jose this morning. one of many places that in are just saturated with heavy overnight rain. we'll be taking a look at what's to come as cold temperatures now move in, today, friday, february 25th on "today in the bay." good friday morning, everybody. straight up 6:00. i'm brent cannon. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. if you have to head out the door, play it safe this morning. add a little extra time. we'll go to mike with a check on the commute. even though it is friday light, that's the term we use, but allow a lot of extra time because of the conditions outside. it has been raining all night. the east bay hills, diablo, danville, concord, all getting saturated right now. there could be reports of trees being down this morning, but so far they are clear. highway 4 is jammed up early eighth street to love ridge. they are seeing speeds below 35 since 5:30 this morning. the rain-soaked 680 is seeing an

accident near the 580 interchange. i'll bring you more details that just got into the chp blogger, but westbound 580 is slowing down into livermore out of the altamont pass. likely gusty conditions over the hills. we have wind advisories for the bay area bridges. here's a live look at the san mateo bridge as the camera shakes on the hayward side. no official advisory from chp. for all drivers across the bay bridges, the gusts can take you side to side. just like the shot there, the high profile vehicle there. this is what it is like in the higher elevation right now. the santa cruz mountains are getting soaked with rain and it could soon turn to snow. it is exciting but could be dangerous for commuters. marla tellez is live near the summit to show us. good morning. it is pretty soggy out there. >> reporter: good morning, laura. it is getting nasty out here. the rain is coming down. it is windy. it is pretty foggy, too, up at the summit. traffic seems to be moving along

without any problems. let me step out of the way and you can see northbound highway 17 traffic. it is moving along. we have made our way up and down. we haven't seen any problems. no accidents just yet, so that's good news. i actually just hung up with the national weather service and they tell me the santa cruz mountains are expected to get as much as 3/4 an inch of rain today. this has caltrans crews monitoring the roadways this morning. we have gone down to scotts valley along 17 and talked to early morning drives there. one guy who lives in capitola is on his way to san jose and tells me he's from michigan. this is not a whole lot to deal with for him, but still he is driving defensively this morning. that's good advice for all drivers. and last weekend the santa cruz mountains did get some snow, and we have viewer mountains to prove it. folks were snowboarding in the santa cruz mountains.

they could be snowboarding again tomorrow. the national weather service also tells me the santa cruz mountains could get two to four inches of snow overnight into tomorrow. it has issued a snow advisory for elevations below 3,000 feet starting at 4:00 this afternoon. and then lasting until 10:00 this morning. now, as for right now, it is all about the rain. the morning commute is beginning to pick up out here. and i can just tell you what my grandfather always tells me, leave early or be late. live along the highway here, i'm marla tellez, "today in the bay." >> try to stay dry. we'll throw that in there. the bay area is being hit with a lot of rain, but everybody is now waiting to see if it is actually going to snow in san francisco. "today in the bay's" bob redell is at twin peaks where there's plenty of wind but no snow yet. >> reporter: at over 900 feet twin peaks overlooking the city is the most likely place to get

snow in san francisco. and we are not talking about that fake stuff that olympic skier johnny moseley has brought on to filmore street or at&t park for a ski competition in recent years. we are talking about the real stuff falling from the sky. in the personal photos of betty shemis taken back in 1976, it was february 5th, 35 years ago, the last time it snowed and it stuck to the ground at s.f. it was enough for a snowman. will it be like that this time around? first, there's the issue of whether or not it is going to snow. if it is going to happen, our meteorologists are predicting the best shot will be late tonight, friday, possibly tomorrow morning, saturday. the reason tonight is because that's when attempts are expected to be at their coldest and the snow levels could then drop to 500 feet, which would certainly hit parts of san francisco. as far as how much snow there could be, there are no forecast models out there predicting

anything more than an inch of accumulation at sea level. here at twin peaks in san francisco, bob redell, "today in the bay." thank you so much, bob. as we take a live look outside as you can see the rain-slick roads out there causing spinouts, take it easy heading out the door. stick around, we have a lot more coming up on this weekend's storm. you can get updates any time at our website, nbcbayarea.com. in other news this morning, police are going to be back at a home in novato this morning to try once again to remove a body that's buried in the backyard. police suspended their efforts to exhume the remains last night because of safety concerns. the hole they are digging is so large it now needs to be reinforced. of course, the rain is only going to make things worse. now, the home belongs to dale and evelyn smith. neighbors think that the body is that of dale smith who disappeared on february 9. a suspicious neighbor says she noticed ef len referring to her husband in the past tense. then she built a brick pad owe in the backyard. and neighbors think that the

