brock. a live look outside this morning at that very slick drive through san rafael and the drive through emeryville. the entire bay area getting slammed with another strong storm. the third in as many days, shaping up to be the strongest of them all. >> right now our live satellite radar shows where the heaviest rain is falling right now. look at that, right through the bay area. our "today in the bay" team is here in the newsroom and out in the elements to help you get where you need to go safely. let's start with meteorologist kari hall with a timeline for all of this. >> it's going to be off and on all day. we've seen the heaviest of the rain already moving through. as many people head out to work or school, it is already wet. as we take a closer look at what's happening, this is what we can expect, heavy rain and lightning offshore. a lot of that has been weakening. that's a good sign and widespread heavy rain continues with isolated flooding through late morning, and into the afternoon and evening, still a

possibility of thunderstorms and gusty winds. but it will be very hit or miss throughout the day and even continuing into parts of tomorrow. i'll detail that and what else to expect. let's check in with mike to see what's happening on the roadways. >> as the rain and wind continue, we're watching for flood reports, downed trees and rock and mudslides. we have heard reports of flooding. look at the reasons why. watch the slick off-ramps as well. a lot of spinouts reported throughout the morning. you see the blue highlighted for the entire bay south of the san mateo bridge. we had flooding reported for san jose and the spinout. as we move our map north, we had a couple spinouts, 92 through 101 and through san mateo, both cleared from the roadway. slowing getting through the interchange. maybe flashing lights and more flooding like we had early this

morning. down the eastshore freeway, a slower drive. another spinout reported on west 24. indicator of how slippery it is out there. the camera trembles with some of the breeze kicking in. watch the bridges across. high-rise for the san mateo bridge and watch that bay bridge as well. back to you. now let's bring in "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang live along the marina green in san francisco this morning, get a break from the storm? >> reporter: a little bit. the rain has lightened up here, the wind a little as well. it is much colder. i did see a woman jog by in shorts and a shirt. so i'm feeling a little better about standing here in the rain. the warning is dangerous surf, waves up to 15 to 20 feet. there's worry about the roadways as well. whenever they are flooded, we often get a clogged drain somewhere, an infrastructure

overwhelmed by the rain. this week we didn't see problem spots driving around san francisco. in marin county, people are monitoring water levels. court madera creek flooded ten years ago. they have pumps, generators, motors in place working to clear debris ahead of these el nino storms. that emergency services as well as other oes's around the bay area have tools at different water place sos they can see when the levels hit flood concern level. of course, they've got that in place. meantime here, it looks like the rain is picking back up. we'll keep you posted throughout the show. live in san francisco, stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." let's go to bob redell, in the middle of the action in the santa cruz mountains. how are you looking, bob? >> good morning scott and laura.

the rain is still coming down, but not as heavy as it was let's say about 30 minutes ago. we still have some gusts as you can perhaps see. it's certainly cold out here. we have seen flashes of lightning. the forecast calling for a half inch to an inch of rain. you certainly want to be careful on the roads this morning. they are obviously still very wet. you co-do have a flash flood watch in effect for here and other parts of the bay area. there's a risk of mud and debris washing tont roadways and downed trees. blocking both directions of traffic on highway 17 yesterday. the backup was so bad, southbound travel was backed up for 2 1/2 miles where workers had to cut and clear the tree. that was estimated to be about a foot and a half in diameter. we talked with a park ranger

with santa clara county parks, and they were saying they believe a lot of the trees have been weakened by the drought and perhaps that one that came down yesterday was one such tree. that's why the rangers have been and will be out surveying trees to see if they need to be cut down. reporting live atop the summit in the santa cruz mountains, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> you can send us your storm photos and videos. you can tweet them to us @nbc bay area. or e-mail this us directly at i see@nbcbayarea.com. north korea clups claims it successfully detonated its first hydrogen bomb. outside experts are casting strong doubts this morning. north korea has successfully tested other types of nuclear bombs in the past, but those were less powerful atomic-type bombs, hydrogen bombs use a

