the strongest storm of the season hitting the bay area as we speak. a 3 on our storm impact scale and that means a messy commute. >> the timing of this rocked many of us going back to work today, going become to school today. and this is what's greeting us on this monday, january 8th. alexis is off. good morning, natasha, reggie, hi, everybody. just going to have to grin and bear it. it's touching all of our lives. a 3 means heavy rains. strong winds and flooding

concerns over the burn scars. let me show you the areas, just rolled over 680 from pleasant rolled over 680 from pleasant hill up to about martinez, mart, altamont pass, pretty slick and you can see more yellows, moderate rain offshore. san jose. the rain has not escaped you like it normally does. my accuweather planner, a soggy start breezy at noon and evening. causing issues on the >> lots of hydro planing. the richmond/san rafael bridge. standing water as you approach. traffic is light. green for the sensors. green elsewhere means it's raining. we get your morning back in

action with kids back to school and back to work after the holiday. south 280 before 380 an overturn. a traffic break there. plenty of other solo spinouts and accidents to tell you about when we come back. slick roads will be an issue all day. please be careful. >> matt keller in the santa cruz mountains. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, natasha and reggie. the showers are coming down here in the santa cruz mountains. it's still relatively light. let me tell you driving conditions are dangerous. we've seen several accidents already up here on highway 17, and we're just getting started this morning. check out this video of one of the crashes at about 3:30 this morning. my photographer was driving on highway 17 when he came across this crash. chp was there clearing the scene. two people were inside.

the driver said he was thankful and shocked at how easily he lost control of his car. and that's a lesson. the roads are slick. be extra careful especially up here in the mountains when you come around the turns. sometimes you're right on top of a crash that just happened. you want to be able to stop quickly and slow down. reporting live, matt keller, abc 7 news. and crews in san francisco are ready to respond to anything the storm may bring. >> the flood stop barriers are in place at 17th and folsom, low lying and floods easily. lying and floods easily. the city is doing what it can keep drains cleared. volunteers have been clearing them themselves. >> elevate belongings if they feel they might be at risk for experiencing some flooding and make sure to call 311 if you

experience flooding in the home. >> if you need sandbags you can pick them up at public works. each resident gets it ten for free. hey, guys, i am still following breaking news out of new york city and this is a live picture of trump tower. things a lot better there in the last few minutes after a small fire was reported on the roof of trump tower. you can see things are out and firefighters are starting to clear the area. this is what it looked like just a few minutes ago and there was a fire at an electrical box on top of the roof. a heating and cooling unit. there were at least a dozen firefighters that did respond to the fire to make sure everything was okay. there were no injuries reported with this. again, let me go back to our live image, you see things better and firefighters are starting to clear the area. that is the latest from our live desk. back to you.

thank you, jessica. everyone is talking about the golden globe awards and the focus wasn't on so much who won the trophies but who spoke. >> absolutely. >> it was an evening of empowerment. time is up. we see you. we hear you. >> reporter: producer reese witherspoon won a golden globe for limited series for "big little lies." one of the women behind the time's up movement which encouraged people to wear black to the golden globe ceremony. the aim was to take the focus off fashion and frivolity and put it on more important issues. >> i think there was a collective feeling it wouldn't be business as usual because i think we have to be forever changed. >> reporter: films featuring strong female characters fared well. "lady bird," "three billboards" and the leading ladies of those films won.

alison janney added an award. the veteran actress is proud to join the time's up movement. >> i never thought we'd be having this conversation in my lifetime. i thought abuse of power has been around since the beginning of time. and, yeah, maybe it will never go away but now people will be held accountable for it. >> reporter: on the red carpet outside the beverly hilton hotel there seemed to be a genuine feeling of hope. >> i think it's great. i think the fact there's an awareness and people are talking about it is the first step. >> if we could shed some light, that's a good thing. more importantly if it sticks, you know, not just tonight but a year from now, ten years from now, 20 years from now. that's what's important. >> reporter: hollywood is in full awards mode. critics choice on thursday. on january 23rd, the oscar nominations. in beverly hills, california, abc news. and speaking of the oscars you can only see them here on abc 7. so here are some dates to mark

