-- captions by vitac -- a wet start to the weekend as rain moves into the bay area and just about everyone is getting a soaking. this saturday night. good evening and thanks for joining us, everybody. i'm dionne lim. well, this storm rolled in as a two on the exclusive abc seven news storm impact scale. what's in store for the rest of the night? and tomorrow, let's get to spencer with the answer. hi, spencer. hey, dion. >> well, it's no longer a level two. is now a level one storm, but we still have a storm. let's take a look at what's going on on live doppler seven. you can see that almost all of the activity now is south of the golden gate. moving down into

the south bay and over into the mount hamilton area. but there is still rain around here and we still have an active pattern. so there could be other showers and pockets of lightrillionain to follow. the main body of this rainfall. so it's not completely over at the moment. yet on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale, what was our level two storm is now a level one, so for the overnight hours, look for periods of rain and scattered showers. it will still be breezy. still a chance of some flooding on roadways and on creeks, but the rain is really winding down. here's the forecast animation. notice by about oh 3 a.m. or so. it'll be almost completely out of the bay area, except for a few isolated trailing showers. i'll show you what comes next a little bit later. >> dion. all right, sounds good. spencer thanks. and we are seeing some damage from this latest round of rain. a tree came down in occidental, which is in sonoma county, and hit some power lines. that tree ended up blocking bohemian highway. and the road is closed at this hour with no word as to when it will reopen. and just about every spot in the bay area got a good soaking tonight. this

is what it was like in palo alto as people dodged the raindrops downtown. a soggy night in walnut creek as well. the rain came down pretty well, soaking the roads for those who were out and about tonight. right now in the north bay, the storm arrived this morning and many folks were ready for a drenching. abc seven news reporter cornell bernard has this report from petaluma, where the rain took sonoma county by storm saturday, windshield wipers getting a workout on very wet roads. >> this is what we like to see a nice clean drain. >> taylor fry is making sure every storm drain in downtown santa rosa is clear and ready for a downpour. >> but yeah, we're doing a great job. >> downtown parks is killing it. it's clean. the city worker says, with more rain coming, there's no time to waste. >> storm drains not filled with leaves. >> so the streets aren't going to flood. the water will be able to get down into the storm drains and out to the creek in

petaluma. >> neighbors living on wyndham way thought their street was flooding from the storm, but all this water was actually caused by a water main break, which took several hours for crews to repair. >> the firemen. was banging on my door saying, if you want a car to drive later, you'll have to move it down the street because the streets going to be closed. uh, because a water main broke. so i started filling the bathtub in the sink and, uh, shortly thereafter the water turned off in san rafael. >> umbrellas are up for many. the rain is a welcome sight. >> i think we need the rain, but maybe not all at once. i'm happy that we have it. and this year's been relatively dry so far. so p-g-and-e's says it's adding extra crews this weekend to respond to possible outages. >> they ask customers to be ready, charge up your cell phones now. >> if you do lose power, you can always charge your cell phone in your car. have an extra battery pack. >> um, check your flashlights. make sure your flashlights are working, have batteries ready in san anselmo, we found christian

santana smoothing some fresh concrete in the rain after it got damaged overnight. >> not what you want to be doing today, i guess. right >> but i wasn't planning on doing this today. but it is what it is. well we are really getting soaked here in downtown petaluma. >> the sonoma county fire district says strong winds could topple trees overnight, and flooding is possible on some roads through the russian river valley. so if you're out, be very careful on the roads in sonoma county. cornell, bernard. abc seven news. this is a look at the current power outages in the bay area. >> this is according to pg and e, lots of green dots there. green is less than 50 customers, while yellow means up to 499 customers. orange means nearly 5000 red. that is more than 5000. none of those dots to be seen now. meanwhile, up in tahoe heavy snow is rolling through the sierra mountains as a multiple injury crash between kyburz and strawberry blocked traffic in both directions, leaving many in a standstill.

