>> reporter: santa rosa has about 1400 storm drains that they are keeping an eye on. they've covered them with straw waddles and gravel bags. they're worried about runoff from the burned-out areas. they're going to do what they can to keep debris from going down the storm drains. an active day in santa rosa. all city crews will be on high alert watching for any problems. we're headed that way to keep an eye on it for you as well. reporting live from highway 101. amy hollyfield. abc 7 news. the sierra expected to get up to 7 feet of snow throughout the weekend. check out conditions along interstate 80 and highway 50. the chp says stay out of the mountains for the next few days. if you have to travel there, make sure you're ready. >> make sure that you have an emergency travel kit with extra food and water. some warm clothes. blankets. being able to make sure that they start off their trip with a full tank of gas.

>> cal trans says they've got 200 employees working around the clock to keep the roadways as clear as they can. >> wow. it's 4:31. if you're just joining us, get a quick update on weather and traffic starting with mike nicco. hey, mike. >> hi everybody. the heaviest snow is ahead of us in the sierra. mild morning out there. mid-40s. like clear lake at 44 in los gatos. morgan hill at 46. everybody else, upper 40s, low 50s. you have to dress for the wet weather. here's my 12-hour planner. it's going to be windy through the morning commute with light to moderate rain and the moderate rain will become light rain by noon and we'll go from windy to breezy conditions. we'll be breezy at 4:00 as we go from a steady rain to more showers. that's when the possibility of thunderstorms develop during the afternoon and evening hours. snow level today, about 4,000 feet. here's alexis with a new accident. >> yeah, a new problem in walnut creek. this is on southbound 680 just past olympic boulevard.

not a terrible backup yet but starting to see the red form on the southbound side of 680 before you get to 24. two vehicles involved. another semi and a smaller car. i believe the sedan did flip over. we've got the two right lanes blocked. checking our camera out. this isn't too far from that location. i'm not seeing flashing lights yet. we are just getting more video of that rain coming down into our live desk. shows how tricky that morning commute is. this is on southbound 101 and san rafael. you can see sheets of rain coming down there. also ponding of water on the roads. here's a second video we got a few moments ago. this is in mill valley. wet roads and windshield wipers also in high gear near the east exit on southbound 101. drivers were taking it slow. always a safe idea in these conditions. >> absolutely. thank you, jessica.

>> following a threat of violence at a university. police believe that threat is not credible. but they are taking no chances. here's a look at graffiti found inside of a woman's bathroom. it threatened a shooting at the school yesterday at 5:00 p.m. abc 7 news was on the san jose state campus where we saw the police presence. the university sent an alert to students and increased police patrols. police believe the threat was not cyd believe. police are investigating a threat against the alum rock school district. the threat was made on twitter and received in the last day. the message is a threat to, quote, shoot up all of the district's schools. the district says it cannot confirm its credibility. but it's taking the tweet seriously. only on abc 7 news, we're learning details about the lengths of contract hp is going to track down a shooter targeting tech buses. investigators tell us that 20 vehicles have been hit over the past month, possibly by a high-powered bb gun or rifle. the attacks have been along

interstate 280. when the buses started taking highway 101 incompetent stead. the suspect followed them and attacked again. the impacts have been severe enough to break win toes. the fbi is now involved. the chp told us a unique tactic they've started using. >> perhaps a bait bus. perhaps proactive patrol, marked chp patrol vehicles as well as, individuals that are -- making themselves comfortable throughout that stretch of the 280 on the side of the road and not even in a patrol vehicle. >> the chp is also asking for tips from drivers who may have witnessed one of these shootings. shut down i.c.e. shut down i.c.e. >> happening today, another protest in san francisco against the weekend sweep by federal immigration agents. hundreds of people rallied outside of i.c.e. headquarters yesterday demanding an end to deportation raids. oakland mayor libby schaaf responded to criticism from the i.c.e. director that her weekend

warning allowed hundreds much criminals to hide from agents. she accuses the trump administration of political retaliation by targeting california. this morning, new turmoil in the white house. one of president trump's most loyal aides is stepping down. the unexpected exit of kmunss director hope hicks is the latest in a long list of departures from the administration. abc news reporter, tara palmier has more from washington. less than 24 hours after testifying on capitol hill, hope hicks resigned. she's stepping down after admitting during a nine-hour testimony that she often tells white lies for the president. at 29, she's one of the president's closest aides. but she's rarely heard. she works behind the scenes to craft the president's image. >> now, hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. she started off with us right from day one. >> as the fourth communications

