good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm carolyn tyler. a massive snowstorm has holiday travelers scrambling to try to find where they want to go. flights and amtrak service get cancelled due to weather. the storm brought snow this weekend as far as south as atlanta. today it could dump as much as ten inches in washington, d.c. before heading into new york and new england. delta cancelled 300 departures out of atlanta yesterday. >> you can't control the weather. we just have to anticipate and think ahead, the possibility that things can happen. >> already this morning, continental airlines has cancelled 250 flights out of newark, new jersey, it's a scene

that is repeated up and down the eastern seaboard. states of emergency have been declared on the east coast. in boston they are bracing for up to 20 inches of snow. a blizzard warning is in effect with 30 mile-an-hour wind gusts expected. john atwater talked to travelers at boston international airport. the melody of a airport is not matching the mood. >> i'm frustrated. >> merry christmas. thank you, delta. >> many flights are moving but a host of others are getting scrapped. >> for whatever reason, only weather, no plane going into d.c. >> our plan was to return to washington and spend the next four days with our son there. >> we're on standby. >> some devised a back-up plan. >> we're going to do the amtrak station and do the overnighter.

>> even amtrak is cancelling some routes. >> now, the train is going to terminate in richmond, virginia. >> the only thing right now is a car. >> we drove to new york. >> it's not an option for many. >> so they are loading their bags and preparing to get snowed in. >> once again, another christmas memory. >> one way of putting it. it has affected bay area airports, as well. the rain came hard around the bay area pushing up creek levels and triggering a small stream flood advisory. you are looking at corte madera creek, it stayed within it's banks. in pacifica it was high surf, you can see the force of the wind sometimes at 50 miles an

hour. high wind advisories remain in effect for the bay bridge and san mateo bridge. christmas storm caused minor flooding on some bay area freeways. this is 101 in marin county. and further south on 101 in san francisco, at paul avenue, standing water caused a major backup. let's get an update on the weather, here on our meteorologist kristine hanson. >> good morning. we did see a few showers earlier today and most of those have moved off to the east. we'll continue to see showers taper off but a slight possibility all the way through the early afternoon hours. as you can see things are kind of quiet right now. a little bit of sunshine. a short break and dry weather through the early part of monday and then wet weather will return tuesday and wednesday. as you know more snow is falling in the sierra. interstate 80 drivers are

required to put on chains at gold run which is just past colfax. this week is typically one of busiest times of the area for tahoe area ski resorts. business has been drink all weekend. this video from truckee interstate 80 at state route 89. there is a lot of snow but the roads are opening this morning. in or news this morning, an investigation is underway after reports last night of a loud noise and smoke from an underground utility cover in san francisco's marina districts. it happened around 5:00. pg&e says no one was hurt in the incident near chestnut street. the utility believes it was possibly caused by an equipment failure. repair crews had to shut down a circuit that knocked 155 customers off the line. >> a local dog owner got the best present of all of christmas

his missing dog was brought home. >> it feels like christmas finally. we've been sitting here wondering where he has been. >> he finally has his baby home, his one-year-old dog that had been missing for a week. >> he got to up on the bed last night. >> now clint is reunited with kevin the other family dog when they bottom got loose. kevin turned up quickly but he had been kicked, beaten and shot with a pellet gun. clint had been discovered a mile away, two brothers were playing outside their grandmother's house. >> he came out of the bushes and we had i am up. we were feeding him chicken. >> there mother went to the computer and found the missing dog notice that brad had placed

on craig of the. he called him but the physical size didn't match and that was that, until she saw the story on the news last week and called back with the help of her son. >> he had what color collar he had a on and that is when we realized it was clint. >> he e-mailed a photo of him. >> so on christmas eve the big reunion took place. >> they were thanking the kids and the dog was licking and hugs and the dog was crying. they were crying. >> the christmas miracle. you know you hear about these stories and never really think you know someone that has been something like this, but he literally showed up christmas eve. and our reporter tells us kevin, the injured dog will need

