>> live breaking news. >> you watching getting answers right here on abc seven. today the bay area is bracing for another major storm heading our way. this is the first one ever to reach a level five on our exclusive abc 7 storm impact scale. officials are urging all of us to prepare with sandbags, batteries and emergency supplies and stay home if you can take san francisco mayor london breed had this morning today. >> we know the amount of water that had come down during years eve and will possibly happen tomorrow may overwhelm our system. this is why we are going to be working 24/7 to cleared, get our prepared and asked my was of the

public to be understanding as we get through this because we will get through this. >> some various serious warnings from sf's mayor. want to get test spencer christian with a look at the timing and what we could expect this round. >> i want to make it clear we are expecting severe impacts from the storm. we don't mean to sound alarmist but we want you to be prepared because this is the first level five storm on the exclusive storm impact. this is going to be a major storm. let's take a look at what is happening in the atmosphere. satellite and radar looping composite image. you can see moisture pushing into the bay area. there will be some light stray showers ahead of the approaching storms. this is what we are looking at this big developing intensifying storm. notice the first wave is coming up from the south. that is going to bring us warm air along with the first wave of rain and the clouds. the may be a little bit of a

break as the cold front comes in behind the warm front. that is going to re-energize the storm and give a strong gusty potentially damaging winds and heavy rain. live doppler 7, some moisture moving over the bay area. this is still in further west you see the darker areas, the heavier pockets of rain. we might start to get some wavee talking about end of the storm. here is a view from the east bay hills camera. clouds getting low and dark and at various levels of the atmosphere. it may have a little bit of instability in the atmosphere as the storm approaches. these are the forecast headlines. the first wave arrives overnight tonight. by the time the morning commute begins tomorrow we will have substantial rainfall and strong gusty winds. flooding rain and damaging winds tomorrow. the storm begins to weaken on thursday but we have a lot to be concerned about before that.

two rounds of the storm tomorrow. let's talk about the first round which is that wearing friend i mentioned. it will be coming in between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. during the morning commute. it will be a slippery wet icy slow morning commute. cold front comes in between 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. there could be able to bit of a break between the first wave with the warmer air and the second air with the cold front. that is going to bring the second wave. heavy rain, high flood ret. damaging winds gusting 50 to 60 miles per hour or higher. some of the other storm concerns we have come a very high concerns for flooding on roads, stream and creek flooding. high concern for mudslides, rock slides and landslides. we have seen some of these already with the storm we had last weekend. a very high concern aut outages entries down. river flooding, high concern for

that as well. starting at 6:00 is evening, we may see a few preliminary showers ahead of the first surge of storminess. the first surge is likely to begin by 4:00 tomorrow morning. just before the morning commute begins. once traffic starts get more congested, the rain and storm activity will be heavier. i talked about the break between the first warm front and the trailing cold front. right aroundno o so. last long sure the front mif than we 5:00 p.m. tomorrow is when we expect the heaviest widespread rain to occur. the wind gusts may be at their strongest, 50 to 60 miles per hour. tomorrow night at 9:00 we see the system begin to break up. they will be more waves of rain and wind thursday morning. thursday is going to be a stormy day. rainfall estimates for the two

day storm event. in where from just under two inches of rain in san francisco to maybe as much as four inches north of cloverdale. this is going to be a soaking storm. the entire bay no one left out of this flood watch. wind gusts -- a wind warning in effect. wind gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour across the entire region. this is not limited to one area or one part of the bay area. animation looks like this. 11:00 tonight, watch what happens here. 7:00 tomorrow morning, gusts on the coast. over 40 miles per hour. 25 perour. our by :0 tomorrow morning on the coastal areas appeared 40 miles per hour, some inland locations like discovery bay. going into the afternoon hours,

likely to see gusts over 60 miles per hour on the coast and 35 to 50 miles per hour in other areas. the winds will begin to ease up late tomorrow night going into thursday morning. we have snow in this year appeared richard storm warning in effect from 7:00 a.m. tomorrow to 4:00 a.m. friday. six to 15 inches of snow above 5000 feet. 36 inches above 6000 feet. travel will be difficult to impossible in the sierra during that time. one more look at the forecast animation. 6:00 tomorrow morning, the first wave will already have moved on shore. morning commute is going to be a mess. the cold front swings through. bringing the strongest and heaviest most widespread rain and perhaps the strongest wind gusts as well. both morning commute and even commute are going to be challenging. they're going to be difficult in the storm continues into thursday.