body is under the patio. dale has been in poor health for several years. evelyn hired an attorney has not returned to her novato home. unrest has spread to iraq where today has been declared a day of rage. thousands of people are taking place in anti-government protests around the country. iraqi security forces killed five people in baghdad as they tried to disperse a crowd. they fired bullets into the air but they came back down to the ground and hit people in the crowd. dmon traitors do not want to overthrow their government. most of them want to end corruption, fix unemployment and upgrade public services like electricity. meantime, muammar gadhafi is in control in his capital city this morning, but opponents have control of a large part of the country today. foreign mercenaries in the militia are holding off against an uprising against gadhafi. yesterday the leader delivered a

rambling speech on state-run media blaming the revolt on osama bin ladin and mentioned the unibomber. he also questioned why queen elizabeth has been allowed to rule england for so long. meantime, we do want to check the latest on our storm this morning. it has been really heavily raining throughout the bay area most of the night, and this means you can have a rough commute. let's go to mike inouye. we have a lot going on in the studio. i'm calling for the control room to follow along with me. we'll start off with the map to the approach of the bay bridge. things are calm as far as the map looks. speeds are close to the limit, which is largely because it is friday. some folks are still off for the vacation. san jose unified is as well as some other schools in the east bay. although most of the school districts in the east bay are still on schedule. we are looking at a lighter flow approaching the bay bridge. we'll show you where there's an issue approaching the san mateo bridge. here's a live shot crossing over into highway 92.

i told you about the windy conditions heading into the peninsula, which is clear aside flooding near 101 coming out of the city. but the headlights are coming towards us and 880 is seeing an issue off the bridge. somewhere between the bridge toll plaza and 880 itself there's a report of flooding. i have marked it as sip slippery or flooding off the map. likely watch that for the dumbarton bridge as well. just a little bit to the south, highway 84 over from the peninsula to newark and fremont past the radio towers we are watching for reports there as well. meanwhile, the castro valley is moving smoothly because of a lighter commute. reports are going through downtown oakland. watch for the effects of that as well. a smooth drive so far, but over here that northbound 680 accident over to eastbound 580 looks like it is not affecting your commute. and even the altamont pass is starting to sort itself out. watch that because things are really wet and slippery out there. anything can happen this morning. i have my eyes peeled. back to you. >> thank you for the continuous

updates, mike. in the meantime, still to come on "today in the bay," the sierra should get plenty of snow from the storm. a live report is coming up. and a live look outside at the beautiful bay bridge this morning. the commute is picking up just a bit. we have tabs on all of it for you. 6:09 right now. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. 6:is 11 right now. a live shot across the golden great bridge this morning. it is one of those places soaked this morning. play it safe as you head out.

we have been talking about all the rain coming down across the bay area and the cold temperatures that are going to happen overnight leading to snow in some of the higher elevations. that could prove to be a big problem for wine growers. the grape growers up in napa is where christie smith is this morning. there is a chance they could lose some of their crops. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you. you know, i have to start by saying what a soggy mess out here this morning. we got this assignment and were told to dress warm because napa is going to be among the coldest places in the bay area. that may be true, but it also feels like one of the wettest places, at least this morning. we came from the east bay about 3:00 this morning. and i wanted to show you what we are dealing with. it absolutely has not stopped all morning, just pouring rain. but also pretty windy. and the weather has vineyards trying to fight off the frost, they have wind machines working to try to mix the warmer air down to the ground to raise the temperature and keep the vines from freezing. of course, if it stays too cold it could damage certain grape

crops. now, this morning we have been out here seeing trees blowing, talking with folks, doing a sprint to run in and get their coffee. they are bundled up. at least most of them are, some of them aren't. but being prepared for that possible snow that could hit and also the very cold, cold temperatures. so, again, just a very, very soggy start to your morning. that's what we have from here, reporting live in napa, christie smith for "today in the bay." thank you. >> meantime, a stunning revelation that could have a dramatic impact on a high-profile cold case in the south bay. the san jose "mercury news" is reporting a possible new link between jeanine harms missing since 2001 and one-time murder suspect maurice nasmeh. nasmeh's mother found us is spishs items while cleaning the closet in her late son's home. they found a clump of human hair the same color as harms'. police are running tests on the items.