down. nominations come out as george mentioned tuesday, january 23rd, about two weeks away. live coverage right here on abc 7 mornings. and then on sunday, march 4th, jimmy kimmel hosts the 90th oscars. abc 7 the only place we can watch them. facing charges of stealing from senior citizens. >> brian box targeted former clients that he once cared for as a home health aid. he appeared on the netflix series "13 reasons why." he stole valuables from at least six homes while visiting former clients to discuss his new acting career. authorities say the thefts happened between late september and early november of last year. talking to sue and reminding you you have to slow down. a lot solo spinouts though our rain is light to moderate. if you're the first out there you'll be hitting the puddles before anyone else has a chance to drive through them and thin them out.

remember that as you're heading out the door. the evening commute will be even worse because there will be more cars packed into a shorter time frame. the rain will be even heavier and rains will be even stronger. they'll be buffeting you perpendicular, coming at you from the side on our east/west bridges during the evening commute so that will cause issues for our higher profile vehicles. the san mateo bridge you're looking at here is soggy this morning as we look off to the west where if you're heading to redwood city, you can see around fremont, down to milpitas, and these are all heading to the north to the northeast as the storm is tapping that subtropical, deep mois those atmospheric issues. people heading back to work and school. you can see the ferry building, the flags aren't moving yet but they will. on the bay, poor today. wet and choppy. if you like to exercise in the rain, it will be out all day for you. the umbrella may not help you

once the winds pick up and the wind starts coming in sideways. here's san francisco, rain all day. we start at 50. by noon we're 54. by the afternoon we're around 57 degrees. in the east bay 51 this morning. 53 at noon. notice the temperatures get warmer during the evening hours. that's why we have a chance of thunderstorms. then with the more energy that's in the atmosphere the same thing for the south bay. near 60 by 2:00 and that will continue. here's sue to tell you about the spinouts. >> we go back to the east shore freeway. good morning, mike. good morning, everyone. the left-hand side of your screen you can see an accident on the side of the road that pushed off to the right-hand shoulder but very thick and it's hard to see. it's blurry because of the rain that is coming down, a solid stream of headlights westbound on 80. green on our traffic map other than the sensors means it is raining so you can rest assured it's out there. we have slow traffic out of tracy. better news as you approach 380

southbound 280 we had an overturned vehicle that's been cleared out of lanes and traffic is recovering nicely there. in oakland, westbound 580 near mcarthur. the same thing with san jose northbound 101 just after 680. we are finding slow traffic due to a sideways vehicle in lanes, two lanes there as well. >> so many solo spinouts. slow down out there. a proactive step by apple shareholders, what they want done to protect kids in the future. >> and a mysterious mission. what we know about the first spacex launch of the year. the abc 7 storm impact scale. 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 stay ahead of today's storm with the abc 7 news app.

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maybe the rain woke you up this morning but that's only the light rain with pockets of moderate rain. see those two areas of low pressure. when those join forces this afternoon and evening, that's when the heaviest of the rain, the fastest winds and the potential for thunderstorms rolls into the forecast. more on that coming up. >> thanks, mike. in today's "gma first look" a water main break shut down one of the terminals and created chaos stranding people for hours and hours. >> abc's david curly has all the details. >> reporter: in this morning's

"gma first look" just when it seemed it couldn't get worse -- that water pipe at jfk burst apparently from the freezing cold. 3 inches of water flooding part of the main international terminal. even before the water failed, jfk was a mess two days after the bomb cyclone. an aviation source telling abc news that many airlines tried to recover from the canceled friday flights and run a regular schedule, too. for some that meant doubling the number of flights and there just weren't enough gates and everything slowed to a crawl. >> the overall performance getting passengers to gates, getting them unloaded in a timely fashion was unacceptable. >> reporter: one woman who's seen it all at jfk. >> we've been here for over 16 hours. >> reporter: coming up at 7:00 a.m. with your "gma first look" i'm david curly, abc news, new york. it's 5:14. >> i'm frustrated for them.

