right now on nbc bay area news, tonight the rain is here and we're tracking when the heaviest rain will roll in tonight. plus, life-threatening conditions in the sierra. >> your lives are way more important. >> tahoe getting hit with a blizzard. we'll check in with our snow expert who's already in that area. then does san francisco have a drug problem as the city

continues to work on getting the fentanyl crisis under control? and later, the bay area's oldest burmese restaurant given a prestigious honor. we'll take you to mandalay in san francisco. this is nbc bay area news tonight. we start tonight with our storm. the rain is here. the first of a series of storms rolled in earlier today. what you're looking at here is a time lapse, one from our san francisco cameras earlier this afternoon. also tonight, if you are not already in the sierra, the area is under a blizzard warning. we're talking up to 10 feet of snow possible by the time it's all over. dangerous and potentially deadly conditions developing on the roads. kevin cooper is up in tahoe and

he's going to be join us in just a little bit. jeff, what are you seeing? >> we've started to see bands of rain at times through the day. what makes this storm system different is this is moving down from alaska. so we've got some polar air wrapped in it. that's why it's going to bring so much more of a harder hit towards the sierra. we have scattered rain which at times has been a few heavier pockets. with this storm system, it's going to linger with off-and-on rain into saturday. spotty thunderstorms, even a chance of small hail, wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. may produce a little bit of isolated street flooding, but i'm not seeing any river gauges going up to flood stage. sierra snow, 2 to 7 feet for the average, but some spots going even higher.

look at these totals from tonight through saturday evening. 81 inches kingvale. winds up to 100 miles per hour will make roads impassable and treacherous. in the bay area, we have a winter storm warning up for clear lake, 1-3 inches there as we head into saturday morning's forecast. let's take a look at new video tonight from donner pass. this is i-80 near castle peak. you can see cars at a standstill there. visibility not great. here's just one example of how dangerous these driving conditions can be. 80 was closed for a while this morning because of this.

that big rig landed on its side. if you are headed that direction, chains are required. chp is highly discouraging any non-essential travel into the mountains. even ski resorts announcing closures and delays through the weekend including tahoe, mt. heavenly and palisades tahoe. let's bring in kevin cooper live near the south shore. i see it's a little windy there. how is it feeling right now? >> reporter: it's feeling like we got a little bit of mother nature hitting us tonight. >> it is pretty serious, right? cal trans, chp, ski resorts telling people to stay away. >> reporter: absolutely. this is a big storm. this isn't something to mess

around with. this is going to be a big challenge. winds are starting to pick up. i'm at lake level. i'm seeing gusts upwards of 75 miles an hour. that means the ridge tops at 8,000 and 9,000 feet probably at 100 to 120 right now. it's just starting to get set in right now where snow is starting to fall heavily throughout the sierra. it's dangerous and it's going to be a challenging 24 to 72 hours ahead. >> stay safe out there for sure. when was the last time there was actually a blizzard like this in tahoe? >> reporter: that's a great question. i've been poking around to see what's been the biggest 24-hour, 72, 96-hour snowfall? that was a decade ago. last year we saw a lot of these big storms, but nothing as condensed as this.

this is a big storm in a short period of time. we're looking at snowfall totals in the forecast of 120 inches up towards state route 88. that's carson pass. this is big. we're talking 9, 10, 12 feet of snow. challenging conditions for everybody. cal trans, the mountain operations team. this is challenging all the way around. >> i know that skiers and snowboarders keeping a close eye on this, because when the blizzard is over with, they're wondering what will ski conditions be like? >> reporter: that's the perfect way to phrase this. i heard people today going, oh, we're going to come up tonight or tomorrow. today, thursday and friday. no. wait until monday. let the mountain operations teams dig out. they're going to have a lot to work to do. there's going to be a lot of avalanche mitigation. say we don't get 10 feet, we get 5 feet. there's still a lot of

challenges at the resorts to open up. and the roadways, there's a lot of work to do. we're going to have to dig out. this is a big storm. it's going to set up the rest of the year, miracle march. and we have another system right after this. level out your expectations. come up monday and tuesday in the break and enjoy all of next week and the month of march. >> okay. monday, tuesday. we'll hold off this weekend. kevin, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> reporter: take care, guys. we'll see you on the mountain. >> check the weather any time, in where with our free nbc bay area app. the qr code is going to take you right to your radar. put your phone's camera right at that code to get you to the weather page. the latest crop of candidates for oakland's police chief getting grilled by the

public. the public forum for the candidates is happening right now. it started about a half hour ago. candidates are louis molina, floyd mitchell, lisa davis and abdul prijit. noticeably absent from tonight's event, the mayor. she said this public form unnecessarily puts candidates at risk with their current employers and that several potential applicants declined to apply when they found out their names would be released publicly. we do have a reporter at tonight's forum and we'll let you know what happened tonight at 11:00. another headline tonight, who is getting busted for drugs in san francisco. the city revealing new data as they continue to crack down on our drug crisis. the mayor's office says just over half those arrested for drug use live in san francisco.