nasmeh was the last known person to see harms alive but the case was thrown out against him for lack of evidence and because harms' body has never been found. nasmeh was killed last month by harms' brother. he ran into nasmeh in a coffee shop in san jose, shot him to death and turned the gun on himself. meantime, san jose's police department could lose a valuable crime-fighting asset because of the budget crunch. the department could ground its helicopter for the next three months as a trial cost-cutting measure. the department will then decide if it can get by without the chopper for at least a year. cutting the chopper could save police jobs but some do worry about losing eyes in the sky during searches for suspects and looking for missing people. 6:14 right now. a state appeals court is striking down part of the san francisco law aimed to crack down on landlords who treat their tenants badly. bad behavior includes invading

tenants' privacy, holding on to their rent checks for more than 30 days or threatening tenants to get them out of a rent-controlled unit. the first district court of appeals says the city doesn't have the constitutional right to force lower rents on landlords. 6:15 right now. we are keeping an eye on your morning commute this morning. it is messy out there. and mike has the latest look at the roads. >> good morning, brent and laura. as you well know, it has been raining all night. no ice on the roadways. the rain-soaked freeways are getting a look at 680 on the southbound side right around mckey. we have reports of an earlier spinout with all activity off to the shoulder. but another accident north of there near the great mall, watch for activity there. 87 and 101 are slowing northbound up to the 680 interchange. we are really focusing on this portion of 101 with an accident near mathilda approaching 237. although it is off to the shoulder, we could see slowing

over the next few minutes until they get all the flashing lights cleared. there you see moffett field. you need shelter from the rain this morning. from the peninsula over to the east bay, take note. highway 92 reports flooding eastbound heading over towards the exit near fremont, i'm sorry, the hayward exit. you may find some flooding there. this is coming past the radio towers approaching the fremont exits. that's an issue for both bridges there. we'll take a live look out there at the golden gate bridge. we have a nice flow of traffic, but the wet conditions here continue. chp said we need an advisory for marin county. they said there's flooding. watch that on northbound 101 as well as southbound into or out of the city. a live look shows the bay bridge toll plaza. we'll send it back to the desk. the sierra is getting

pounded with more snow as well. and brian mickey from the sacramento nbc station is live in applegate this morning. last we checked he was just below the snow level. it is really raining on you now. it was kind of the end of line for the eastbound truckers where you are. >> reporter: get me out of here. send me the blue canyon. i want snow. the truckers are all being held here at applegate where they have spent most of the evening. they are letting cars with changes or four-wheel drive through this morning, but they are holding the truckers westbound. excuse me, eastbound. they just opened it for westbound truckers. in the meantime, it is just rain and snow here at the 2,000 feet level. we are pretty low on the mountain in applegate. we are just above auburn. so pretty low snow this morning, but not low enough for me. i don't like being in the rain/mix stuff. it is nasty.

i would much rather be in snow, but the wind and trees are blowing around this morning. and just a dusting of snow on the ground. some has been washed away by the current rain. well, there's a nice blast of wind for you, that feels pleasant. those are the conditions down low. imagine what it is like up above. it is just nasty over interstate 880, even a few miles up the road from here it switches over to all snow. that's where you get the slippery, slushy snow. over the summit the snow is piling up, light, dry powder for the ski areas. and the forecast is calling for some more over the weekend. it will be a great ski weekend. for today, if your weekend travel plans take you here today, it will be a rough go in the sierra with conditions just nasty here. back to you guys. >> i hear you, brian. the wet, rainy, windy stuff is, i think, worse than if you get up in the snow. it is better to be up in the snow like you said. >> reporter: well, snow you can brush it off, this stuff, you are wet and you are wet. that's it. game over. >> thank you, brian. we appreciate it. a reminder, if you go there, you

need the chains or snow tires. if you are a big trucker you may not get through at all. >> they ared a viszing people to wait until saturday morning if you can. >> if you get there, make sure you have a place with a good tv because the oscars are on sunday. our very own mr. hollywood has his prediction on who will take home best picture. >> here's "today in the bay's" bob redell. >> reporter: as someone who appeared in many oscar films like "titanic," and "pulpfiction" winner of the best screen play. >> wait, i can't breathe. i'm still in here. >> reporter: and "ghostbusters." it has been ranked as one of the top 30 comedies of all time by the american film institute. i still have no idea who is

