♪ mac and cheese, so delicious. ♪ ♪ sweet potato souffle. ♪ ♪ ham and turkey, hooray. ♪ ♪ feasting on some honeybaked all day. ♪ every bite is a celebration with the honey baked ham company. atmospheric river of the season moves in the north bay is getting pelted with rain and wind, making for very difficult commute for drivers. as you can see on the peninsula, high waves are pounding the pacifica pier and a 20 foot sinkhole has opened up along the seawall and

in the sierra. here's a look at interstate 80 for you at castle peak. it's kind of a whiteout. chains are required on all vehicles except four wheel drive vehicles with snow tires from nyack in placer county to truckee. good afternoon. on this wet day, i'm kristen sze thanks for joining us. let's get right to abc seven weather anchor spencer christian with the latest on this storm. >> spencer, as you pointed out, that atmospheric river is flowing into the bay area right now. the hardest hit area. so far is the north bay, but we're all getting the gusty wind and some level of rainfall. but as you can see, that plume of moisture is flowing directly into the bay area and more specifically into the north bay. so this is a level two storm on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale. so for today and into tonight, we expect more periods of heavy rain in the north bay, lighter rain in other areas but still wet weather and slick roadways and other areas. as we go into this evening commute, which is beginning right now, basically gusty wind and rough surf. we've had gusts up to about 50mph in some

locations today, even higher in the higher, even stronger, i should say, in the higher elevations. so here's our forecast animation starting at 4 p.m. notice that steady flow of steady rain into the north bay. some of it will move south of the golden gate and hit parts of the peninsula, san francisco and the east bay. but generally that flow is aimed at the north bay and those colors of yellow and orange and red indicate the pockets of heaviest rainfall. and there certainly a lot of that going into the overnight hours. we'll see the intensity of the storm ease just a bit, but then by the time the morning commute begins tomorrow, it'll start intensifying once again. but tomorrow's rainfall will be almost entirely up in the north bay. the bulk of it, i should say, with just a few scattered showers hitting other parts of the bay area, rainfall estimates are totals as of 3 p.m. tomorrow. we're looking at just under 7/10 or three quarters of an inch for most of the bay area south of the golden gate and east of the golden gate gate. that would be the peninsula in

the east bay. but look at the north bay. the estimates are nearly three inches at napa. 2.5in at santa rosa, nearly five inches at yountville. so you can see the north bay is the hardest hit area in terms of rainfall totals. and that's why this flood watch is in effect for the entire north bay. all the north bay counties through friday night. flooding is not only possible, but likely in creeks and streams and in low lying roadways. excuse me. we also have a wind advisory in effect for all of the north bay and the bay shoreline and the coast. that's in effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow. winds the steady winds, the consistent winds will be out of the south at about 20 to 30mph, but gusts will reach or exceed 50mph. obviously, there is the possibility of downed trees and power outages. right now, we're looking at gusts of 30mph at half moon bay and 33 at concord, 30 at oakland, uh, 30 at hayward. all around the bay area around 25 to 30 mile per hour gusts. and because of this storm activity

and the winds out to sea, we have a high surf advisory in effect until 6 a.m. friday. breaking waves will reach heights of 19 to 22ft. obviously dangerous surfing and swimming conditions. and there's the danger of sneaker waves and rip currents over in the sierra. winter storm warning in effect until 10:00 tonight. we expect 6 to 12in of additional snow on top of what has already fallen above 4500ft, 2 to 4ft of snow in the higher elevations. gusts up to 55mph. tonight's low temperatures will be mainly in the mid low to mid 50s. highs tomorrow up into the mid 60s actually and the on the peninsula over in the east bay down in the south bay and the inland east bay up in the north bay where there will be more rainfall. it will be a little bit cooler with highs only in the low 60s. and as of now, we're extending our seven-day forecast only into next tuesday. we've been so busy with all of this today we will add next wednesday to the seven day forecast. by the time we go on abc seven news at 4 p.m. but as