one ski resort worker says this happens more often than you might expect, but i always pack a sleeping bag, extra food and something people, it was a candle. >> we keep your car very warm if you have to spend the night somewhere, even with the challenges, people went out to beat the downpour in favor of some fresh powder skiing and snowshoeing. >> the message from all those braving the storm is come prepared and keep an eye on changing conditions. well, taking a live look now from our camera overlooking zephyr cove at lake tahoe. you can't see too much though. you see the wind is in effect there. there is a winter storm warning in effect right now for the sierra that is supposed to expire sunday morning. and as always, you can track the forecast anytime with the very same live doppler seven that spencer uses. just search abc seven bay area in your device's app store to download it. now in other news, a woman who was reported missing has

been found safe after a carjacking and kidnaping in san jose. this incident happened at about 2 p.m. near the corner of fifth and saint johns streets. police say the woman, who was visiting from mexico, was a passenger in a car when it was stolen and did not leave willingly. she was missing for several hours before she was found. >> fortunately, just after 3 p.m. today, the female victim was dropped off here at the san jose police department by a good samaritan who had seen our alert. she did receive minor injuries during the event. the secondary suspect is still outstanding. however, our detectives are working diligently to identify the suspect and locate the suspect. >> san jose police are asking anyone who may have information on the case to contact authorities. more flaring yet again at the chevron refinery in richmond today. it was just a level one incident. that's the lowest reportable level, according to contra costa county health. it lasted for about 33 seconds this afternoon, the same thing happened there just

yesterday, which is the video you're seeing here. chevron is investigating the cause. now, while there is no health risk to the public at this time, the refinery is already under investigation for a list of violations. in the past couple of months to the east bay. now, where oakland city leaders say the killing of oakland police officer twan lay has led to an increased tension between the city's black and asian communities. they claim that stereotypes on both sides continue to lead to mistrust. now, more than ever, they say, unity is important for keeping tempers from erupting. abc seven news reporter anser hassan attended a special meeting today . almighty mommy home a buddhist chant closed out a meeting between oakland's black and asian communities in an attempt to forge unity. >> there is a misunderstanding, and it's always been that way between the african american community and the asian community, and it goes way back, generations back. it doesn't even start here. >> pastor phyllis scott,

president of the pastors of oakland association, says for decades, stereotype and misinformation has created tension between the two communities here in oakland. >> it's generation of pouring into us that they don't like us, that they think that we're all gangster. there's there are certain businesses that are closing. they feel that they're closing because of the asian population is taking over. and the asian population closed because they feel they can't stay open because of violence. >> but then came the killing of oakland police officer tuan lay in december. he was a vietnamese descent and an active member of the asian community. >> he was them and to kill him, he was a priest, provider and a protector of the asian community. i get it, his demise was a trigger. >> this hits home harder. >> stewart chan is president of the oakland chinatown improvement council. he says calls for unity are even more important now, following officer lee's death, adding that stereotype of oakland not being

safe makes it even more unsafe. we face the same issues, we face the same problem instead of finger pointing, let's unite and come together with a solution. also in attendance alameda county district attorney pamela price and members of oakland city council. >> there are things that we can do, and there are actions that we can take to bring communities together. we can use our platforms to encourage meetings like this. we can lift up when things are not working in the city. >> the best way to deal with it is have those two communities come together and yeah, say those things. say those things that are difficult to say and then hear the answers. >> in oakland, anser hassan abc seven news. >> we are hearing more about an heroic rescue. two snowboarders shared how they saved two others buried in a deadly avalanche. as the storm ramped up, the two friends dropped onto the slopes at palisades tahoe ski resort on wednesday. they were swept up into that avalanche riding through the snow like a giant wave, but got buried beneath it.

