in livermore. 45 in oakland. 46 degrees in san francisco. today not that warm. in fact, we'll see an overcast sky by about noon. our first showers arrive by about 3:00 p.m. in the south bay. we are going to show you the futurecast and then the potential for some very low snow levels in the bay area saturday morning. we'll talk about it all morning long. we'll tell you what you are facing on the roadways this morning now, good morning, mike. good morning, christina. we'll take a look at the maze. i think you'll be happy with what you see. we have a nice, easy flow of traffic with speeds above the limit for 24 and interstate 880 on the east shore. watch it, 65 miles per hour over there in the east bay and city side alike. we are looking at union square, there's construction going on near sutter. southbound 101 at paul avenue, there's an accident clearing from the roadway. the tow truck is heading there. paul avenue is just south of the 280 interchange for southbound

101. not a heavily used off-ramp, but it is there nonetheless. others peninsula traffic is looking good. back to the desk. thank you, mike. new this morning a better understanding of how bad things are in libya. we are following the chaos there minute by minute. people who have evacuated are now telling tales or horror and describing scenes of pandemonium and bloodshed. there are bodies laying everywhere. turkey began ferrying foreigners and americans out of libya since yesterday, but not everybody has escaped. at least one ferry was stuck in a port in tripoli because of high waves. other countries are also sending in planes trying to evacuate people. tens of thousands of foreigners are still stranded in libya. the unrest in libya is leading to higher gas prices all over the country. if the protests spread to more countries in the middle east $4 a gallon might seem like a steal. "today in the bay's" christie smith is live in oakland this morning with gas prices around

the bay area. doesn't sound like a steal yet to me. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, laura. if your tank is on e, this is going to cost you stilling up at this gas station, nearly $4 a gallon for premium gas. but we checked the pumps here this morning and from the looks of it drivers are just getting about $5 or $10 in the tank and moving on. now some analysts predict if we see problems in saudi arabia or iran the bay area could see $5 or $6 a gallon for gasoline. the record was set three years ago at $4.61 for a gallon of regular, which what is behind it? the uprising in libya sparked record-setting prices on wednesday with crude oil touching $100 a barrel for the first time since 2008. the immediate concern is about a possible chain reaction with human upheaval in libya sending europeans looking for gas elsewhere.

this morning we have been trying to talk with drivers as they get gasoline this morning, but i wanted to show you what the station looks like here. we have just seen people coming in and getting a couple of items out of the little store there. and moving on. people are doing some pretty serious comparison shopping this morning, but we'll keep an eye on it. when we see somebody getting gas we'll talk to them. back to you, christie smith for "today in the bay." meanwhile, the professional poker player accused of beating his parents to death in hair pleasanton home will return to the witness stand this morning. witnesses say ernie sherr iii talked about his family uprising and tension. he told the court his father drank a lot and played poker while he was growing up. sherr is accused of killing his parents in march of 2008. authorities say he was deeply in debt and wanted to claim his $1 million inheritance. sherr says he's not guilty. a northern california judge says the man accused of raining

jaycee dugard is fit to stand trial. the judge made the report based on reports from two psychologists as well as two defense attorneys. phillip ga tree to will be sent to trial. he and his wife are accused of holding her captive for 18 years in their antioch home. >> a bay area lawmaker says that utility rates should be based on the company's safety record. assembly manager jerry hill is working on a bill to make safety a top priority. last week pg&e announced the costs from the san bruno explosion could hit $760 million by the end of the year, which could mean rate hikes for millions of customers. the california public utilities commission would have to approve this new bill before it could become law. meantime, the california public utilities commission meets today to set new safety

rules for the nation's pinelines. pipelines. they will look at changing requirements for gas line construction, especially when it comes to shutting off valves and inspections. they hope to improve the way the commission works with local agencies during emergencies and disasters. the commission will also consider doing more to protect whistleblowers who come forward with safety concerns. east palo alto parents come together today to rally for a new charter school. rocketship charmer school says some 700 parents signed a petition urging the ravens wood board of education to approve the school. the board would consider the amly case tonight and make a decision within 30 days. if that school is built it would serve 500 students. charter schools are independently run but do get state funding. critics say charter schools take funding away from existing public schools. the san jose police chief starts work tonight. chris moore has worked as

interim police chief since rob davis resigned in october. moore was selected over oakland police chief anthony batts. moore was the safe choice and their afraid he won't do enough to reach out to all of san jose's diverse community. san jose airport could have a new name again. bob redell is live with details of the proposed name change. bob, what do they want to name it, the bob redell international? no. >> reporter: they want to improve things and not have them run away. you may recall ten years ago san jose airport game nor michigan ymineta san jose international airport to honor the transportation secretary who is from the bay area. now there's talk of naming the airport the norman y mineta san jose/silicon valley international airport.