a fund-raising campaign started by a bay area tech company to help ray moore's accusers has reached $160,000. >> a home burn down in a case of suspected arson. she is one of several women who is accusing the former alabama senate candidate of sexual harassment. katie jacobs stanton seen here three years ago started the campaign. she said she felt inspired by johnson's bravery to help rebuild her home. two of apple share hold remembers urging the tech giant to study the effects of smartphones on children. >> the company needs to offer parents more choices and both want them to look at the emotional health and sleep. the north bay's new transit agency is adding a third rail car to the popular morning and afternoon commutes. officials with smart say they needed to expand service to meet

the growing demand since service started in august nearly 25,000 cyclists using the train. an old-time movie theater in the east bay has shown its last movie. >> this is the rheem theater that held one final showing last night before bringing down the final curtain. citing rising maintenance costs and the rise of alternate ways to view movies, the owner says he could no longer keep the doors open. longtime customers are pretty devastated. >> this theater goes way back and it gives you a nostalgic feeling. it's just not the same. getting emotional. >> although the final show has played, the screen and the chairs will stay behind. a nonprofit may take over the building. a glimmer of hope. take a look at this scene that looks like something from another planet. this is drone video. this is a completely frozen over

beach. it caused the ocean to freeze over certainly not something we see every day. the weather finally warming up, the ice will be melting away today. mike, the reason this is so rare, ocean water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water does. is that right? >> the salt and other nutrients. it's not pure water. a look at sfo this morning. that is an amazing, if you think about it. i'm going to move forward with what's happening here. no delays yet. there's the possibility with the rain. walnut creek, driving on 680 as we look southbound to the heavier rain which is down to our south and it's coming our way throughout the day. gusty winds, lightning and heavier rain in the early overnight hours and the extended is dry and warm er than again. byron, discovery bay, the moderate showers there and that continues as you head from antioch to pittsburg and heading

to fairfield, moderate showers. heading to sfo right now, they usually let us know in about 40, 45 minutes from now if there's going to be delays which there will be. i will update you on that. you can see observing and san jose also soggy with the rain rolling through. my storm concerns for today, and sue can back me up on this, all the hydroplaning we're dealing with. trees toppling could cause power outages, flooding on the burn scars and river flooding is lower. in the south bay and then those start to move to the north, become more isolated at noon. the secondary surge comes in at 4:00 this afternoon. you can see by 7:00 just a wall of moderate to heavy rain moving in for the evening hours. the rain is starting to taper in intensity. there will be plenty of standing

water around and it will still be breezy through most of the morning commute. we'll dry out wednesday and get back into the 60s thursday, mid-60s with sunshine by saturday and sunday. back me up, sue. >> hydroplaning is a big issue this morning for sure. let's look at the bay bridge toll plaza, tells the story. it's raining here. we don't have metering lights yet. we do have a slight backup on the right-hand cash-paying lanes, but nothing to speak of just a lot of standing water as you can see on our maps, the green on the sensors is good at the limit traffic. the green on the rest of the map means it is raining where you are. we can confirm that with slow traffic out of tracy. ace train number one is a great way to avoid that running on time this morning. we have a new accident, this one northbound 280 before highway 92. blocking a lane of traffic. another accident, 580. we've had a couple of east and westbound 580 near mcarthur and lake shore. this also an overturn blocking

several lanes. that's what happens when you get going too fast and hit that water. boom, the car over compensates and turns over. and it's not good. we have more come up in a few minutes. three, two, one, ignition, liftoff. spacex marking another successful launch and landing of one of its rockets. the falcon 9 lifted off from cape canaveral last night. so what is it carrying? wouldn't you like to know. it's a secret. this is a mission from a u.s. government. the payload known as zuma. zuma is a spacecraft and that is all spacex or the government is saying about it now. happening today a chance to help save lives and help bay area kids in the process. >> a blood center for the fifth annual campaign. for every 15 people who donate blood, they will donate a bicycle for a child. the campaign runs until january 27th.

