this morning the official start of the 2014 winter games as we give you a live look at sochi, russia. the sun is about to set into the black sea. that means we're hours from the opening ceremony. a very good friday morning to you. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm scott mcgrew. good morning to you. right now all eyes on fisht stadium in sochi where the olympic ceremony will be held. this is what it looks like at night. crowds ever people arriving at the stadium to take their seats, russia preparing to put on a grand spectacle on the global stage. >> janelle wang is live outside the stadium in sochi. janelle, exciting today. what's the atmosphere out there now? >> reporter: it's picking up. the sun is setting. i put on my jacket because my lips are getting numb in the

last live shot. as you look behind me that is fisht olympic stadium. people are starting to head that way so people are filing in for the opening ceremony. the athletes are excited about that. for their competition they got off to a rocky start last night as you saw in prime time, team usa the new figure skating team did not go well for them. the pairs team struggled and in the men's short program jeremy abbott crashed hard. after last night usa's in seventh place, they still have a chance if ashley wagner pulls off an incredible program saturday. another event team usa rocked it. snowboard slope style. jamie anderson and karly schorr did so well they skip the semifinals and go directly to the finals on sunday. for the men, no u.s. rider advanced directly to the finals but tahoe's chas guldemond will compete in the semifinals.

more athletes are arriving in time for the opening ceremony today. the half-pipe free skiers arrive. i got to chat with them. we want to show you some video of half-pipe. their event is new to the winter games, it's what snowboarder shaun white does but on skis. three members of the team are from northern california and they dominate the half-pipe. the entire team took the team to meet with me one on one. they say they can't wait to compete in their first olympic games. >> i came in with as few expectations as i could. i know if you have a ton of expectations you are bound to be disappointed or put off guard. so i'm just here to enjoy the experience and it's been pretty amazing. >> the opening ceremonies are tonight. i've been waiting for that all month so i'm really excited and yeah, i think it will be a great way to kick off the games. >> reporter: mattie bowman is here, they are actually

roommates. the three are favored to medal. david is a world champion. now they don't start practice until next week and competition for them begins on february 18. they are here enjoying it and wanted to make to the opening ceremony and a lot of their family will be arriving when they start competing in about 10 days. so everybody is really excited, adrenalin is pumping and we can't wait for the opening ceremony to begin. reporting live from the sochi games, janelle wang, bay area news. >> perfect. thanks so much. >> tonight's opening ceremony is going to be incredible. there are serious undertones. >> peggy bunker joins us in our studio with more. >> undertones indeed. russia infamous for anti-gay laws. the people that have been picked to represent the unby the president include companies like google standing up for gay rights. the message of tolerance from the united states to russia is clear. the president went ahead and

chose exactly who would be attending the games. in an exclusive only here he sent a message this morning to the athletes. take a listen. >> so you inspire us. we're going to be watching and we are going to be rooting for you. so on behalf of all your fans around the country, including everybody in the obama family, good luck and go team usa. >> it's unusual that the president or the vice president, the first lady won't be there, so he appointed uc president janet napolitano and former secretary of homeland security also several openly gay athletes to go and attend the delegation. one of those is 1988 gold medal winner brian boitano. he is honored to be part of the delegation as an athlete and also as openly gay. take a listen. >> i am so proud to stand with you, the country, your message and my fellow athletes who are out, and i want to promote the message of tolerance, diversity and equality for everyone and

this is a great opportunity. >> a phenomenal skater. this morning you'll see the google doodle adding their voice. a bright graph wick pictures of athletes skiing, sledding and curling can be seen against the rainbow. below the rainbow on google is a two sentence line which is part of the olympic charter it reads in part every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport without discrimination of any kind. that really seems to be the universal, not just united states, but the universal cry to russia. >> very nice. thanks so much, peggy. >> you can watch the opening ceremony right here on nbc bay area including the lighting of the olympic cauldron all of the excitement is going to start at 7:30 tonight. >> or if you want to watch the opening ceremony with a crowd of friends come to our nbc bay area viewing party. it will be held at stanley's restaurant inside sharks ice in