of those cited, about 20% were getting cash assistance from the city. a portion of them were not from the area, which is a violation of state law. supervisor dorsey spoke about how he sees what the city is facing. >> we have known there's a phenomenon of drug tourism where people come to san francisco to engage in drug-related behavior, drug use, drug dealing. it's causing a lot of problems. some of it may have to do with some of the generous benefits that we provide. i think the numbers that were released today suggest that's a part of it. some of it may also have to do with the permissiveness. >> this new information comes as voters are society to decide next week on proposition f, which would require drug users to be screened and get treatment to get cash assistance from the city. critics say it would not reduce

overdose deaths and creates more homelessness. so why aren't more people voting? we are just five days away from super tuesday. there's a big push in the south bay to get out the vote due to low voter turnout. a group of nonprofits and community health centers joined together today calling for people to cast their ballots. in santa clara county, just over 10% of people have returned their ballots. turnout could be 45 to 55%, slightly lower than average in a presidential primary. >> people on our ballots, our elected representatives are ones we are entrusting with making chase on the issues we are facing. >> on the subject of every vote counts, you may remember the sunnyvale city council seat with more than 5,000 votes ended with a tie. it was pretty much decided by the flip of a coin. the message today, do a little

research and cast your ballot. there is a race happening right now to harness the cleaner and cheaper way to get energy. it's called nuclear fusion. it's the same energy that's been powering the sun and stars for billions of years. scientists believe we are the closest we've ever been to replicate it here on earth. our investigative unit went inside local labs doing the work. if successful, they could revolutionize the way we power our homes, businesses and anything else that relies on electricity or fuel. unlike traditional energy sources like oil and coal, nuclear fusion is carbon free and doesn't emit harmful radioactive waste. >> we really can produce energy at a fraction of the cost with almost none of the problems of the current energy infrastructure. >> this essentially would be a much cleaner way of powering our lives. >> for almost everything we do, you can imagine a small reactor in a vehicle, certainly in a

boat or a ship, almost everywhere we need to use heat or electricity we could produce it differently and much more cleanly. >> government scientists at the national lab are so far leading the charge when it comes to nuclear fusion. they've made a major breakthrough but successfully creating a nuclear fusion reaction five different times in less than 15 months. we got a look at how they did it. >> reporter: inside these massive aluminum tubes are lasers. they could ultimately change the way we power homes and businesses all throughout the world. we investigate the race to harness nuclear fusion as a cleaner and potentially cheaper energy source. watch our full investigation right now at the

nbcbayarea.com/investigations. still to come, the future is here. this a.i. powered robot getting a big cash boost. the silicon valley company behind it. plus, it's one of the most prestigious awards a restaurant can get. when peter dickson led my platoon into combat can get. the oldest burmese restaurant in in afghanistan, he cared about two things: completing the mission, and making sure his marines came home. and we all did.

pete's always fought for what he believes in, and i know he'll do the same in congress for affordable housing, the rights of women, and the democracy he swore to protect. because helping people who need it has always been pete's mission. and i know he'll get it done. next generation veteran fund is responsible for the content of this ad.

i launched our campaign at this union hall. next generation veteran fund let's go win this thing! then we hit the road and never stopped. you shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. it is not too late to realize those dreams. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. welcome back. here's something catching our attention tonight.

a humanoid robot powered by a.i. silicon valley company behind it just got a multimillion dollar boost. here's a closer look at this robot made by sunnyvale-based figure a.i. it's using a.i. to do tasks like lifting objects. >> we're all very busy. imagine a robot doing your dishes, laundry, watching your kids, your house. it's endless possibilities. it's a.i. unleashed into the physical world. >> investors are apparently taking note, because the company behind this robot just hauled $675 million worth in funding from investors, including jeff bezos. also tonight, an added benefit to running in the oakland marathon this year, money raised from the event will help kids in the east bay.