different kind of reaction and can be much more powerful. our own kris sanchez is following the united nations security council which will hold an emergency meeting to discuss that situation. she'll have a live report in our next half hour. new details this morning in a marathon meeting that ended three hours ago, the alameda city council tentatively agreed to revise new rent control measures. last night they voted to extend the current temporary moratorium on rent hikes. then they spent more than eight hours considering other long-term options. they eventually agreed to force landlords and tenants into binding arbitration. that's if the two can't agree on a rent increase above 5%. >> double-digit annual increases which are really unfair to tenants. >> council members also agreed to force landlords to pay relocation fees if they kick someone out of their place. a south bay family is finally getting answers after a

deadly stabbing on christmas morning. three men you see here now in police custody, all of them charged with the murder of jose marin. marin's family says he had just finished a late night christmas eve dinner with friends when he was attacked on northwest san jose street around 5:00 in the morning. marin died soon thereafter at the hospital. his family believes it was a case of mistaken identity. jury deliberations regarding a former san francisco china down gang member. raymond shrimp boy chow faces multiple charges. prosecutors say he ordered a former gang rival to be killed. jurors began clib rations yesterday. back to our micro climate weather alert. we have a live look in san jose. the rain continues to come down this morning. it's going to be a rough one. maybe the roughest of the week. >> that's right. we're seeing a lot of solo car spinouts. let's take a look at that radar.

>> it's very heavy in parts of the bay area, now heading into the east bay. it's moving east of san jose but also affecting parts of the tri-valley as we get a live look at what's happening there. and the rain where we see the bright reds and yellows, that shows torrential rain. a look at the rainfall rates, we've had it coming down at about an inch per hour. as we look at the rain south of pleasanton and moving into livermore, we've seen it creating water standing on the roads. windshield wipers stay up on high, even though we will have a few breaks here and there as we go through the morning. still very wet. umbrellas up through out the day as we keep the rain and the gusty winds, and our temperatures will be topping out in the low 50s, so kind of a cool, breezy rain. even into 3:00 this afternoon. still some scattered rain, and there will be more rolling in as we go into tonight and lingering into the day tomorrow. that's why we do have that concern of flooding and debris

flows across the roads. let's check in now with anthony to see if there's any damage yet. >> we're only finding minor damage reports because the rain just started a few hours ago. the heaviest of the stuff we've seen right now across parts of san francisco. that's where we had a tree come down on mission street between 4th and 5th. not looking at anything else major. mike is tracking the roads. he's got lots of updates for you. we have the flash flood watch in effect today that will remain in effect until this afternoon, the potential of not only flooding, but debris flows and mudslides as well. mike, how is it look? >> spinout is the word of the morning. folks, lower those speeds. we're looking toward san jose where the volume, worst than it was yesterday with an easier rainfall in some parts of the bay. folks are getting out onto the roadway earlier, and we see the slowing here. we look at your map and don't see as much of a problem on the freeway. as far as speed sensors go, blue

all over the map, standing water likely. watch the outer lanes as well. we see 101 and 87 with the only real slowing down below the speed limit. we have flooding yesterday, 880 around alameda. your usual suspects again this morning, although those reports much calmer than yesterday. over here toward the tri-valley we have typical slowing for south 680, pleasanton, towards sunol. earlier crashes cleared in sunol and fremont on 680. crash in eden canyon just like yesterday, but it cleared quickly and no slowing there. there's your build through hayward, towards the san mateo bridge. the wind could be a factor across the san mateo bridge, dumbarton bridge. the metering lights are on there and a couple of spinouts reported west 24 through orinda and lafayette. those are on the shoulder. southbound 101 through san rafael, camera trembling, indicating gusts might catch you

through the higher elevations. slick roadways, no major issues. just some company for san rafael. >> a lot of company and rain out there as well. a big change could impact your tweets. >> the hottest tech gadgets of tomorrow on display today. we'll take you inside the biggest tech show taking over las vegas.