eight weeks of treatment. several animal groups in the east bay are now offering a $12,000 reward to catch the person who badly hurt that dog. up next, ready for more shopping, need to exchange a gift? it starts early. at least one story opened at 7:00 this morning. >> later, christmas in afghanistan for a few moments the thought of war is put aside to celebrate the holidays. >> how are you doing, this darrell blake stiaghd had in afghanistan. i just want to say hey to mom my my sister, two kids and son jacob, merry christmas

authorities in marin county have recovered the body of a man missing since falling off a sailboat two weeks ago. 28-year-old casey steed of santa rosa reportedly fell overboard in richardson bay. he was sailing with his wife on the night of december 10. search efforts were hampered by bad weather and low visibility but friday night a person spotted the body during a low tide. an autopsy is going to happen tomorrow to determine exactly how he died. >> los angeles firefighters got an unusual christmas delivery, a newborn baby. a woman walked into a downtown fire station on christmas eve

and handed over her newborn daughter. the woman told firefighters the infant was just six hours old and had that she wanted her put up for adoption. firefighters had named the baby noelle. mother and daughter were given i.d. bracelets. >> california law allows young children to be left at fire stations, no questions asked. malls will be filled with shoppers for the beginning of the post christmas rush. besides the wave of returns, bargain hunters will be looking for sales. it should be quite busy as a strong christmas eve helped bolster sales for retailers. some stores opened at 7:00 this morning. the national retail federation predicts it will be up 3.3% from last year and internet sells are

up 15.4%. >> there is a break in the stormy weather for people that want to get out there and do all that. >> it's kind of chilly out this morning. we talked about the snow, let's go to lake tahoe -- you see the breaks in the overcast along the western portion of the sierra. we still have snow to come and still have more rain, more snow for the upcoming workweek. we'll have the complete accu-weather 7 forecast just ahead. >> also up next, the san francisco garage door becomes a place for people to leave their holiday wishes. >> an "oprah show" event for the holiday season -- oprah: maria, the captain, mr. plummer, will you do the honors? >> the cast of

>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. bay area homeowner has been letting people leave christmas wishes on his garage door. this home near sanchez and 16th streets has white butcher paper plastered on the garage and there are markers. people have filled the paper with messages. the homeowner says it's a way to encourage people to stop and smell the roses. >> celebrations for the african-american holiday, quanza. it was started 45 years ago by

some african-american leaders. the name is a swahili word meaning the first fruit of the harvest. it's to promote principles of unity and determination and recognizing the culture of people of the african-american descent. >> they had a good showing this weekend... the annual christmas meal at glide memorial church in san francisco was a success. 5,000 people were served turkey with all the trimmings, all over the bay area people in need were fed and clothed. children who had otherwise had not even seen a gift were surprised by some very generous firefighters who collected 15,000 toys with help from lefty o'doul's restaurant. now a report on the christmas day distribution.

>> tenderloin residents and homes are being treated to music in st. anthony's dining hall. a hot meal and gift bag is included. everyone received a scar have. >> sherry says they put out an appeal last summer asking for handmade scarves. they only asked for 2500. >> i think it's a lot of time for people to struggling to create something with their own hands, to give something one else in need. >> firefighters from station five and western addition are bringing toys to the hamilton family residence center. the children were just as surprised as their parents as the sudden bounty. they were especially pleased as was his parents. >> he is really happy.

that is the important thing. >> i was worried he wouldn't get any christmas gifts this year, but it's still been pretty good. >> more than two dozen children were given gifts. six of these children are crystal's. >> this helps out a lot. >> the firefighters of engine one have an interesting approach to the holidays. they use every emergency call as an opportunity to bring a mail is to a child's face. after responding to a medical emergency, engine one firefighters begin a hunted for children through streets of the tenderloin. they stopped at another facility on golden gate and surprised these children with toys. >> you go on a medical call or building alarm or fire,. >> firefighters say they enjoyed i giving as much as the children enjoyed receiving.

