potentially destructive wind storm tomorrow. 60 miles per hour for 12 hours straight. it's been a long time since we have seen something like that. in cape may and along the jersey shore, they are trying to get ready for a big challenge, minimize problems from flooding and beach erosion. it won't be easy. it's thursday night. the big story on "action news" is a coastal storm creating all kinds of problems not just along the coast but throughout the tristate area. cecily tynan and adam joseph have the story. jeff chirico in mar gate. cecily, let's start with you. >> the rain is on schedule. this isn't even the nor'easter, just the moisture ahead of the nor'easter. here right now, it's all about

rain. it is pouring, especially across the lehigh valley, crossing the northeast extension of quaker town, the system is loaded with moisture. what happens overnight and through the day tomorrow, the first low, parent low transfers energy to the coast. when this happens, the low pressure traps thousand of feet above the surface. winds are whipping, cold air. as it does, we see the rain changing to snow from the north to the south as the storm system deepens and stalls. the morning commute, you will probably think it's no big deal. light rain. poconos dealing with snow. wind not even that bad. the evening commute is a mess. this is the height of the storm with wind driven snow, low

visibility as people try to drive home. the big story, the winds. for details on that, let's head to ?oaf. adam joseph. >> it's the destructive part of the storm everyone will feel high winds from the poconos to the lehigh valley to the city and down to the shore where winds between friday into saturday morning gusting over 5y consecutive hours. let's take a look at some of the wind gusts and what to expect. 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, winds 60 miles per hour in allentown, 55 reading and lancaster, 58, millville, 55. we'll be over 60 in spots. it's the consecutive wind out of the northwest with the saturated ground pulling down trees and knocking power out. coastal flooding at the shore,

warnings in effect tomorrow through saturday night for not only the shoreline but the bay and delaware river. the biggest concern for the coastal flooding will come with high tide because of a full moon saturday morning into saturday night. that's when we expect the worst flooding. when cecily tynan comes back we'll talk about what to expect tomorrow night. >> let's switch to jeff chirico in mar gate at the police station. what are the communities at the shore doing to prepare for the likelihood of high water? >> jim, for one, they are gassing up the military high-water vehicles in case the water starting rising and rescues are necessary. up and down the jersey shore community officials are preparing and they are asking residents to do the same. >> the sea is calm now but soon officials expect 15-foot wave,

rain and streets under water. >> we are preparing for major flooding. let's hope it's not severe as they tell us it will be. >> fire chief scott evans says his department has been gearing up. five high water vehicles and rafts at the ready for when waters rise saturday morning. >> we anticipate two tides, major street flooding. it could turn to four to six. >> in ventner, newly constructed seawalls will be put to the test. craig laid sandbags outside his garage in case. in mar gate, beach erosion a concern. the mayor warns residents to take precautions too. >> we have asked people to put their cars in higher areas. the wind we'll deal with.

not much we can do about that. >> despite the forecast, some are not terribly worried. >> more like the flooding. like i say, it's new floodgates to help out some. >> back out here live despite the forecast, two major events are going on as planned, at least we are told they are. they include a statewide wrestling tournament and boat show in atlantic city. officials expect routes 30 and 40 to be closed during certain parts frighteparts friday and s. they urge anyone coming in or out to use the expressway. >> delaware city has put up retaining walls to prevent flood frg the river. they have two pumps to eliminate spill over. a third is on stand by. now a live look at the

philadelphia international airport. 1% of scheduled flights canceled in advance of the storm. we suggest you check with your airline if you plan to fly as the storm moves in. the "action news" morning team has an early start to navigate work and school, the forecast beginning at 4:00 a.m. get updates on your phone or tablet with our 6abc app with live views anytime from storm tracker 6 double scan. >> a federal jury has thrown the book at ed pawlowski for selling his office to campaign donors. "action news" reporter christie ileto has more on the convictions today. >> that's right, jim. pawlowski kept quiet as he left

the courthouse. he we want when the verdict was read. his wife collapsed in the highway. guilty means he can no longer serve as mayor. his attorney says it's too soon to discuss resigning. >> ed pawlowski left the courtroom realizing his career as allentown mayor was setting as the jury convicted him. >> guilty on 47 of 54 charges including conspiracy, bribery and attempted extortion. for six weeks prosecutors engineered he sold his office in exchange for those that wanted to do business with the city. pawlowski took the stand in his own defense insisting he did nothing wrong. >> i thought the case was presented well. there is nothing i thought we should have done. the jury made their decision.