==mike live pix== (mike ad libs)

another round of heavy rain expected as we go through the morning commute. your full forecast in about 30 minutes. >> we're watching a number of spinouts all over the bay. the flooding not as much of an issue this morning. the report is there. we'll warn you what we're hearing about. spinouts are ab issue for traction and of course water on the roads. twitter ceo hinted the new word limit could go as high as 10,000 characters, the same limit on direct messages on twitter. twitter ceo jack dorsey say people are getting around the limit by taking screen shots of texting and tweeting those. the annual consumer electronics show is taking over

las vegas. >> "today in the bay's" jay gray joins us with a sneak peek of some of the latest and greatest. >> all the greatest gadgets and gismos. it's amazing to see what they have here under several roofs here in vague. this is a huge show, a glimpse into the future of technology that will affect us all. >> it's the gee whiz, oh, wow, cutting edge stuff that will be jumping up and down to get our hands on. >> it will tell you your daily activity. this is kind of my day today. >> from your workout to what you eat. soon you'll be able to buy cameras for your fridge and cupboard to let you know how much milk you have left. suggest recipes for what you have and even order the essentials. >> as long as you have those on your map, you'll never run out of the most important things again. >> click your smart phone into

this stuffed animal. >> he feels the monkey is eegt his green beans so he wants to eat as well. >> reporter: no mormon keying around when it comes to lost luggage t. blue smart has built in gps as well as a sensor to tell you how much your bag weighs and power to charge your devices on the go: there's technology that works while you sleep, home security, i don't mean to drone on, but they are still a big deal, smarter, faster, better and soon even a fixed wing flier. >> if you use activity glasses, you'll fly like a bird. it will be really very amazing. >> reporter: amazing, a word you hear pretty often here at the consumer electronics show. >> some of the hottest items here. take, for instance, this baby monitor. you've got to camera, you've got the monitor. it also comes with a watch-type

wearable device where you can see what's going on inside. you can move the camera around a bit with this watch. you can even talk to your child through a microphone in the watch. unbelievable to see that. there are chargers that are just going way beyond. you can see this. it's called stackable. there's the power. you plug this in, clip it on, you get a click charge and you can continue to stack these up for as much power as you need. one of the neatest is this remote. it controls just about everything in your house, your lights, your television. it's programmable by your voice and it works to each person, customizes to each individual using it. let's say grandma is going to watch the tv. you can turn the volume up, the lights down, that's her setting when she comes in to take a look. really amazing stuff. it's really things that will become a part of our lives as we move ahead. >> does that remote control your husband, too, jay? >> reporter: you know --

>> he's never going to give you the remote to control you. >> take out the trash. >> we like the luggage best. that's cool. >> thanks, jay. the micro climate weather alert for not just the bay area, but whole state is getting slammed with several storms. this is a man in san diego making the best out of the flooding there, grabbing a paddle board to get from place to place in ocean beach. >> that kind of screams california right there. >> closer to home, round three moving through the bay area right now. packing quite a punch as well. take a live look at the golden gate bridge there on your left. we saw a lot of ponding on the bridge this morning. that is san jose on your right, kind of an overview, entire bay area really getting hit right now. a lot of times when you see something, the water is flowing over the roads to neighborhoods. that hits you. you see someone in a boat and then you see someone walk by. >> we've seen that. >> oh, look at this!

>> beautiful as we take a look at blew canyon. it hasn't really started snowing yet, but they already have quite a bit on the ground. >> pretty cold up there? >> it is cold and will stay cold, below freezing throughout the week. that is great news as the snow continues. this storm system is approaching the sierra. you can see the bright whites and the blue shades on there showing that the snow is just about to get started. squall valley, alpine meadows looking at more snow as we get through the next couple days. low temperatures dropping to the lower 20s. we are at a base of about 78 inches there. it's been even higher in some spots. additional snowfall looks to be at about four to arkts maybe 12 inches around kirkwood. some beneficial snow and beneficial rain for the bay area. the first round of it has now moved off to the east over the hills. as we go into the day, still more scattered showers passing by. we won't see it as widespread, not as intense, but there could still be some rumbles of thunder and gusty winds in some of these

isolated cells that roll on through. even into the afternoon, look at the timeline, we go through late tonight, early in the morning, and it's still raining. that enhances our flood threat across the bay area into the start of the day tomorrow. still some rain possible throughout the morning, early afternoon and even into friday morning. so we're not done just yet. now with the rainfall totals, we're expecting an additional inch of rain, maybe an inch and a half in some spots in the north bay as we see this rain off and on through out today, tomorrow as well as early on friday before it dries out. in the peninsula, highs in the mid 50s and san francisco staying right about 55 degrees. not much of a change in these temperatures. once again, we will start to see the system continuing to move off to the east. snow report looks really good. and once again, more snow through out the rest of the next few days and chain controls will be up. speaking of travel, let's check in with mike to see how it looks