all you have to do is call or go to the blood center online to mack an appointment. northern california homeowners getting angry they could be fined if they don't leave their garage doors open during the day. >> such a strange story. a homeowners association came up with this policy after discovering one of the residents was allowing people to live in their garage. homeowners are now told to keep their doors up between 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and if they don't they may face a $200 fine. some residents are saying they would rather pay the penalty than risk becoming a victim of burglary. >> let me give you the $200 fine right now. give me a month so that i can get my stuff out and i might as well empty everything out and leave the door open permanently because there's no point in having a garage door then. >> the hoa has not commented on the policy. there is a meeting scheduled in two weeks. some northern california homeowners -- we just talked about that. >> we may be having some technical difficulties.

up next the seven things you need to know as you start your day. >> this is what i do when i'm tap dancing. oprah's speech stole the golden globes. we'll share that

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don't drive or u machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can do more with my mily. talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. it's 5:24. whether you're just joining us or heading out the door, seven things to know before you go. number one is the weather. we are on an accuweather alert because of a 3 on our storm impact scale, a strong storm that will drop by the evening commute at least a half inch in the south bay to nearly an inch and a half in the north bay. and the second thing you need to know is wet out there. we're taking a live look at the richmond/san rafael bridge. the rain coming down here. traffic conditions are light. the biggest problem standing water, hydroplaning. slow down those speeds. and number three goes right into that. chp responding to several crashes in the santa cruz mountains along highway 17.

at least two cars involved. one driver says his car hydroplaned at about 30 feet. no one was seriously hurt. number four, residents of fire ravaged santa rosa are hoping preparations for the storm will be good enough. october's fire stripped away vegetation needed to keep hill slides from sliding. number five from the live desk, there was a small fire on the roof of trump tower in new york city just a few minutes ago. the fire started in a heating and cooling unit. no injuries were reported. number six, the man acquitted of murdering native kate steinle is scheduled to make his appearance in federal court. jose ines garcia zarate faces charges of being an undocumented immigrant in possession after firearm. number seven, oprah stole the show at last night's golden globe awards. the media mogul accepted the cecil demille award. >> a lot of people are saying oprah should run for president and that was for her unofficial entry into the race. she said in the past she

absolutely does not want to do that. >> we heard from stedman this morning. >> he told the "l.a. times" that she would run for president if the people wanted her to. >> stay tuned. stay tuned. can you imagine this happening to you? >> listen to this. a woman thought she was booked on a flight to san jose, but, instead, landed in san jose, costa rica, about 4,000 miles south of the bay area. according to the chronicle she and her family were vacationing in italy. she and her friend booked the wrong flight home. they had a layover in paris. their boarding pass listed the city not the country. they thought everything was okay. it wasn't until two hours into the flight they realized what happened. so they touched down in sfo on friday afternoon. welcome back and we're sorry. that's just brutal. >> i did get on a flight once with a friend, we were going to costa rica and he tried to get off because he thought we were

going to the real place because he didn't realize it was the capital of a city and not just a city in the bay area. good friends. the former san francisco supervisor looking to move into the mayor's office. the warning going out to homeowners in areas ravaged by the massive thomas fire as a major storm moves in. natasha and reggie, you were talking about oprah a few seconds ago. the reaction coming in this morning on social

kids going back to school after the christmas break. parents going back to work. and apparently mother nature is going to work, too. >> live doppler 7 tells the story. look, the strongest storm of the season has clearly arrived. thank you for being here on this monday, january 8th.

