Good morning, Washington. Many Maryland and Virginia schools are opening late this morning thanks to the cold and wet weather that hit the region overnight. D.C. schools, however, opened on time this morning, and the city in general should see only rain throughout the rest of the day, with relatively warm highs in the lower 50s. Of course, that doesn’t mean that city drivers won’t still be behaving like total morons on our slick roads, so be careful out there. The Capital Weather Gang says the weekend outlook is outstanding, with pleasant, soothing and dry weather ahead for the next couple of days. Does that mean Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow tomorrow? Let’s hope not.

School Closure List Expected Today: Looks like the number of protesters at yesterday’s school walk-out was actually higher than first reported last night. The Post says there were upwards of 100 students and teachers there, though they take the opportunity to make the point that the number is only a fraction of the 5,000 students who would be affected by Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s proposed list of school closures. Fenty and Rhee are scheduled to announce their final list of closures 10:30 a.m. today, and NBC4 has early tidbits: Shaw Junior High School and at least three other schools have been taken off the list.

Firefighters Caught Cheating on Promotion Exam: A new report from the inspector general’s office says that a D.C. Fire Department instructor gave test questions to seven hand-picked firefighters before an exam that would help them get promoted. There are indications the instructor may have given a number of whites and women the test answers because he wanted to assign more of them to the department’s fire investigative unit, which was composed entirely of black males at the time. The instructor has been removed from his teaching duties pending an investigation, and a different exam was given to the seven firefighters who received the test questions in advance.

Briefly Noted: Four indicted in Southeast liquor store fencing scheme … Needed changes at Greater Southeast Community Hospital are underway … Source says Kaine knew Dulles Rail project was in trouble earlier.

This Day in DCist: A year ago we interviewed up and comers Jukebox the Ghost, and two years ago we wondered whether Mayor Anthony Williams should have attended the State of the Union address.

Photo by Pixilista