>> great bay area generosity. the meals started earlier today. at christmas everyone had a great holiday. you got home which is amazing. >> trying to get out of new york or philadelphia, so many flights have been cancelled. this the same picture we show you yesterday, snow in the nation's capitol. wind out of the north at 17. feels a lot chillier than 30 degrees. we have had serious downpours in the east bay. emeryville, the sun is out, you can see across the bay. showers are still popping up, but nice to see the sunshine, sunglasses and good shopping weather for a day after christmas. we are seeing dry weather as a

result. dry weather throughout the area but snow in the sierra, chains are still required on 80 and 50. you can see on our live doppler 7 that most of the showers now are moving off to the north of interstate 80 but still a lot of shower activity popping up in the foothills above 2,000 to 3,000 feet. lots of shower activity but most of that is moving off to the east. we still have a system off to the north and that will trigger afternoon showers. when the skies cleared we saw fog and reduced visibility with chilly temperatures. 43 in santa rosa and quart mile visibility out of the airport. redwood city at 44. 50 degrees in san jose. antioch 47 degrees. fog still out in some of the delta locations. widespread fog tonight and tomorrow morning if you are out

and about late tonight or early tomorrow morning. scattered showers. a short break from the wet weather. it will return again tuesday and wednesday and then a onslaught of cold and warm air that will make our direction going make a wet and foggy week. this is the second system coming in. most of the activity will be north, but any of us could expect showers from that system. look at all of this, we have moist tropical air colliding with some of the tropical air. it begins late monday night into tuesday and that will make it fairly wet week. this morning, again, some showers, by tuesday morning, your forecast for today, scattered showers, mix of sun and sunshine. a little bit milder as we move

into the santa clara area as well as monterey county. 58 degrees our forecast high today in monterey. there is the seven-day forecast calling for a dry day with fog tomorrow and then wet weather going on and off through the first of the year. >> is it unusual or does it seem that way? >> it is unusual to get this much rain. first of all we are above normal. we have seen some record-breaking snow depths at this time of the year. >> all right. thank you. >> let's check out sports. warriors delivered a christmas present. the come from behind performance and it was on national tv. here is rick kwan with sports. >> you know christmas day before a national tv audience is a bit of an honor. last night the warriors tried to do i have they deserve the

spotlight. rick curry was back but it was monta ellis, he rocked the rim with this one hand jam. moments later, monta finishes with a reverse, he had 24 in the first half but warriors were up by one at the break. dunte cunningham with a foul. warriors come back with 11-0 run. that put the golden state up by 2. monta provided the finishing touches. he had a high 39, warriors win their second straight, 109-102. >> the stars came out to watch james and the heat. dwyane wade and delivers a two hand jam. he had 18. the heat led buyer 9 at the half. lakers tried to get back in the game, ron artest to paul for the

hoop but they were no match. he beat the shot clock. he had a triple double, 7827 points. >> the heat wins -- he had 27 points. >> orlando, second quarter, kevin garnet with two of his high 22. celtics led by as much as 12. magic would rally behind the defense. the game tied late, nelson comes up with a big three. 80-78 was the final. despite a 5-9 record, 49ers are still in the playoff race, if they lose today in st. louis they will finally be eliminated. san francisco knocked off the rams thanks in part to a defense that held steven jackson to 87 yards rushing. for them to come out again, they

will need a similar effort from the running back. >> we are the only team in the league that stopped the run, the seven-man. raiders to keep their playoffs live they need to win while the chiefs have to lose. oakland appears to be ready to compete with the elite. behind hugh jackson's creative touch, silver and black ranks among the top ten in total offense. >> a lot of things we're doing offensively and the play action, i think we've grown in a lot of areas and come a long ways. >> cowboys and cardinals did have center stage last night. first quarter action, the pass going off of williams. he brings it back for a