san jose on south tenth street. >> well, enjoy your day today. today is the calm between the storms. right now we're getting a break in the rain as we give you live looks of san jose, oakland, san francisco and palo alto. that calm is not going to last. >> it isn't. by tomorrow we will be getting drenched all over the bay area. that means we could see a repeat of what we saw yesterday. spin-outs, crashes and flooded roadways. the good news is that it's the weekend, hopefully not as many commuting. one lady getting up early again tomorrow morning to bring this info to you is christina loren. this is another big one coming in. >> it really is. saturday looks to be the worst of it that's why we'll be here. not only in the morning at the 6:00 and 11:00 as well. but hey, you know what, this is the kind of thing we need. we have that drought going so we want to bring on the rain. we want everybody to stay safe. we're two steps ahead of this storm system. we're talking about the

potential for five inches of rainfall in santa rosa so we're definitely going to be on high alert especially after what we saw yesterday. that was the first round. now we have a lot more rain on the way. as of 6:00 p.m. tonight, you see what's headed our way. once the rain gets going it continues especially in the north bay. if you live in one of the flood prone areas across the area you want to be ready for this, speaking of which bob joins us live. how are the residents preparing throughout and hey, any sprinkles so far? >> reporter: pretty dry so far. not like 24 hours ago when we were in six inches of water. good morning to you there, christina. one of the sand bag locations in the south bay run by the valley water district. there is the possibility some areas in the bay area tomorrow during that soaker you talked about could see some ponding. that's where you would have water accumulating in low-lying areas or if you lived in one of those that possibility is real.

check with your water utility district to see where your nearest sandbag location is. this is one of several that the valley runs in san jose. yesterday that storm dumped about an inch of rain on the area. much needed considering the drought that california has been struggling with. unfortunately nowhere near enough and this weekend storm won't be enough to get us out of this drought. several series of these storms to significantly improve our water situation. so right now we're roughly 20% of where we need to be. rainfall wise. this weekend's storm can maybe get us up to 30% but we're very below where we need to be to get out of this drought. you do see the rain coming down but the ground is dry, is sucking up a lot of the water. like a sponge. so a lot of that water is not running off into the reservoirs where we'd like it to be so we can improve our water situation

not only for drinking but irrigation. we'll take what we can get. several inches of rain is a good start. it's again, nothing nowhere near what we need to get out of this drought. >> right on point, bob. i can tell you it look likes we'll see a few more systems throughout the month of february. but i want to give you an indication of how much rain this system alone and several impulses behind it will provide as we head throughout this weekend and monday. look at that, 4.94, almost five inches of rain on the way. so we'll keep you updated. let's check on your morning drive. mike is all over that. yesterday was tough for commuters. we're getting a little break. you have warnings for the next heavy band of rain on the way for the evening commute. >> for sure. like you said it's coming our way so prepare including leaving early if you can. friday you probably want to do that. a note we have drier roadways but not completely dry. the off ramps are slick.

looking toward the bay bridge, i saw flashing lights in your third cash lane. it's the one with the red light across the way. it's closed and looks like someone tried to swerve out of that. they realize it was closed. there was a fender-bender. the tow truck has cleared. the third lane is closed. the backup forming on the approach. just for the cash payers. oakland a live look, a smooth drive northbound with dale lights heading up to downtown oakland. the same area for 880, as well as 580 the commute direction through oakland. farther back we have a slowdown still because of the earlier crash and now cars on the shoulder northbound 238. a tow truck has arrived. mate be sticking out so be careful as you approach. but the good news it's a lighter flow so coming off the slowing

and that's good news into the area. a smooth drive as well. the tri-valley, coming into livermore out of the altamont pass that's about the worst of it sloxt toward the dublin interchange. we look toward palo alto on the peninsula side. we did have a big rig that was stuck on a shoulder getting off at the off ramp at willow. just cleared. back to you. >> thank you much. we have a live look for you downtown san jose, do not forget tomorrow's rainstorm will impact everything and everyone including the roads and we're going to have you covered. >> our entire weather team on call to bring you the latest weather updates and our own christina loren will be in the studio all weekend. we'll set out a cup for her. watch nbc bay area news for all of your complete weather coverage all weekend long. that big storm is coming through. >> that's right. 6:11. new numbers giving us a clearer picture where the economy

stands. >> and the bay area woman shot and killed over a replica rifle. new details about the confrontation. >> here is a live look at san francisco and the embarcadero. rain, be ready. >> before we go to break let's take a -- this is posted on twitter. showing off her room at the olympic village. nice and comfy. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits. delicious, but say i press a few out flat, add some beef, sloppy joe sauce and cheese, fold it all up and boom!

delicious unsloppy joes perfect for a school night. pillsbury grands biscuits. make dinner pop. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes. good is in every blue diamond a good that comes in 25 flavors. from whole natural to wasabi and soy sauce. and once good gets going, there's no stopping it. get your good going. blue diamond. snack nut of the u.s. ski team.