going to take home the oscar for best picture, but i know the fight is between "the king's speech" and "social network." yes, as a matter of fact, i know bookies in vegas wanted to rank "the king's speech" as their one to four favorite. bob redell for "today in the bay." >> a lot of fun. we want to help send you to the movies. we have great prizes for the tribeca, dallas or l.a. film festivals or here at cinequest. watch and win. the secret word of the day is "the african queen." there you have it. "the african queen." it is 6:20. twitter users made their own oscar predictions as well. scott mcgrew has a few of those results coming up. muni is now under a state investigation. find out what investigators have found coming up next. and a live look at the bay bridge this morning. yeah, we have seen some of the wind rocking the camera there. so it is windy, it is wet.

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good morning to you. welcome back. take a look at what you are facing on the roadways. not just in san francisco, everywhere across the bay area. we have had a lot of rain come down overnight. esas r ault, we have ponding, your best r bet this morning to travel the center lanes of the highway to esavoid all that moisture that usually builds up ound the gutters. let's talk about what's happening in terms of your rainfall right now. we have heavy cells coming down in san jose. you can see that yellow there. and a little bit of pink, yes, snow levels this morning are down to about 1,000 feet. as we head throughout tonight, temperatures are going to be bitterly cold. in fact, temperatures are in the upper 40s to low 50s.

this is as warm as it will be today as we head throughout this afternoon. temperatures are going to drop like a rock. we are talking about 35 degrees in san francisco tomorrow morning. very, very cold. very unusual. if we do have rain coming down at that time, it could be coming down in the form of snow flurries. that's what we are forecasting, flakes at sea level, certainly a possibility. so we are going to keep updating you. i'm running the models all morning long. snow levels down to at least 500 feet. and we want your pictures. send them to weatherpics@nbcbayarea.com. 6:24 right now. the city is investigating muni for problems on its tracks and other safety issues. the california public safety utility commission says the safety violences turned up during 20 inspections over the past year. the cpuc says the staff found defects on the tracks and saw problems with the automatic train control system in subway.

muni leaders also don't work fast enough to address concerns. muni insists it is working closely with state regulators to fix the problems as they come up, but muni says the major problem is maintaining and repairing the track, which is more than 30 years old. meantime, google is in the news again, but this time they are trying to sort through so-called tricksters. >> google has to stay on top of the search results. it is in big trouble if it can't consistently return absolutely the best results. it has found all kind of websites, even jcpenneys is trying to trick the search engine to putting their results first through extra links and other ploys. this morning google is trying to weed out less than perfect results. that's a big deal. that's like kfc adjusting their chicken recipe. all of google's successes are again dent dependent on

perfectly tweaking their results. twitter is this so close opening a new market in san francisco. still negotiating rent, though. the city offered twitter six years of free payroll tax. there's a concern that the city could require twitter employees to pay stock option tax. the mayor has said he does not plan to enforce that. laura was talking about the oscars earlier saying lots of experts think "the king's speech" will take best picture and twitter users agree. they ran the numbers to look at what people are saying on twitter. conventional wisdom is right. "the king's speech" will win best picture. colin firth best actor, natalie portman for "best actress." oar "the black swan." we have channels that show fireplaces or aquariums. now one city wants a 24-hour

chicken channel. the channel looks a lot like this. yeah. it is going to air on monday in ontario, canada. and it is going to run nothing but glistening chickens turning on a spit until may. why not all the time? a restaurant chain called swish clalet is paying for it, but their logo won't appear. they don't need it. when people in ontario are good for a chicken they automatically think of swiss clalet. >> that will just make you hungry all the time, which i guess then you head to their restaurant. coming up, more team coverage of the latest storm to hit the bay area. >> we have several live reports. and we'll take you to napa where grow eers are concerned about how the cold temperatures could affect their crop. plus, a live report from the santa cruz mountains where they are expected some snow. and a live look outside of oakland. of course, mike is also keeping an eye on the roads this