touchdown. it was cardinals second pick of the quarter. cowboys back, with under two minutes left, dallas led 26-24 but missed the extra point. that was would be huge, with five seconds left, he nails a 48-yard field goal that gives the cardinals a victory. i'm rick kwan. i'll see you tonight at 5:00. next at 9:30, we'll check world headlines, american tourists among the dead in a bus crash in egypt. and snowstorms forcing the cancellations of hundreds of flights this morning. plus a southern california mudslide victims brace for more wet weather, it

welcome back everyone. homes for the hills for many travelers, perhaps they may have been better off if they stayed home for the holidays. the storm is blanketing the east coast is making travel difficult if not impossible. david curley has the story. >> it's the day after christmas a present that nobody wants, especially travelers. >> i'm frustrated. >> this is going to be a real honest to goodness nor'easter and a blizzard. >> travelers in the northeast can expect conditions getting home very difficult at the very least. >> air travel is going to be shut down as we go through sunday, midday sunday from washington to new york. >> in atlanta, delta cancelled hundreds of flights saturday. some passengers did take the inconvenience in stride. >> you can't control the weather. we just have to anticipate

ahead. >> some airlines released this statement, saying, quote, we have cancelled 250 flights and continue to monitor the storm's progress and impact on our operations. >> for whatever reason, only weather, no planes are going into d.c. >> and if you are thinking of hitting the roads, it's not expected to be any better. whiteout blizzard conditions are predicted. washington, philadelphia and boston, crews are out salting the roads and residents are doing what they can. >> i bought a shovel and we bought dog food. >> this the same storm from last week cautioning flooding and mud slides. it's now heading up the southeast along the coast having picked up moisture from the gulf of mexico. >> you can go to our website at www.abc7.com and click on flight

tracker. >> it is raining again in southern california, flood advisories are in effect for a number of cities. cleanup efforts following the devastating storms last week with heavy flooding and mudslides that caused tens of millions of dollars in damages. but there may be a break in the weather with forecasters predicting the rains will stop later today. with the weather, you might not think anyone would be thinking of venturing out merely to shop but for those that are, there is big after christmas sales out there. even before christmas day was over, the post holiday push was underway. door buster deals launched online, retailers hit shoppers with e-mail. they are desperately trying to keep a good thing going. >> this has turned out a good season for holiday sales, so

don't expect the big fire sales. you will see headlines 60% or 70% but those goods may be picked over. >> this holiday shopping season may be the best ever. back in 2007, we spent a record of $450 billion. after a two-year dip the numbers are almost back. >> you get it now at a good price. >> among the items stores are trying to get rid of, jewelry, 60% off of many items, toys, 50% off of toys at walmart. superbowl coming up, after christmas is a great time to buy a tv but this year it's even better. best strategy for post christmas shopping, check the web before you check the store. shoppers have spent more than

$36 billion online, offerings that continue this week, meaning you may not have to brave the storms to get the best deals. day after christmas was the second highest revenue day from last year. we have some more news for you, eight american tourists have died in a bus accident in egypt. the bus they were riding in crashed into a truck in southern egypt early this morning. they were en route to visit a site of an ancient egyptian temple. they were transferred to a military hospital and airlifted to cairo. last month, eight foreign tourists were killed in a bus accident and in october, six belgian tourists died in a crash. >> the town of bethlehem is

seeing the biggest holiday crowd in years. more than a hundred thousand pilgrims and tourists have poured into the west bank town since christmas eve, twice as many as last year. the rooms are booked solid for the week. worshipers packed the roman catholic church next to the grotto. there is another bout of violence in the middle east. israeli military killed two suspected palestinian terrorists today. a helicopter gunship attacked them while they were trying to put an explosive device in. tensions are increasing along the border after two years of relative come. when israel invaded gaza. now hamas is threatening to