director to step down, she adds the growing list of aides have resigned in a little more than a year. in a tearful good-bye to colleagues, she said she's done with washington. she faces criticism for helping to craft -- when he faced domestic abuse allegations despite being romantically involved with him. she's involved in writing a statement about the -- meanwhile, trump's son-in-law jared kushner back in the spotlight after losing his top security clearance this week. he had been using an interim security clearance while the fbi reviewed his complicated financial deals and contacts with foreigners. overnight, "the new york times" reporting that kushner company secured multimillion dollar loans with banks after executives met with kushner in the white house. his spokes western denied he had a role in securing these loans. >> unlike the other staffers, hope hicks is like a family member to president trump. she worked with the family before the campaign on ivanka trump's jewelry line. the president said he would miss

having her by his side. tara palmieri, abc news, washington. 4:36 now. back to our storm coverage. pg&e is urging customers to be prepared for the next round of storms. always assume touched down wires are energized. if you see a down wire call affix your outdoor furniture and turn off plienss if you lose power. how is it looking, mike? >> it's looking like they'll be around all day, natasha except for the santa clara valley. we'll have a south wind at 15 to 30 miles per hour sustained. now, it's the gusts up to 45 miles per hour that will threaten the trees, especially up in those fire burned areas around santa rosa and possibly at higher elevations. there's an outside chance we could have power outages today. first batch of moderate to heavy

rain moving through the south bay. up in mt. ma'hamilton to gilroy. all the way towards, say, watsonville. that's moving away. another round is coming in with a cold front. while it may let up, it's going to come back and hit us hard in the morning commute. look at the temperatures. we were freezing cold yesterday. we're around 50 degrees this morning. in fact, here's a look at walnut creek. you can see how wet it is from nearly .75 inches of rain. it's going to be poor this morning. mass transit, rainy all day and wet and windy if you're going to be out on the bay. let's talk temperatures. we're already in the upper 40s to low 50s. only going to warm to about 53 to 58 degrees today. not much of a change. tonight, a little bit cooler than this morning. we'll be back in the mid-30s to upper 30s inland. upper 30s to mid-40s around the bay. that's because the clouds will open up. the cooler air, you can see some of the snow starting to come

into the north bay mountains. more on that and the snow in the sierra and why you shouldn't be traveling there coming up next. here's alexis. >> good morning, mike. a busy morning on the roads, a busy day on the roads all day because of this wet weather. taking you up to walnut creek, we have that two-vehicle crash, mercedes flipped over that's on its roof right now. sounds like a semi is involved, too. they temporarily had to stop all lanes of traffic. we've got a couple moving again. you can see the backup starting to form before you get to 24. quick check of the bay bridge toll plaza. it's very soggy. check out the flags. it's really windy. i can tell you from my own experience. very windy heading into the tunnel around treasure island. we'll look at drive times coming up in less than ten. thank you, alexis. oakland school leaders come up with a plan to get the lead out of drinking fountains. only on abc 7, two brothers see each other for the first time. this hug is more than 50 years

in the making. facebook wants

let's talk about snow up in lake county. yeah, that's going to happen later on today as the storm continues to head south through the bay area and all of california except for southern california. they'll be spared today. here you go. it's until 10:00 saturday. 2 to 8 inches above 2,000 feet.

more likely through saturday. snow level is about 4,000 feet right now. the winter storm warnings looking at 7 feet from snow from now until 10:00. now, travel not recommended at all from 8:00 this morning to 4:00 tomorrow morning because of whiteout conditions. that's what a blizzard warning means. quick look at the snow falling right now. the snow will continue through saturday morning. natasha. >> mike, thank you. the oakland unified school board is addressing high levels of school water tap. our media partner the east bay times reports the clean drinking water policy requires the district to test all of its schools in early childhood centers for potential contaminants including lead. the results will be posted publicly. water taps that contain levels higher than 5 parts per billion will need to be fixed or replaced. happening today, former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords will speak in san francisco to support a scholarship near and dear to her. it's named for aide gabe

