congratulations. for everything olympics, we have you covered. look at our website to find out more about the games. click on the sports tab and, again, tickets are available. right now, at 6:00, finally relief. we'll tell you when the rain is coming our way. meteorologist, kari hall has been tracking a storm system that could take us on for a couple days. plus, back to work. congress is back in session this morning after the break and two new democrats and no budget at bay. what we can expect from legislatures this morning. surfs up, mavericks is on after a title wave of controversy. we'll tell you about the surf competition that has a lot of folks waiting to watch them hang ten. "today in the bay" continues right now. thanks so much for joining us on this wednesday morning, i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. it's hump day today as we get started on our way.

one thing to expect today is showers in the area. >> yeah, that's going to move in this afternoon. much needed rain. really excited to see that we will get pretty good amounts of rain over the next couple of days. we start out dry this morning. here is a live look outside in downtown san jose. a lot of people will be walking around downtown, getting ready for the figure skating championship there. it's going to be 49 degrees as you step out. the high today, 59 degrees. the scattered rain moves in with the potentialover isolated thunderstorms. rain chances continue as we go into tomorrow along with slightly cooler temperatures. i'll detail all of this in the microclimate forecast in about six minutes. vianey arana gets us out there on the roads right now. >> it's the middle of the week. we have two days before the weekend. judging by this map, middle of the week isn't doing too bad in terms of the traffic. we haven't seen accidents. it's at the top of the 6:00

hour. the bridge drive times, we are seeing slowing. westbound 80 toward the bay bridge, the metering lights have been on. i have seen this kind of building the last five minutes, about 12 minutes and westbound 84. live look at the bay bridge, you can see plenty of cars. at least it looks like they are not stopped completely. back to you. >> thank you, vianey arana. we want to make sure you know about a developing story we are watching today. san jose community on edge after an alleged sexual assault and robbery on a teacher in her classroom. we have been telling you about this since police released this surveillance video on your screen. that is the suspect. this happened at harper middle school yesterday morning. that man attacked that teacher inside her classroom before then changing out of his top and walking away. we have a crew at the school this morning. they will be there as teachers

and students arrive. pete suratos is coming back with a live report in a half hour. 6:02 right now. live to washington where congress is getting back to work this morning. they are welcoming several new senators. >> including two new democrats. "today in the bay's", tracie potts is live on capitol hill with more of what they are hoping to accomplish in the new year. >> reporter: hi, good morning, everyone. they have a long list of things they want to accomplish in this new year. big things like welfare reform that might take awhile and some more urgent like getting a budget in place and avoiding a government shutdown, plus a few new voices to weigh in on them. the senate swears in two new democrats today, doug jones of alabama and tina smith of minnesota. plus, president trump's budget and legislative directors head to capitol hill to meet with

congressional leaders about spending limits, the latest budget shutdown deadline is january 19. >> the president want as two-year budget deal that provides budget caps and certainty for national security. >> reporter: congress needs to take quick action on children's health insurance, disaster relief and stabilizing obamacare marketplaces. the white house says there will be no talks today about what democrats want, daca, protecting young immigrants brought here illegally. >> their citizenship issues, chain migration. they are things you can find solutions to. all people, all sides have to be ready to compromise. >> reporter: compromise with one key republican on his way out the door. >> every good senator knows when to hang it up. for me, that's now. >> reporter: utah's orrin hatch announced he is retiring. president trump is watching that and north korea. he tweeted that america's nuclear button is bigger and

more powerful and it works. now, a bit of a development on that front, early this morning, south korea said the north open opened channels of communication and talking in advance of the games being held in that region. that could be good news while the tension between them seems to be falling a bit. the twitter war between kim jong-un and president trump isn't. >> so concerning for so many folks. thank you so much. happening today, california state lawmakers return to work in sacramento. the 2018 legislative year will boost protections for sexual assault victims and people who report sexual misconduct. the governor will submit his budget proposal next week. we'll cover that as well. a new twist in the recent arrest of a north bay man accused of peeping through the

bedroom window of an 11-year-old girl. authorities booked the man on a misdemeanor charge nearly two weeks ago. police now believe cortez and the girl exchanged several messages on snap chat that were discovered by the girl's father. some of them were sexual in nature. cortez was rearrested and faces sexual assault charges. a crash that killed a chp officer is still in the hospital. he may be transferred by tomorrow. authorities identified the suspect, 22-year-old mohamed alie faces murn charges. he smoked pot and was drunk before he crashed into the patrol car on interstate 880 at 120 miles per hour. the officer, andrew camilleri died. ali's neighbors are stunned. >> a quiet guy. normal guy.