escalate hostilities against israel. >> over two million men and woman have been deployed in iraq and afghanistan over the last nine years. life on the front lines is tough. coming home isn't easy either. many have a hard time adjusting to civilian life and face problems of post-traumatic stress disorder, unemployment, substance abuse and even homelessness. military officials say they are trying to do more. >> we see as a soldier who has been out there 12 months where is high adrenalin environment, when they face an enemy. they come home and many times they want to replicate that. we have programs, first of you a ensure that we are identifying early on those that are going to have a rough time. as many as 9,000 veterans have to place to call home, including many women who served overseas. in fact female vets are becoming

homeless at twice the rate of men. the holidays time can be tough for men and women serving in the armed forces here is a report from afghanistan. >> merry christmas. >> soldiers from the task force destiny, so far from home in southern afghanistan relished a reminder of home, in this case, a lavish buffet filled with krioy favors. -- christmas zblaivs most of the soldiers in this chow hall have served multiple deployments. the food helps and so does the band. >> it's great.

>> and following army tradition, enlisted men who take orders gave orders to their officers who manned the buffet line. >> their minds are to their loved ones back home but they are also fully knowing they are in the war. >> then it's back to war. there is still a lot of war to fight. we so appreciate their service. kristine hanson is here, our meteorologist with a preview of what is ahead and don't say.... >> i won't say it. >> a little bit of sunshine but going outside from vollmer peak in the east bay. a little bit of fog this morning with clearing sky.

we're enjoying a little sunshine. we're going to talk about that. that is coming up in the

lots of lotions promised healing. this one actually does it. [ female announcer ] gold bond ultimate healing lotion. nothing feels like it, smel like it, heals like it. gold bond. this stuff really works. so much of the wet stuff out, there so much rain but we're having a little reprieve today. >> yes, for a day. then i was telling you on the break, we're looking ahead and it's going to be a soggy week and snow and more rain. even more reason to enjoy the sunshine. it's christmas, holiday season and there is the sunshine we've been talking about from emeryville. you are looking across the bay.

still kind of chilly out with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. earlier this morning we've seen some fog form. we had some downpours right here in emeryville earlier today. right now we are still seeing scattered showers in the mountains and that is down to about 2,000 feet and light snow over the pass. chain requirements on 80. 50 has still got chain requirements. we've got showers east of placerville and snow showers right around 5,000 feet. snow levels will come down. right now, very quiet on live doppler around the bay area but we look off to the west you'll see more clouds and showers. 44 in redwood city. 49 in oakland and fremont. 349 degrees in concord where we have heavy downpours. 46 in fairfield. chilly with fog still at the santa rosa airport. still a few scattered showers.

some of it could spread all the way down to santa cruz and santa clara county. that means we're going to see pockets of dense ground fog tomorrow. wet weather starting again early tuesday morning. here is the system as it moved through earlier today. we've got this system still offshore and that will move in our direction in the afternoon hours. look at the pacific. it's laden with moisture from the sub tropics, extremely cold arctic air that could bring snow levels down to maybe 3,000 feet by the end of the week. this system beginning to move in will usher in more. so we expect sunshine mix with clouds and scattered showers. day time temperatures will be mostly in the 50s. either is the seven-day forecast again, wet weather. downpours that we had yesterday

and strong winds, but they will pick up again as the next system moves in on tuesday. wednesday, pretty foggy day. and cold air will start to come in where we could see freezing temperatures and low snow levels. it likes like through the rest of the year. we've only got one week left. >> we know that you count on "abc 7 news" for coverage of issues and stories that matter few. we thank you for that. now, all the information that you depend on from us is available under o your ipad. here is dan ashley with the details. >> this is the "abc 7 news" ipad app now available on itunes. >> we are proud to display the first edition in the bay area. it offers lots of great features. >> whether it's news or weather, the ipad app has everything you