periods of moderate rain from the warm front from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and the cold front comes in in the afternoon to re-intensify the storm bringing heavy rain, high flood threat and we need to be prepared because this is going to be the strongest during we have seen in a long time. we have not had a level five storm before. we know what some of the impacts are we should be prepared for. a storm this strong can always surprise us. we just need to be prepared. if you don't have to drive, don't drive. > we have emergency management officials talking about those mornings. i want to talk about being surprised because what is the difference between what we sell -- you and i were working on saturday -- and the storm where we saw the record rainfall totals and the upcoming one because that was ranked a level two on the storm impact scale? >> that was a moderate storm. it stalled as it moved on shore which is not unusual. storms do that quite often.

the storm we thought would move through faster than it did. once it hit land, it stalled. sometimes the a mountain ranges can slow down a storm like that. sometimes a shift in the wind direction or intensity can cause a storm to stall as a dead. we got quite a bit of rainfall out of the storm. we have had mudslides and rock slides. it was a very impactful storm. the one tomorrow is coming in two stages. the one over the weekend was one contained storm. this storm is coming in in two waves. the warm front followed by a break and then the cold front which may give it more intensity. intensified the rainfall. boost the wind gusts. it is going to be a monster of a storm tomorrow. this is an all-day event that will continue into thursday. the impacts of the storm not only may exceed the impacts of the storm we had on saturday but

it may have a longer duration. >> speaking about the intensity and the level five part of this, can you tell us historically how this storm compares at this level five to what the bay area usually gets at this time of year? we have talked about global warming being a cause. what is going on? global warming, yes. storms are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity than prior to this intense warming. they tend to be of longer duration then storms typically were before these last two or three decades whenngn ourfaerac houlde inone storm and say that others a result of global warming but the pattern of strums like this fits what global warming is delivering to us. that is more frequent storms of greater intensity and longer duration and of greater impact.

when you think about the exclusive abc 7 storm impact scale, that is what it is all about. we are giving tomorrow's storm a level five rating. which we have not seen before. on thursday as the most intense elements of the storm have weakened a bit, we are still waiting to thursday storm a level 3 because the impact will still be great even if the various elements of the storm are weaker paired the impacts will be great because the ground is already saturated. the trees will blow over easily. there is a greater risk of power outages and downed power lines. it is all about the impact. >> one instant compounding on top of another to make the next one worse. we will revisit you much more on abc7news at 4:00. up next, a level five storm on the exclusive abc 7 news storm impact scale means you need to be prepared to stay safe. we will be

>> san francisco leaders are warning people to be prepared for tomorrow's storm. after the city so more than five inches of rain on the urgency of tomorrow's system is expected to pack another punch. there could be widespread flooding, damage to businesses and homes and the potential for emergencies. during a press conference with san francisco you urgency management officials it was stressed over and over do not call 911 to >> i cannot stress it enough. call 911 for life-threatening emergencies only. if you have a little bit of flooding in your home call 311. >> we heard that from another --

a number of officials. joining us to talk about how to stay safe, a failure face. captain jonathan baxter with the san francisco fire department. always a pleasure. >> thank you for having me. >> let's talk about the difference. can you give us examples of when to call each emergency number versus 311? >> this is some different times we are in. this is a disaster and a sense with the weather. it is unprecedented. we are not used to this on a normal day today response or normal storm that we see. typically you can count on your fire department specifically in san francisco to arrive within four minutes for your emergency. we are going to see delays in responses. we want to make sure when someone is having a heart attack, when someone is having a stroke, if somebody is caught in flesh light and air being swept away, the 911 call will go through to our providers and