>> we have live team coverage beginning with meteorologist mike nicco. hi, mike. >> hi, everybody. as good as advertised, this storm coming in pretty hard this morning, steady rain to moderate at times. it will get even heavier. the winds will pick up also and the flooding concerns over the burn scars will be a big, you then. it's raining in the south bay. 280 and 17. a solid shield of green for you. broaden it out, to the santa cruz mountains. you can see the yellow embedded as we head to the north and the northeast so you cannot escape the wet weather during the morning commute nor the entire day today. the breezes kick up around noon. the rain becomes more intense at 4:00, even some thunderstorms possible during the evening hours. temperatures in the low 50s now will end up in the upper 50s during the evening hours. sue, tell us about the accidents. >> lots of hydro planing out there due to the standing water. back to the bay bridge toll

plaza. metering lights still not on yet. traffic is getting by relatively well. a slight delay in the cash paying lanes. stay to the left. mike was mentioning green tells the story, the green on the map is showing the rain. slow traffic. ace train's a great way to go. we had an earlier accident there that is still lingering. lots of solo spinouts. >> sue, thank you. with that first significant winter storm of the season the north bay gearing up. >> there is concern for flash flooding and mud slides in areas devastated by wildfire. amy hollyfield is live for us. good morning, amy. >> reporter: good morning, reggie. we are here in the fountaingrove neighborhood here in santa rosa to keep an eye on areas like this to see how this storm impacts them. this burned out areas like this will be the focus of santa rosa officials as they watch for mud slides and flooding. the assistant fire marshal says

he does feel like city crews have done a good job preparing for this weather. >> we had a significant threat to not only our infrastructure but our community just based on that damage that was done. a lot of work has been accomplished over the last couple months to repair, replace, and improve those systems. >> reporter: the fire department is using social media to get warning out. they sent a tweet out yesterday warning everyone this potent storm was coming and just to be prepared and that it could really pick up this afternoon. the fire department telling us they don't want to have to evacuate people but they do want them to be ready. be prepared for that possibility just in case. reporting live in santa rosa, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. it's 5:32 now. storm preps are also under way in the south bay. abc 7 news was in santa clara where the county is providing almost 200 more beds as the rain arrives. some of the beds are right there

scheduled to be available for the next three nights. rain is also in the forecast for southern california. santa barbara county telling people who live where the thomas fire burned to evacuate. >> up to 6 inches of rain could fall in ventura and santa barbara counties where the thomas fire burned more than 440 square miles last month. public works crews have spent hours removing debris and clearing creeks in areas charred by recent wildfires. >> with this burn scar area, these are thousands of acres prone to mud slides and debris flow if heavy rains come our way. >> and they have robotic cameras that can help determine if water is moving properly through underground storm drains. happening today the man acquitted of murdering pleasanton native kate steinle is scheduled to make his initial appearance. a judge sentenced jose ines garcia zarate to three years in prison for gun possession. zarate was released on credit for time served and immediately after that federal authorities charged zarate with being a

convicted felon and an illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. he was never out of custody. state prosecutors tried to convince the jury he had deliberately fired a gun. that bullet ricocheted and then went 78 feet into the air hitting steinle in san francisco. >> suspects who shot two people in fremont. the people shot were trying to stop a car burglary. >> officers and k- 9 teams searched for four people. detectives believe the two victims were shot after they confronted two men and women who broke into a car. >> shocking because it's a quiet neighborhood. never seen this happen here. really nice, peaceful neighborhood. been living here for a long time. >> both shooting victims are expected to survive. a woman died in a traffic crash. they believe her car collided with a car that was turning just

after 6:00 last night. the woman's toyota overturned and she got ejected from her suv. police tell us the other driver is cooperating with officers, and they don't believe drugs or alcohol were factors. hollywood and social media on fire in reaction to oprah winfrey's powerful speech at last night ace golden globe awards. >> she was the recipient of the cecil b. demille award, outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. oprah spoke to future generations saying a new day is on the horizon. it's an initiative of hundreds of women who are providing legal defense aid for sexual harassment victims. >> fighting hard to make sure they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say me too again. thank you. >> this incredible speech was sparking chatter for a run for

president. in the past we've heard from oprah time and time again she would not do so in 2020. but this morning her longtime partner stedman graham speaking to the "l.a. times" saying, quote, it's up to the people. >> and saying, also, she would do it. oprah, you'd better talk to your man. they need to get on the same page, as reggie was saying. an outpouring of reaction to oprah's speech, most positive especially from fellow celebrities. the musical duo saying oprah forever and always, the absolute best. gabrielle union said oprah, oprah, oprah thank you. actress reese witherspoon said this. it's probably my favorite tweet on twitter right now. i will officially divide time like this. everything that happened before oprah's speech to everything that will happen after. and, natasha and reggie, since