as you head out this morning in the bay area. >> looking at the wet roadways. not as many reports of flooding, but a lot of spinouts reported. that may be a bigger factor this morning, lower the speeds, folks. allow yourself a little extra time for reaction. the jerky movement tends you to lose traction out there. right here looking at a slight build for north 101, university there. a smooth drive through the area as well. from the blue, all over our road weather index, ponding, puddling, slick roadways. hydroplaning as you make the curves. north 87 we had a spin ourt and crash. debris has cleared. a little recovery needed for the roadways. not so bad for the speeds northbound. commute from the south bay showing a good smooth flow of traffic. over here for 24 through orinda and lafayette, that's where we had a series of spinouts this

morning. a smoother drive through hayward southbound down toward union city. we'll look at oakland north of there. the camera shakes a bit. the wind is an issue as well across the bay bridge and san mateo bridge. keep those factors in mind as well. a smooth drive for the rest of the bay as folks work toward the bay bridge toll plaza where the metering lights are on. the north bay, no big issue. again, slick roadways and wind. back to you. south bay sorority sisters wake up to find robbers ransacking their house. how police think the men were able to sneak inside. live look at the foster city side of the san mateo bridge. a reminder, along with watching "today in the bay," you can stay up to date during this micro climate alert using our nbc bay area app. you can download it from the apple app store and google play. here is a helpful tip from scott budman. >> when we're in an nbc bay area micro climate alert, we made it easy for you to get the latest fwhfgs on your smart phone. click on the bar that says

weather alert. that will take you right to what you need to know right when you need it. i'm scott budman. that's how to stay informed on the nbc bay area app.

a frightening early morning wake-up call for several women at san jose state university sorority house. they woke up to find two men ransacking their bedrooms. investigators say the mentor through several rooms at the capita delta house early yesterday morning just a block away from the campus. there were four women inside the

house at the time. the burglars got away with many of the women's possessions, but nobody was hurt. >> just the fact that they were inside, something worse could have possibly happened and i'm glad it didn't, that they were safe. that's the main thing. that is pretty scary that they were there sleeping. >> to be honest, i'm kind of not surprised. this whole area kind of has a reputation of being sort of sketchy or not safe for students. >> this burglary comes on the heels of christmas daybreak-ins just a few blocks away at a home on 8th street. 6:26 right now. this next story is proof that some cats do have nine lives, at least two. >> the cat got stuck in a crack between two walls. emergency crews called in, used a chiz el and a sledge, able to make a hole big enough for the cat to call through. the man who found it said he will call that cat lucky. 6:26 right now.

the strongest storms of the week come to the bay area, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, lightning right now. what you need to know to stay safe out there coming up in live team coverage in 2:30. the world reacts to claims that north korea tested a nuclear device that makes a strike on the u.s. more realistic. the strongest storm of the week

is pounding the bay area as right now at 6:30, round

three, the strongest storm of the week pounding the bay area as we speak bringing another day of heavy rain and strong wind. we have live team coverage from here and our newsroom and out in the elements to help you get where you need to go safely this morning. let's start off with meteorologist kari hall. how long is this round going to last? >> we're going to see the rain off and on through out the day into early tomorrow. the heaviest rain has shifted to the east, now watching this round that's just offshore. we're picking up on live lightning with our radar. that is moving closer to san francisco. so even though it's not raining heavily right now, we will see more of that moving in within the next few minutes. lightning may cause some issues, but a bigger issue for us will be the flooding as this widespread heavy rain comes down on an already saturated ground into the afternoon to evening hours. we still have the potential of some thunderstorms and some

isolated gusty winds. i'll detail all of that and what to expect for the next several days as we stay active in the bay area. let's see how the commute is looking with mike. >> once again, the rain is moving in for another wave. it may be calm on some of our cameras, but that will change. over here we have a lot of people hitting the berkeley curve. the backup from basically where the lanes split all the way through the maze and out of the maze as well. looking at the soupy conditions, although the camera lens is drying off. we still have wet roadways. damp and wet throughout the areas where it's green. that's all the way through the bay. flooding reported in novato. 101 moving well south through petaluma. some flooding in san francisco on the bay bridge approach for eastbound 80. the lanes are clear and you can get to the bridget self. slowing for hayward, no big deal heading towards the san mateo bridge and the dumbarton bridge.