allow our responders to respond to the emergency. if you have flooding in your house and i will use them in temples we saw in the previous storm. we had people calling us because they were getting six inches of water in the garage. that is something you are going to have to take responsibility with and take care of yourself. we had people who would call and say tree branch fell down on the sidewalk and it is not blocking the road or causing property damage. that is something to call 3114. if your emergency involves life safety, and minute threat to life, and minute major fed to property, call 911. anything else, help us help you by calling 311. >> the severity portion makes a difference. tell us what it is like on the back end because we heard during today's press conference 311 got something like 800 calls during the last storm. do you know what staffing is like for the storm ahead?

i know it is all hands on deck. >> let's put a huge thank you choi dispatchers and call takers at 911 centers and 311 centers. fidi hundreds of calls. when people experience what they may believe is their worst moment. when we are looking at staffing we were experiencing a holiday. even with the holiday we had our first responders coming in to work and addressing the needs of our community of our neighbors. this upcoming storm we have a little bit of preparation. we have more information. we are fortunate in san francisco to be fully staffed with our fire department and ems division as well as the multiple city agencies we saw earlier in the city press release on how we are going to address this emergency. the one resounding message i continue to hear is we need your help, the public.

please come up with a plan. please do things that can help us reduce our response to certain flooding instances or emergencies such as clearing your daughters now. going to your street and checking your storm drains and if it needs to be cleared out or debris is in the street clearing that out. on sending multiple assets press re50 vunad to clean those drains out. -- whathe problem with the drains you saw on saturday and what can we do on the ground here? >> with the rainfall we that was unannounced if you will. we were expecting a half-inch of rain and we got over five inches

of rain. volume was our number one factor and with volume comes debris. . when debris comes into the storm drains it clogs them up and that is when you start to see the backup of water. that is where our amazing partners with puc and the department of water would come in and they would use these huge machines to suck up the debris so the water would be able to go into the storm drains and start eliminating some of the flooding we saw in specific areas. >> certainly i saw a number of sf fd out and about on the streets on saturday. there have been incredible stories of heroism. i remember speaking to a man who witnessed someone pulling a woman out of a partially submerged car. what else can we do to protect our neighbors and make sure they are storm ready if we happen to notice anything? >> that is thee y d tnkou for bringing it up. take the time now to meet your

neighbors. specifically your neighbors who are elderly or access functional needs. even those who traditionally would be able to care for some normal things such as clearing their gutters, making sure they have heat, making sure they have food and water for the upcoming storm and see if they need some help. also exchange phone numbers and let them know that if their home becomes incapacitated, your doors are open and hopefully vice versa. >> it is certainly a good time to know your neighbors. captain jonathan baxter with san francisco's fire department. we appreciate the work you and your team does. good luck and stay safe out there tomorrow and the rest of the week. one rule for tomorrow is don't drive if you don't need to. if you do absolutely have to hit the roads, how can you be safe? we wil

>> with tomorrow storm you're being urged to stay home if you can. officials are pricking widespread flooding, downed trees and dangerous conditions on the roads. >> we do expect downed trees power lines to occur in san francisco. >> of course this is not just san francisco. much of the bay area as you heard from spencer will be impacted. if you have to be out and about, how can you stay safe on the roads? joining us live to tell us how is officer andrew barklay with the california highway patrol. thank you for joining us. this sounds so obvious but i was running errands on saturday and noticed a lot of people driving through the standing water. not the best idea. >> definitely not. again, we urge people saturday if you could stay home to stay home. we were very busy. we had over 3200 calls going through our communication center that day. a very busy day for us. going into this week we have a lot of people going back to work