>>. >> here are today's top stories. thousands of olympic athletes taking the day off from competition in sochi to take part in the thrill of the opening ceremony. the festivities kick off in less than two hours. at fisht olympic stadium. no official word on who will

late to cauldron. it would be a russian gymnast who happens to be the girlfriend of russian president vladamir putin. >> unemployment numbers just released. the economy gained 113,000 jobs which is actually less than analysts expected. the unemployment rate dropped slightly from 6.7 to 6.6%. >> san jose police looking for a stabbing suspect in the downtown area right now. this happened just a few hours ago right outside of the marriott hotel near san carlos and south market. the victim has life threatening injuries. it happened about a block from where a man was stabbed to death yesterday. >> the former san francisco teacher accused of sending explicit pictures to a teenage boy is going to make his first appearance in court today. police say harland educationelm thought he met a boy on social media, sent him inappropriate pictures and planned to meet up

with him in mountain view's park. the 17-year-old was really an undercover detective. edelman worked in the san francisco unified district from 1995 to 2013 at the academy of arts and sciences recently. >> details on the woman killed by a hayward police officer tuesday. she was holding a replica handgun when she was shot. investigators say 62-year-old arial levy was upset her son was arrested by police. she called the department repeatedly and they asked police to check on her. she pulled out what they thought was a real gun and threatened them. one of the officers opened fire. investigators realized the gun was fake. they say they found a handwritten note indicating she wanted to end her life. >> all san jose state students may have to go through diversity train, one of the possible recommendations of a task force

that met last night in response to four students being charged with a hate crime for allegedly bullying a black student. the group will look at what rules, policies and procedures need to be changed or if new ones need to be created. student who is attended say they are glad the task force is working to make changes but they think san jose state has a long way to go. >> san jose and the bay area diverse population but i think as far as having knowledge about the different cultures it's very different from just having statistics. yes, we're diverse but you know, with our knowledge about the different cultures i think that can be worked on. >> the task force includes students, faculty and alumni. recommendations due by the end of april. we recommend you stay with nbc bay area's weather team because they are looking at another storm that's on its way to the bay area. it's clear right now, a live look outside at downtown san jose. warmer with the cloud cover we have. but tonight another storm coming

in. could make for a very rough commute. christina has been analyzing all of this radar data. >> you know i'm really glad that it's all panning out, scott and laura. we need the rain and a lot of this is going to make its way into the central valley where our farmers are desperate for rain. i can't wait to see the hills turn green again and yes, this round of rainfall over the weekend will do the trick. as we head throughout day temperatures on the cool side. we're in the 50s, we're going to stay in the 50s. you need your jacket and umbrella. if you take the little ones to school for the final day of the week, you want to make sure they have rain gear ready. throughout the day today we're going to see our first showers by about lunch time. i want to show you the pattern because it's not just this week that we're talking about rainfall. we're going to stick with this pattern looks like through valenti valentine's day next friday. here's the deal. as you can see we told you about the pineapple express. it's a persistent plume of moisture from the hawaiian islands and usually at this time

of year all the way to the western pacific. as these storm systems come in they connect to the pineapple express. that's why we are going to see such heavy rainfall so we'll get this thing going as we head throughout the next couple of days. talking about po sengs for five inches of rain in santa rosa. that's going to equate to potentially six, maybe seven feet of powder up in tahoe. you'll notice on the seven-day forecast we're going to get a little break as we head through next week. so basically we kick off next week, a couple dry days, then thursday and friday we bring back the pineapple express. looks like a pretty active month overall. right now let's check your drive. good morning to mike inouye. >> sounds good if you like pinnia cola das. interstate 80 across the bay into san francisco a smooth drive around the bend. there nor metering lights. the earlier crash looks like it's cleared. cash lane 3 is still closed for

some reason. a look at the maps, we'll see how traffic flows. a tiny bit of slowing and coming into the merge. no major problems at the maze. 580 at 980 reports of a crash. the car's off the road but in the report it says they lost control. that possibly could be because of slicker roadways, i've been warning about that. keep that in mind. pretty typical according to your friday commute. over here, livermore, west 580 not a big deal. slowing into central livermore toward the isabelle interchange. westbound to the dublin interchange no problems south through pleasanton and into pleasanton and livermore showing lighter volume. the south bay has your slowing northbound 101 from 680 to 880, the second for this area. 87 shows more volume.