by the end of it all, they were able to dig themselves out, but two others feet away could not. >> we realized we were the first responders. we were the most capable of helping right then and it's super time sensitive. >> i remember feeling incredibly grateful that we were in a position where it was easy for us to get two people out, despite the scary situation. >> they're not scared off from the mountains, both stoked to go snowboarding, snowboarding once again. employees at the tesla plant in fremont are talking about joining a union today, activist held a rally to make their case. workers gathered outside to call out tesla for a history of discrimination at the facility. they also spoke in support of striking workers in sweden, where about 130 employees walked off the job demanding a union contract at tesla's fremont factory employs about 20,000 workers. some have already said they are interested

in being represented and we need to build union rights, worker rights for workers here at fremont, where many workers have been fired. >> we're here on mlk day where there's systemic racism, discrimination, there's union busting, many union busting charges. so what we're saying here is that enough is enough. >> tesla ceo elon musk is critical of unions. he spent millions fighting the efforts to unionize earlier this week, worker salaries were raised in an effort to fend off that unionization effort. well, still ahead on abc seven news at 11 sausalito makes history tonight what separates the city's new police chief from others. >> you just see the bear running and the snow and his fur is moving, and he's fast. >> there it goes. a family visiting tahoe has quite the run in on the ski slopes. we'll have more from their bear encounter

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with the largest fastest reliable network. give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. switch today. this election is a choice between results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

they'll go next to the state commission for final approval. those rules would limit the number of short tum rentals allowed in the county. residents have long been split on the issue, with many saying the rentals worsen the housing shortage. others say they rely on the rentals for income. new at 11 sausalito swore in a new top cop today and made history along the way and as abc seven news reporter tara campbell reports, the city's first lgbtq plus chief comes at a critical time. >> a round of applause for

sausalito's new police chief, stacy gregory, sworn in saturday , making history as the first lgbtq plus person in the department to hold the position. >> i'm proud to be that person. i'm i'm proud to represent the lgbtq community. >> the 27 year veteran acknowledged those who came before her and those standing with her. >> there are many female chiefs before me and currently in the state of california and the country that are lesbian and so i'm, you know, just honored to be on that list. the napa native giving her mother and father the honor of pinning her badge. >> we've known that it was coming for some time because stacy uh- wanted it. >> she's a very determined person and very compassionate person. and, um, i was very proud to pin that badge on her. this is a moment of emotion for the chief as she turns to her wife and young daughters. >> you know, she cares for her family very deeply. we feel

super grateful. the fact that we have been able to have, um, two beautiful twin daughters, um, and, and raise them in a loving, supporting family. >> the city of sausalito forgo doing a formal recruitment, plugging gregory into the position based on what's described as a distinguished career. >> chief gregory has been a veteran of our force for 27 years and she's been a steady cornerstone of the department. the loyalty she commands inside the department made her a perfect fit. >> the appointment comes on the heels of a year that saw hundreds of bills being introduced across the country, taking aim at lgbt plus rights. >> i'm confident in who i am. i'm confident in who i represent that you know, and i'll continue to fight for the rights that, you know are being challenged. >> reporter and she says she'll continue to share her message, especially to young gays and lesbians. >> this is to be yourself and not try to fit into that mold of what people expect from you.

>> tara campbell, abc seven news. just be yourself. >> a family from san francisco and sacramento got quite the surprise of the season. while on the slopes at lake tahoe. oh my god. danielle brill and her family are on a ski and snowboarding trip yesterday afternoon, while making a run at heavenly. danielle was shocked to see a black bear on the snow. the bear eventually climbed a tree so she quickly snowboarded away a little later down the hill, she spotted the animal again, but this time noticed a man appearing to approach the animal and things got intense and it was a drenalin. >> i think he got spooked and he started running full force. he just wanted to get all the way out of there, and i'm glad i wasn't in the line of uh- of full, full force running. >> danielle apparently did the right thing, and bryant from the bear league at lake tahoe, says when you come across a bear,

it's best to give it space. >> bears have a boundary line that they're comfortable with. you being at, but when you cross that boundary line, sometimes it's 20ft, sometimes it's 50ft. and when that man was coming up behind him, that was it. he had to get out of there. they're going to get out of there. and if you're in their way, they might run right over the top of you just to just to escape. >> it was exciting and very sweet. and he was gentle. and i think, you know, we're kind of in his home. >> that's true. so you must respect the animals if you're in their home. heavenly is asking people if they do see a bear, make sure you report it. i'm just glad that they did the right thing. they stayed away and just marveled at it. >> it's probably good to avoid being in the bears home. >> yes, yes, if you can. and i will say i learned a lot today, including the fact that, you know, these are not bears that will kill people, right? but they will become you know, a little overwhelmed by the presence of too many people. >> well, fortunately, no harm