you were mentioning it, look at this. comedian sarah silverman saying oprah/michelle 2020. wait and see. >> she's putting it out there. jessica, thank you. and while we're on the subject of awards shows, the oscars. you can only see them here on abc 7. here are some of the dates soon. nominations come out on tuesday, january 23rd, and we will carry that live for you more than two weeks away. and then on sunday, march 4th, that's the big day. jimmy kimmel hosting the 90th oscars. again, abc 7 the only place you can watch them. former state senator mark leno will officially file his candidacy for mayor of san francisco. >> he joins a pool of two dozen candidates running for the open seat. according to the website leno says as mayor he will give a voice to every resident especially those who feel marginalized or left behind. the deadline to file is tomorrow. a special election will be held on june 5th.

let's talk about flooding. it's a big concern up across the north bay especially as we head to the noon hour after the steady diet of rain this morning with some moderate embedded showers in there. the more moderate showers will be more widespread and they'll linger all the way through the overnight hours and the residual effect taking a couple hours for that water to pool in the creeks and stuff. that's why the flash flood watch goes until 6:00 in the morning. the burn scars, we're concerned with them letting go because they don't have the vegetation to hold it in place. in san rafael you can see the light rain falling now as we look south on 101 there and you can see a solid shield of green across the north bay right now. and it's been that way over the last hour or so. we've had pockets of moderate rain around marin and the san pablo bay. for sure it's been a steady diet of rain. a look at what's going on in richmond. you can see the light to

moderate rain there falling and the puddles so prevalent causing so many spinouts. i put poor for the commute planner whether it's slick and breezy roads. mass transit, the sideways rain where the umbrella won't help you and the breezy and choppy bay this afternoon. the north bay, upper 40s. temperatures get warmer by the evening hours as the heavier rain rolls in and the possibility of thunder. the same thing in the east bay. 50s this morning. we're 57 to 58 degrees during the evening hours and on the peninsula 50 this morning. we're also in the upper 50s with heavier rain during the evening hours. when i come back an hour by hour look. here is sue with a look at all those spinouts. >> standing water, a big issue. our traffic maps, green sensors, red sensors. those are the slow areas. green on the map means it is raining and that is affecting your commute. so we have this accident that's overturned blocking a couple of lanes of traffic westbound 24.

traffic is stacked up now through the tunnel through orenda. over to observing, west 580 near lake shore, this is the second accident. standing water the culprit with a vehicle sideways in lanes. you can see the backup there as well. again, this is the second accident in that area. standing water is not going away. northbound 280 before highway 92, vehicle wrongway in lanes. it looks like traffic is getting by there, though, with little delay. we're going to check on some of your drive times when we come back. >> thanks, sue. good news for commuters, the lane addition on the richmond/san rafael bridge appears to be ahead of schedule. >> uber is powering with

let's take a quick step outside in the bay area and show you the entire state will be wet today and the wet weather will turn over to frozen up in the mountains. in fact, there could be flash flooding around yosemite as we head throughout the day. let's focus on the sierras if you're trying to get up to tahoe at 10:00 this evening through 7:00 tomorrow evening. the snow level will start at 7,500 feet and drop down to 6,500 feet. up to two feet of snow at the highest elevations and ski resorts desperately need it. in fact, they'll get more snow tomorrow and then, guess what, just like us, warmer than

average and dry starting thursday. i do want to get you a significant update on that breaking news in new york city, a small fire on the roof of trump tower less than an hour ago, and we have just learned that there were two minor injuries with this. those two were a firefighters who had some debris hit him and a building engineer who breathed in some smoke. the fire informs a cooling unit located on the roof, but the fire never actually got inside the building. we got that confirmation. it was spotted by secret service around 7:00 this morning, that's 4:00 our time. to one had to evacuate but tenants were alerted there was a fire on the roof. and about 70 firefighters responded. the fire is out now. back to you. >> protest are planned at the college football championship and president trump is expected to attend. >> groups are urging people to hold anti-trump signs. demonstrators plan to take a knee before the game, something