17, much smoother than it was yesterday. it's drier but watch those slick roadways. watching for the speeds. we'll show you the peninsula speed. we're in the green zone for all of this action. through the north bay we have a smooth drive as traffic flows southbound for the commute for 101, slowing for 37 to novato. that's the commute direction westbound. and the live look shows the volume holding steady. a light flow at the koybs through san rafael down to the golden gate bridge. >> thank you, mike. still ahead google ferries take one final trip for now. >> jay leno signs off as host of "the tonight show." we're going to show you all of the celebrities who stopped by. >> before we go the olympics. good morning nelly! woah.

hey! have you ever tried honey nut cheerios? love 'em. neat! now you on the other hand... you need some help. why? look atchya. what is that? you mean my honey wand? [ shouting ] [ splat ] come on. matter of fact. [ rustling ] shirt. shoes. shades. ah! wow! now that voice... my voice? [ auto-tuned ] what's wrong with my voice? yeah man, bee got swag! be happy! be healthy! that's gotta go too. ♪ hey! must be the honey! [ sparkle ] sweet.

6:24. today is the last day google employees can catch a company ferry home from work for now. two pilot programs to help get employees to work by sea or the bay expires today. the ferry took employees from san francisco and alameda to redwood city and a shuttle to google in mountain view. now google officials will meet

to decide if it should be permanent. google has been looking for new ways to get employees to its campus. >> surprising comment from steve wozniak. he thinks that apple should make an android phone. google's operating system. in an interview wozniak says there is nothing to keep it out of the market and added it could compete well. however, no apple gadget has been built to run third party software. >> good news for fans of the series house of cards. the show will be dealt another season. netflix original was originally signed for two seasons, each with 13 episodes. first season of the show was an instant success, snagging nine prime time emmy nominations. still don't know when the third season will be released. lots of fans of that show. >> a night to remember for jay

leno. stars coming out to say good-bye. >> among them oprah winfrey. ♪ if you were me you would buy them all a car ♪ >> she was among a number of stars taking part in a sound of music theme tribute. it was led by leno's first guest billy crystal. you saw carol burnett. leno had tears as he signed off but didn't say what was in store for his future. >> this has been the greatest 22 years of my life. >> jimmy fallon takes over on "the tonight show" ten days on february 17. i've seen his show in person and it's a lot of fun. good guy. >> time now 6:26. still ahead a shocker at the mail box. look at this envelope. new details about a derogatory word that appeared on a letter

addressed to a bay area woman. >> fireworks over sochi but what else is planned for tonight's opening ceremony? we'll tell what you we've just learned about russia's big plans. >> a live look at downtown san jose. there is a huge amount of rain coming. we have all kinds of meteorologists working on it. ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪

♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] only yoplait light and yoplait greek 100 are endorsed by weight watchers. so many delicious flavors that taste outta sight.

a kill switch for smart phones state wide. new details of the bill that's making the rounds at the capital. >> a shocking sight in the mail box. new details on a derogatory word that showed up on envelopes addressed to a bay area woman. >> it's friday morning, and that means it's time for a look at the opening bell. ladder capital doing the honors

as we await. >> we have looked at the jobs numbers, 113,000 added in the previous month. there is the bell. on the nasdaq it will be -- yes. the girl scouts. >> doing the countdown. bring home the cookies. it's friday morning. throw them in the air girls. this is "today in the bay." >> got to love the girl scouts. >> got to love friday. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's look at the 2014 winter games as we give you a live look in sochi, russia. we're actually two hours from the opening ceremony at fisht stadium. it will officially kick off the olympics. isn't that beautiful. >> it is. there are no competitions in sochi today. training rounds continue for alpine skiers including tahoe's julia mancuso, bode miller as