zimmerman, one of the six people killed in an assassination attempt of giffords in 2011. giffords will be joined by a group of speakers, including her husband, astronaut mark kelly, and u krfrmt president janet napolitano. they plan to talk about the importance of encouraging younger americans taking part in public service. will be at chronicle books on second street at 4:00 p.m. people living thousands of miles apart recently discovered they're family. they met for the first time yesterday. david louis was at sfo for a touching reunion you'll only see on abc 7 news. >> reporter: you can see how anxious rick mcbride is to meet jeff clark at the airport. >> i'm extremely nervous, but very, very excited. >> one living here in the bay area, the other in north carolina. only recently did they know they were half brothers. >> oh, god. it's unbelievable. >> rick posted on social media, he was looking for a jeff clark and that brought them together. >> i've been talking with him on

the phone and we did one face time call. we seem to have a lot in common. >> they discovered they like the same food, similar mannerisms and lava like. rick is 62 and a former facilities manager. jeff is 57 and works at a home improvement center. >> it's also your birthday? >> yes, sir. >> great birthday. >> my birthday present. >> best one ever. >> rick will get introduced to daughters and grandchildren and be a tour guide. >> he's never been to alcatraz. we'll take him to alcatraz island. depending on the weather. probably tuesday. sit and bond. >> jeff's wife, tammy credits social media for making all of this happen. >> it gives other people hope not to have to go through one of the tv shows that you can do this through social media. >> the next ten days will be exciting for these two brothers as they get to know each other better. they have one more important mission to find a half sister that's out there too. at san francisco international,

david louie, abc 7 news. happening today, the west coast getting its own eye in the sky. it's thanks to the launch of the goes west weather satellite. this nasa animation shows the satellite itself and the then the yar it will cover. the east coast is covered by the east satellite. it stands for geo stationary environmental satellite. you can use that in trivial pursuit. it hovers over one spot on earth. the satellite may enable earlier warnings for severe weather which could potentially save lives. 4:46. dealing with weather here at home. let's go to meteorologist mike nicco. >> let's look spat san jose. usually an area that has to wait to get the wet weather. no. you got it. it's going to be around through the morning commute. sorry. you can't escape this time. let's look at the accuweather highlights. range and then stormy and breezy all day today. showers and thunderstorms from this afternoon all the way through saturday.

a snow level at 4,000 feet today dropping to 2,000 feet by the time we get to saturday. here's a look at the big picture. you can still see one area of low pressure, another area of low pressure. remember, those are going to continue to pinwheel around each other and slow this storm down and keep us wet for several days. look at the tap of moisture that it's pulling in from the west. that's why we're going to get a significant amount of rain out of this particular system. let's run through it. there's your clock. 7:00, you can see the cold front coming through and the reinvasion of the rain from light rain back to moderate in the yellow here. by 9:00, all the way to noon it moves through the heart pft bay. inland east bay for lunch. while the north bay gets a break as we transition to the scattered showers. everybody will transition over to that during the afternoon and into the evening hours. don't be surprised if you get brief downpours during the evening commute. each see lightning and thunder and experience hail.

there's the snow. did you see that in the north bay. snow tomorrow morning as we get deep into the diablo range. rainfall amounts by this evening, pushing 3/4 of an inch to an inch. the evening commute will be almost as tough as this morning. the forecast, storm drops from a moderate today to a 1, light, for friday and saturday. that's because the rainfall amounts won't be widespread. it will be dry and spring-like sunday and monday. say good morning to alexis. >> good morning, mike. i'll say hi to you and unfortunately, saying hello to what is likely going to be a tough commute. live doppler 7 overlaid on top of the traffic maps. you can see how soggy it is. the darker green, yellow, heavier downpours. new spinout crash 880 at oak street. as you approach 980 and likely towards the bay bridge toll plaza, the far right lane is blocked. a new crash on westbound 580 at the 24 interchange. little tough in the oakland area. walnut creek looking better.

southbound 680 before 24, we had a crash blocking the two right lanes. it sounds like that's in the clearing stages. a quick check of drive times, too. slowing down out of the central valley. westbound 580, tracy to dublin in the yellow at 37. no delays, southbound 680 to mission boulevard and 101 to cupertino. it is soggy everywhere. thank you, alexis. waymo is looking to educate the public on how the autonomous vehicles work. it's released a 360-view of the cars. it uses radar, cameras and computers to see the area around them. the tech helps them predict the movement of objects up to 300 yards away. waymo says it's wrapped up 5 million miles of driving experience on public roads. the first million miles took six years to complete. the largest music streaming service is going public. if you're looking for a job, facebook wants to help. here's techbytes for this morning. in today's techbytes,

spotify is hoping for a billion dollar payday. >> the largest music streaming service will soon start trading on the new york stock exchange. >> it was launched 12 years ago. spotify has yet to turn a profit. the company lost $1.5 billion last year. facebook is growing after linkedin, it's available in 40 counsel tris after launching last year in the u.s. >> the company opened by microsoft has 546 million users in more than 200 countries. let this serve as a warning nodding off in their cab. a new jersey native was partying with friends when he hailed an uber to take him back where he was staying. >> but he fell asleep, woke up two hours later halfway back to his home in new jersey. the trip cost him more than $1600. >> saved him the trip home eventually. >> there's those are your techbytes. >> i'm stunned by that. what a terrible mistake. >> that's awful. >> countdown to the oscars.

