>> good morning, guys. let's start with the good news. live doppler 7, i zoomed down into the north bay and you can see it's just green right now but lurking offshore, you've got some of the yellows and oranges so the moderate rain is developing off the coast and look it's heading up towards the north bay as we speak in fact here's a look at the golden gate bridge and notice the flag on the right is starting to unif you recall. the breezes are picking up. the first signs of this storm are moving in now. heaviest in the north bay by 7:00, for all of us at noon, for all of us outside the north bay at 4:00 and then over, the heaviest part of the storm to the 7:00. i want to keep this good news thing going so let's turn it over to alexis. i'm going to enjoy this while it lasts. no major incidents to talk about. most of us still pretty dry so if you are heading out early, that is definitely the wise choice this morning southbound 680 filling in, starting to see a few brake lights through the walnut creek area. westbound 580, tracy to dublin, boy, 36 minutes right now. i think we were well over 2 hours at this point yesterday

with that major pothole problem. all lanes open today. southbound 680, just 17 minutes and northbound 85, that is in the green at just 16 minutes. we'll take a look at lingering weather closures coming up. one of the spots we're going to be watching carefully, the russian river. neighbors there bracing for more possible flooding. >> the storm last month, 800 homes threatened by raising water then. the potential for more of that today. amy hollyfield live for us in guerneville. >> reporter: hi, natasha. the river is high. look at it behind me, spilling over into this parking lot here on old river road, and it just started to rain. so, it's going to be worth keeping a close eye on this situation here in guerneville. here's a look at what residents here had to deal with earlier this week when tuesday's rain hit. some people had to be helped out of their homes when water got too high so firefighters came in to help them when the river went above the flood level. we aren't expecting it to be as

bad this time as what we saw last month, just to give you something to compare it to. but it is going to cause some issues. and so residents here all watching, all on high alert and aware that they're going to have to deal with some problems again. some people here saying they know to expect this, this is river living, they know what to do, but they're also getting a bit tired of this, and wishing that the rains woulds give them a break. reporting live in guerneville, amy hollyfield. who can blame them. much of the north bay still drying out from tuesday's storm and they are bracing for more to come. >> abc7 news reporter matt keller is live in san anselmo where the sandbags are already out this morning. >> reporter: we're live in dounlt san anselmo on san anselmo avenue and you can see across the street, everybody's got sandbags in front of their businesses here. and as we walk down san anselmo avenue, i'm going to show you a couple of these businesses. we got a watch repair store with the sandbags and the flood gate here. a gelato store, italian ice

cream store, not sure ha lot of people are going to be craving ice cream. they've got their sandbags and their flood door. tumbleweed, they were moving everything inside and they were moving everything up to the top shelves just to keep everything off the ground. welcome, come in, it's warm inside. yeah, it's going to be warm inside there. it's going to be a mess out here. at least we're expecting that. it's going to be a rough day. but of course businesses not the only ones who are preparing for a rough day. work crews took advantage of the light rain yesterday to put up a large tarp on a hillside that had collapsed earlier in greenbrae. we've seen creeks flood and mudslides forcing evacuations. marin county administrators met to discuss a plan of action in the event of more mudslides and flooding. >> up staffing resources as appropriate, our command center is going to have additional personnel in it, our emergency operations center at the county level is standing by to activate if needed. >> reporter: one of the major

concerns is the roads. emergency crews are telling people to just stay home if they can. that's good advice for many people across the bay area because it's going to be dangerous out there in many spots just like these businesses here in downtown san anselmo, you should be prepared as well. reporting live in san anselmo, matt keller, abc7 news. matt keller, abc7 news. it's going. gosh it's hard to forget this video. just heartbreak for the family that lived inside of this home, destroyed by a mudslide in san rafael on tuesday. and neighbors are now very worried. nearby homes have already been red tag, including one that usually serves as a day care center. >> with my wife, talked to the insurance company, and they said that this type of emergency, they don't cover much. actually, they don't cover anything. >> the evacuated homeowners don't know if or when they'll be