done. >> yeah. and no harm in the forecast. it looks like that's true. >> the storm is winding down a bit. quite a bit, as a matter of fact. let's look at live doppler seven. you can see that not all of the bay area is covered by rain, as it was just a couple of hours ago. in fact, virtually all of the significant rain right now is over the santa cruz mountains and down way down in the south bay and out to the mount hamilton area. but of course it is still wet in some spots and we still have an active system that is likely to produce a few more pockets of lightrillionain or showers following that main mass of rainfall. so let's take a look at what's going on right now. we have breezy to gusty conditions across much of the bay area, especially near the coast and bay, and current temperature readings excuse me, are 55 degrees here in san francisco, 52 in oakland, mid 50s, also at hayward, san jose, san mateo and half moon bay and looking at wet pavement at the golden gate. other temperature readings right now mid 50s 55 at santa rosa, petaluma and napa. only 48 in fairfield and low to mid 50s at concord and livermore. these are our forecast headlines.

overnight light rain and some scattered showers becoming less intense as the morning as the as daybreak approaches tomorrow and monday. partly cloudy, also partly sunny, drier, but then later in the week, the remainder of the week is going to be unsettled. and there will be some wet days after monday. so here's the abc exclusive abc seven exclusive storm impact scale. the storm that was level two is now a level one, so for the overnight hours, more rain is likely mainly south of the golden gate and some scattered showers. they'll become more widely scattered and lighter as the night goes on. breezy conditions and there's still a chance of some flooding on roads and creeks. here's the forecast animation starting at midnight. notice how quickly the bulk of that rainfall, the steadier rain for sure moves well to our south and out of the bay area by about 4 a.m. now once again, there could be a few trailing isolated showers, but basically we'll be in a drying pattern after about 5 a.m. tomorrow. on we go to rainfall estimates by 7:00 tomorrow morning. most locations

will have received anywhere from about a quarter of an inch to nearly an inch. so it's a pretty substantial system. and over in the sierra winter storm warning remains in effect for the western slopes and for the greater lake tahoe area until 4 a.m. another 6 to 14in of snow likely to accumulate by the time the storm is over overnight. low temperatures, mainly upper 40s to around 50. highs tomorrow right around 60 degrees, so fairly narrow range of high temperatures and slightly milder than the last couple of days. here's the accuweather seven day forecast monday mlk day will be a dry one with a mix of clouds and sun. tuesday and wednesday we have our next level one storm with rain starting late on tuesday and continuing into wednesday. thursday is likely to be a dry day, with yet another light storm, a level one coming in on friday and continuing into saturday. >> okay, we're getting a little bit of a break, i like that. >> yeah, we'll take that break. >> yeah. all right. well, the drive is on for some custom 40 niners plates. the crucial deadline they are facing that could sack them before they get into fans

...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects. katie porter. focused on your challenges -

from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. [narrator] covered california is a free service from the state that's already helped millions of people like you get and pay for health insurance. with financial health to lower the cost of health coverage, you could get a quality health plan for less than $10 a month. every plan covers preventive care, doctor visits, emergency care, and more. if you have questions, we're here to help every step of the way. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by january 31st at coveredca.com.

goes to plan. they'll hit their goal by the end of may and bring them to life. but motorists must pay 7500 orders before the dmv will agree to print it. the campaign is only about halfway to that goal. you can order yours online for $50, and it would cost $40 to renew on top of vehicle registration fees, you'll be reimbursed if they fail to reach that goal. well, speaking of sports, the nfl playoffs kick off while the warriors look for a win without steph curry, chris joining us now with a preview of sports chris. >> hi deon. coming up in sports the dubs playing shorthanded in milwaukee steph on the sidelines . plus who made that jacket. the 40 niners connection to taylor swift's latest fit sports is