the excitement in hollywood ziemt the drug executive known as pharma bro wants to make a deal. what he's offering to do if a judge goes easy on him. >> tesla ceo elon musk has a proposition for b.a.r.t. >> announcer: the abc 7 storm impact scale. today's level is 2. that means moderate rain. drive

coming up on 4:54 on this soggy thursday morning. the -- live doppler 7. up in the north bay, use caution especially this morning as the drenching rain would cause more ponding on the roadways. it is definitely breezy out there. our bridges are even harder to navigate this morning than any other place. reggie? >> thanks, mike. apple under fire for moving eye cloud accounts registered in china to state-run chinese servers. along with the digital keys needed to unlock them. apple made a move to comply with china's regulations on cloud services. they require companies to keep all data in the country. beijing says it's needed to h p help -- amnesty international says china is making it difficult for apple to uphold to user privacy and security. martin shkreli is asking for

leniency and admitting that he was a fool. in a letter, shkreli tells the judge if she gives him a lenient sentence, he will do his best to use his skills for the betterment of humanity. he describes his time in jail as a frightening wakeup call. he was convicted of cheating investors in a pair of failed hedge funds. he's scheduled to be sentenced march 9th. elon musk says his boring company could built a b.a.r.t. tunnel faster and cheaper. musk tweeted that his company could complete the project for one tenth the cost and one fifth the time estimated by b.a.r.t. b.a.r.t. is spending $100 million just to study the project this year which could end up costing as much as $15 billion to actually build. we've got the blizzard warning for the greater lake tahoe area. i can't keep you from going there, but i can give you tips. check your tires, wipers,

fluids, pack food and blankets. there -- it's going to be snowy and windy up there. if you have plans saturday, here's a look at saturday morning. pretty quiet. then the scattered showers develop in the afternoon and hang around through the early evening hours then they dissipate for this particular storm. alexis. good morning, mike. i want to take you live to the bay bridge toll plaza. that rain blowing sideways and the flags ripping around as well. i double-checked. no high wind advisories yet. the east-west bridges, we have strong gusts. hold on. definitely a good idea to head out early today. mass transit not impacted by the weather. it's 1 out on time. 35 b.a.r.t. trains in service. no delays and no issues with cal trains so far this morning. several incidents to talk about. we'll get to those at 5:00. alexis, thank you. we're counting down to the 90th annual oscars here on abc 7. >> let's take a live look at the dolby theatre. not a lot of action going on at this time of the morning.

is there one person you see? on sunday, it's going to be crawling with stars. they'll be walking on the famous red carpet. workers rolled out the 900-foot-long carpet yesterday and you probably could see it in the live shot. there's that awning covering some of the street. rain is expected in l.a. tomorrow and saturday. but on sunday, they shouldn't need the awning. the forecast looks like it's going to be great. >> you can catch the excitement of the oscars exclusively here on abc 7. our complete coverage begins sunday at 1:30 p.m. with on the red carpet. at 3:30, the opening ceremony. at 5:00 p.m., the 90th annual academy awards with host jimmy kimmel. dion lim will report live beginning tomorrow. next at 5:00 a.m., b.a.r.t. fare crackdown. you want to keep your clipper card handy. a $600 million hole in it. believe it or not, drivers should be happy about that. despite the rain, water managers aren't counting on managers aren't counting on nature t

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and here's a look at live doppler 7. we are getting pounded with drenching rain and a lot of wind just about everywhere in the bay area. that could mean a treacherous commute for you. hope you're prepared. good morning on this thursday, march 1st. as you can see, alexis is back with us. she's back from maternity leave. welcome back. >> good morning. it feels so weird. no one spit up on me yet today. i haven't changed any diapers. the day is young. >> all right. >> mike nicco -- >> nice to see you. >> you're the s