able to get back into their homes. the go fund me page was set up to help the family whose home was already destroyed. it's jumped $1,000 since last hour, now at $37,000. we have a link at abc 78 news.com if you'd like to help. in danville, diablo road will not reopen for several hours as crews work to clear a big eucalyptus tree. crews had to replace several poles. diablo road is closed until 9:00 this morning. happening now, the northeast getting slapped with a fast-moving storm that's expected to bring more than 1 foot of snow in some places. this could become the region's most powerful storm so far this winter. you're taking a live look in brooklyn this morning where the snow is really coming down. it's gotten pretty thick in the past hour. when we first saw this, this morning, the snow was barely coming down. and now let's take a look at allentown, pennsylvania, whiteout conditions are possible there. officials are warning of high

winds, coastal flooding and power outages and today's storm is affecting flights nationwide. nearly 1700 flights have been canceled in new york city's three major airports. the majority of flights have also been canceled at philadelphia international airport. at least ten airlines have issued travel waivers for the next few days because of these cancellations, they include american, united, delta, jetblue, and southwest. and you can keep track of today's storm and the forecast where you live with your abc7 news app which i have pulled up here and any time, you can pull up this, which is live doppler 7 on this app and make sure you sign up for news alerts so we can send you what's happening weather-wise throughout the day. i'm monitoring a growing situation in phoenix right now. we have just learned protesters plan to hold their ground in front of the i.c.e. building there. they plan to stay until an arizona mom is released from custody. she could be the first person deported under president trump's new immigration policy and

protests protests erupted overnight outside the building. seven people were arrested. the woman was taken into custody for a 2009 case in which she used illegal paperwork to get a job. immigration had let her stay until now. meanwhile, this story is heating up on social media with the phoenix i.c.e. as a popular search term this morning and i'll be watching for any updates. we are still awaiting a decision from the three judges on the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco regarding president donald trump's travel ban. over the weekend, the president called the judge who issued a temporary halt to the ban a so-called judge. yesterday, mr. trump's supreme court nominee had something to say about that. a democratic senator who met up with neil gorsuch said gorsuch saul ld the president's words demoralizing and disheartening. this morning, president trump's tweeted that senator richard is misrepresenting what gorsuch said. some immigrant tech workers

in the bay area are reportedly pulling out of buying real estate. the white house says it's considering changing the h1b visa program and may require companies to try to hire americans first. according to business insider, a couple from india didded not to go through with a recent bay area home sale. they were planning to go back to their home country for a few weeks and they didn't want to risk buying a house if they wouldn't be allowed to return to the u.s. san francisco skyline about to change again. the latest big building that could break records. plus storm watch, a live plus storm watch, a live look at

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wlall right the winds are picking up. i've overlaid it on live doppler 7 but they're below 30 miles per hour so not in the damaging range yet. where matt keller's up in san anselmo and corte madera creek, the rain is becoming moderate. this morning, we've got downpours in the north bay, gusty winds, ponding on the roads and hydroplaning. this evening, more of the same but mainly for the south bay. the heaviest of the rain is going to fall between the two main commutes. but we've got high to very high storm concerns on just about everything, alexis. okay and it is still dry this morning in the south bay. take you down to the santa cruz mountains where of course they're still working on cleaning up that highway 17 slot

on the northbound side between granite creek ask vine hill. one lane open in each direction, about a three-mie backup, 7 miles an hour, 12 miles an hour approaching. the show must go on. this morning, daredevil nik wallenda is vowing to perform after a rehearsal accident injured five feel. i have asthma... ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo is specifically designed to open up airways to improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose

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today's storm is level 3. that means a strong storm. look out for flooding, hazards on the road, and possible power outages. stay ahead of today's storm with the abc7 news app. download it now. it is 6:15. here's a live look outside at the wet golden gate bridge and this is just the beginning. >> we are tracking that 3 as it moves into the north bay. your full forecast is coming up. and here's a reminder of what you should never do through flooded water. you're going to watch as rescue crews safe a man after his truck washed down a flooded street in fresno county. that man got stuck trying to get home on tuesday. he told authorities he thought his truck would make it through that deep water. the fast moving current was just way too much. the truck was washed 50 feet downstream before rescue crews were able to get to that man and then as you can see, pull him to