more water on the roadway, less on the peninsula. another wave of rain coming through. in the south bay, a smooth drive north 101, 87 and 85. san jose, not a major issue. we have not a lot of flooding reports. i'm worried about trees down and mudslides. haven't seen a lot of mudslides. we're still tracking the reports. >> one of the places that could happen is right where bob redell is. he's right in the middle of the action live from the santa cruz mountains. how are you looking there, bob? >> reporter: scott, we're defted it inially in between the waves of rain. we had heavy rain, light gusts about an hour ago. we're still in this lull. it's still cold out here. we are seeing fog. you're looking at highway 17. this is traffic going over the summit in the santa cruz mountains. headlights heading northbound as they start descending over the hump into los gatos and san jose. the roads are wet out here. there's still a risk of mud and

other debris. if you're on highway 17 or other areas with steep embankments, it's something to keep an eye on. this downed tree came down blocking both directions of traffic yesterday on highway 17. the backup for the southbound direction was so bad, it was actually at roughly 2.5 miles backup at one point while workers had to cut and clear that tree they estimate was about a foot and a half in diameter. we did speak with the park ranger for the santa clara county parks district about what they think was going on with the trees. obviously the weather had a lot to do with it. they also thought the roots had been weakened by the drought. >> it won't take too much at all. we saw a few today come down. you mention one on highway 17. we'll see a lot mori think with the heavy rains. >> reporter: as a pre case nair measure, those park rangers will be surveying other trees to see

which ones are at risk of coming down. live atop the summit at the santa cruz mountains, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> you can join our micro climate alert coverage as well. send or tweet your pictures to us at our facebook page and also to isee@nbcbayarea.com as well. we want to now bring in "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang who is live up in san francisco, not far from the beautiful bay bridge at the marina green this morning. >> reporter: laura, we've actually moved to mission between 4th and are 5th streets where you can see a tree had fallen down, totally uprooted and took with it some of its concrete plating around it. the crews from the city have arrived. you can see they have been cutting up the tree and are working quickly because mission here, between 4th and 5th is a

very busy street especially as the morning commute starts to get under way here. the muni route has been rerouted between 4th and 9th streets along mission. in the meantime, as they try to get this all sorted out, you can see them working quickly to take all those branches they've cut up as move them into truck and get them out of here. wee seen a lot of this, the trees falling basically across the bay area because of the rain. the drought has made them thirsty and they can't take all this water. so this is a site we've seen. we saw this yesterday in mill valley as well. so we'll keep you mosted, but it looks like they're making pretty good progress. they've been here the last hour. we'll stay here and keep you posted on the status here. again, mission between 4th and 5th street. live in san francisco, stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >> pretty active there. 6:35. now another developing story this morning and a bold claim by north korea. the country says it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb.

"today in the bay's" chris sanchez joins us now. how is the u.s. reacting this morning? >> the white house is not confirming the test, but it says it would be a violation. it will not be tolerated the white house says. these are photos of north korean leader kim jong-un signing authorization for the test. the secretive nation claims it is the fourth such test of a nuclear device. we're unlikely to receive video of that test because it did happen under ground allegedly. the white house again not confirming the claims. this is footage provided by north korean media, citizens cheering as they hear the announcement of that test. that really represents north korea's nuclear region, the expansion of it. it is video that nbc news is working to independently verify.