the idea being that the word silicon valley according to one councilman telling "the mercury ne news" global cashe to improve business, which is not stellar as of late. san jose international ranks the behind sfo and oakland in terms of their annual passenger traffic count. and san jose has something that those airports don't, the brand new $1.3 billion terminal which still has yet to be paid for. mayor chuck reed telling the newspaper this morning that sfo bills itself as the gateway to silicon valley while the airport that is actually in silicon valley doesn't have silicon valley in its name. do you think as an outsider that would help san jose by putting silicon valley in the tight? >> it would be too long. i'm from atlanta and it is

atlanta hartsfield/jackson international airport and it is too long. as an outsider i think that would be too long. either san jose silicon valley or san jose whatever the other name is. >> reporter: what do you mean, the other name is? >> i only fly in once a year into san jose, that's all i know. san jose airport. >> reporter: she's got a point. i mean, how many people use norman y mineta san jose international airport. it is known as sfo. oakland is oakland. will this happen? that's to be decided. there's going to be a meeting at 1:00 this afternoon when a new committee forms by the city to discuss renaming the airport. reporting live here at norman y mineta san jose international airport, i'm bob redell. >> i'm thinking that san francisco should just call it

the city and call it the airport and get right to it. >> reporter: you should be at the meeting at 1:00. >> maybe i will. thank you, bob. >> that's a tough one, too. you don't want to retract from the name. he's a very nice man. >> you don't want to -- exactly. but like the travelers said, i don't know that name and it doesn't resonate here. 5:09 right now. here's a friend of the show, but i don't know if she's a friend of the snow. it is coming. >> good morning. we do have weather headed our way, and an interesting mix of very, very cold conditions and precipitation, the possibility for snow levels to fall to 500 feet on saturday morning. now every time i check the temperatures stay about the same, but the precipitation, yeah, it looks like they are backing off a little bit as to how much we are expecting. so what i do believe is going to happen as we head through today, our first showers will push onshore right around noon,

especially up in the north bay. after that we'll start to see the showers spread south into san jose by about 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. and we'll continue to see rain showers throughout the day today. now tonight's snow levels fall to 1,000 feet. so that means tomorrow morning very dangerous conditions, especially if you live in the east bay hills. we'll talk all about that tomorrow morning. i just want to get everybody ready for the system that's on the way. something that's happening right now, we have been telling you about this. we want to second you to the movies, possibly new york, dallas or los angeles. the secret word today is "all about eve." enter the secret word to enter one of these fabulous trips or a local stay-cation. you don't need to get on a plane. you can go to the cinequest with red carpet accommodations. we are rolling out the red carpet this morning for the traffic man. good morning. maybe you can take an airline from the newly-named airport if

bob can get the name straight. we are moving smoothly out of the area. no slowing off the antioch bridge. it is early for that to start. another 20 to 30 minutes before highway 4 to show the early signs. a 14-minute drive near the altamont pass, but still an easy drive out of livermore to pleasanton. northbound 680 near costa there's some construction going on. the remaining construction crew is eastbound 92 off the san mateo bridge heading onto 880 in both direction where is you are using a detour. a life look will end with a live look at the san mateo bridge. we are seeing traffic head over from 880 to the peninsula. an easy drive with the taillights there. we'll watch the slowdowns start over the next couple of hours on that side as well. back to you guys. the time is 5:11. after years of debate san francisco takes another look at arming police officers with

tasers. and a live look at the shuttle launch pad in florida this morning with crews prepping. "discovery" is getting ready to take its final flight. a live report is coming up. i finally found a body wash that moisturizes and softens my dry skin. [ female announcer ] new gold bond deep moisture, with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. the body wash that moisturizes like a lotion.