safety. five circus performers were seriously hurt while practicing a high wire act in florida. they lost their balance yesterday, plummeting 25 feet to the ground below. daredevil nik wallenda was one of the performers on the wire but he did not fall. the group was rehearsing a never before performed eight-person pyramid. gma will have more on this coming up. take a look at these new renderings. the 64-story building will connect to the new transbaio terminal centers roof bay park. once it's done, it will be the fourth largest building in the city. 550 howard is going to feature a 13-story hotel and 200 condos. still waiting to see when that is going to be complete. there is a police officer in canada who was called to the scene of what a passer by thought was a fight. it turned out to be a dance crew recording a video and as you can see, he gave it everything he had. >> live your best life, mr. officer. he broke out some killer moves there. his dancing was caught on camera

and then shared to facebook. he's good too. >> wow. >> the dancing cop of course went viral because why wouldn't he. the video has been viewed more than 970,000 times. i just can't get over this. >> oh my goodness. >> alexis has those moves too. she just doesn't like to break it down during the week. it's a weekend thing. >> people usually call the police when i start dancing too. it looks like there's a fight. i do not have moves like that guy. taking a look at the bay bridge toll plaza, we do have those metering lights on. they've been on since about 5:26 so dry here but it is starting to fill in. quick check of drive times. overall, not terrible. westbound 80, highway 4 to the maze, 26 minutes about 21 minutes across the bay bridge and southbound 101, san francisco to sfo, still in the green at about ten minutes but mike nicco, we know those conditions are going to change. the commute is going to get worse. very rapidly, in fact. down in the south bay, i wanted to show you how quiet it is into the santa cruz mountains.

we're starting to see more radar returns so some light rain is developing but you're definitely going to get worse. the leading edge of some of the lighter rain, san mate oakland and san leandro and san lorenzo. right on san anselmo and corte madera creeks, san mateo bridge look dry right now but busy as we look to the west. simple as that with my first accuweather forecast highlight. scattered showers showers tomorrow, dry and mild highs through wednesday. let's take a look at the storm hour-by-hour. the moderate rain still up in the north bay. now as we head towards 9:00 to 10:00, it starts spilling into the heart of the bay but look it's increased sbens, moderate to heavy rain and that's going to stay in the north bay through noon as it starts to move into the east bay and south bay and then it pulls out of the north bay by 4:00 as it stays in the south bay and east bay and then as we head through the evening commute, we turn over to the light rain. here's a look at what's going to

happen as far as rainfall. through the morning commute, up around santa rosa, best chance of seeing slick streets all the way down to 37. by 9:00, wetness down to san mateo bring but then everybody gets dumped on as we head into the afternoon and evening hours, from a half inch in the rain shadow to nearly 2 to 3 inches in the santa cruz mountains to nearly 2 to 3 inches up in the north bay mountains, the rest offense us about 3/4 inches. moderate to heavy snow tomorrow and then enjoy the sunshine saturday and sunday. we'll have sunshine saturday and sunday also in mid 60s a few more clouds, but i'm holding it dry all the way through wednesday. it's thursday, this means it's time for the toyota tahoe report. good news as far as 80 and 50 are concerned, no restrictions, no chains on. we do have flooding along state route 88 though so one way

traffic control in the kirkwood area and state route 89 is closed. just about five miles north of the u.s. 50 interchange, but that should not impact you getting to those resorts. squaw al pine, 113 to 190 inch base, northstar looking great as well, right around 155 inch base and rechbly, close to 200 inch base. it's early, it's a thursday morning so you're not going to have a lot of company. sugar bowl, over 200 inches for your peak base there so that is great sierra looking good too and kirkwood so slow down, drive for conditions but overall looking good right now. coming up next, "7 on your side's" michael finney as tips for financing a college education. parents, what you happened to do before you take out a loan. muni's new trains are on the way and now we know which route is going to be the first to get those slick new rides. we are waiting for the big storm to move in this morning. and we have you covered. a live look at 101 in san rafael, our camera pausing a little bit but you can see those drops on the lens.