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welcome back, everybody. it is a rainy, cold start to the day. a live look outside across the golden gate bridge. we are also on snow watch all around the bay area. and meteorologist christina loren is coming up with what we can expect throughout the day. and good morning. i'm marla tellez live along highway 17. i'm checking the roadways. i'm going to tell you the latest conditions and also when snow could fall in the santa cruz mountains coming up. and good morning. i'm christie smith live in napa where it is cold and wet. we'll tell you what's being done this morning to protect a cash crop. taking you across the bay area, here's a live look from the south bay. this is the h.p. pavilion, a soggy start to friday, february 25th, "today in the bay."

good friday morning, everybody. thank you for joining us. it is 6:30. i'm brent cannon. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we'll get you moving with a look at the forecast and christina. >> good morning to you. everywhere you head throughout the bay area it has been raining overnight. it is still coming down. take a look at this line of showers that just developed and pushed through novato headed to vallejo and richmond. get ready for the heavy rain. snow levels this morning have fallen to 1,000 feet. and right now our temperatures are mostly in the low 40s and 50s. so for us today, we are already seeing our daytime highs. temperatures will continue to drop like a rock heading throughout the day today. and the very cold air behind this system pushes into the bay area. we'll let you know what cities can expect the snowfall coming up. right now, let's check that treacherous commute with mike inouye. yeah, christina. your map tells the whole story. i'm showing the same area where we are seeing unusual slowing

down the east shore freeway for a friday at 6:30. we don't expect to see speeds below 50 miles per hour south of the golden gate freeld. here's the toll plaza. that's an easy drive as far as the volume of traffic, but look at all the water kicking up onto the windshields. deep puddles there and wide puddles. no metering lights, but friday light traffic is stuck because of the slow waterway coming through the bay bridge toll plaza. we'll take you fast to the east shore freeway where we are talking about the slowing. a 23-minute drive off the cartinas bridge because of slowing there as well as coming between highway 4 and 580 as well. so a lot of slowing through richmond. you talked about the rain coming through the north bay. they will get hit in the next 15 minutes. that affects those coming down to the cartinas bridge or leafing the area. they just got a wind advisory issued by the chp. we are extending that to the venetian bridge and any other bridge. gusty conditions. hold on tight there. very slowlythe antioch. especially during a friday and the conditions we have out

there. the cold blast could also bring snow to some parts of the bay area, which is kind of exciting, but also potentially dangerous for commuters. marla tellez is live at the summit of the santa cruz mountains. always a wine did windy road anyway. what are the latest conditions? >> reporter: it has begun to lighten up, but now look at this after i say that. is somebody listening to me up there? it is slick as ever. northbound 17's commute is picking up. so far it is looking good, drivers are taking it slow and being smart about it. i have been in touch with the national weather service all morning long, and they tell me that 3/4 an inch of rain is expected in the santa cruz mountains today. this, of course, has caltrans crews monitoring the roadways. we have seen several trucks along highway 17 this morning. but so far no problems to report. caltrans does have its flashing signs up, morning drivers to reduce their speeds.

and we tracked down some early morning commuters in scott's valley this morning who tell me they are ready for the roads. >> i grew up in michigan, so for me this is actually relatively not that bad. >> reporter: so we are being wimps in the bay area? >> i don't want to say that too bad, but it is kind of -- for me this is what i'm used to. >> it is going to be pretty rainy, but i think it is warm enough where it is not going to be snowy or slushy. so i think we'll be all right. >> reporter: so what about that snow? the national weather service tells me two to four inches of snow is expected in the santa cruz mountains overnight into tomorrow. snow advisories issued as of 4:00 this afternoon until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. it is raining here, that's the name of the game. and it is all over the bay area, including in napa where christie smith is joining us live with a look at the grapevines there. good morning, christie. >> reporter: good morning to you, marla. it is a rough morning when you wish that you had gotten the snow assignment. we have been standing here in

napa all morning. it is cold, it is wet. we left oakland at 3:00 this morning. and it has been raining the entire time. i would say we have only had a couple minutes where i would consider less than pouring. now for vineyards in the area there's much more to it. they are certainly trying to protect their crops, trying to protect the vines from freezing using wind machines to mix the warm air with the cold air closer to the ground. they are also pruning early buds to try to hold off growth. if it is too cold, too long, too fast it can kill off certain grape crops. this morning, nothing but wind and rain up here. trees blowing, we are watching people in napa literally sprint in for their morning coffee. they are bundled up, at least most of them. why don't you have on a coat? >> i'm from oregon. this is not cold. i'm looking forward to going up in the hills this weekend.

