. republican lawmakers releasing this proposed map yesterday, and has significant impact on charlotte. wbtv's mark davenport live now this new map mean for voters in mecklenburg county? >> reporter: christine, the biggest change this is new map will create a charlotte area district without an

traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. once again, lynx blue line construction will cause delays during the overnight hours both friday, saturday and sunday. we've got a closure on north tryon street at wt harris, starting at night at 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. through monday morning. that's a check of first alert traffic, guys, back to you. >> kristen: all right chris, thank you. for more traffic go to wbtv.com and click under the traffic tab and you can follow us on twitter account on our wbtv traffic page. >>> state leaders in north carolina say a new proposed license plate design is getting a lot of interest. this is it here the design features north carolina's new blue and green pine tree logo with the tag line nothing compares, nc. 500 people signed up top request it but the legislature has to approve it. >>> in consumer news, non-stop flights from charlotte to nashville will begin this summer. southwest airlines says flights will begin august 7th. will add one flight to denver, fort lauderdale and los angeles. you can purchase tickets. >>> never lose your car key ag

understanding here. upper 40s to near 50 from charlotte south. but as you get north of the city we are in the upper 30s to low 40s. so a little bit cooler for us here. as we head ever forward this into the 60s so it is going to be mild. shower chances come up by the later part of the afternoon so we'll be watching that to start to develop after lunchtime and we'll have more on that. we'll show you future cast what we can expect as we head back into the new workweek. that's part of your seven day forecast. >> all right. lyndsay we're on your side with consumer news. there's been a big shake up at sea world. the entertainment announced the departures of it's chief parks and chief sooul logical officer and san antonio park director -- it's to improve the profitability. sea world said it would end it's program. >> fortune winners have apple followed by alphabet parent of google and amazon. the list is compiled of revenue >> all right much more to come on wbtv news. daytona 500 race day is finally here. we'll take you to the international speedway in floored florida. >> -- north carolin

alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. we'll start with a live look here at i-77, nations ford, as al mentioned give yourself extra time the roads are wet out there this morning. charlotte commute mainly running in the green, no problems, 77 or 85, but we do have an injury accident being listed, mcdowell at 4th street, that is right outside center city inside 277, so be aware of that. north, driving in light rain. from rock hill, fort mill, indian trail, most of that rain now lifting up to the north a bit. that is a check of the morning commute guys, back to you. >> john: thanks, chris. >>> continuing to follow breaking news while you were sleeping a swat situation took place in northwest charlotte. >> christine: the situation ended an hour ago at the catawba plantation subdivision on pointer ridge drive. wbtv's ashton pellom is there, witnessed everything that happened. ashton, was anyone hurt first of all, in this situation? >> reporter: hey, good morning, christine. no one was hurt in the swat situation stand-off, happened at the house behind me. cmpd officials

traffic. >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. start up in the huntersville area, i'm sorry, on the independence expressway, with an accident in the outbound lanes up toward briar creek. again, not seeing any significant delays here. looking at the rest of the charlotte morning commute, 485 running in the green, 77, 85 looks good. now up to huntersville, this is right off highway 21 on sam furr road, earlier accident in the clearing stages now, no significant delays. let's take a live look outside and here we go on to i-85, this is over near statesville avenue, no problems here, quick check of the morning driving times, getting ready to start the commute coming up from rock hill, 21 minutes, concord to center city, 18 minute commute. lake norman in center city, 16 minutes, 63-miles-per-hour. morning traffic. john and christine, over to you. >> christine: two days after severe storms moved across our area right now duke energy crews are still working to fix power outages of thousands of customers. governor pat mccrory declared a state of emergency