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the san francisco police department is looking into allowing police officers to carry stun guns. the department is studying the issue of the stun guns and reports the findings within 90 days. supporters say it will cut down on deadly confrontations with suspects, however critics say the stun guns are often newsed unnecessarily and can cause deadly or serious injuries. this morning the space shuttle "discovery" is ready for the final countdown. kristen dahlgren is live at florida's kennedy space center. kristen, today could be the end of the era for the country's space program. >> reporter: yeah, hey, laura. the last flight for the space shuttle "discovery" is set to takeoff at 4:50 local time later today. this is often called the darling

of the shuttle fleet. it was the shuttle that took the first female pilot into space, the shuttle that carried the first african-american space walker and carried john glenn on his historical space mission. it was chosen after the columbia disaster took place to carry americans into space. it has been a part of american history. this launch was first supposed to go back in november when they noticed potentially dangerous cracks in the external fuel tank and were able to roll the shuttle off the launch pad, fix those, engineers don't expect them to be a problem later today. the weather is looking great as they started the tanking process. so right now all systems go, laura. >> thank you very much. very exciting. right now we want to check in with christina and take a peek at our forecast. we are talking snow here. >> yeah, we are talking snow at very lo levels for the bay area. and if it does happen in your backyard we want your pictures. i think the best timing for that

to happen is the lowest of the snow levels anticipated early saturday morning. we'll take you through today, though, because we have showers on the way as of this afternoon. 37 degrees rights now in sunnyvale. grab a jacket and your umbrella because you will need it later on. we have a system of low pressure in the pacific northwest to slide south heading through the next 24 hours right along the coast here. and for us that means the first showers will start right around noon. as you can see right now for the post part precipitation is coming down to the north of ukiah and clear lake. by noon this is what it looks like. the futurecast shows showers pushing into the north bay. 10:00 p.m. tonight when our snow levels fall to 1,000 feet we have widespread shower activity. that's going to make for a very dangerous commute tomorrow morning. take a look at your 7:00 a.m. forecast. showers still coming down, icy conditions. you definitely want to tune in tomorrow morning to find out what you are facing. this is a breakdown for you. snow levels around 1,000 feet tonight. a freeze watch goes up for the north bay as we head into

friday. temperatures are very, very cold in the mid-20s friday night. so you want to protect that sensitive vegetation. bring in the pets. then saturday morning if we see any rain it will be cold enough for snow levels to fall to 500 feet and flurries at sea level. we'll talk about what cities can expect the snow coming up. right now i'm going to send it back to you. i'm getting excited, guys. >> a lot of people are. it's the big buzz. we'll see how it all turns out. 5:18 right now. the latest on the recovery efforts after the large quake in new zealand coming up. >> we talk to a local man who was in new zealand when the ake hit. he'll share what it was like. and we have two new tablets. we'll take a look just ahead. starbucks via is planted the same... le] ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. it only makes sense it would taste the same.

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good morning. it is 5:21, yes, it is early, but we have been here an hour at least. here looking at hayward the construction has been there at 92 with the intersection of 880. the construction has cleared eastbound heading over to hayward. i'm sorry, the newark and fremont side. that's around until another half hour. a smooth drive up to the maze. 880 and 24, 580 all moving smoothly through oakland and the approach to the bay bridge as well. we'll give you a live look to see how things are shaping up. an hour from now it will be a very different picture.

we'll take another look across the bay and the golden gate bridge. we have marinery on the roadway, but christina's forecast is telling you that it is not just rain and snow in the future. that's coming up in the next couple of days. tomorrow morning it will be likely pretty crazy with hail and snow closing 280 a couple weeks ago on the peninsula. look for similar weird conditions. right now a very clear drive down the peninsula into the south bay with no major slowing in the northbound direction. you can see 101 where it says 72 approaching the 680 interchange. we also have construction in the area likely caused by the slow-moving vehicles. back to you guys. thank you, mike. there's growing fear in new zealand that some of the 226,000 missing people may not have survived the earthquake. as many as 120,000 bodies could still be buried. and dozens of foreign students are also believed to be buried in a nearby school.