>> reporter: you heard about the snow? >> yeah. i'm going to go climb mt. helena this weekend. >> reporter: now, in napa again they are scrambling to pull down umbrellas from all the wind blowing here this morning. bone-chilling 30s and 40s expected this weekend. we should also mention that the marin water district is warning customers to make sure to insulate their exposed pipes. but for now, it is just a cold and nasty and wet morning. we are going to go ahead and get dry and warm back in the van. i'll toss it over to you guys. >> get a little bit of a break. thank you for being out there for us, christie. more traffic and weather updates coming all morning long. you can also get the latest conditions any time you need at our website at nbcbayarea.com. these are magic robotic cameras. okay. people on the peninsula, you felt it watching the tv, but the people may have felt rocking and rolling overnight. a 3.4 magnitude earthquake

rattled in san mateo county at 12:12 this morning near the half-moon bay shoreline. federal investigators are about to kickoff three days of hearings on the san bruno disaster by leasing thousands of pages of new documents. the records include technical reports and interview transcripts from the ongoing investigation into the san bruno pipeline blast that killed eight people in september. the mayor and city manager of san bruno will attend the hearings which start on tuesday in washington, d.c. san bruno's fire chief and the state public utility commissions and other industry leaders are all expected to testify. tuesday's hearing will focus on the way pg&e operates. wednesday's hearing will deal with state and government oversight. and thursday's hearing goes with industry-wide technology. the chauncey bailey murder trial will stay in the county. lawyers say the two men associated with your black muslim bakery cannot get a fair trial because of widespread

publicity. prosecutors claim that bay ordered the killing of chauncey bailey in 2007 because bailey was going to expose internal conflict within the bakery and its impending bankruptcy. bay and mackey are also charged with two other murders. a south bay man is now behind bars charged with killing his wife six years ago. gary swarsky will make his first court appearance today in palo alto. his wife rianna was reported missing in 2005 in sunnyvale. police found her skull in april of 2008 near boulder creek in the santa cruz mountains three years later. police credit the new arrest in part to the santa clara district attorneys newly reestablished cold case unit. it is 6:38 right now. look at that behind us, that's the golden gate bridge. a pretty soggy morning out there with the rain coming down. colder temperatures eventually will lead to snow. let's go to christina. >> just looking at marla tellez over on the 17, wow, it is coming down out there. take a look at this system. it is coming in with a ren

vengeance. we are seeing the most rain right now. by noon the showers will taper off. take a look at what's coming in after that. the spotty clouds indicate cold air settling into the bay area all weekend long. you will need the heavy jacket with temperatures only ranging from the low to mid-40s. i'm talking about daytime highs. it will be chilly the next couple of days. chilly enough for snowflakes in san francisco. in fact, the national weather service has changed their forecast. they are now going 30% snow chance in the city of san francisco. so it is really interesting to see what is going to shape up. i know all meteorologists are getting excited, including myself. but right now this is what's happening. if you have to get out the front door, let me show you the heaviest rain is coming down. we have a really good line that just developed extending from san francisco up to sacramento. and as a result we'll see heavy rain in san francisco here in the next five to ten minutes. and it is going to stick around for another half hour.

so really dangerous conditions out there. take it easy. slow it down. we are going to talk about what cities can expect the snow. i'm bringing it down to 500 feet early tomorrow morning and late tonight. so a lot to talk about here. we'll find out what there is to talk about in the traffic department this morning. hey, mike. of course, your reports go hand in hand with mine. you showed the south bay with that more intense rain coming through the area. we are seeing now the sensors getting a little mixed up here. we see a speed of 35. that could be the case near the 680 interchange, but overall the speeds are looking just fine. the 44 near highway 85 looks slow for that general stretch as well. but just a note, heading south on 85 towards 17 and down highway 17, christina, you called it out. we saw the santa cruz summit with speeds slowing in the 30s over to the grade. and heading over the summit, just sloppy, wet, slippery conditions. my friend aaron comes over the mountains in the morning and says it is tough and foggy. we are also looking at a wind

advisory for the san mateo bridge. here's a shot of oakland. we'll end with this shot of the camera shaking. the wet, soupy conditions are out there as you hit the roads. keep that in mind. 6:40 right now. scott is coming up with this week's gadget friday. and here's a little sign that spring is getting a little bit closer. look at the green grass. the giants are going to be back on the field today for their first exhibition game in spring training. we'll have the details coming up. and a live look outside at the bay bridge this morning. you can see, boy, just soggy, soggy conditions for the start of the day we'll look at where the rain is really coming down. [ male announcer ] it's 2011 and everything is different.