>> they hope that those in office realize that the justice system won't tolerate abuses of the public trust. the black cloud is removed, no more doubt. 45 of 54 counts. >> pawlowski was reelected last november. he's credited for pumping life back into the city's downtown, an accomplishment eclipsed by his conviction. >> am i surprised? it just happened to go against thee mayor and in favor of the prosecution. >> pawlowski plans to appeal but that can't happen until he's sentenced. that date can't happen until the bail date is set. jim? >> thank you, christie. new at 11:00 a stunning twist in the shooting death of a u.s.

marshal during a raid in harrisburg. deputy christopher hill was not killed by the suspect but by fendly fire by a bullet from a fellow officer that went through the wall. that was announced by the district attorney today. police also killed the suspect, >> ken: kevin sturges. he shot at officers and officers were justified returning fire. >> cellphone video shows police body slamming a man into the pavement into the side of a swimming pool in kenzington. officer james yeager was arrested today. the fraternal order of police says the video is one sided and doesn't tell the entire story. >> three gloucester county school districts were closed

after a teacher at the ritter school in gloucester township received an e-mail threatening to shoot up schools. that suspect is ten years old. two students have been charged for making threats last weekend. community organizers and concerned neighbors in philadelphia want to know where their elected officials sphand n the temple university football stadium? they met across from where temple wants to build the stadium. long time residents say the stadium is part of the continued efforts to gentry phi their community. >> how much the mayor of philadelphia wants to raise taxes to pay for schools. >> millions more americans included in the equifax hack.

we'll tell you how much was stolen and a geyser in downtown delaware. >> double scan live showing pouring rain, parts of new york state with heavy rain. tomorrow, detail on the change over of snow where you live and the intense wind gusts in the accuweather forecast. >> who needs lebron james? lebron and the cleveland calves can't beat the sixers, know what i mean? we have that story and more when "action news" continues tonight. ♪ ♪ i pinky promised my little girl a fabulous

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>> the geyser that erupted on a downtown wilmington street is capped and water restored to surrounding homes and businesses. a contractor hit a water main with a backhoe at 10:00 this morning. the water turned the streets into rivers. the nearby wilmington hospital didn't lose service. it is supplied by a different line. >> jim kenny has a plan to pay more to police and firefighters and fight the opioid epidemic, but it includes raising taxes

significantly. it ends reductions of the wage tax. kenny says taking back local control of the education means residents are dealing with a $1 billion school deficit. the idea is getting a cool reception from city council. >> president trump spurred talk of a trade war when he proclaimed the u.s. will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. trump said he will impose a 25% tariff on steal and 10% on aluminum next week. the stock market did not take well to the tariff news with the dow dented by 420 points. that's a drop of 1.7% closing at

24,608. the nasdaq fell 92. s&p 500 down 36. putin unveiled a fleet of nuclear weapons he claims can't be defended against or intercepted including a nuclear power cruise missile, under water drone and a hypersonic missile. some analysts say this may speed up an arms race with the united states. >> the equifax breach was worse than previously thought. the credit monitoring business revealed hackers on 4.2 billion americans. it wasn't as bad as 148 mill whereon people whose addresses and social security numbers were also compromised.