the president has said is, quote, disrespectful to our country and the flag. a group refuse fascism says the president dised atlanta by calling it crime infested. >> wikileaks "fire and fury." author michael wolff claims members of the inner circle brought up the 25th amendment, the constitutional mechanism to remove a president from office. wolff says the concept is, quote, alive every day in the white house. "fire and fury" is number one on amazon's list of hard cover and e-book bestsellers. relief could be coming sooner than expected for commuters. >> according to the marin ij the third lane of the eastbound side could open as soon as next month, two months earlier than projected. transportation officials say if testing goes well it will be avalable from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. every day.

cal transis spending $70 million to open the lane. santa clara-based chip maker nvidia is working with tesla. the announcement was made in vegas yesterday. uber will use the processors and software for its fleet of self-driving cars. nvidia predicts every new vehicle should have ai assistance for voice, gesture and facial recognition as well as augmented reality. let's get to our actual reality, rain coming down hard on just about all of you. hi, mike. >> good morning to you and to everybody out there. is this the way you want to wake up on a monday morning, the kids out of school for possibly a couple of weeks. this is the reality and there you go. you could see the steady rain in the south bay on 101 and 880. steady rain here in san francisco and a little bit of fog trying to develop now. let's talk about what will happen. this is just the beginning.

the rain will be heavy and winds gusty. heavier showers in the evening and early overnight hours. the showers will taper tomorrow. the storm goes from a 3, strong, to a 1, light, tomorrow. on the peninsula you can see just north of sfo around brisbane and heading up to the bayview at burlingame about to head over sfo, a moderate shower there. there's more developing to our southwest which is where all of this subtropical moisture is coming and even more farther south than that coming in. this is just a conveyor belt of rain, and that's why hydroplaning is my biggest storm concern as sue has been telling you about, trees toppling, flooding on the burn scars and river flooding. more yellows and oranges out there. they increase through the end of the commute at 9:00 and then by noon they become more scattered. but that's just the lull before at 4:00 you can see, let me get out of the way, the next wave

coming in. the reds that are coming at 7:00. that's the potential for heaviest rain and possibility of lightning and thunder. by 4:00 tomorrow morning they become more scattered. there will be a lot of water on the roadways. scattered showers throughout the day tomorrow as the storm does decrease in intensity. by wednesday we're start to go dry out. b thursday we're seeing more sunshine. by saturday and sunday we're back warmer than average in the low to mid-60s. how much rain to expect next. sue? we do have hydroplaning, the standing water and extra caution is needed. let's take a look at your drive times. 680 from walnut creek to dublin. a good 16-minute drive if you're traveling to san francisco from santa rosa that is a long haul but you are at the limit for just under one hour. highway 1 to los gatos on northbound 17. it is wet. it is slippery but at least it's a fairly good drive if you're making it right now. let's check in with the bay bridge toll plaza. metering lights have been turned on at 5:33.

along the east shore leading into san francisco via the bay bridge, a 40-minute drive now and most of that is a delay here for about 13 minutes to get from the back of the line through the metering lights. standing water an issue. wrongway facing cars and overturns coming up. >> sue, thank you. well, there's not enough dramamine in the world to help out with this situation. passengers demanding refunds after their ship traveled through the bomb cyclone that unleashed a powerful snowstorm along the east coast. >> this is a nightmare vacation. so this is video of passengers captured aboard the norwegian breakaway. it encountered 30-foot swells from the bahamas to new york city last week. water forced some of the ship's 4,000 passengers out of their rooms. >> you never want to be on a cruise ship and the water is coming on the boat. >> you couldn't imagine how horrible it was. >> norwegian cruise lines apologized claiming the weather was stronger than predicted.