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to be enough against giannis and the bucks. rookie brandon got to start in his hometown. about 100 friends and family in the house early second quarter pods showing off. flies in for the two handed flush. and then the did i do that look. finished with 23 dubs by two at the break. third quarter warriors up four. klay thompson three of his 21 points. splash seven point lead midway through the third quarter. but a couple minutes later game tied and oakland's damian lillard first year in milwaukee splash gives the bucks the lead. he had 27 points in this game. fourth quarter dubs now down three jonathan kuminga oh nice hoop and the foul game tied at 96. after that jc led the dubs with a career high 28. his 19th game in double figures. but the warriors fade down the

stretch. giannis led all scorers with 33. warriors fall 129, 118. another loss, but showing signs of finally figuring this thing out. >> our guys have played really hard the last two nights and that's the standard that has been set here for a long time. and, uh, as long as we play that hard, i'm i'm good with, you know, whatever the results are, um, i think we'll give ourselves a chance to win every night when we compete like that. afc wild card chiefs and dolphins. >> taylor swift, wearing a jacket designed by 40 niners fullback kyle use checks. wife that's pretty cool. fourth coldest nfl playoff game in history. minus four kickoff. mike mcdaniel couldn't get the tablet to work with his glove, so he uses the stick and he reads. got a frozen mustache. the chiefs are up 16 seven at the half. third quarter patrick mahomes helmet shattered after a big hit. they had to stop the game so he could get a new one. chiefs in control most of the way. fourth quarter isaiah pacheco. that's a touchdown taylor and friends dancing their way to the divisional round. chiefs win 26 seven. most likely

going to be in buffalo next week . and first game of the weekend. former niners defensive coordinator demeco ryans and the texans hosting the browns, texans rookie quarterback c.j. stroud threw three first half touchdowns, the last to stand man dalton schultz. texans up 2414 at the half, third quarter same score. houston bringing the blitz. browns quarterback joe flacco throws not one but two pick sixes steven nelson takes this one back 82 yards. he got some blockers and he is gone. damico's going to love that texans roll 4514 and will likely face top seeded baltimore next weekend. super wild card weekend ends here. catch the eagles and bucs kick off just after five on monday night, immediately followed by after the game with plenty of 40 niners. playoff coverage. college hoops san jose state air force tied at 67 with 1.5 seconds to go, and the spartans myron amy junior three at the buzzer and he did beat the buzzer. spartans win their first conference game, 70 to 67.

abc seven sports is sponsored by river rock casino. deion >> chris. thanks much more to come tonight on abc seven news at 11. the first contest of the race for the white house. just about here. the role weather will play in the iowa caucuses. and a very significant election result out of taiwan that could have a huge impact on relations with china

from the state that's already helped millions of people like you get and pay for health insurance. with financial health to lower the cost of health coverage, you could get a quality health plan for less than $10 a month. every plan covers preventive care, doctor visits, emergency care, and more. if you have questions, we're here to help every step of the way. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by january 31st at coveredca.com.

this election is a choice between th results or just rhetoric.. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

we now turn to iowa, where the countdown is on to the high stakes caucuses on monday. dangerous cold and blizzard conditions are hitting the state as republican presidential candidates try to make their case to voters. abc's reena roy with an update now from the campaign trail. it's the countdown to the caucuses. and despite the bitter cold republican candidates back on the campaign trail in the final stretch. >> so we need you to get out there and caucus. we need you to make sure you layer up in case you're standing in line. >> do you have an opportunity to brave those elements? uh- go and

caucus and some iowans saying they'll be doing just that on monday. >> iowans, like usual, will do their best to get to the caucus, and certainly make sure that they show their support for the candidate. >> i still think people will be out. iowa loves this. we love the caucuses. >> others? not so sure. >> the weather. how do you think it's going to affect turnout? >> i think it's going to really affect it. yeah i'm really concerned about that. >> former president donald trump has a dominant lead. nikki haley, head of ron desantis, who has been betting big on iowa holding more events than trump and haley combined. trump canceling all but one in-person rally. >> you have the worst weather, i guess, in recorded history, but maybe that's good because our people are more committed than anybody else. so maybe it's actually a good thing for us. and during all of this, trump is also dealing with his legal troubles, choosing to step away from the campaign trail earlier this week and voluntarily appearing in court for two different cases he's facing about his businesses and his time in office. >> reena roy abc news, des