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a live look outside this morning at the transamerica pyramid on the left side of the screen. a soggy start to the day. when will it turn into snow? we'll check in with christina coming up. the fate of barlt b.a.r.t.'s general manager is up in arms this morning after the b.a.r.t. board voted to fire dorothy dugger during a closed session two weeks ago. but the vote violated state open meeting laws. so the board directors took back

the vote but now her future with the transit agency is still up in the air. "the chronicle" reports the committee is in negotiations with her now. thousands of bay area teens will go without food today to raise money for victims of the haitian earthquake. almost 5,000 teens throughout the bay area are participating in world vision's nationwide 30-hour famine event. during the 30 hours teens cannot eat food for 30 hours to experience what the poorest children and families face every day. they also do hands-on local community service projects. the giants are in action today. they are going to play the first exhibition game of spring training. they will host the arizona diamondbacks in scotsdale at 12:05. before the game gets underway the grounds crew is painting the world series championship logo on the grass behind home plate. and it is going to be there throughout spring training as a reminder to this year's team as well as any spring game opponents about who the giants

are, the defending world series champs. and what about my st. mary gales? they lost against gonzaga last night in o.t. 89-85. both teams are now tied for first in the conference. st. mary's has one more game this season against portland. meantime, scott mcgrew is here. >> yes, i am. let's talk about -- you have been talking about the unrest in the middle east, and oil prices are actually down, which to some degree i can't figure out. you have rebels outside of tripoli, you even have problems in iraq this morning. remember who runs the government there. the dow industrials are actually up 35 points. the nasdaq is up 21. all tech stocks moving high they are morning, everything is green across the board. so i got an e-mail from a viewer asking about a commercial he had seen for apple ipad where you play the electric guitar

through the apple app called amplitudei-rig. there's a head phone jack so you can listen to it. it turns it sort of a stop box. the guitarists have this down on the floor. you use your finger on the ipad and not a guitar pedal. but it is $40 and goes right between your guitar and your pedal for ap, amplitude. >> very cool. yes, i'm sure they are very, very happy with what's happening in mammoth right now. we are seeing a huge amount of rain coming down. take a look at the extent of this system bringing rain showers to almost the entire state of california. cities south of los angeles are not getting the rain just yet, but theically later today, but they will later today. we already have snow reported on the east bay hills and the north

bay hills. and a lot of the snow will also come down on the south bay hills in mt. hamilton heading throughout the morning hours. right now san francisco, take a look at this line of showers headed towards you. that will arrive in the next ten minutes. get ready for heavy downpours there. and our temperatures this morning are really mild. we are in the upper 40s to low 50s. these are your daytime highs, bay area. these are the daytime highs. the cold air behind this system arrives later on today. you see all the spotty clouds. it will settle in. and our temperatures this afternoon at about 2:00 p.m. are only going to be in the mid-40s. so you need the jacket all day today. and we are talking about the potential for some snow. this is my forecast. livermore, 480 feet. 31 degrees as we head into tonight and tomorrow morning. i'm forecasting snow in livermore. probably a dusting in places like danville and san martin waking up tomorrow morning. i would say somewhere around 300 to 400 feet. those are the best bets for the dusting of snow. then maybe flurries in san francisco.

definitely possible. we'll talk about why and what's to come after that, the potential for a hard freeze. back to you guys. thank you, christina. the time is 6:48. next we'll get an update on what president obama is doing about the uprising in libya. and a live look outside once again. the rain is pounding the bay area this morning. a live look at san francisco.ore

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good morning, everybody. a soggy look at the bay bridge toll plaza this morning. lots of rain all over the bay area as this storm moves through. we'll update your commute and weather forecasts in a minute. it is 6:51 right now. this morning more rage and

revolution in libya. today the u.s. is hoping to launch a ferry full of americans stuck in tripoli if the weather there cooperates, but that's just half the story. tracie potts is live with more on how the u.s. is putting pressure on libya to put an end to the bloody revolution. good morning. >> reporter: yes, good morning, laura. they are really trying to bring this thing to an end. a couple updates for you this morning, that ferry you mentioned, it has now taken off from trip lee. apparently the weather conditions eased a bit. they took off about 3 1/2 hours ago. we expect to hear this afternoon of a safe arrival. again, amid all the violence there, the u.s. has been able to get a charter airplane into tripoli for more americans who want to evacuate. that, again, they are hoping to takeoff today. they will probably have to prioritize, we are told, and people with medical emergencies will be able to go first. now, the airport chaos, the chaos in the streets, the obama administration is teaming up with european nations trying to