you can see, level two storm today. level one tomorrow. level two again on friday. level one saturday. level two again on sunday. and just think about the cumulative impact of all of this stormy weather, all this rain and the wind. it may be more like a level three on sunday by the time we get there, because of the cumulative impact of all of this stormy weather. i'll have more on abc seven news at 4 p.m. wow. >> it really adds up. spencer, thank you so much. all right. as the storm hammers the north bay, one way it's having an impact on people is with transportation. earlier today, the golden gate ferry suspended service from tiburon into san francisco. so let's get out to abc seven news reporter tim johns, who is live for us at the tiburon ferry service with details. hey, tim. >> hey, kristen. yeah, that's right. now, this service was shut down just after 8:00 this morning. and ferry officials tell me it is not going to be reopening for the remainder of the day. now, a spokesperson told me that although the water is choppy, of course it's actually the high winds that are

causing the issues for this service in particular. those winds have been pretty sustained here in marin county and throughout the entire north bay since this morning. in addition to the rain, of course, now, we also heard reports of the strong gusts taking down trees in different parts of the county, including one in san rafael that had to be cleared by the fire department. now, as for this tiburon ferry service, this route is not expected to reopen for the remainder of the day. and i want you guys to have a quick listen to this clip about why they decided to shut it dow. >> generally, when we need to suspend ferry service, it's due to winds and winds, particularly that affect docking in tiburon in particular. it's a challenging dock to arrive at or to depart from. and so when the winds are strong and from particular angles, it can make it very, very challenging. >> now, while the tiburon route is down, other ferry routes are still open and they are not expected to be impacted. however, for the folks that are relying on this tiburon, san francisco route. ferry officials

tell me they are operating a bus service instead, so that is an option for you today. if you have to go in between the two cities. but for now, i'm live in tiburon. tim johns, abc seven news. >> all right, tim, thank you so much. of course, you'll want to stay with abc seven and abc seven news.com for the latest on the upcoming storm. you can track the rain with the same live doppler seven that our weather team uses, and see the forecast anytime on our abc seven streaming channels. up next, preparing for a huge thanksgiving feast. the u.s. department of agriculture has some tips to ensure a safe

a huge holiday feast. the u.s. department of agriculture has some tips to ensure a safe and delicious holiday meal for your friends and family. joining us live now with some top turkey tips is usda public affairs specialist kenneth king. hey kenneth, thanks for joining us. >> hi. thank you for having me. >> this is so timely. look, we mostly purchase our turkeys frozen, right? so we'll start here. how do you thaw one out safely? >> right. so when it comes to turkey thawing and yes, most of them are going to be purchased frozen, the safest way to thaw them you can use either the cold water method, which is simply submerging that turkey in its original packaging into cold water in your sink, and then switching that water out every 30s until your turkey is fully thawed. also, of course, to defrost the turkey after purchasing a frozen turkey, you can place that in your refrigerator. the day before thanksgiving or two days before

thanksgiving, and that way you can defrost it safely in there. and defrosting time depends on how heavy your turkey is. if you have a 5 pound turkey that you purchased, it will take roughly 24 hours for it to safely defrost in your refrigerator. and if you have a 10 pound turkey, it will take two days. so every 5 pounds of turkey is going to take about 24 hours for it to safely defrost in your refrigerator. >> okay, kenneth, i know there's raging debate over this one. is a safe still to stuff a turkey, and if you do it, what precautions should you take? >> uh- yes, that's a really big debate right now. so i know everyone has their preferences, but the usda recommends against stuffing your turkey for optimal safety. it's safer to prepare and cook your stuffing separately from your turkey. now, the stuffing does need to reach 165 degrees internally, as measured with a food thermometer

similar to a turkey, but the risk of cross-contamination is much higher if you do choose to stuff your turkey. so we always recommend preparing your stuffing separately. you're talking about salmonella. so there's different foodborne illnesses that could that could come from cross-contamination. but for optimal safety, yes, we recommend just keeping them separate. >> okay. so how do you know that your turkey has reached 165 degrees, or the optimal? i know we have thermometers, but which part of the turkey do you stick it in? >> right. so this is a great question. so we really want folks at home to know that the turkey must reach 165 degrees, as measured with a food thermometer. and because it's such a large bird, it needs to be checked in three key locations. the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the wing, and the innermost part of the thigh. those three locations must reach 165 degrees. >> before we let you go, let's

talk about leftovers. we all love it, but how long can the food sit out and still be okay? and how long is it good for? if you store it in the fridge? >> right? so food sitting out at room temperature is safe for up to two hours. this is specifically for perishable foods. after two hours, that's when bacteria begins to grow inside that food. now if you do want to serve it for your whole thanksgiving, you just need to make sure your cold foods are kept cold by nestling them in ice. your hot foods are kept hot by serving them in slow cookers or warming trays. so to keep your hot foods hot, keep your cold foods cold and your leftovers will be safe for up to 3 to 4 days inside your refrigerator. >> great information. thank you so much. usda public affairs specialist kenneth king. happy thanksgiving to you. >> thank you. you too. >> up next, we'll enter the national debate over transgender athletes in high school and college sports. a recent incident involving two peninsula schools has one receiving a warning letter over its fans

behavior. we'll talk to the co-chair of the peninsula athletic league athletic director