there were talks held about the threats, as did the uchltd s. ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy who echoed what the white house is saying. >> i'm standing with japan and our south korean allies and we will work closely together in the coming days. >> this is video released by north korean state media of nuclear engineers working in a nuclear laboratory. the u.s. geological survey recorded there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake which south korea said was 30 miles from the site where north korea kochb ducted nuclear tests in the past. the security council and diplomats will meet today to discuss what's next. even china, which is one of north korea's few allies is criticizing this test if it's true. chris, we should find out today if an east bay teenager will stand trial for murdering a 9-year-old boy. a great deal of today's hearing

is expected to center on the mental stability of 18-year-old william schultz. the discovery bay teen has already confessed to the killing. schultz had been released from a county mental ward the day before that stabbing. he was then invited to stay at a friend's home. that's when he allegedly stabbed this little boy to death in that home. >> so sad. city of oakland strengthening gun control laws. yesterday the city council unanimously passed two ordinances. they require owners to store guns in locked boxes both at home and in their cars. the city council will also ban large capacity magazines. critics threaten legal action if the ordinance is passed. a live look at san jose where the rain is coming down this morning. you can see it right there on the lens. it looks like commuters are trying to take it easy as we head out the door. let's check in with kari hall. >> as we take a closer look at

some of the rain coming down in san francisco, it is also approaching the peninsula as the next round of rain begins to move in. we're seeing the heavy rain there and all up and down the coast. this will continue to move off to the east and moving into the peninsula as well as the east bay within the next few minutes. expect it in redwood city at about 7:06 and in fremont 7:31. that may be the time a lot of people are getting out once again heading for work ooh or the roads start to get more crowded. the rain timeline keeps it across the bay area with more spotty rain as we go through the day. even by 9:00 or 10:00, we still have heavy downpours in a few spots. and even into the afternoon, it's still raining with gusty winds. it looks to linger as we go into tonight as this larger storm system continues to move threw the bay area. temperatures today only reaching into the mid 50s and a clans of some lightning. let's check in with anthony to see if there's any damage

reports yet. >> we heard about the tree falling in san francisco earlier. mike has a report coming up in a minute. if you want to recap the rainfall amounts, novato topping close to four inchs. mill valley over two in s. san francisco 1.5 and san jose, down here in the south bay even over an inch. in danville, the tallies are starting to mat to decent amounts across the bay. we'll continue to track things as we get through the morning and let you know if there are anymore storm reports or damage. mike, how are the roads looking? >> pretty good considering the wet conditions. the blue showing ponding and puddling likely. flooding not as much of an issue. this is north 880, talking about the tree i had down here in san jose, downed tree across your right two lanes traveling north around bass couple. the latest we got was chp hoped

to have the lanes open just about now. i still see some slowing, so use caution through the area, but traffic does get you through the lanes. as you travel north of 280 and head north of 87 and 101. we're looking at the rest of your bay. as we see the colors shift from blue to green, we're starting to see roadways dry out a tad bit. wider flow of traffic heading toward the bridge. a look at oakland. we'll see 880 traveling well, as we travel north toward the bay bridge. the camera shakes because of the wind there. look at the golden gate bridge. kari is talking about the rain coming in. this changed over the last 45 seconds. saw it go from very clear to the rain actively falling. another issue for folks on the roadways, guys. back to you. 6:41. coming up, a man allegedly sets fire to the homes of his own groomsmen. the strange piece of evidence that led them to the suspect.

>> the recent rain doesn't me mean --

6:44. an alleged arsonist is under arrest for targeting his own wedding party. investigators say the walnut cream man went after the groomsmen after his failed marriage. police say he tried to set two

of the homes on fire with children inside. luckily no one was hurt. left behind at every crime scene, a bizarre piece of evidence. >> there was a card from a deck of playing cards that was left at the scene of most of these fires. one was a joker. another fire there was an ace of spades. van bus kirk is also linked to car fires. officers say his wife filed for divorce in october and then a restraining order a month later. van bus kirk denies setting the fires but has reportedly said his groomsmen abandoned him when his marriage fell apart. >> happening now, the excitement tech lovers can feel. today is the official start of the year's most talked about and hyped events. the consumer electronics show in las vegas. 4k tvs the big buzz. next generation televisions may reach a price point that people may actually buy them.