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we are ready for our next storm. well, maybe we're not but we're at least aware that there's a next storm coming. this is a live look at tahoe this morning where there is a winter storm warning from 10:00 a.m. today until 1:00 a.m. saturday. san francisco muni's busiest light rail line will be the first train to feature three cars. when it is launched, the three-car train will be kpriemzed of these brand-new vehicles. weekday ridership rose by 9% from '08 to 2016. muni's new light rail vehicles are expected to launch in the fall. new details this morning an tesla's much anticipated model 3 sedan. according to reuters, test production is likely to begin at the fremont plant. it is the next goal of starting full manufacturing in july. this will be tesla's lowest cost vehicle. it starts at $35,000. it is 6:24 and it's

ask finney. this morning, terry from concord has a question about student loans. >> my question is, as a parent, what should i think about or consider when trying to decide whether to get student loans to help my child through college? >> hi, terry. the number one thing, remember this, they give out student loans, they don't give retirement loans. so, here's the michael finney order of financing a college education. first, look for low-cost institutions. then, scholarships and grants. after that, consider self-financing whatever you can afford. then, student loans in the student's name. only after that should a parent take out a loan in their name. terry, thanks for your question. >> well, michael finney is heading to daly city to hear your consumer questions. he's going to be near the food court tomorrow from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. be sure to bring your questions and you may be live on abc7 or you can ask your questions on

social media. it's really easy, just post it and use #askfinney. next at 6:30, storm watch, we are live in the north bay where rain is falling this morning and the area has already seen a lot of flooding. plus the problems across the state this morning as people brace for more rain and more snow. and here's a latest data on what i think your biggest concerns should be for this storm and it starts in the high to very high category for just about everything. river and creek flooding, mudslides, hydroplaning, trees toppling, and power outages, the worst of the storm is not here yet. plus the east coast getting battered by snow right now. an emergency press conference was just held. i'll have much more on how bad the situation is getting there. here's a live look at the bay bridge as folks are making their way in a not too bad their way in a not too bad commute this

now at 6:30, the entire bay area ready for another round of wind and rain. >> live doppler 7 showing the north bay getting soak gd right now and within hours we could see more flooding, more mudslides, and more traffic troubles all over. good morning, it is a stormy thursday, february 9, you have your rain jacket ready to go. >> yes, because -- >> found it. >> you have such a nice dress on. here. >> thanks. >> you got to protect it.

>> i don't want you to rune it. >> let's check in with mike nicco right now. the north bay is seeing the most of it right now. >> that's where we're sending jessica right now. i'm kidding. here's a couple things to be serious about. the sirens will probably go off up in marin county in the north bay. once again, what will you to when those sirens are blaring. that's what you need to be thinking about right now as the moderate rain is now moving into your neighborhood, napa all the way down to pacifica. there is more developing offshore which happens to be up stream. also, if you ever heard the sound of a tree limb cracking, sounds like a shotgun going off. if you hear that, look up and make sure it is not going to be you that's underneath that tree. you can see the rain falling down on the exploratorium, up in the north bay, heaviest through 7:00, heaviest outside of the north bay around 4:00 and all of us tapering to light you are showers. you've had a run of pretty good

news. i'm savoring it because it's going to be a different story any minute now. here's a look at golden gate. you can see the road spray starting to kick up, so starting to get soggier out there. mass transit looking okay too. no delays to talk about. san francisco bay ferry obviously pretty concerned about the storm moving in. they are saying they are going to priet as schedule. they'll continue to monitor the storm and issue service updates as need. also if you're on the oakland/alameda route into san francisco you will be on a reduced capacity vessel this morning. satellite route 37 is looking coming up. we're not of course just worried about today's storm. we're worried about the cumulative effect of a week of bad weather, especially in the north bay. >> the ground saturated there, seems like they barely had time to breathe. matt keller is live in san anselmo are the preparations in ahead of today's big storm. >> reporter: good morning, natasha and reggie. the rain has really picked up here. in fact, check this out.