well. they will race for medals next week. >> for what's in store for tonight's opening ceremony we've gotten new confirm details in about who will be performing and what special effects you'll be seeing. janelle wang is going to have a live update for us in about 20 minutes. >> today local lawmakers will outline a proposal to help deal with smart phone theft in california. many officials calling it an epidemic. senator mark leno and san francisco's district attorney will lead other leaders to talk about with implementing a bill that would require smart phones to come with kill switches that could be activated remotely and make phones inoperable if stolen. they hope it will deter thieves from taking the smart phones. >> bank of america is apologizing after a bay area woman received a shocking piece of mail from the company. >> christie smith live in menlo park. we all get junk mail but this

one was very strange. >> reporter: it is very strange. i get there are jaws dropped when they opened this. imagine getting a letter from a business soliciting your business to open a credit card but the letter calls you offensive name. that's what lisa says happened to her. it was her mother who first saw the letter. i want to show you what it looks like. here is the letter and envelope. bank of america sent her, a credit card offer, addressed to lisa, then the offensive word, mcintire. she says her mom texted her. interesting piece of junk mail addressed to you. then lisa offensive name mcintire. she replies what, then no kidding that's how it's addressed. the visa offer was tied to the golden key honor society which lisa is a member, currently a freelance writer. the bank did tweet an apology out. we are incredibly sorry and

researching to take the appropriate action. the golden key honor society also tweeted out apology too but in that one they spelled her last name with a y, not an i like she spells it. she had been tweeting a lot about this and she tweeted back i know it's been a long day, but at least you could spell my name right. christie smith, "today in the bay." >> thanks, christie. >> right now the calm between the storms. giving you a live look outside san francisco, san jose a calm day weather wise. but this weekend it's going to be a different story. >> early morning commuters we're getting a break when you head back home could be rough. right? >> yeah, i think by about lunch time we're going to have pretty good rainfall coming down especially in the north bay. you can tell by the radar what's going on. right now spotty activity. out here in the pacific it is organizing and that subtropical moisture tap is getting itself together. that is the weather game changer

we've been telling you about that could produce up to five inches of rainfall on the valley floor in the north bay. on the seven-day forecast we're talking about four consecutive days of rain. temperatures in the 50s, we'll stick with the 50s all day long. make sure you don't forget that umbrella. by the time you leave work we expect action. as we head into 1 to 6:00 p.m., widespread rainfall moves in, then we continue to get heavier rain all the way through the weeke weekend, the heaviest saturday, take it to your future cast. this tells you when the heavy stuff moves in. you start to make your way home, then as we wake up tomorrow morning saturday, 9:00 a.m. i stop the clock for you. starting to get very heavy downpours up in the north bay. then once that rain starts we're talking about the steady rainfall all the way through sunday at about lunch time. we'll get a break as we head through the first part of monday with residual activity for the

second half of the day. the four days combine, these are the totals we anticipate. high up in the north bay, yes, we could see up to five inches, i think more to the vicinity of 4 1/2 inches of rainfall in places like santa rosa. you can see the models are forecasting five inches of rain. down in the south bay looking pretty good. 2 1/2 inches. you got to consider if you live to the south of the santa cruz mountains a lot of runoff so los gatos could pick up 3 inches of rain. mike is tracking your drive now. let's see how we're doing. much better than yesterday. >> much better than yesterday but we do have slick off ramps because most of the freeways are damp, we have wet off ramps. we have here the bay bridge toll plaza which is forming this backup by metering lights over the roadway there. they have been turned on at 6:31. the backup here all the way back to the toll plaza. the cash lanes, had a backup so

they are filling in all lanes on the approach. expect for this friday commute. the maps and a smooth drive on the approach. mild through richmond, berkeley by university avenue. i'm going to zoom in. this is west 580 at 980. reports of a car there. minor crash, sounds like the car is off the shoulder but in this detail it says lost control. that may be indicator of wet roadways through this area as well. keep that in mind. we're seeing a couple of spin-outs. south 680 at 4 a crash sticking out into the slow lane. be careful, there is a good volume off of the benicia bridge. more folks out of pittsburg where we see a slower drive for westbound highway 4, slow through antioch, not bad for that portion. could be much wer worse. a slow build for west 580. we're in the 50 miles per hour range for the entire stretch through livermore and to the dublin interchange.

down into the south bay, ladder across lanes 87, watch for the traffic break. a little slowing. and 17 coming up north of glenn wood a crash blocking one lane. a smooth drive, no problems for 101. back to you. >> thank you much. >> 6:37. a police officer in palo alto winds up staring into the barrel of his own gun. we'll tell you how it happened. >> we have live live pictures over the fairmont hotel in san jose. there is a lot of rain on the way. we have meet ol gis ready to cover it. we'll have all of that ahead. >> before we go to break a look at the picture posted on twitter by olympic skier mattie bowman getting her hair done.