98 people are reportedly dead so far since the earthquake hit on tuesday. and a bay area man who was there when the earthquake hit told us about his ordeal. >> many being from the bay area, i was in loma prieta, so i instantly hugged up against the counter and got underneath it really fast. i just saw a lot of stuff shaking and moving. there was a bunch of aftershocks. i don't think the town was built to, like, be exactly, you know, earthquake-proof. me and my soundman phil walked around, we took a picture of the church. the church has a steeple on it and stuff. literally the steeple is not there anymore. there's a lot of stuff going on, a lot of detours, a lot of bridges down. i mean, the destruction is just immense. >> search and rescue specialists from all around the world including from the united states are helping in new zealand now. and that steeple is like an

icon. >> yeah, obviously it was built a long time ago. >> right, a lot of destruction there. switching here, all things apple this morning. a lot of things going on with apple this morning. all kinds of things. let's start with the fact that it is steve jobs' birthday. he's 56 today. apple will in the next few minutes announce new laptops. they are not saying it is because of the boss' birthday, but i would say it is a coincidence. apple shareholders failed in their attempt to get apple to explain who will takeover if jobs was no longer the ceo. jobs is ill. meantime, were that not enough, next week apple shows off a mystery product. we assume it will be the ipad 2. today is also the day that chicago-based motorola starts selling this, the zoom tablets. it is expensive at $800 or $600 if you commit to a two-year verizon data plan. it runs google's honeycomb tablet software.

it is called excellent. but at $200 that just seems -- $200 more than an ipad that seems incomp rehenceable. and motorola is putting this on the market today, and we are hearing there could be an ipad 2 as of next week. i think people will wait. >> the cost on that? >> we don't know yet, but, yeah, still, when you have doubt you don't buy. >> that's right, you wait. like me, a long time. yesterday we showed you amazing video of a fiery car crash and a rescue in texas, but it turns out the same kind of thing happened here in the bay area. >> yeah, a woman was driving on highway 24 near arinda yesterday and crashed into a tree with her car catching fire. four good samaritans stopped to help. >> one man used a small fire extinguisher to put out the fire. the woman pried out the door and another person got dirt and started tossing it on the flames.

the flames flaired up again and another man came to put the fire out for good with a larger extinguisher. >> when the firefighters arrived they freed the woman from the car. the four people saved that woman's life. a tremendous reaction in teamwork coming to play here in the bay area. the time is 5:26. taking the president's plan further, what one california senator plans to do about the defense of marriage act. plus a body discovered in a north bay backyard. the latest on the investigation is coming up in a live report. and another fee hike could be on the way. the latest transit agency talking about charging you even more for you commute. and the preparations for "discovery" this morning set to takeoff live from 'll weke we'll ke tabs on how everything is going. 5:26 right now. ♪ [ female announcer ] the counter. in most homes, it gets all the action. bring it. getting it clean again is easy with bounty.

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new this morning we have our first look at the marin county man who could be buried in his own backyard. i'm marla tellez live in novato with what his family is telling us this morning coming up. and a repeated sex offender back in court. and he could be put away for life. plus while the man accused of killing shaun zee bailey could be in the alameda county courtroom for the last time today. a live look outside this morning at the bay bridge. snow on the horizon. it is thursday, february 24th. this is "today in the bay." good morning, everybody. thank you for joining us. i'm brent cannon.

>> i'm laura garcia-cannon. everybody is getting excited for this little miss forecaster. everyone is excited. i'm not going to be excited if we don't get it right. i'm betting my bottom dollar on this forecast. i can say with confidence snow levels will fall to 1,000 feet. i believe they will fall to 500 feet on saturday morning. that's the components we are really trying to grapple with. will it still be raining saturday morning when we see the very cold temperatures? we'll talk about what to expect coming up. right now it is cold out there, grab a jacket. by noon today showers start in the north bay. we'll let you know what's to come for the rest of the day and how low snow levels could fall coming up. we'll find out how your traffic is running right now with mike inouye. and it is a thursday at 5:30. the slowing is starting earlier at 43 past horizon lane. it is shorter than usual. it will expand over the next

half hour when we see that really build. the venetian and cartinas bridges are a smooth drive across both the bridges. after you pass highway 4 there's a disabled vehicle just reported in the lanes near pinole valley road. keep that in mind passing the upper east shore freeway. developing news overnight, we have more information about the marin county man who could be buried in his own backyard. 74-year-old dale smith was reported missing earlier this month. fbi investigators found human remains on his novato property yesterday and now his wife is a person of interest. marla tellez is live in novato where investigators are going to continue their dig later on this morning. marla, we also are hearing from smith's family for the first time. >> reporter: brent, that's right. we are certainly hearing from his family. i'll get to that in a moment. first, let me give you a look at the home right behind me here. you can see crime scene tape