this is san anselmo avenue right here in downtown san anselmo. look how much water has already pooled here at the edge of the street. that's a lot of water, and it really is just started to rain so that's really worrisome. we've got the san anselmo creek that runs right back here and that water is only going to get higher. yeah here's some new video from this morning. we saw some workers walking around the downtown area checking thing out to make sure the water has somewhere to go. they don't want to be dealing with clogged drains today. now the reality of what happened on tuesday could very well happen again today. alarms sounded in san anselmo and ross valley, signaling imminent flooding. the san anselmo creek went well above flood stage. water lapped up against the buildings while businesses had their sandbags out and put their items up. firefighters have advice for you before you head out today. >> just stay home. it's not good to be on the road during these storms if you don't

have a real reason to, stay inside and stay warm and dry. >> reporter: some people couldn't stay home earlier this week. they in the marin county community of kent field, people were in kayaks and row boats. firefighters needed help evacuating residents. the ground is already saturated. the waterways are full and a lot of rain is coming here today. businesses are prepared here in downtown san anselmo. you can see the sandbags are out. you should be prepared as well. reporting live in sount san anselmo, matt keller. people living a little farther in the north bay are watching and waiting to see what impact today's storm is going to have. >> amy hollyfield is live in guerneville with more on what they're preparing for. >> reporter: hi, natasha. well, the rain is here in guerneville. it is coming down right now. look behind me. the russian river is up. you can see it spilling into this parking lot. residents here are ready. they've been having to deal with it all winter but look at this

home over here. it's got the sandbags out in the driveway. ready to greet the river if it does come up this high. that's what they have faced this whole season here in guerneville. here's a look at what they faced earlier this week came up after tuesday's storm. people who were caught off guard had to be helped out of their homes by firefighters. they are expecting it to reach flood stage again. that's expected tomorrow morning, though. we are only expecting minor flooding this time. that is the prediction. they are saying it's going to hit about 33.7 feet, which is over flood stage, but just to give you some comparison, remember last month when we were showing you all of the images here of really problematic flooding here, that time it reached 37 feet. so not going to come up as high this time. but still something worth watching. especially as this rain comes down. reporting live in guerneville, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. thank you. students at dozens of bay area schools have a day off today

because of the storm. most of the schools closed today are in santa cruz, also marin counties. we have a complete list for you on the abc7 news app. you can go ahead, download it for free, be sure to enable push alerts to get breaking news updates on the storm as they happen. this morning, a van is still stuck here on a rural road in santa cruz county. skyland road suddenly collapsed late tuesday night. that blue van ended up inside the gaping hole, wedged at both ends. luckily that driver did not get hurt. with another storm today, people who live in that area are just concerned about getting around. >> it's going to be a while before we get to use this road to go to town, so hopefully the other only road out of here stays open. >> crews say they are not going to remove that van until they can stabilize the area around it. caltrans now saying highway 17 will not fully reopen through scotts valley until monday at the earliest. crews are still working to clear a giant mudslide between vine hill and sugar loaf roads. there is one lane open in each direction. you're looking at video of the crews, they worked through the night clearing mud and debris

from the northbound lanes. well, tuesday's slide hit in the exact same place where one of our morning flafrz was hit by a landslide last month. he is still recovering from that accident. and now he is talkin about it for the first time. coming up in just a few minutes, the video he took from inside in the first moments after the crash and his warning now for other drivers. good news for commuters heading west along the altamont pass in livermore this morning. your drive is going to be much better than yesterday's. sky7 was live above the nightmarish backup on 580 as crews were fixing a massive pothole near greenville road. it took them more than 20 hours to complete. westbound lanes finally reopened around 10:30 last night. and then earlier this morning, chp reopened westbound interstate 80 near the nevada state line. a mudslide trapped several cars. the chp posted these photos on facebook. no one got hurt there and the tow trucks were able to clear out the cars overnight. imagine being the driver inside of this flipped white car

there as water rapidly starts filling the inside. two good samaritans are being credited with saving his life after he crashed into a livermore creek. all this happened on tuesday afternoon along highland road on collier canyon road. dan rich lives nearby and he ran over as soon as he heard the crash. another man who happened to be nearby jumped into the creek while rich grabbed a pick axe to break the car's windshield. >> i said we need to rupture this window and get inside. he was running out of time. >> dan says he could hear him pounding on the windows from the inside. the two men pulled the driver to safety. chp says he crashed because he was going too fast for the wet road conditions, a good reminder for all of us today. absolutely. as today's storm moves in where you live, take a photo or video, share it with us and use #abc7now. that way we can post it online and show it to you on a