it's unfortunate to think that things like that would happen to him. >> investigators say he admitted to driving impaired after threatening his life. before this, he had never been arrested. more than a does zen people are recovering this morning after a charter bus crash in the central valley that happened last night. the bus was leaving a casino in jackson, an hour northeast of stockton. the bus blew through a four-way stop and crashed into a chevy silverado, all passengers and the driver were rushed to the hospital with different kind of injuries. a mountainview restaurant is expected to open today after robberies grabbed an atm in a bold smash and grab robbery. someone used a stolen truck to smash through the front doors and take that atm inside. police found the truck abandoned nearby, later found the atm in a separate location.

it was torched and broken apart with the cash inside long gone. anyone hoping to wake up a megamillionaire, in a legal way, you have to keep on dreaming, at least until tonight. tonight, the power ball is happening. the next mega millions jackpot on friday could jump to 418 million bucks. tonight's power ball drawing is supposed to reach 4$440 million. no matter how you add it up, it is a ton of money. happening today, the window officially opened for what may be the most famous big wave surf contest anywhere, mavericks in half-moon bay. itis only taken place occasionally the past few years. it's partly because the ownership has been on shaky ground. it's been organized, for if first time by the league. it's renamed to the mavericks challenge.

this year's window closes at the end of february. competitors will receive three days notice. today, the lower portion of the park will be closed. this comes from king tides. the low tides are in the afternoon to late evening hours. the high tides could continue this morning. >> we will start to see rain moving in as we go into the afternoon. it is to the south of us and offshore, but lifting to the north and arriving in the bay area by this afternoon. there will be a chance of we could see light showers early. as we look at the time line of the rain, it shows by 11:00, maybe a few light pockets of showers. some of the heavier rain arrives by the afternoon. as we look at the time by 1:30, starting to see the rain moving in. the yellows and red show where

the heaviest rain will be. that will continue through the afternoon through evening commute and tapering off later on tonight. i'll have more on this in a few minutes. vianey arana, the commute is still looking good? >> yeah. it's been fairly quiet. we are seeing a couple things pop up. an overall look at the bay area, for the most part, recovering at 580 due to an earlier crash off to the right hand shoulder. there is a crash reported in the south bay, san jose. i will have an update on that coming up in a bit. it looks like it may be blocking a right hand shoulder. i'm going to check on that in a bit. back to you. >> thank you. coming up next on "today in the bay," music lovers, listen up. it could impact the way you listen to your favorite tunes.

right now at 6:13, tracking rain for later today. as we check out cupertino and the temperature trend starts out in the mid-50s, a mild start. warming up today, we could see the rain arriving at 1:00 this afternoon. off and on showers, a chance of storms. now is the time to check the windshield wipers. i'll have a look at when we'll see the rain moving in and out and how much is in the forecast.

880 from marie nea boulevard to broadway, a nine minute drive time. i'll have an update on the rest of the bay area commute in a bit. new video from overnight of a fire that injured six firefighters and one police officer in new york city. that fire tore through three apartment buildings in brooklyn. three of the injured firefighters were hurt when the stairwell collapsed. none are life threatening. the cause of the fire is to be determined. new this morning, a procession following a san bernardino county deputy happened last night. he died on tuesday. he was violently attacked following a minor crash this past weekend. he was off duty when he and another collided in san bernardino. officials made contact and the other driver ran him down. the driver was arrested and now faces several criminal charges.

this morning, a lawsuit that could impact the way you listen to music. a major publisher wanlts spotify to pay more than $1.6 billion. with the music publishing, they stream millions of unlicensed songs in massive copyright infringement. they claim 6 million spotify songs are improperly licensed. that's a fifth of the catalogs. they say the company has no problem. shares in amazon are up 50% over last year. >> that helped push the nasdaq to new heights. scott mcgrew? >> let's take you out to the nasdaq this morning where it was all smiles on times square. they open at a new high after crossing 7,000 for the first time, powered by amazon, apple, google, facebook. during the dot com boom, we were excited when it crossed 5,000.

southwest and american airlines will give employees a $1,000 bonus thanks to the tax law. dozens of companies have including wells fargo and boeing. >> the president is making decisions. president trump is going to have to decide about the price of washing machines this month. there's going to be a hearing on washing machines today and the president will have to make a decision shortly there after. should there be a tariff on washing machines overseas. the worry is overseas manufacturers are dumping solar panels on the market. that's unfair to local manufacturers. in the case of washing machines, whirlpool, an american company and lg, a foreign company. the price of an lg washer could go up 50% if the tariffs are put on it. >> why just washing machines and solar panels? >> a specific case of washing

machine manufacturers sending too many, dumping it on our market. yes, it seems like -- why not dryers? >> thank you scott. a gift that is simply music to the ears of a texas family with music in their blood. that is not your imagination, that is water up to the piano bench. that happened in the days after hurricane harvey. the video went viral showing his family of the flood damaged piano. his son is a musician. his father is a piano tuner. they saw the video and was moved to help. she contacted sponsors at yamaha. friday, they got a new $7,000 piano, courtesy of carlson and yamaha. what a deal. >> i know, just to see him playing in that water is just -- >> unbelievable.