moines, iowa. protesters calling for a cease fire in gaza made their voices heard at the white house tonight, the secret service says the demonstrators damaged the reinforced fencing around the perimeter as the protest became more aggressive, some white house staff were evacuated. after about ten minutes. the order was called off and no arrests were made. president biden was not at the white house during the protest, and there was a gathering today at the port of oakland to protest the u.s. support of israel's military involvement in palestine. all organizers say. aid supplied by the u.s. has directly contributed to the humanitarian crisis in gaza. over a thousand people blocked access to the port early this morning and again this afternoon , the protesters say the port of oakland is used to ship military equipment to israel. more protests are planned for tomorrow in the bay area in taiwan, a victory for a ruling party candidate in their presidential election is seen as

a hit to china. the island claims it has independence, but tensions with china could escalate. at abc news reporter brit clennett has the latest now from taiwan in celebrations in taiwan at the ruling party's headquarters, as william lai ching der of the dpp party has won the presidential election. >> ly, the current vice president, beating the china friendly kmt party for the presidency. >> china has called lai a troublemaker. there could not be more at stake in this election, not just for taiwan and its relations with mainland china. less than 100 miles away from here, but also for the region's stability and possibly the world. china has called this election a decision between peace and war. taiwan is a self-ruled, thriving democracy. but the fact that these elections are even being held aggravates china, which considers it a breakaway province that will be brought under its rule by force if needed. president xi and his new year's speech even calling the

reunification of taiwan inevitable. beijing warning. this week that taiwan's future is at a crossroads. the state department, issuing a statement saturday congratulate lai and the people of taiwan, saying we look forward to working with lai and taiwan's leaders of all parties to advance our shared interests and values. the us has a long standing unofficial relationship with taiwan, consistent with the united states's one china policy. president biden was asked about the election as he headed to camp david. do you have a reaction to the taiwan election? >> this is not support independence. now that lai has won the presidency, questions now about how china will respond. >> will there be military ramifications or more economic sanctions? britt clennett, abc news, taipei. >> still ahead tonight on abc seven news at 11, there's a proposal to build the first new reservoir in california in decades. why environmentalists

say the plan is all wet. >> i'm spencer christian, and a level one storm is winding down a bit, but parts of the bay area are still getting quite a bit of rain. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up when abc in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy.

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sent out this tweet today announcing that glow fairy would be closed because of the weather. you don't have to do anything to get your refund. ghafari is the illuminated lantern festival at the zoo that runs in the evenings friday through sunday until the end of the month. a lawsuit is putting a fresh focus on california's vast water system and the pressure it could be facing from climate change. at the center of the debate, a proposed reservoir in northern california. for abc seven news meteorologist drew tuma takes a look at the site's

reservoir project. >> gliding over the rolling hills and the winding creeks. it's hard to imagine this valley northeast of the bay area being anything but peaceful, but plans to create california's newest reservoir are pitting supporters like governor newsom against environmental groups now suing to challenge it. jerry brown is the executive director of the sites project authority, created to run the proposed sites reservoir, which would draw water from the sacramento river. >> the project has been considered for more than 60 years. there's reasons why it hasn't proceeded up to this point, but as i said, those reasons are dwindling away because of our circumstances. because of population growth, because of climate change, he says. >> the plan does not require damming the sacramento river itself. instead, water would be diverted and captured during wet years and flood cycles, and held in the newly constructed reservoir are really a means by