do something about this. the president has been on the phone with leaders in britain, italy, france, trying to figure out what types of sanctions they might be willing to consider imposing like freezing assets, a travel ban on top of leaders in libya's government, perhaps a no-fly zone, we do know today the u.n. security counsel is having an emergency meeting to talk about whether or not, or i should say the u.n. human rights counsel, is going to talk about whether or not to kick libya off the panel. it will take a two-thirds vote to get that done. and they also want to investigate what they are calling gross and system as tic violations of human rights. >> really, about gadhafi, if he doesn't step down like we saw in egypt, what could happen to him? >> reporter: well, if he doesn't, there are a number of scenarios here. some analysts are saying given the fact that a lot of these demonstrators have taken over

eastern regions of the country, he could get killed by his own people. could he be driven out of the country? he is saying he doesn't want to leave, but could he be driven out of the country? u.s. military action is not out of play. the white house says everything is still on the table. >> it is so interesting to watch. thank you very much, tracie. we are watching the storm moving through the bare bay area this morning. we have seen significant amounts of rain throughout the morning. christina is here to tell us more on what to expect heading throughout the course of the day. >> good morning to you. the bulk of the moisture is coming through right now for today. heading through probably noon, 1:00 or 2:00 p.m., it will start to thing out quite a bit, but then the very cold air moves in. we'll zoom in to show you the heaviest showers right now. we have a really strong line of showers pushing into san francisco. and then this will be in oakland in another 15 minutes. get ready for another dangerous driving condition. now, heading throughout the day today, these are the daytime

highs. temperatures only drop heading into this afternoon. by 2:00 p.m. we are left in the upper 40s, low 50s across the bay area. so it is going to be one of the days where you need the jacket. what comes next? after the showers start to subside, we are going to see all this cold air drive into the bay area. and a little more moisture is forecasted to push ashore heading through tonight and tomorrow morning. with the two combined, the very cold temperatures and that moisture pushing onshore, this is what we are forecasting. a snow level down to at least 500 feet. livermore, snow, a dusting in danville and san martin. even los gatos, i'm forecasting flurries at 52 feet, that's the elevation in san francisco. let's go to mike now to check on traffic. we have to get through all the rain you showed on the radar. the north bay is getting hit right now. you may have an effect on your commute as well. definitely affecting folks on the left side of the screen. there's a disabled vehicle just off the bay bridge causing

slowdowns right off where interstate 880 splits with highway 101. watch for that. the metering lights have been turned on as well. the east shore freeway is showing a major slowdown. the backup has formed over the last 15 to 20 minutes there as you approach the toll plaza. the maze time is looking really good as well. we'll end with this live shot here and send it back to you with the soupy conditions. lower the speeds. thank you, mike. we appreciate it. before we go this morning, disney on ice is in town. >> yeah, the show will be at the h.p. pavilion in san jose as well as at the oracle arena. one of the skaters, madeline, is joining us here in a little bit. good morning, thank you so much for joining us. >> good morning, thank you for having me. >> pretty exciting to have the show here in town. you do a couple shows a day? >> two a day, and three tomorrow, and three on sunday as well. also, we'll be in oakland. >> look at the video from the show. mickey and minnie there. tell us about what we see in the show. >> well, you just saw alice there. i play alice in wonderland.

it is a great celebration on ice. every prince and princess character and celebration you can imagine. >> wow, that is pretty cool. >> i wonder if triplet toddlers would like a show like that? >> of course they would. >> that's what we have. >> there's mickey. >> look who has shown up? >> mickey is not wearing his skates this morning. >> no, but he'll be soon. >> okay, you start playing this morning through this weekend in san jose. then next weekend at the oracle arena. >> yes. >> thank you for coming by. mickey, glad you braved the storm to come into the bay area this morning. we appreciate it. stay dry. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you, guys. thank you so much for joining us. the "today" show is coming up next. going to the bank without going to the bank... that's a step forward. with chase quickdeposit on your smartphone,

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