surrounding this home. we are right off 101 in a very quiet cul-de-sac. we took the afferton exit to get here this morning. the police officer is on the site and does not think dale smith's wife evelyn who is a person of interest in this case, that she is currently living here. they do not think she is currently living here. this morning we do have our first look at dale smith. it is a photo given to us from his sister from 2009. we are told this is dale along with his wife, evelyn. we also have chopper video of yesterday's dig in the backyard of this home, although fbi agents did find human remains they have not positively id'd them yesterday. so it is not certain it is dale. overnight dale's sister kathy sherman sent us an e-mail telling us dale has owned this home for 40 years. she says, quote, when we were told he was missing, we all knew in our hearts that he was deceased. we only hope that his cause of

death can be positively determined and if evelyn was involved that justice be served, end quote. now neighbors who know the couple are, of course, shocked by the gruesome discovery. >> they seemed to get along fine. didn't really hear any arguing or things. a lot of conversation between them. and i really don't know what happened. >> reporter: now, it was, in fact, a neighbor who reported dale smith missing earlier this month. that was back on february 9th. police say they are talking to evelyn smith. according to the marin independent journal she hired a lawyer, but to be clear, she is not under arrest or in police custody this morning. now, the officer on site tells me that detectives with the department would be here as early as 6:00 a.m. so in a matter of less than 30 minutes an fbi agent cadaver dogs will continue their dig in the backyard of this home at some point later this morning.

live in novato, marla tellez for "today in the bay." a repeat sex offender will soon find out if he's going to spend the rest of his life in jail. prosecutors will push tomorrow for the indefinite imprisonment of bay point resident cary verse. a few weeks ago verse was accused of sexually harassing a person from his therapy classes. if the accusations are true they violate the terms of his release. you may remember the verse case. he was accused of assaulting four men between 1988 and 1992. he was finding it difficult to find a place to live after being released from prison. every community protests against him. the man accused of killing oakland journalist chauncey bailey wants the hearing to be moved out of the county. yusef bay iv and antoine mackey

are charged with three murders including the shooting of bailey. a third suspect in the case agreed to a plea bargain in exchange for testimony in the case. california senator dianne feinstein will follow president obama's lead and try to end the law to defining marriage. senator feinstein will introduce a bill to repeal the defensive marriage act. the obama administration has asked the justice department not to defend that act because of a changing legal landscape. california senators barbara boxer and feinstein joined 12 others to vote against that act back in 1996. the law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. another year, another toll hike for the golden gate transit agency. the examiner reports fairs could rise for those who ride the transit buses and ferries. one-way fares increase for 10 cents a year for buss passengers

going to mill valley and 55 cents for those coming from santa rosa. a one-way ticket on the ferry goes up by a dollar this year and 50 cents each year for the next five years. a one-way ticket from larskpur would increase by $1 a year. those hikes could into in effect by july 1st. it is a beautiful, clear morning out there. it feels cool again. >> it is cool, and the clear conditions, unfortunately, won't last for long. we have rain on the way today. so grab a jacket and your umbrella when you walk out the front door today. you won't need the umbrella until the second half of the day. 40 degrees right now in livermore. novato, 41. san francisco, 46 degrees. temperatures today are going to struggle to breach that 50-degree mark. i'm forecasting temperatures in the south bay near 50 and 55 degrees. we'll see pretty uniformed conditions when it comes to temperatures today. all throughout the bay area as a cold system drops into the area,

by noon we'll see the first showers in the north bay spreading south heading throughout the day. 10:00 p.m. is the magic time for us. that's when we'll drop our snow levels to 1,000 feet, which is really low for here in the bay area. and if we do see conditions, our temperatures are falling even cooler and dropping more so heading through tomorrow morning. we could see snow levels tomorrow morning below 1,000 feet. so let's talk about what this means for us. tonight, maybe three to six inches above 1,000 feet. by friday night we'll have our temperatures up in the north bay in the mid-20s. that means you need to protect the sensitive vegetation and probably even wrap up some of those pipes so they don't burst. it will be that cold. now, saturday morning the snow level falls to 500 feet. that means we could see some flurries near sea level if it is still raining at that time. we'll go into more depth as to what we are expecting coming up. but right now we'll get a look at your drive with mike inouye. good morning, christina. that's a good note, i have to go out to insulate the pipes in the