however, forecasters actually said hurricane force storm winds would be in the path of the ship. >> look at the bucket -- look at the pool. >> look at the pool. do you think they still had bingo on deck six or was that canceled? >> oh, what a mess. >> at least give them free bingo cards. a major revitalization. the entrepreneur with big plans. indestructible tiny homes. with standing most major disasters. disasters. >> coachella they appear out of nowhere. my secret visitors. hallucinations and delusions. the unknown parts of living with parkinson's. what plots they unfold,

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a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. the abc 7 storm impact scale. 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 abc 7 news app. download it now. okay. look at the areas not in yellow. the san ramone valley, the tri-valley and the north bay. you're the only people not in the wind advisory that begins at noon for those 40 to 50-mile-per-hour gusts out of the south lasting through 6:00 tomorrow morning. it's going to hit every one of our commutes the next 18 hours. a look at your rain up next. mike, thank you. 5:53 now. some of us thinking about this after that quake we had last week. a sacramento home builder making tiny homes he says are completely indestructible. >> the company showcased one of its homes at sacramento's home and garden show. these homes are built with recycled shipping container. the homes are nearly fireproof

and can sustain hurricane force winds and can be used in disaster situations. the smallest is 160 square feet. prices start at $55,000. an air bag company plagued by safety issues is recalling 3.3 million air bags. >> this is the latest recall recalling the air bags from takata. they can explode and shoot shrapnel. at least 20 people have been killed worldwide, 180 hurt. the problem led japan-based takata to file for bankruptcy in june. 15 automakers that purchased the air bags including general motors, toyota, honda, bmw and tesla. 7 on your side has been reporting on issues involving the air bags since 2014. recreational pot now legal to smoke across the state but it won't be allowed at coachella this year. >> the marijuana-based products are banned this year and beyond. indio does not allow selling, cultivating or using marijuana. the festival starts on april

20th, 4/20, the unofficial holiday for pot. the lineup features headliners beyonce, the weekend and eminem. >> we have standing water for your back-to-school, back to work commute. the green on our maps means it's raining where you are for sure. the red means very slow and go. we do have only one lane getting by near college, backed up through thetunnel. a good solid 26-minute drive just to get through. over to oakland we had an overturned vehicle facing the wrong way. this is the second accident due to standing water and hydroplaning. extra caution is needed. we'll check back at the bay bridge toll plaza. rain is heavy and standing water the norm. here is mike with a look at the forecast.

two-thirds of an inch in the north bay. by noon look at that. by the end of the evening commute everybody north of the san mateo bridge will be at an inch to inch and a half. look what happens when you're sleeping, that's when the secondary push comes in and pushes you over the inch level and that's why tomorrow at this time there's going to be even more puddles on the roadway for you to contend with. mike, thank you. >> the national average price for a gallon of regular gas has gone up 3 cents. the current price is 16 cents more than it was last year at this time. industry analysts say higher crude oil cost is contributing to the higher prices. according to aaa a gallon of regular in san francisco is at

$3.27. in oakland, $3.15. in san jose, $3.14. storm watch, the preparations for the storm htting us right now. the trouble we are already seeing on the roads. plus, smart train working to make the commute easier. the change riders will notice starting this morning. and did you see oprah's golden globes speech last night? whether you saw it or missed it i'm sure everyone will be talking about it here's your receipt. have a nice day! thank you.

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6:00 a.m. and it's back to school, back to work for many of you this morning. the strongest storm of the season. this is a live look at the richmond/san rafael bridge where the road is soak. >> and it's the same in san francisco. our roof camera showing you the slick conditions along the embarcadero. >> and our camera along highway 101 confirming that, yes, even the south bay this time getting

the rain. good morning on this monday, january 8th. >> we are here for you. meteorologist mike nicco kicking it all off. the storm impact scale is a 3. that means we're going to see this steady rain become heavy at times this afternoon and evening hours. the flooding concerns over the burn scars will increase after the lunch hour. what you're dealing with is the appetizer, the main course is still to come. the spinning of the rain off the tires. we have some moderate showers now moving on to the peninsula and into marin county and even more developing down to our south. so let me go through your accuweather 12-hour planner. soggy start. breezy at noon. heavier rain at 4:00.