after the christmas break. we expect there to be more traffic. i will tell you, all day today i keep hearing about the storm being worse and worse. just to echo what you have already said, we are encouraging anyone who can not commute tomorrow. to the roads if possible. >> this is absolutely if you have to go outside. let's talk about the standing water and the conditions you need to avoid because it does not take a lot of water in order to find yourself in a situation like what we see on our screen. a car submerged or potentially trapped and stranded. >> what a lot of people don't realize is if their vehicle drives into standing water, it does not take a whole lot. as soon the engine air intake sucks in the water, it suck shots your engine down. you are stopped in the middle. is a dangerous situation not only for those involved but any

first responder who has to come attempt to rescue you and recover your vehicle. our best advice to people is if you do not know how deep the water is as you are approaching it don't attempt to drive through it. >> if you have any doubt in your mind evidently not worth it. speaking of being in the car making these decisions, we have so much going on in the car these days. gps, the radio, screaming children. more so than ever we need to be diligent about focusing, focusing on the road. >> yeah and one of our best tips we give throughout the year but especially during these storms is reducing your distractions. whether it is your phone or gps or anything else, try to have as much set up as you can before you start driving. especially in conditions where things can change rapidly. you need 100% of your focus on the road. along with that we talk about just slowing down is one of the

most common and easiest ways to prevent a crash in the rain. unsafe speed for the conditions is the number one cause of crashes during these storms. and other big thing is giving yourself a good space cushion. keep distance from the vehicles not just in front of and behind you but also around you if you can. especially if one of the other vehicle starts the hydroplane. having that little bit of space to maneuver and try to stay away from them is important. we find and this goes back to the speeding thing but if people know -- if you know it takes you 30 minutes to get from point a to point b and there is a storm, give yourself 45 minutes. give yourself that extra time to get where you are going. it helps you be much safer along the way. also reduces your stress level. as we mentioned, put away those phones and focus. i will say one thing we did see over the last few days that was a big contributor was people's vehicles not being prepared for this type of rain whether it be

tires that were worn down, your tires are responsible for moving all that water from underneath the vehicle. if you have almost no traction or tread left on your tire, you're going to find yourself sliding quickly. >> i>> have noticed a lot of breaking issues on the roads. squeaking tires and people not realizing how long it takes to stop your vehicle during these conditions. i went to piggyback off what you said because you mentioned the tires but what else can we do with our vehicles? personally i noticed the windshield wipers on my vehicle are not so good these days. >> that is a great point. your windshield wipers are obviously very important during the storms. one of the things i tell people often -- it is not just the windshield wiper's but making sure your washer fluid is topped off because often as the rain starts to dissipate and we get a lot of the spray coming off the roadway your windshield can be very quickly covered in that muddy murky water.

on top of that our other big suggestion is have a full tank of gas or more than enough gas to get where you are going because if you come into some of these slowdowns whether it is due to closed roads or crashes, the last thing you need and the last thing we want to have to help you with is if you are not of gas and end up being stuck in the middle of the lane blocking it. as prepared as you can be you will get there safely. >> so much unpredictability. andrew barklay with the california highway patrol. thank you for joining us with some great tips. we do want to remind you you can watch us on-air and online tomorrow morning. we start at 4:00. . . you get the latest weather and life is uncertain. it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried or frustrated. calhope can help access, calhope free and secure mental health resources today. call our warm line at 833-317-4673 or livechat at calhope.org

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tonight, several breakig stories as we come on the air. the extraordinary and historic battle unfolding tonight on capitol hill. something not seen in a century. severe storms across several states. bracing for tornadoes tonight. and news on the buffalo bills star after that chilling scene on "monday night football." today, the first day of the house under republican control, republicans failing to elect a speaker. one round after another, kevin mccarthy failing to get the votes. we're live on the hill tonight. rachel scott on what happens next. the horror during "monday night football." the buffalo bills' damar hamlin collapsing on the field, going into cardiac arrest, receiving cpr on the 50 yard line. players in tears, the stadium falling silent. tonight, we have news on the player and