>>. >> welcome back. good friday morning to you. 6:40. police officer in palo alto found himself staring at the wrong end ever his gun. the officer confronted ryan goodsen. he matched the description of someone who tried to break into businesses. one of the businesses was the huka spot. a police officer caught up with goodsen near the intersection of litton avenue and emerson. he attacked the officer, ripped his hol store off his belt and

tried to pull the trigger. he couldn't get the gun out. officials say goodsen hit, kicked and bit the officer. another officer tased him and took him into custody. >> the time 6:41. a stabbing outside of a san jose hotel overnight. new details next. >> plus t calm between the storms as we give you a live look out at san francisco. will we be rain free for today? we're going to look at your wet weekend forecast ahead. >> russia gets ready to wow the world at the opening ceremony. we have new information about who is performing and what special effects may be used in the live report from sochi. >> before we go to break a look at a picture posted on twitter by chas guldemond. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits. delicious, but say i press a few out flat,

add some beef, sloppy joe sauce and cheese, fold it all up and boom! delicious unsloppy joes perfect for a school night. pillsbury grands biscuits. make dinner pop. so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened. [ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop.

well, today is the day the official start of the 2014 winter olympics. we give you a live look at sochi, russia, about 12 hours ahead of us. not about, it's exactly 12 hours ahead and the sun has set over there. that means the opening ceremonies get under way in about an hour. we'll see it in prime time tonight on nbc bay area. but our own janelle wang will have a live preview. >> new this morning police are investigating the city's second stabbing in a little more than 24 hours. it happened right outside the marriott hotel near the corner of san carlos and south market streets. police say the man was stabbed at least once and taken to the hospital with life threatening

injuries. no arrests have been made. police say the victim and the suspect knew each other. it happened about a block from where a man was stabbed to death yesterday morning. no word yet if the two are related. this morning a break"át storm but you had better enjoy it today. take a live look at san jose, fremont, and san francisco. okay, not much rain today but that's not going to last. >> by tomorrow we're going to get drenched all over the bay area. that means we could see a repeat of what we saw yesterday. spin-outs, clashes and flooded roadways. take it easy out there. christina's got a look at the forecast when it's going to roll in. >> looks like tomorrow will be the worst of it. unfortunately, we're looking toward heavy downpours returning by this evening which means we could have a rough drive home from work. if you are planning on hitting this new powder in tahoe, make sure you're prepared for winter weather elements out there. we're up to about an inch and a half in guernville.

here in san jose we did okay, at one inch of fresh rainfall. the totals are not including these numbers so this is what we have on the ground. as you know our hills are going to get that drink they have been so thirsty for. the next couple days this rain is going to come in so quickly. i want to make sure you're ready. right now light showers on the way. take you through your day. in the 50s, we're going to climb in the upper 50s. the rain will intensify as of this evening and this is what we expect as of saturday morning. heavy downpours especially in the north bay. everywhere in the bay area should be prepared for this. everybody should be ready for this. if you live in one of the flood prone areas you want to be on guard. which brings in bob redell. it look likes we're dry out there right now but judging what you're sitting on, there's some heavy rain in the forecast. residents are ready for it.

>> reporter: which means good morning there is the risk of ponding so if you live in a low lying areaow area that receives poor drainage you might need to stock up on these sandbags. check with your water district like the santa clara water district to find out where the sand bag station is, we're at one here that the district runs in alviso. yesterday's storm brought us about an inch of rain. unfortunately, nowhere near enough to get out of the drought that the state has been suffering in. the district does tell the "mercury news" it would take several more series of these kinds of storms to get us back to the levels where we need to be. give you perspective, right now we're at about with 20% of the normal rainfall. levels that we would be at in a normal year. with this weekend we could get up to 30% again still nowhere

near where we need to be. you also got to remember that rain is coming down. we get several inches ever rain. a lot of that is not running off into the reservoirs because the ground is so dry. it's not saturated yet. with this dry ground it's acting like a thirsty sponge, soaking up a lot of the water and of course that water's going into the ground instead of the reservoirs which are very low as of now. so again with, if you live in an area that is prone to ponding, you might want to grab some of these sandbags. bob redell, christina. >> excellent advice, bob. i let me talk about about what's happening. the atmospheric river t pineapple express. the next couple days we're going to keep that rich moisture pumping into the bay area. the pineapple express is this plume of moisture that extends from the hawaiian islands out into the western pacific. let me show you. i want to take you into the long range. you'll notice on the seven-day