which we divert water out of the river. >> we still take water out of the river, but we don't dam the river itself, meaning that we pump it in and we open a valve to release it out, he says. >> the design is adapted for climate change, especially if the yearly sierra snowpack becomes a boom or bust cycle with warmer, wetter years triggering surges of runoff and flooding. instead of a steady snowmelt. michael anderson is california's state climatologist. >> the challenge with warming world is we get to experience things first as an extreme and certainly the last decade. take your pick. right. we've kind of been bouncing between extremes, and we kind of expect that to amplify as we go. >> but environmental groups are concerned that the diversions, even during wet periods, will harm species like salmon and steelhead. governor gavin newsom used a new fast track law to speed the project through the environmental review process. john bussey is an attorney with

the center for biological diversity, but it's still taking water out of the sacramento river system at times when salmon are migrating. >> and that's that's an important thing. these are these are federally protected fish. >> and he points to increasingly popular strategies like groundwater recharge as an alternative storage solution. early last year, abc seven profiled a farm in the central valley that's being turned into a kind of overflow basin to capture flood surges on the kings river and divert it onto shallow fields. >> the heart of our lawsuit is the failure to consider a range of alternatives that would look at more environmentally sound means of storing this water. >> there are also proposals to expand the capacity of existing reservoirs, like los vaqueros near livermore, which could also face opposition. but the backers of the sites project believe the plan is environmentally sound and they argue that the pressure to capture and store an increasingly unpredictable water flow could soon become critical for california.

>> the handwriting is on the wall if the last 10 to 15 years of the swings that we've seen in our precipitation don't make it clear to people that we need to do something in san francisco. >> drew tuma, abc seven news. boy what a project. >> that would be amazing. yeah, yeah. >> all right, looking ahead to the weather tomorrow. drying out . >> yes. in fact, the drying may begin before the sun even comes up tomorrow. oh, i like that. i think pretty good news. here's a look at live doppler seven. we still have rain and quite a bit of it south of the golden gate, but it's sweeping southward continually, so it will be winding down during the wee hours of the morning. yet it is still a level one storm on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale. so overnight, look for periods of rain, scattered showers, still breezy and there's still a chance of flooding on roads and on creeks. here's the forecast animation starting at midnight. notice between midnight on about 4 a.m. most of thatrillionain will have pushed out of the south bay and then we'll start to see some partial clearing and some drying out just before sunrise. highs

before 715 or 725 orthsunrise i. meanwhile, over in the sierra, winter storm warning remains in effect until 4 a.m. for the western slopes and for the greater lake tahoe area. uh- snowfall totals could still reach eight to about 14in, so that's a significant storm. and here is the accuweather seven day forecast. here are the bay area early morning showers are possible tomorrow, but mainly a dry day. certainly a dry day for monday. martin luther king junior day tuesday rain returns late in the day continues into wednesday. that's a level one storm, a break, a dry break on thursday and yet another level one storm on friday into saturday. we just can't get a very long break. but that's okay because the rain systems coming our way generally light to light to moderate. >> by the way, working this shift, i have no idea what time the sun rises. >> you know what i should know? because i should check on it every day. but i'm a little bit uncertain. i think it's about 721, 724, close to 24. yeah. >> close enough. yeah all right. spencer. thanks. okay. let's get back to chris now with another

preview of sports. hi, chris. >> hey, dion. coming up in sports, bay area college hoops. we've got it on the way. plus it's the playoff push. the niners rest and wait for their opponent in the divisional round. sports is next but we need an atm from our bank unless you want to spend a small fortune in fees. uh, no, thank you. banking with us means more fee-free atms than the two largest us banks combined. well, that would be convenient but there is no b-m-o here. ah, you can just call us bee-mo, and there is now. you know what else is convenient? mobile banking that makes it easy to track your goals and manage your money get out of town. but we... just got here. when a bank helps you get and stay ahead. that's the bmo effect. ♪ bmo ♪