>> we are excited eat, learn, play has entered into a long-term partnership with the oakland marathon, a great community-based event that celebrates our adopted hometown of oakland. >> that's steph and aesha curry. funds will be used to help elementary and middle school kids in oakland thrive by creating safe places to play and be active. the eat, learn, play kids fun run on march 16th. and the marathon on march 17th. you can still sign up to run in any of those events at oaklandmarathon.com. we hope to see you there. it is often called the oscars of the food world. we're talking about the james beard awards. the oldest burmese restaurant in the bay area just found out that they got an award. pretty cool. the restaurant is mandalay located in san francisco's inner

richmond neighborhood. the james beard foundation just recognized it with the america's classic award. that award is given to six restaurants it considers national treasures with timeless appeal. joining us now is sherry dun one of the owners of mandalay. thank you so much for joining us. when did you learn about this honor? and how surprised were you? >> i learn it from my country, from my mom when i was very young for the burmese food. when i moved to america, i open the burmese restaurant. >> that's really cool. you got it from mom and now you're getting this amazing award. must be so exciting. so mandalay has been around for so long now, 40 years. >> yes. >> why do you think your

restaurant is so successful for so long? >> because our burmese food is very unique. it's close to china, india and thailand, our food is very fresh greens for every day. service and everything is good. that's why we continue for 40 years. >> pretty cool. and the bay area now has a very robust burmese food scene. what does it mean to you and your family and mom to be the first here in the bay area? >> because my mom said, okay, there is not too many burmese restaurant open in the bay area, because our food is very unique.

[indiscernible] >> i haven't been to your restaurant yet. i've got to visit. what should i order when i come? [indiscernible] >> okay. sounds good. sherry dung, thank you so much for joining us today. congratulations on the wonderful award. >> thank you. a live look at san francisco. yes, the rain has arrived. jeff will join us with the foreca, next. st "overflowing with ideas and energy." that's the san francisco chronicle

endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. porter is "easily the most impressive candidate." "known for her grilling of corporate executives." with "deep policy knowledge." katie porter's housing plan has "bipartisan-friendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

what do i see in peter dixon? with democrat katie porter. i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us.

i'm peter dixon and i approved this message.

it was a powerful showing of leadership in the south bay today. 4600 women attended the california conference for women at the santa clara convention center. the annual event is one of the largest women's conferences in the nation. the mission is to promote and amplify the influence of women in the workplace and in their communities. the keynote speakers included jennifer newsom, the former prime minister of new zealand and viola davis. i'm going to turn now to meteorologist jeff ranieri. you've been warning us about the sierra and all the snow. we're going to be getting rain here as well. >> some off-and-on rain over the next days.

it doesn't look nearly as strong as the rain we've seen over the past month or two. it's more scattered in nature. a lot of the more consistent rainfall we're seeing in the south bay will gradually push toward gilroy by 11:30 this evening. tomorrow's commute doesn't look extremely bad but we'll have scattered area to start. the thing to watch out for is 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00 with heavier downpours and off-and-on rain through saturday. tomorrow we're looking at a quarter to about an inch. saturday a quarter to about a half inch here from the north bay to the south bay. and on sunday, everything should taper off with trace amounts to a quarter of an inch. right now we're not expecting big flooding here throughout the bay area.

we're only getting up to the 50s here throughout the bay area for daytime highs. we will see things taper off sunday, dry monday and a few more rain chances next week. this does not look as major a z the storm we're seeing now at least up towards the sierra. if you missed those updates, 7-plus feet of snow over the next three days. it's a big one out there. as we wrap up, mario lopez is getting started with "access hollywood." "access" takes a fond look back at richard lewis and his decades-long brotherhood with larry david. then where is princess kate? it's been months since her surgery. social media has been going crazy with conspiracy theories.

and rock royalty is in the house. sir rod stewart in a very wild fashion flashback tonight on "access hollywood". coming up after "access" is law & order. then join us back here for nbc bay area news at 11:00. dat's going to

you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited line. visit xfinitymobile.com today to learn more.

tonight on "access hollywood" -- >> you're putting me in your will because you want me to put you in my will. >> are you out of your [ bleep ] mind? >> richard and i met when we were 13 years old, and we hated each other. >> but hate later turned to love. as we remember the great richard lewis, we look back on his loves onscreen and off. >> i love my wife.

i l