backyard. i have to make sure we don't burst pipes in the freezing temperatures. right now we have a 37, that's the speed limit, actually, that's as fast as you are allowed to go there. eighth street over to love ridge it is slowing. also through pittsburgh and bay point. a little further south 680 is moving nicely through walnut creek. down to san ramon the construction is approaching alcostra. out of the castro valley we'll take a drive here through downtown oakland passing the split with the warren freeway, the approach and drive through oakland are moving nice approaching the bay bridge toll plaza. there's an easy flow there, but we see more cars than we did 20 minutes ago. the metering lights are turning on at 6:20 today. back to you guys. thank you so much. the south bay leaders are thinking about making it easier for air travelers to find their way to san jose. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live in san jose this morning

with more. oh, look at that name. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, laura. they are talking about lengthening the name of the norman y mineta airport. now they are talking about waking it the norman y mineta san jose/silicon valley international airport. the idea is tutting putting the silicon valley in there to market it better. just as people were getting used to this norman y mineta airport. do you know the name of the airport? >> norman it is j mineta, right? >> reporter: norman y mineta. it is a mouthful.

do you think changing the name would market it? >> well, all the other ones get pretty long, too. so who cares. they are still going to call it the san jose airport. >> it is kind long for me. >> reporter: what would you suggest? >> i would either keep it the same or -- >> reporter: this is a serious issue because they want to market the airport at the airport of silicon valley. it is in silicon valley, but silicon valley is nowhere to be found in the name. and the airport needs the business. you may not realize this, but sjc now ranks behind oakland in terms of the passenger count. and this city has this beautiful thing behind me that it still needs to completely pay for, the new terminal cost $1.3 billion. there's a meeting on this later today to talk about possibly adding silicon value sleeve to the norman mineta name. bob redell for "today in the

bay." >> maybe they should get corporate naming rights. as long as you add a name, that would pay for the structure, too. >> everything is corporate these days. the time is 5:40. there's going to be extra security at a b.a.r.t. station today. we'll tell you why coming up. plus, lindsay lohan offered a plea deal. we'll tell you what's on the table and why she might want to accept it. and approved cell phones do te nlogystewju aadhehe goor technology news just ahe.ad [ female announcer ] every box of general mills big g cereals

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many americans are trapped in libya as protests continue to surge. they are trying to figure out how to deal with violence with libya's defibt leader. today president obama is putting the blame squarely on libya's governor. >> reporter: no question, laura, after the statement from president obama the u.s. is

siding with the libyan people on this. when the president called outrageous and unacceptable some of the tactics that he has seen used on those protestors, specifically orders to fire on the protesters. then new this morning we get word that the army there has spired fired on protesters holed up in a mosque in a city that's 30 miles outside of tripoli, west of tripoli. and we are at this moment waiting to hear from moammar gadhafi who announced on state tv he would make a statement to the city later on this morning. the u.s. says it will consider a full range of options against libya to stop the violence. that could include a no-fly done zone, human tear sanctions as well. this is one of the reasons president obama is sending hillary clinton to geneva on monday to talk to foreign leaders about these options.

then finally you mentioned the ferry supposed to get off the ground yesterday, supposed to leave tripoli yesterday. mother nature is not cooperating. we are still awaiting word as to whether or not they have left. it is a ferry full of americans evacuating from the violence. live on capitol hill, tracie potts, back to you. >> a lot of people to get out quickly. thank you. the time is 5:45. we are checking our forecast today. still chilly. we are starting to see now maybe the possibility of the actual dusting of snow on the bay area hills. >> yes, indeed. i do think that it will happen, a little dust of snow on the east bay hills, in particular, but will we see flurries at sea level? now flurries, a sudden burst of snow with the wind gust, so you have a wind gust that takes the precipitation up into the atmosphere, it freezes and comes down usually as a mix with no or little accumulation. so i do think that is possible below 500 feet. i think any snow that sticks will be above 500 feet. and the chance for that really

arrives as of saturday morning. now, there's a slight chance that could happen as we head into tomorrow morning as snow levels are already coming down to 1,000 feet as we head into tonight. 45 degrees in oakland. right now it is pretty mild out there compared to where we were for the past two days at this time because we have clouds overhead as this system approaches driving in the clouds. most of the showers are coming down over the pacific northwest. heading throughout the day today all of this activity will start to slide south. in fact, we have a little bit right now in the bay area already starting to develop. this is pre-frontal precipitation. as we head through the next few hours it will intensify. this is what we are looking at towards noon. santa rosa getting showers pushing south to novato. maybe even a little sneaking onshore near santa cruz and the santa cruz mountains. when it comes to tomorrow night into tomorrow morning, very dangerous conditions. if you are going to be headed over the pacheco pass, check ahead before you go. we'll keep you updated all morning long.