hi, everyone. i've been checking information on this east coast storm that's been happening throughout the the very latest because there was just an emergency news conference in connecticut. the east coast has been dealing with a powerful storm. we've been talking about it through this morning and i want to show you this new video. they have just announced that they're actually putting the national guard on standby, ready to come to help out many cities and counties that already have ramped up for that severe weather. this is video from someone in connecticut. this was posted just a few minutes ago by a producer at espn in bristol. you can see those nearly whiteout conditions already there this morning and local meteorologists have just updated their forecast. they are now saying they're bracing for up to 20 inches of snow expected in the next few hours so the situation rapidly changing and we are tracking it here. happening today, jeff sessions is being sworn in as u.s. attorney general at the white house.

the senate confirmed him yesterday by a 52-47 vote. the alabama senator survived a strong push by democrats to derail his anonymous. they questioned his position on voting rights, immigration, also women's health. he attempted senate confirmation once before and failed in 1986 after he was accused of racial insensitivity. after this vote, sessions urged senators to, quote, get along better. the mayor of berkeley now has police protection because he's getting death threats. jesse arreguin started getting threats after milo yiannopoulos -- after he called milo yiannopoulos a white nationalist. now the mayor later apologized and then called him alt-rightist. yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at uc berkeley last week as you know, violent protests shut that down. the mayor told berkeley side the threats will not stop him from standing up for what is right. napa, american canyon, heads up, moderate rain moving into

your neighborhoods right now and that means ponding on the roadways is going to happen. our storm is a 3. it's strong on our storm impact scale with the highest impact in the north bay and santa cruz mountains, downpours and strong winds and flooding likely just about anywhere today. winds, they're already starting to pick up, the fastest winds will be until 4:00 in the north bay, window for damage starts at 7:00 through 4:00 this morning and afternoon for the east bay hills, the diablo range and the santa cruz mountains. we got dpuss up to 60 miles per hour. flooding, flash flood watch, be prepared when a warning's issued, that's when you take action. flooding any time now until now until 7:00 tomorrow morning in the santa cruz mountains. coastal flooding will happen from 7:00 this morning until noon. for the rush hour this morning, heaviest will be in the north bay and then in the south bay this evening. the heaviest of the rain is going to fall pretty much between the two rush hours. here's another look at that rain as it encroaches upon napa, down

towards vallejo and cordelia. hour-by-hour time frame for this heavy rain next. here's alexis. good news? yeah. still looking pretty good but we are definitely starting to fill in and see things slow down here. so here's the bay bridge toll plaza. that pavement starting to slicken up a little bit as the rain pushes in and we do have a high wind advisory just issued for the bay bridge too. gusty when i drove across several hours ago so those gusts are picking up. both hands on the wheel. let's flip over to the traffic maps. we do have that closure still of state route 37. they were only able to open up one eastbound lane yesterday so we still have a full closure of the westbound side and of course this is just that flood-prone area. actually the backup hasn't been too bad. that was in the red just a moment ago. we were down to 27 miles per hour. looks like that's thinned out just a bit and chp is on the scene helping out with that traffic control once again today. other than that, we've had very few incidents here this morning. westbound 580 to northbound 680 in the dublin area, we got a spinout crash reported in the right lane but it's pushed off to the shoulder of that ramp at

this point. we'll take a look at drive times coming up. there's been a rash of smash and grabs in one stretch of the bay area. the one thing police say they all have in common. apple's tenth anniversary iphone isn't out yet but the rumors are and it's not a better rumors are and it's not a better screen or

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today's storm is level 3. that means a strong storm. look out for flooding, hazards

on the road, and possible power outages. stay ahead of today's storm with the abc7 news app. download it now. it is 6:45. part of highway 17 in the santa cruz mountains is still closed this morning because of a mudslide. >> and that slide in the exact same spot as another slide that injured an abc7 news photographer just last month. >> god, my air bag went off. jesus christ, the whole -- yes. the whole mountain came down on top of me. >> that is the voice of ian babcock. he was driving that news van to work early in the morning on january 9 and all of a sudden trees and rocks began to fall. >> the whole mountain just exploded in front of me. like this. it just -- it didn't come down in front of me. it came straight sideways. right across the windshield and i had about one second to react. >> because power lines fell on the news van, he waited until firefighters pried open the door. babcock was checked out at a hospital and released.