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covered california. this way to health insurance. democratic representative elect sarah mcbride of delaware will become the first out transgender woman elected to congress in january. today, house speaker mike johnson, republican, announced single sex bathrooms changing rooms and locker rooms in the capitol are, quote, reserved for individuals of that biological sex. johnson was asked how this policy would be enforced. >> yeah. like all house policies, it's enforceable and that we have single sex facilities for a reason and women deserve. women's only spaces. and we're not anti anyone. we're we're pro women and i think it's an important policy for us to continue. it's always been the i guess an

unwritten policy. but now it's in writing. >> the journey that i have been on. >> on monday, republican representative nancy mace, you're looking at mcbride here, by the way, introduced a resolution to ban transgender people from using the restroom of their choice at the capitol. after johnson's announcement, mcbride said she would abide by the new rule. the national debate over transgender inclusion has been playing out in high school and college sports. utah state university has just filed a motion to have a san jose state women's volleyball team player disqualified from the team ahead of the mountain west tournament next week. the lawsuit accuses the spartans player of being ineligible because she was born male. utah state says the conference has failed to protect female athletes for mountain west schools. boise state, nevada, utah state and wyoming have forfeited their games against san jose state in protest, but one of those schools could very well be matched up against the spartans next week, so we'll see. the all girls catholic high school, meantime notre dame in belmont has received a warning letter

over its fans behavior at a girls volleyball game played last month against half moon bay high school. this match was part of a tournament hosted at aragon high school in san mateo. joining us live now to talk about this incident, the implications and the law. aragon high school athletic director and co-chair of the peninsula athletic league. athletic directors. steve. sal. steve, thanks so much for joining us today. >> you're welcome. >> so what happened at that game in question that prompted you to send the letter to notre dame? >> so we had a we had a tournament here where a very brave transgender girl who plays for half moon bay ended up matching the notre dame half moon bay ended up having bay ended up playing notre dame, belmont and the half moon bay transgender girl whenever she rotated in. there was a there was some booing and heckling from from the notre dame belmont

fans. that had to be rectified by our the tournament director and the official. and so it was i learned about it, had a conversation to get some more facts. and so sent that letter. it was, you know, i was appalled that it happened on her. i was appalled that it happened at all. but i was, you know, if it happened, it happened on our campus. so i had to i felt like there needed to be a strong response. >> i know from a letter that the notre dame athletic director apologized for the fan response, but was this a one off? this reaction from members of the notre dame community against half moon bay high school? >> yeah, as far as i know, as far as i know it was it was highly unfortunate. and i think another part of this issue was that earlier in the season, notre dame belmont has had forfeited i'm sorry canceled.

and non league game scheduled with with half moon bay noting that the reason that they were canceling was because of the fact that they had a transgender girl on their team. you've been coaching, as i said in the letter. it was, you know, i thought that sent a i thought that was a serious error in judgment by the leadership of notre dame belmont, because i think it sent a message to their community that it was okay to treat kids in a discriminatory fashion. >> you've been coaching kids for a decades. it's kind of playing out now. this issue on both the national level and in high school sports. how does this make you feel? >> it's scary right now. it's incredibly scary. i mean, athletic directors and schools are no stranger to fans acting in an unruly and kind of uncivil way towards officials and coaches at contests. now it

becomes really frightening about how this this might be turned on. transgender girls who are playing high school sports. and this is, you know, we just had the incident, i'm sure you're going to mention about a team backing out of the playoffs before before they had to play a team with a transgender girl. but, you know, i'm quite frankly, i am i'm a little frightened for the kids, for the transgender girls, not just in our state but all around the country who just want to belong and connect and compete by playing high school athletics. >> i want to get into the law in just a second. but right now, first i want to throw this at you, which is i'm sure you've heard it most who argue against trans girls or women participating in sports say, hey, it's either an unfair advantage or maybe the other players are at risk in terms of their safety. you've again been in this a long time. have you