equifax plans to notify victims to offer them identity theft protection. >> the largest gift ever for a woman's college. the money will be used to fund several initiatives including renovation of the park's science center. school administrators know who the donor is. she has been a long standing champion of bryn mar. this is part of an effort to reach $250 million by the year 2020. >> we have a lot of weather to talk about it. it is not going to be a pleasant day tomorrow. >> the rain is here, the wind and snow tomorrow. double scan showing rain arrived right on schedule and we have areas of heavy rain. where you see yellow, that's pockets of heavy rain. medical ford lake, parts of chester county, coatesville a

line of intense downpours. areas to the north, heavy. parts of the lehigh valley heavy rain. this is the leading edge of the system that will evolve into a nor'easter. that will bring us intense wind gusts and colder air to follow changing the rain to snow. pocono, 39. delaware valley mid to upper 40s with easterly winds, winds out of the northeast and northwest as the system evolves. satellite and radar, if you look at the streamlines, the little arrows, you can see right there, that's the first low. that's the parent low. now if you look here, you can see the coastal low beginning to form. when that takes over, it taps into tremendously strong winds and pulls down cold air. tomorrow morning, 7:00, cold air taking the lehigh valley and the poapoconos where we see the chae

over, philadelphia with dry slotting. a low in the action. it doesn't last long. by lunchtime precipitation is back and changing to snow in south jersey. the evening commute, we are dealing with snow falling, high winds reduced visibility. the system moves out of here by 9:00. philadelphia, south jersey, northern delaware. we are not talking about a lot, a coating to two inches. it's tough to stick. north of landdale through quaker town, allentown, two to four slushy inches, allentown on the four inch line, poconos, higher elevations, you could get heavy wet snow, it will extend the ski

season. bad news if you are traveling. the real star of the show, the dangerous part of the storm, the damaging wind gust. 50 to 60 miles per hour, ground is saturated with the fact the february fifth wettest on record, down trees a given and prepare for power outages, i think they'll be widespread. as far as the coastal flooding, saturday is a chance of moderate to major coastal flooding. the seven-day forecast, a nasty day. high gusting winds, rape changing to wet snow, 44-degrees the high. we hit that early and then testimonies dropping. saturday, blustery conditions, chilly wind gusts 40 miles per hour at times, 48 the high, windchill in the 30s. we stay cold through the weekend into next week and wednesday, could be dealing with another

coastal storm with rain and wet snow possible. david murphy will track it all on "action news" beginning at 4:00 tomorrow morning. >> thanks, cecily. philadelphia's most prominent women are kicking off history month by sharing their stories. monica malpass was one of the speakers in center city tonight. philadelphia women in film and television recognize one of their contemporaries tonight, sharon pinkenson, the director of the film office, honored at the elevation awards gala. her every time every efforts tod productions to pennsylvania have kept the city in the spotlight. in hollywood, they'll be celebrating the film industry with the glit si way this sunday

at the 90th academy awards. the party beginning at the governor's ball. celebrity chef wolfgang puck in charge for the 24th straight year, wine from francis ford coppola, 1500 guests are expected. you can see the oscars live sunday night with

>> students flex their problem-solving mussels at the police athletic league math competition. students challenged themselves using mental math to solve problems. >> let's forget about the kidding here, great game by the sixers in cleveland. lebron had to be impressed. >> will that mean he will join the sixers? we do not know. we have been talking about lebron james to the sixers rumors. earlier in the day james refuted rumors he was in the area to check out schools for his kids. >> you can't teach that.

sixers lead by three after one. ben simmons named the rooky of the month. scored 18. sixers up 91-85. later, joel embiid shows off the touch. 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. sixers win 108-97. >> flyers ended february on a high. six straight victories looking for number seven tonight at home against the hurricanes. picking up the action second period. justin williams second goal of the game, 3-0 hurricanes. same in the third period, travis, 16th goal of the year, 3-1 game. the defense is not there. peter faces 35 shots. the win streak snapped. flyers lose 4-1. >> still ahead here in sports, philly's pitching staff continues to struggle.

saquon

>> let's talk about the filthies. phillies. they lost today.

fourth inning, down 2-0. phillys pull to within one run. too bad the pitching staff gives up five in the afternoon. zach serving up to tyler in the sixth inning. phillys lose 6-4. penn state fans have a vested interest in the scouting combine. nittany lions saquon barkley drills tomorrow. today bench pressed 225-pounds 29 times. jim, is that a warm upset for you? barclay going second overall to the draft. >> i don't care if i'm drafted once, five, last pick, i'm coming in with my head low ready to work. every team that drafts me gets the same guy, a