forecast after we get through this four consecutive day storm period we're talking about with a warm-up but we're clouding up at the end of that forecast. so here's the deal. we keep tapping into that atmospheric river. that continues into tuesday. look what happens by wednesday and thursday, we're tapping right back into that atmospheric river. more rainfall on the way. but you know what, it's timely because we're going to kick off ski week the following monday. speaking of which if you are headed to tahoe make sure you have chains. let's check on your drive. >> a good warning. make sure you bring the chains even if it wasn't required now you want to bring it for the snow weekend. this is the metering light span over the freeway in the bay bridge approach toward the incline. the metering lights are on. good spacing keeps traffic moving. but it also causes a backup as we look at the map. from the toll plaza back into the maze, but that's for all lanes action then a slowdown off

of the east shore freeway and the berkeley curve. slower drive developing gradually through berkeley, fridays we tend to ease into the commute more. i'm going to call on a couple of incidents. west 580 and 9ite reports of a car and in that report it lost control, possibly indicating slicker conditions. watching the wet transition, the freeways mostly damp we have some wet off ramps. south 680 at 4, the transition toward west highway 4 a crash there. sticking out into the slow lane. possibly slick conditions could have led to that single car spin-out. gradual build for southbound 680, not a big deal. here west 580 through livermore a nice flow of traffic toward that dublin interchange. continuing down into the south with a little slowing around mission boulevard. 101 shows slowing from capital expressway to the airport. aid 7 has speeds below 50 miles per hour north of curtner into downtown.

there is 85, the yellow starting to dip below 60 for those areas as well. the crash in the santa cruz mountains has cleared. we'll show you how things are shaping up. northbound 101 at san jose north of 680 there is the volume the reason for the slowing and a look at the north bay as well for san rafael. southbound side we have a build so slowing out of p ate who ma, by novato it's smooth through san rafael. wet roads off the truck scales. back to you. >> the storms are coming. taking a live look outside downtown san jose the sun is coming up. we'll be up as well, tomorrow's rain impacting the roads. we've got you covered. >> you are entire weather team is on call this weekend to bring you the latest weather updates. our own christina loren will be in the studio all weekend forecasting, of course we'll have nbc bay area news all weekend for complete weather coverage. >> now back to the 2014 winter olympics. right now the sun is setting on sochi but soon the olympic flame

will illuminate the city when it's lit during the opening ceremonies. >> we see scores of excited spectators heading into fisht stadium. this is a look at the nighttime look of how it lights up. you're going to air it tonight here on nbc bay area. in fact, we've got a picture posted on twitter showing the first spectators arriving. we'll show those coming up ahead of tonight's big event. >> so, with the sochi olympics outshine other opening ceremonies? we'll see. in 2012 in vancouver wayne gretzky and three other athletes lit the flame though one of the cauldrons didn't work, making awkward moments. during 2006 in italy a former olympian lit a set of fireworks that went off in a domino effect around the stadium but eventually lit the torch. >> let's check in with janelle. she is at sochi, she has been there for quite some time now.

must be just tremendously exciting out there. >> reporter: yes, scott and laura, this is a big night. we're an hour from the opening ceremony. my photographer and i are going to push into fisht stadium. the roof is starting to light up. all of the volunteers and the spectators filing in. 40,000 people are going to watch the parade of athletes, 88 countries representing and team usa athletes are stoked, they are all over social media. we want to show you some of their pictures. nbc olympics retweeted this pick of shaun white in his olympic gear t snowboarder, the caption looking good in his red, white and blue polo. also squaw valley alpine skier julia mancuso instagrammed this with a caption, sochi selfies, photo bomb the nordic combined team. and nick cunningham tweeted this picture of his opening ceremony parade pass, the caption, it's almost time. a moment i worked hard for since

february 2010. so, exciting night to be here at the games. we heard one san diego couple paid $2,000 each for the tickets so it was a big night, once in a lifetime opportunity. of course you can watch it in prime time along with 2 billion people from around the world. a big night, way to kick off the opening ceremony. the olympic games with this big event. back to you folks. >> janelle, how are you going to watch? we're going to watch at nbc bay area. it's happening in that building but you're not getting in there, right? >> reporter: i have been trying to get a ticket. i don't have $2,000. so i'm going to have to watch it live in our newsroom here at olympic park. but i'll be able to see it earlier. i won't give anything away. i hear there are big surprises so we'll see what happens. and you guys will all see it soon. >> the one time a reporter does not spill her guts. >> you can run out into the fireworks.