chris larson. first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. big weekend in center city as the ciaa tournament wraps up with the finals on saturday but activities continuing through sunday morning. down to our south, south be closed between atherton and ideal way until 6:00 a.m. monday morning as another construction project gets gets underway. >> kristen: for more traffic go to wbtv.com, click under the traffic tab and follow our team on twitter, find a link to their account on the wbtv traffic page. >>> let's talk sports, basketball hornets taking on indiana on the road. steve clifford's team have won five of the last six. marvin williams led charlotte with 26, 13 rebounds, hornets down by one. until a layup with three seconds left. pace rs had the chance, hornets won 96-95. a second win at indiana this month after dropping 12 straight on the home court. hornets play the hawk in atlanta tomorrow at 3:30. blue bears took on virginia union in womens play yesterday afternoon. livingstone would fight hard early. a bucket here but they couldn't match virginia union's offens

freezing mark and once it lifts north and you see rain creeping in in charlotte but it's freezing rain and sleet to the north and snow for the longest stretch up across the mountains and that trend hours. here is another look at it. we start off at 6:00 a.m. here we go. through the morning hours. now you see what happens? this is the atmosphere. this is the ground. and this is about 5,000 feet and 10,000 feet. this is warm air coming in. see that right there? 5,000 feet. what happens is, well, you have this snow right at the beginning. and then what happens you get that little bit of warm air and the snow melts, refreezes, sleet. ok? then it gets wider the snow melts, it doesn't have time to refreeze until it hits the ground now you have the freezing rain and then it's warm all the way down to the surface so you have the rain. so that is why we do not think we will see a lot of snow out of this as we take you through that monday time-frame. maybe an inch near charlotte. 1-3 into the foothills and the nice weekend and after that here comes the big mess, the messy monday with that 90% ch

more than most of your day. that is right now. and it's pushing from the south and moving to the north. and where we have our watches and advisories. we have a winter storm warning for avery, ash, watauga, caldwell, burke and alexander county. and between the mountains and the charlotte area that is where advisory and freezing rain advisory into south carolina. and here is the shape of things. we have not a lot going back to the west. we have dry conditions in the mountains. and drying out a little bit in the foothillless. but this swath of rain which is falling as freezing rain because temperatures at the surface are below the 32 mark. and the heaviest rain is in charlotte. and you see that freezing rain. here is 77 here. and 485 going all around the city. uptown charlotte getting the freezing rain pineville and mint hill, harrisburg included in that and it may look light and the main roadways 485, and 77, 85 they may be treated but the side roads may not have been treated and that is where you have the better chance of running into the problems. and south carolina, fort mill freezing

charlotte area, well, everybody is going to be cool. to tomorrow morning down into north of charlotte mid-20s in the high country. here is again the future-cast pull way out there is not a lot in the pipeline right now. looks to be quiet. out the door forecast 34 ok. we'll call that chilly and cold in the carolina high country. 25 as that sun is coming up around day break. one more look at the map. we're trying to find anything that might be coming our way. and at this point through thursday, look at this, up and down the eastern seaboard, a-ok. get out and enjoy your thursday. 48 at noon and 52 by 4:00 p.m. and one last time. really big map. what do we have for you? wow. maybe a weak front just barely showing up friday. carolinas we are still in the clear but it's not until next week where we see an east coast storm and that will throw the mountains by the time that pulls off to the east. and the numbers and you will see again we are going to sail into the weekend no problem. close to 70 sunday. and rain ahead of the storm and then on the backside of it this is where the temperatures get

the crooks. >> and why the state of north carolina was given a stern warning by the u.s. department of education. what that warning could mean for your child's school. >> and new at 6:00, the ciaa tournament back in charlotte how organizers hope to improve the event and we talked about police's plans for security. on wbtv news is sponsored by... >> a >> a warning to north carolina schools. our news partner reports that last year more than 300 public schools across the state failed to test enough students. that led to a warning letter from the u.s. department of education. if north carolina schools do not get at least 95% of students to take state exams this school year federal officials warn quote a range of enforcement actions can be taken. that includes the loss of some federal money for public schools. north carolina is one of 13 states to receive the warning letter. >> right now more trouble for lumber liquidators. people exposed to certain types of the company's lamb anything flooring were three times more likely to get cancer than predicted. the cdc estimates the risk of cance