ces runs through friday. our own scott budman is in las vegas and will have live reports starting at 5:00 and 6:00 tonight. contra costa water users are weigh in on a proposed rate hike. the district board of directors are meeting to raise rates more than 3%. it would take effect next month. about a half million people in central and eastern contra costa county will feel this impact. customers are also still on the hook for a temporarily monthly drought sir charge. if you think the rain gives the excuse to hang now the the shower a little longer, no, my friend. new numbers indicate californians are putting water conservation on the back burner. in november statewide we conserved about 20% of the water we normally used. the state looking for 25%. november was the worst conservation month since california set new restrictions. water agencies say we are not out of the woods by a mile. >> we're starting to see some

inflow into our reservoirs. but we haven't really seen that much yet. so we really need this pattern to continue. >> the bay area, by the way, saved at a higher rate in november than the rest of the state, of course because we're awesome, 27% above the state minimum. >> certainly all the plants and flowers getting a good quenching of water this morning. we take a live look, very slick drive across the golden gate bridge this morning. also overlooking the south bay in san jose, really the entire bay area getting pounded with the third strong storm in as many days. give yourself a little extra time if you have to leave for work or taking the kids to school. a lot of umbrellas out there this morning. >> kari, you're saying this may be the strongest storm we'll see all week. >> yes, because we had the wind along with lightning and heavy rain. so this will also linger a little longer than we've seen with the previous two storms. as we take a live look at the bay bridge, it is windy and wet.

so allow extra time to get to work or school. windshield wipers on and try to not drive over areas where you see the water just standing on the road. be careful of those driving past you very quickly and then just making that water splash up. we're seeing how widespread this rav rain is now. many lightning strikes have been weakening and our radar is able to detect it from the cloud down to the ground. we are seeing there are strong storms moving closer to the peninsula at this point and a couple of lightning strikes there and intense rainfall to go along with that. as we get a look at how much rain we're seeing there and how much lightning as this continues to move closer to the shore. the precipitation rates in some spots about a half inch per hour, just much better than the two inches per hour we saw earlier today. just to let you know it is really dumping down in spots. we're taking a break in parts of

the east bay as well as san jose, light sprinkles coming down now and a little bit of a reprieve from the heavy rain as we get ready for the next one to move in. in the north bay, also we've had quite a bit of some heavy downpours and now it's a it's a little bit of a shade of light green, showing the rain is not as intense. we'll see the rain streaming through, off and on with a few breaks. also the potential of a few isolated thunderstorms into the afternoon. by tonight, look at the timeline. it is still raining off and on, and into the start of the day tomorrow there still may be a few breaks, but still the possibility of scattered showers. the next round won't be as strong as what we are seeing now, but still additional rainfall in the bucket. the rain totals show us we could have additional .75 up to an inch of rain on top of the couple inches we've had in some spots. temperatures will be topping out in the mid to upper 50s today. so our temperatures really not

changing from what we've had the past couple of days, staying about the same. slightly cooler than average, and that trend continues into the next three days. and there will be once again a few more breaks heading into the day on thursday as well as friday. and then this weekend, we'll have another round of scattered showers moving in. this the most intense, the third one this week. we're expecting at least one more before the week is done. let's dmek with mike to see what's happening as you head out for that commute. >> our cameras do the best job of telling much of the tale. this is the golden gate bridge. we saw that whole burst of rain travel across in my last report. you see rain falling, slick conditions. that's the biggest issue as more rain is coming in, another wave for the peninsula. let's look at your map. the speed son sores not showing a problem. reports of flooding. usual suspects, watch sausalito, richardson bay. bottom of your screen, a series

of floods reported. there's a slow drive right now. there may be cones out still. in san francisco, we just got word that cable cars are not going to be running. they're substituting that with bus service likely, a safety issue because of the inclement weather. getting across to the oakland side, the bay bridge toll plaza metering lights are on. we've seen this go from blue to green. green means damp roadways, wet roadways, but not the ponding and puddling we saw earlier. the next wave will bring more rain. speed sensors not showing a major issue. your northbound routes holding steady for the pattern. a lighter flow of traffic. we still haven't gotten the all three. we're watching the tree down across your right two lanes. left two get by. a look at 101, a live look shows the volume of traffic really the issue over northbound on these wetter roadways through san jose as well. quick look at palo alto -- i'll give that to you later.