observed anything that would lead you to have a conclusion on the validity of those arguments one way or the other? >> so right now there is not there's not evidence about a, you know, that there is a case in in connecticut, a transgender girl qualifying for the state meet ahead of a cisgender girl. but we have we're not seeing we are not seeing a prevalence of it. we're not it's still in, you know, happening at a very low level. and very rarely. and certainly not. it's not certainly is not happening enough to justify excluding transgender girls from athletics. >> i see you're saying it's kind of got an outsized importance in the national conversation of politics. but really, when you look at the number of cases, it's very few. >> is that. yeah. so megan

rapinoe had a there's an interview with her in time magazine in 2022, and she put it beautifully about they're just saying there's just not the evidence to that, that this is happening at the levels that warrants exclusion of these kids and, and these transgender kids. i mean, statistically, they're highly marginalized. they are highly at risk. and just the thought that, you know, when you way, you know, put, put on balance, you know, the potential damage being done to cisgender girls competing against transgender girls. you weigh that versus the potential damage done to transgender, the whole transgender community. it's not even close. >> but let me just ask you this though, right? there are some who would want to ban transportation categorically, but do you think there are individual case by case basis,

certain situations where that whether it's the safety argument or unfair advantage, would have some validity, like let's say, for example, one of your biggest football players i know you had coached football, decided to play, you know, i mean, and i don't mean this like willy nilly. i meant they, you know, they're transitioning and they they play girls flag football, for example, now which is a high school sport. >> no, i will say this is that the potential risk is not zero. right. there are there's there will be some scenarios that we'll have to address where there is some serious risk. but right now we are currently not seeing and i would i would say that those colleges that are don't want to play san jose state, they have an imperfect argument in that i've never been to their practices, but it's on a regular basis and it's i think the rule rather than the exception that these women varsity sports and colleges,

they pride there's, there's men they practice against. there's articles written about these squads that will scrimmage the varsity women's volleyball team, basketball team, soccer team. and so the safety argument to me is not is not terrific. >> i do know that's pretty common practice. but steve, we only have less than a minute. so i'm going to end it with asking you regardless of how people feel. what is the law. right. what is the law here in california. >> so right now the you know, the cif in 2013, they, they passed a law that says how a kid you know, the important as gender identity that if a however a kid identifies at their high school that kid is entitled to participate with that gender and that that law that that person is protected by title nine by state and federal laws and so the reality of it

is, is that the, you know, excluding these kids from participation not only does damage damage, but it's against the law. >> all right. it's a complicated topic. and i really appreciate you coming on to share your perspective. steve. south pacific athletic league athletic directors co-chair and aragon high school athletic director. thanks so much for your time today. >> thank you. >> all right. country's biggest night is just hours away, with lainey wilson joining cma host luke bryan and peyton manning this year. the advice peyton manning is giving to the reigning entertainer of the year

chamber of commerce revealed the schedule for the month long celebration. it kicks off with the flower market fair january 25th and 26th. then it's the chinese new year opening day ceremony on the 29th. the miss chinatown pageant is february 14th, and then the next day is the big parade. and for the first time in 11 years, there's a new parade director after former director harlan wong retired. and a reminder, abc seven is the proud sponsor of san francisco's chinese new year parade. we'll bring it to you live next year, so you'll want to watch it right here on abc seven and everywhere we stream on february 15th. i'm going to be a part of the broadcast. it's going to be fabulous. so be sure to tune in. okay. country music's biggest night is hours away. cma host luke bryan, lainey wilson and peyton manning are weighing in. what advice do you have? or have you given lainey on this her first year?

being that you guys are veterans? >> let me hear what you got. just whatever luke says, do the complete opposite. it's kind of the it's kind of my staple piece of advice. have fun. uh- laugh a lot. one thing that's been clear the past two years there's nobody in the teleprompter telling us to smile or laugh. luke and i are genuinely having fun, and so the audience will, as well. >> the cma airs tonight on abc seven at eight. thanks for joining us. i'll see you back here at 4:00 after world news tonight with david muir. bye by. tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. the tornado threat in the east tonight. and from new york to boston, heavy rain coming and real flooding concerns. in the northwest, the major storm there turning deadly tonight. in new york city, a new random attack. the slashing on the upper west side. and we're learning of the chaos in midair on a passenger jet to dallas. first this evening, the tornado