he is a friend to so many of us here and he's been recovering at home. we still wish him the best. you will have to live with emergency drought rules for a while longer despite all the rain and snow we've been getting. they've voted to keep the regulations in place. a coalition of state and local leaders wanted to board to lift the restrictions but water officials are concerned about what could happen if the rain and snow start easing up. governor brown declared a drought emergency in 2014 and ordered californians to cut water use by 25%. police in three east bay cities are working together now to figure how the who is behind a rash of car break ins. there have been 15 smash and grabs at shopping centers in danville, black hawk, and san ramon in one night. police say in most cases, the thieves sort out what they want to keep and then dump the rest at a different location. they've stolen electronics, sports equipment, and other items people are leaving in plain view. police are now working on a few leads and reviewing video from security cameras.

that breaking news, the developer of the dakota access pipeline says it has started construction. it's a stretch that's been highly disputed. it had been delayed until now with people protesting across the nation, including here in the bay area. due to the pipe lienline's proximity to the standing rock sioux reservation. a spokesperson confirmed construction started immediately after receiving the easement and workers had already drilled entry and exit holes for the crossing and oil had been put into that pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of completing this project. that final stretch could take three months to complete. it has been 39 days since the 49ers started their search for a new general manager and head coach and look at it now. today, new gm john lynch and new coach mike shanahan will be formally introduced together.

the two of them toured the locker room yesterday. shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the atlanta falcons and it's lynch's first frons office job ever. we're going to be streaming today's nusz conference live at 1:00 on our abc7 news app and abc7news.com. well there is a 7-year-old boy in southern california that's already started saving up for college in a unique way. brian hickman started his own recycling business. every week, he and his family sort through bags of recyclables and he's already saved up more than $10,000. he has a message for everyone. >> if you already recycle, just keep on recycling. if you don't recycle, just start recycling. >> don't you just love him? >> yes. >> yes. ryan also sells t-shirts on his website if you're interested and those proceeds go to the pacific marine mammal center. what a dude. >> i'm quite impressed. i don't know if i'm impressed with the weather right

now. >> boy, mike. >> no, it's not as nice as having a 529 plan or compound interest at that age either. but i do want to start with good news, though. the south bay, you are going to have the driest commute. you're going to receive the least amount of rain from the storm but across the north, look at this. richmond, raining right now and a southeast wind, 28. moderate to heavy rain and windy today, scattered showers and breezy tomorrow to a lot less intensity. winds are picking up. 22 at san jose, 28 at half moon bay, 28 at sfo, levels for now. we also have arrival delays of three hours and three minutes at sfo as you can see the leading edge of the rain is in the east bay hills. all the way up towards walnut creek and all the way down to the san mateo bridge right now. let me show you what's going on. plume of whiteness, that is a moisture plume that is so juicy it's 200% of average. when it bumps into this cold front, that's when we'll have

the heaviest rain come in. up in the north bay at 7:00. yellows and oranges. now as we head towards 9:00, it's still mainly up in the north bay but there will be some heavier rain for the rest of us. the steadier, heavier rain moves into the heart of the bay during the lunch hour and stays there until about 4:00 when it's in the south bay and then it exits the south bay when we get to about 7:00 so rainfall totals not very impressive through 9:00, all the way down to the dumbarton bridge and then look at this. a half inch down in the south bay, 3/4 to an 1 1/2 inch for the rest of us. my accuweather 7 day forecast, tomorrow's storm's a 1, light on our storm impact scale. increasing sunshine this weekend, low to mid 60s a little more cloud cover but dry through at least wednesday. in the case thursday, not even going to talk about that rain, alexis. don't go there, mike. we've had enough. taking a look at the golden gate bridge. check it out. the rain is here. so if you're going to be traveling from the north bay into san francisco, here's what your commute looks like across golden gate, no major blocking

issues but it is soggy. traffic maps, i do have live doppler 7 added. you can see yellow, the orange popping up there. for some of you traveling on the north end today. slow down, drive for conditions. state route 17, still have those northbound lanes blocked dow to the shrewd so using the southbound lanes for that. five-mile backup if you are coming from the scotts valley area so just plan on some delays there. drive times looking okay. slight delays on 24 out of the walnut creek area but just 33 minutes to the outfit central valley. you already see them at some intersections to catch red light runners. now cameras might be used to snag speeders .right now, state law lets cities use automated cameras only for red light enforcement. a bill by david chiu would okay a pilot program in san jose and san francisco to use cameras to catch speeders. the goal, they says, to improve safety and they say money from speeding tickets would go back into the camera program.