that's my fault for mixing it up. they've got it. the guys in the control room are good. >> lots to cover this morning. don't forget inside our nbc bay area app you can find great tools to find out what's going on outside. meteorologist rob mayeda shows you how it works. >> >> here is a way to stay ahead of the storm with your own personalized alerts on your mobile device. go to the nbc bay area app and click on the icon on the upper left side of the screen and the gear icon on the upper right which will take you directly to our weather alert settings. in that menu you'll find a drop-down list of information that you can specify if you would like to know about lightning arriving in your area or if you want to know about a dangerous storm approaching, you can select that on our drop-down menu from flooding or other thunderstorm alerts, everything there for you that you can customize and get that information right to your mobile device minute by minute as your weather develops across the bay area. i'm rob mayeda and that's how

you can stay informed on the nbc bay area app. got a tip for nbc bay area's investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. nbc bay area, we investigate.

we're following breaking news this morning, reports just coming in of a 4.8 earthquake hitting southern california, the inland region. >> it's near the banning area. about 85 miles east of los angeles. we have no reports this morning of any injuries or damage, but obviously we will keep an eye on this and update you as we know more. we also have new details on a marathon rent control meeting in alameda that ended just four hours ago. last knight the council voted to extend its current temporary moratorium on rent hikes. then council members spent more than eight hours considering a number of long-term options. they tentatively agreed to force landlords and tenants into binding arbitration. that's if the two can't agree on rent increases above 5%. council members also agreed to force landlords to pay relocation fees if they have to kick somebody out of their place. >> a south bay family getting answers after a deadly stabbing

on christmas morning. three men are in police custody all charged with the murder of jose marin. marin's family says he just finish add late night christmas eve dinner with friends when he was attacked on north 26th street in san jose about 5:00 a.m. police found marin with stab wounds, took him to a nearby hospital but he soon died. marin's family believes it was a case of mistaken identity. 6:57. we take you back to our micro climate weather alert and our radar, satellite as well lit up in all sorts of different colors. we've had team coverage of the strong storm all morning. let's get to "today in the bay's" bob redell live in the santa cruz mountains. >> reporter: along highway 17 here, good morning to you, scott and laura. definitely in a break from the rain overnight till around 5:00, 5:30. we had heavy downpour out here, flashes of lightning, light gusts. right now as you can see, the roads are wet but we're not seeing anything falling from the sky. we do expect that to pick up

later. if you are driving on roads that are like highway 17 that have steep embankments, you want to be on the lookout for mud or debris that could be washing on the roadways. you also want to look out for things like this, downed trees, this is one that came down. we spoke with a park ranger with a santa clara county parks district. if you don't have the wind, if you do get that wet rain in there with the weakened roots, you could see a better chance of rain. rangers are actually surveying trees on the lands to see if there are trees that will be weakened, they need to be cut down. reporting live along the summit on highway 17, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> seeing a problem with trees downed. we'll get to that and the morning commute in a bit. the radar showing lightning

strikes coming our way. >> moving into the peninsula at this point. seen the lightning strikes weakening and not as frequent as we see them offshore, but still intense rain as the rest of the bay area takes a break from the rain. more of those squalls will be moving through throughout the day. >> we'll watch them carefully. the trees we were mentioning, one on 880. >> right. i'll show you the map. this is 880 in the middle of your screen northbound, still has two lanes blocked at bascom. a bigger distraction as more folks are hitting the road. the rest of the roadway surprisingly clear of any major incidents. i do want to show you what's going on. we'll skip right to this video here. this tree in san francisco on mission between 4th and 9th, affecting muni service. this is affecting city traffic.

we're watching for more reports like this all around the bay. >> a busy one. that's what's happening "today in the bay." we're back at 7:25 with an update. breaking news. north korea claiming it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb overnight. the tremor the size of a moderate earthquake. the reaction in countries around the world swift and intense. but was it really an h-bomb? if so, why didn't u.s. intelligence know it was coming? cruz in the cross-hairs. donald trump questions ted cruz's eligibility much like he did president obama's. feeling the heat as his republican rival surges in iowa. other republicans question the sincerity of the president's emotional news conference on guns. >> every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> too much?