want from "abc 7 news" and abc7.com. you can also watch side shows of hot topics or check in on facebook. >> we can offer live stream video with a lot of other apps don't offer. whether it's online, on your mobile device or on the ipad we have your world covered. >> it's such a popular device, we're really excited to offer this. >> and the app is free. all you have to do is search for abc san francisco to download it >> drive in theater is making a comeback. why this one in

when was the last time you went into a drive-in movie? wayne freedman found this one at a concord drive-in last summer. >> in an era of multichannel surround sound, let's not underestimate of going retro. they are entering a time warp what appears to be a thriving antique, resurrected solano

drive-in theater in concord. >> we went here and we tried the projecter and it still worked and let's try it again. >> no, there is no nothing like this. once you got on the drive-in, you get hooked. >> if it's retro in looks, it's retro in staff. linda went on her first date here, her husband proposed here. >> did anything else begin here that you want to talk about? >> no. >> yes, she did go into labor while watching a movie here and now the little girl has grown up to be a manager. >> drive-in movies peeked in the 1950s and 1960s. back then there was 270 screens, now only 18 remain. is in a revival?

>> drive-in movies came in on postwar in a time of mobile car culture in a land of plenty but that was then. >> what happened to them? >> they turned into a cemetery or walmart at this point. >> go to a drive-in and you are likely to find a screen and it's waiting for bulldozers for a subdivision. remember the island movie in alameda? same with the parkway in petaluma that used to flood anyway. >> an inevitable victim of evolution. not only did he build it, he sold it and put the money into multiplex. drive-ins can't compete with 14 simultaneous screens drawing

3,000 people in one building. >> as opposed to a drive-in movie with 15 acres and one screen. >> which makes it all the more remarkable. on summer week night, it swelled with bargain hunters that paid 6.75 a head. >> they load up with gourmet delights and then they settle in. >> we're excited we'll be outdoors. >> at a drive-in these days, forget the window speakers, now it arrives by the car radio. bring a blanket and curl up. >> so it proves what goes around really does sometimes come back around. itself enduring or maybe the lure of a drive-in as something as simple as something embedded

in our collective dna. whatever. >> we do doing it before you got here. >> it's not dead, it's still flickering. up next, a bay area band that has been making great music for decades performs tonight. ♪ >> don sanchez sits down with tower of power for their lasting popularity.

the east bay band, tower of power is performing four soldout gigs in yoshi's in oakland. the band is still a success story in it's 42nd year. don sanchez sat down with three of musicians and gives us a

taste of their east bay sound. ♪ >> what is hip? surely tower of power forever. theme song in 1977, this band has been together for 42 years. mick gillette joined when they were called the gotham city crime fighters. >> our first single, who sold the bat mobile. it was not a big hit. >> they play at yoshi's and neighborhood is familiar. >> we played on the broadway. >> and famous names join them. >> it's that unique sound, the horn section with a bit of soul, jazz and funk. >> everybody says it's a horn band, it is a horn band but

really it's all coming from the rhythm section. >> they almost broke up in 1970 before auditioning for bill graham. he was blown away and signed them immediately. >> we come from more of a cult band where our fans are most loyal on the planet. >> it turned out to be destructive times. >> we're not alcoholics anymore. >> drugs or alcohol are not worth it. >> it isn't happening and we love playing music, all that energy goes into the music. >> it's a little late. this engagement is sold out. but they will be back february 12, 13 and 14. tower of power, music icons, you have to wonder why they are not in the rock and roll hall of fame. the band is also

spearheading a cofounder, his wife evonne needs a liver transplant and we have a link to the fund-raising drive at www.abc7.com under see it on tv. right here right now, kristine hanson with a final check of the accu-weather forecast. >> we're talking a little sunshine and scattered showers otherwise dry on monday and another storm system brewing on tuesday. that will linger through the rest of 2010. >> thank you. our next newscast starts at 5:00 tonight. have a great sunday everyone. happy holidays.