look at what is headed our way as of 10:00 p.m. when we drop the snow level to 2,000 feet. widespread shower activity. we'll wait to see how this plays out. then by 7:00 a.m. showers still coming down for the morning drive tomorrow. this is what we are expecting. snow levels to fall to about 1,000 feet, three to six inches possible tonight. the bulk of the moisture will come through tonight. we are going to be left with very, very cold conditions on friday night. freeze watches up for the north bay. that means you need to protect the sensitive vegetation with all the new growth with the early spring that we had for the past couple of weeks, so definitely protect that. and the snow levels fall to 500 feet, flurries near sea level saturday morning. so it is getting interesting, laura. i know i'm breaking out the winter coat tomorrow, how about you? >> i have little knitted crocheted things for my tulips. >> see that, she's already ready. >> oh, yeah, always have a blanket for someone at our house. san jose state is spending more money than ever before to upgrade their athletic faciles

theties, facilities. five projects are in the works. they will cost between $16 and $20 million. they are all built on land owned by the sj system. the sharks are on a road trip. they on a roll. look at this game-winning goal this overtime. that makes it five wins in a row now. they have been playing well on the road and beat detroit, now pittsburgh and on to calgary tomorrow night. so some good stuff in the sharks' department. in school you have picture day, in pro baseball it is no different. the giants are getting ready for new photos. we are talking to players after the world series. it is part of an hour-long special lawrence is putting together to air in march right here on nbc bay area.

there's my guy, brian wilson. i mean, my other guy. >> yeah, he doesn't know he's your guy, does he? >> i'll tweet him. i don't think he does. the st. mary gales can wrap up their conference today. if they do they stamp their time to the ncaa tournament. >> a win means they win the championship. a loss means they can share the title championship against portland. the gales are 22-6 this season. full disclosure, i am a gale. >> you have to report that. i want to check in with mike inouye. a bruin, ucla bruins, they are not doing bad this year. >> they are hit and miss. sometimes more of a miss than i want, but that's okay. we are looking at the approach coming over to the maze. no major issues. we see a blip on 24 eastbound heading over to highway 13. not a big deal. i'll track this carefully for

you. heading south near the san mateo bridge we'll look at things moving nicely through the area. san mateo and highway 92 is moving smoothly. oakland moving south past the coliseum, you can't miss this section of 92. we have a nice, easy drive past the coliseum. prince performs again tonight. expect crowds near the off-ramps after work. we are looking at the san mateo bridge crossing over from 880 with taillights on the peninsula side, a clear flow, but more folks are on the roadway. expect slowing at the interchange on the 880 side pretty soon. further south we are looking at the dumbarton bridge and construction still going on in the eastbound direction near newark and fremont. from the south 237 is cleared near the connector. we see slowing on 87 southbound that is counter-commute. so far your commute direction is looking just fine. the bottom side of your screen is 87 in the commute direction. that's okay northbound. back to you, brent. thank you, mike. more heavy snow is expected in the see yooir sierra by the end of the week. snow could also fall in places

you may not expect. brian hickey is live with more in sacramento. what's going on there? >> reporter: good morning, we are in auburn this morning where folks have spent the afternoon and last night preparing for what could be some pretty significant snow here in the foothills. this morning right now, 39 degrees on the wells fargo sign across the way there. but make no mistake, the temperature will drop much lower to bring snow much lower. take a look at the video of people preparing yesterday as they were in elderado county. road crews spent their day getting chains ready for their snowplows and digging out old chains to repair them to make sure they had enough for what they anticipate to be very low snow, significant snow to plow as much as 500 miles of road. that doubles the amount they normally snowplow during a normal snow event. this will be anything but normal. folks are lined up to stock up to prepare. the last storm left some folks without power for as long as