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super wild card weekend across the nfl is underway. the nfc's top seed, the 49 ers there resting and waiting to find out who their opponent is in next week's divisional round. the extra week between games is huge for defensive lineman eric armstead, who's missed five games dealing with foot and knee injuries. practice this week, and it looks like he'll be ready to go for the playoffs. 749 ers earned all pro honors this week including running back christian mccaffrey and linebacker fred warner. they earned unanimous first team selections while trent williams george kittle and kyle juszczyk also in the first team. brandon aiyuk charvarius ward were second team all pro selections. this team we know is

loaded with talent. now the real work begins to bring home the sixth lombardi trophy in franchise history and first since the 94 season. >> we have great weapons. i think everyone's playing at a really high level and like everyone is very dialed in to the sense of urgency, like you really, you feel that in the building, like everyone just has this unique focus. you want to enjoy things in that 24 hour rule, but at the same time, like, our guys are flushing it, moving on, we're going to the next one. i just really respect that about this team. and i don't know if it's on purpose, but it's just kind of the energy that you feel within the locker room fully maximizing every, every play. >> um, getting everything we can from every single play. and then as we get into the playoffs, that's more and more crucial. so we're thinking about that every time we go out onto the field, every time we're walking around, we're just thinking about maximizing and leaving nothing. nothing out there is win or go home. >> this isn't a seven game series. you know. it's not the best team that wins the trophy at the end. i feel like we've had the best team the last three, four years and we still haven't gotten a ring. it wasn't about us having the best team.

it's about how good can you play in those three hours that you're allotted out there and that's the team that usually, uh, is happy at the end of the year, the niners may lose a coordinator to a head coaching job for the fourth straight year, defensive coordinator steve wilks interviewed for the chargers and falcons jobs today. >> wilks was the cardinals head coach in 2018 and interim head coach for the panthers last season. the niners defense allowed an nfc low 17.5 points in the regular season, and in the top ten in most defensive metrics. and look at this. this is what's happening inside the bills stadium earlier today in orchard park, new york. so the nfl moved sunday's bills steelers playoff game to monday afternoon in buffalo. the idea of 80,000 fans of bills mafia being on the road with more lake effect snow expected in the area. not a great idea. kickoff now set for 1:30 p.m. pacific monday, super wild card weekend. it will end here. catch the eagles and bucs monday night kickoff just after five, immediately followed by after the game. we'll have plenty of 40 niners playoff coverage as well. college hoops separated at birth. santa clara head coach herb sendek on the left, and saint mary's randy bennett on

the right. just over three minutes in the first half, campolindo high's aidan mahaney gives the gaels a 30 to point lead, 30 to 9. early on. gaels led 4718 at the half. second half mahaney going to beat the shot clock. he had a game high 18 points, only one bronco was in double figures. christophe tillie from germany slams it home, but the gaels roll 7349. their four zero in conference play. the broncos dropped to three and one. the oregon duck. there he is. cal coming off two big wins at pac 12 leader oregon . cal's farda's amik gives cal an 18 point lead with just under four to go in the first half, but oregon goes on a 16 to 2 run to end the half. jermaine cousineau hit three triples. bears now just led by four at the break, and oregon pulls away in the second half. cairo oquendo bring in the thunder right handed hammer. mark madsen has his team heading in the right direction. but this had to be frustrating. bears lose 80 to 73 and they've lost 14 of 16 to

the ducks star wars night in ottawa. these senators sparky's rooting against the sharks three minutes ago. sharks down one philippe zadina blasts it home and we're tied at four. and there's a sharks fan in ottawa. and he's pumped up. final seconds still tied at four. vladimir tarasenko beats mackenzie blackwood 3.3 seconds to go. sharks drop another heartbreaker five four. they'll play monday in buffalo that start time moved up to 9 a.m. since the buffalo bills playoff game was also moved to monday afternoon. abc seven sports, sponsored by river rock casino, dion, chris, thanks so much. >> and that's all the time we have for this edition of abc seven news at 11. i'm dion lim. news continues tomorrow morning at five for all of us. thanks for joining us. have a great evening. stay dry and we'll see you tomorrow

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it feels like forever ago that our lives were changed when you were diagnosed with cancer. i know this has allowed you to see how hard life can be, but always realize it's full of opportunities to make someone's day better. there's been so much kindness surrounding you, starlight who made you smile even on your toughest days. never forget those who loved you so well and know that you have the responsibility to give back. love, dad. ♪ ♪