you can do that in person. thanks a lot, janelle. >> not all about spectacle. some political overtones. during the opening ceremonies. >> peggy bunker joins us with more on that. >> we got to get her a ticket next time. the undertones that you are mentioning are about russia's anti-gay propaganda laws that any support of the community in russia is imlegal. so in response to that the u.s. delegation to sochi led by janet napolitano and several gay athletes said the clear message about our country's support for gay rights. president obama will not attend the games but in an exclusive only here on nbc bay area he sent a message to team usa. >> so you inspire us, we're going to be watching and we are going to be rooting for you. so on behalf of all your fans around the country, including everybody in the obama family, good luck and go team usa. >> the president appointed openly gay athletes to represent

the u.s. including sunnyvale ace brian boitano. he won gold in 1988 and says he's always kept his sexuality private and separate from his skating career. >> i never kept that, i was never ashamed of it. i didn't try to hided it but it was a special part of my life i wanted to reserve for people close to me. >> that changed when the president chose him for the delegation and realized there could be no ambiguity who he was if he was going to sochi. google is one of the many companies sending a message. a bright rainbow representing all sorts of sports. many groups have said that they oppose russia's anti-gay laws, canada put out a psa. some proposed boycotting vodka. >> so many things. thanks so much. >> well, you can watch the opening ceremonies here on nbc

bay area including the lighting of the cauldron. all the excitement starts at 7:30 tonight. >> seems every country tries to top each other. if you want to watch with a crowd, come to our nbc bay area viewing party. it's at stanley's restaurant inside sharks ice in san jose over on south tenth street. >> the other big news of the day is this weekend of rain that is bearing down on us. christina, you said it's organizing, that sounds rather scary. >> it is organizing. but you know what, we're going to hold off on the heavy stuff until about lunch time. thanks for waking up with us on a friday. a lot of excitement in the air because of the olympics. you do want to make those indoor plans the next couple days. you can see what is organizing. 8:42, steady rain moving into san francisco. make sure you've got that jacket, that umbrella ready to go. we're going to continue to track these showers for you by the minute throughout the "today" show, so stick with us here at

nbc bay area. and we'll keep you up on the roads as well. >> speaking of the roads we're getting busy situation here in the south bay. this is northbound 101, you see we have damp roads, some of these are wet and slick. they haven't had a lot of traffic since the rain. the slowdown here because of that volume and also look at this north 101 coming through this area we have a slower drive. we have a slow drive at capital expressway all the way up past 680 toward the airport. 280 at the 880 interchange is bagging down and 85 so this is just happened in the last five minutes. 40 miles per hour range for some of these orange stretches. a new crash reported north of 880 around oakland road. could be an issue if it doesn't move quickly to the shoulder. i'll monitor that as well. a smooth drive north 880 toward oakland coliseum. things come to a halt, high street where they start to slow down. we have a crash north of there

causing more slowdowns. there is also the backup at the toll plaza because the metering lights are turned on. so it's all the way back to the straight away. back to you. >> 6:58. final check of the top stories for you. a man was stabbed in downtown san jose overnight and now the search is on for the suspect. it happened outside the marriott hotel near the corner of san carlos and market streets. the victim has life threatening injuries. it happened about a block from yesterday's deadly stabbing. >> the opening ceremony in sochi gets under way in about an hour from right now. there is no official word on who will late to cauldron but we're hearing it could be a russian gymnast who also happens to be the girlfriend of russian president vladamir putin. you can watch the opening ceremony here on nbc bay area, including the lighting, all of the excitement starts at 7:30. >> interesting to see.

pays to be an olympic athlete. and maybe the girlfriend of the president. that is what's happening. we'll be back at 7:25 with a live local news update. buenos días esta noche es la 40,000 expected to watch from the stadium. 2 billion on television worldwide. we're here with a sneak peek, friday, february 7th, 2014. from nbc news, this is a