five days. they don't want that to happen again, but should it happen they want to make sure they have the supplies they need to get by. and so we are getting back out here live, 39 degrees here in auburn. and a chilly morning, a light breeze dropping the windchill. and we are at about 300 to 400 feet here. the snow could go much lower into the sacramento valley down around the rockland area where it is not out of the forecast that they could see a dusting of snow even that low. so everyone up here is getting ready for this snow, and better yet, the colder temperatures. brian hickey, back to you. >> that's great for the skiing. auburn up the hill a little bit, if it makes its way to the sacramento area, will there be enough for an accumulation or just a dusting? or should you think about how to clear roads down in the valley? >> reporter: well, down there they call for, at best, a dusting. that would be along the foothills of the foothills. they are not expecting it to go down to sacramento. it could, but they don't expect

any accumulation there, just a dusting. >> i think the same thing here, people are excited to see it. thank you, brian. we could see a lot of police at a b.a.r.t. station today. if you do, don't be alarmed. local law enforcement, b.a.r.t. police and the fbi are doing training exercises. they will practice tack tigs to check communications between agencies. today ease exercises will take place at the millbrae b.a.r.t. station. it is stet for 11:00 this morning. and the training is supposed to take place at an out of service platform and train, so it should be away from the regular service area. so hopefully it is not going to impact your commute or cause too much alarm. hundreds of people in the east bay are remembering two teens whose lives were tragically cut short at a candlelight vigil in walnut creek where hundreds of friends and relatives gathered to pay tribute to gatt move matthew miller and gavin powell. the two students died while rafting in a rain-swollen creek. >> matt was the kind of kid you could see running for president. gavin was just always an

adventurous kind of guy who put a smile on anyone's face no matter what the situation. >> i'm pretty sure there would have been kids in the creek next week or the week after that will not be there now. >> miller and powell drowned when they got into a temperatures you area of the creek with high concrete walls and a dangerous undertow. lawmakers are being asked to listen to alternative plans to health care. the ad have to cats for the disabled and elderly say they have plans to continue funding for long-term and in-home health care. they are urging state leaders to consider their proposals that they say can save hundreds of millions of dollars while keeping the public safe in their homes. governor brown is proposing nearly $2 billion in health care cuts in order to help close the state's budget deficit. 5:54 right now. in less than five hours the shuttle "discovery" is expected to take off on its final mission. these are live pictures of it standing by.

nasa checked the shuttle and said there are no leaks or cracks in the fuel tank. that caused them to scrub november's launch and to do four months of repairs. if the weather holds "discovery" takes off at 1:00 florida time. when it returns from space it will be retired. lindsay lohan wore white pants and a black shirt to face a judge yesterday, but it seems highly likely she'll have to trade that outfit for an orange jump suit. a judge told lindsay lohan she'll go to jail if she takes a plea deal in order to avoid trial. lohan is accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jewelry store. if she goes to trial and she loses, she could face three years in prison. that's because she is still on probation for a 2007 dui case. to add injury to insult, lohan got a speeding ticket last week for allegedly going 59 in a 35-mile-per-hour zone.

wisconsin republicans are pushing forward with a union-busting bill this morning. since tuesday the assembly has been debating measures that would take away collective bargaining rights for many public workers. it would allow them to negotiate wages. state democrats have left town which is preventing the chamber from taking up that bill. and all states are having problems, in fact, budget problem here at home getting national attention. scott mcgrew continues this coverage. >> you were talking with bob earlier about the san jose international airport, trying to jazz up the name and image. that's not the only change coming to the south bay. chuck reed sat down with "the wall street journal" and talked about san jose's budget woes. he repeated something we said earlier, that san jose is considering shutting off street lights to save money. a plan reed says is likely not a worse case she in their you. he blames the high costs of pensions of firefighters and police calling this like a cancer, starting slowly, no one noticing until it becomes

deadly. meanwhile, speaking of cancer, i'm talking the real kind, not the figurative kind, there's evidence this morning push published in the journal of american medicine saying that cell phones may stimulate brain cellsle. they have actual photographic proof of a scan showing when you hold it to your ear it does affect your brain. the interesting thing, brent and laura, is they are not sure, the doctors who did the research, whether that's necessarily a bad thing. it is indetectable as far as showing you that and an interesting picture, the brain activity is the same. >> it kind of activates it. >> yes, it activates it. they have proof there's an effect, but they don't have proof it is bad. >> sometimes i just take my phone and rub it around on my head. i just get going. >> let me know if it works back. >> i have a here. >> i have a mullet now. >> 5:57, stick around.