140 cities outside california use automated cameras to catch speeders. for all you early adopters out there, if you're itching to upgrade, when apple replaesed the iphone 8, you may want to start saving now. the new iphone will have some radical new features and run more than $1,000. that's just for the base model. the iphone 8 is reported to have a two-lens 3d camera, an edge to edge screen and feature facial recognition and $1,000 price tag. >> that kid who collected $10,000 worth of cans can only get ten iphones with that. >> puts it in perspective. we're back with the seven things you need to know before you go. >> first our instagram photo of the day. follow us @abc7newsbayarea. and remember, share your photos and video with #abc7now. the rain already pretty intense in the north bay right now and as you heard mike say, this is going to just go down the bay. midday for all of us here around san francisco and then south bay

a little later on. this is a live look at san anselmo this morning. anselmo this morning. that d anselmo this morning. fortunately there's a bedples diswhere you both get whatess? you want every night. enter sleep number and the ultimate sleep number event, going on now.

sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. and right now save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed. go to sleepnumber.com for a store near you. these are the seven things you need to know and we start with mike. >> number one is the weather. the greatest potential for damage is from 9:00 this morning to 4:00 this afternoon. very high likelihood of river and creek flooding, mudslides,

hydroplaning, moderate to high probability of trees topples and power outages. the worst is still ahead of us. number two this morning, people in san anselmo stacking up the sandbags outside their businesses and homes. they are preparing for the possibility of flooding today after tuesday's rain pushed a nearby creek well above flood stage. today's storm has people along the russian river in sonoma county once again bracing for flooding. right now the river is at 31.3 feet. flood stage is at 32 feet. and number four, the conditions are really starting to get worse out there this morning. here's a look at the bay bridge starting to slow down into san francisco, a high wind advisory was just issued by chp. the north bay, you are already soaked so drive for conditions the rest of the day. number five, action was quick already a legal challenge has been filed against the dakota access pipeline's final stretch. it's by the standing rock sioux tribe whose land is right near it as i told you just a few minutes ago, the final stretch the now officially under construction. number six, a powerful storm

is pounding the east coast right now and you can see the cliffton, new jersey. whiteout and some states expecting to get up to 20 inches of snow. there's a new facebook feature called community help. it will allow users to ask for help or offer it during a natural disaster or other emergency. i suppose that one would qualify. hopefully today's won't qualify and people will be safe and sound. >> absolutely. what can we expect for the rest of today, mike? >> lot of rain. absolutely. pflooding, there's going to be mudslides, rock slides, the santa cruz mountains it's not there yet but it's going to be there probably after the 9:00, 10:00 hour and it's going to stay through about 6:00 this evening. north bay, your window's opening right now. remember if those sirens go off, think about what you will do when those sirens go off if the flooding develops because right now we're under a watch, no warnings but that means be prepared. >> there's more than 40 cancellations at sfo already so that's already a mess too. >> just the beginning of a tough day. >> all right.

>> all right. we're wishing you luck

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good morning, america. winter whiteout. the biggest snowstorm of the season hitting the northeast right now. 50 million americans bracing for up to a foot of snow. and blizzard conditions already sparking dangerous commutes. >> watch out, watch out. >> thousands of flights canceled. schools closed in major cities. the snow coming down up to four inches an hour. demoralizing and disheartening. unprecedented comments from president trump's supreme court nominee criticizing the president's harsh words about judges. >> courts seem to be so political. >> as trump lashing out at nordstrom for dropping ivanka's fashion line. will this start a chain reaction? and basket-brawl. former nba star charles oakley accused of