>> hard to imagine what they were going through at that time. >> and still. >> so many people reached out to help. situations like that, we don't have to deal with. we haven't had that much rain in a while. >> not any rain to cause problems. that is what everyone is talking about at work today. grab your umbrella. watch that rain falling as we are going to finally get much needed downpours around the bay area. the temperatures start out milder. the clouds are moving in. we have upper 40s and 50s as you get ready to head out the door. looking at the high temperatures reaching the upper 50s and san francisco in oakland. some mid-60s for the south bay. here is the rain moving in. it's well to the south of us. we are starting to see those downpours well offshore. we have seen a few lightning strikes. there will be a chance some of that lightning offshore could make it inland and we'll have a

chance of thunderstorms later on this evening. as of now, watching the rain make it closer, we are dry this morning starting out in the bay area. let's talk about the time line of when the rain will be moving in. we start with heavy downpour that is could move into san francisco and the santa cruz mountains by 1:00 this afternoon. then it does become more widespread with waves of rain. where we see the yellows and red, that shows the heaviest rain and quick torrential downpours. that is going to be rolling from south to north as we go into the evening. by about midnight, we see this rain tapering off. we should start out tomorrow mostly clear. a slight chance of rain with another round of showers moving in late tomorrow evening into friday morning. our friday looks wet to start. by friday night, it will be moving out. a couple waves of rain. we have the possibility of getting over an inch and a half of rain around santa rosa.

we are lacking over six inches of rain to catch up with the normal amounts of rainfall. while the east bay will be getting about a quarter to half inch of rain, we are looking at less than a half inch in san jose between now and saturday when that round of rain moves out. now, our temperatures are cooling off as well, upper 50s for san francisco. the weekend looks pretty much dry. a slight chance of rain late sunday. that chance, as of now is drying up. another storm moving in tuesday. expect cooler temperatures and breezy winds. i'll have the latest on the storm coming up. anything else happening out there? >> not just yet. you know, thankfully, we are seeing dry roads. you might not get so lucky on your commute back. again, remember to check your windshield wipers and check your tires. with a couple days left of rain, you don't want to get caught up in that. remember the accident i mentioned in the south bay?

i followed up on that. chp is reporting a crash on northbound 101 north of the 680 connecter. north of this, we are starting to see some slowing, some delays. it looks like a minor crash blocking lanes and creating a road hazard from people looking over. we are seeing slowing there. that crash in the south bay, no major delays at this hour. a quick check of the east bay drive times from marina boulevard to broadway, ten minutes. a live look in san jose, where the crash is, is looking good. back to you. >> thank you. coming up next on "today in the bay," seeing green. the chef's jumping on the rush for marijuana in the state. the threat of collections for a bill he says he didn't owe in the first place. i'm consumer investigators, chris chmura. nbc bay area responds, next. i want to know who still has their christmas tree up?

mine is up. my dog enjoys it, but i want it gone. go to my page and join in on the conversation. you are watching "today in the bay." nbc bay area responds.

to a san jose man who says he was being threatened with 6:24 right now. an nbc bay area responds to a man who says he was being threatened with collections for a bill he didn't owe. >> that's got to be nerve-racking. our team helped out. dan jacobson had exede

internet service and canceled it in january of 2016. he also sent all the equipment back to exede, however, it continues to bill him. he called the company, but no one would help. in the meantime, his bill escalated to more than $500 and exede was threatening to turn it over to a collection agency. dan turned to us for help. we contacted exede and they dropped the bill. they said dan never canceled the service. in a statement, we understand that miscommunication can occur. in the interest of giving him the benefit of the doubt, we have erased the balance due. this is another reminder, when you cancel a service, any service, ask for confirmation in writing and ideally, an invoice that shows a zero balance. if you have a consumer complaint, call us, 888-996-tips or online at www.nbcbayarea.com/responds.

6:25. new in morning, we learned former heavyweight champion, mike tyson is getting in on the legal pot. tyson and others broke ground on a so-called cannabis resort. it's going up in a row mote mohave town, 110 miles north of l.a. as the pot sales continue, entrepreneurs are getting ready with different kinds of edible ideas. >> with california where we have so much innovation and so much focus on food, i think we are going to setons of cannabis related cuisine. >> usually, it was cookies and brownies. how many of those can you eat? if you want to incorporate it into your daily life, it should expend into healthy options. >> are we going to see java

juice with it? >> i hope so. >> you can watch that story this morning right after "today in the bay." coming up next on "today in the bay," a chilling scene at a south bay middle school. the search for this man, who police say sexually assaulted and robbed a teacher as she was working in her classroom. olympic dreams will become reality in the south bay today. we are live, ahead of the figure skating championship at s.a.p. center. looking live out our window over the bay bridge toll plaza, things are starting to stack up, but no worries. vianey arana is watching the commute for you and we are going to talk to kari about when to get out the umbrella. that's coming up in two and a half minutes. you are watching "today in the bay." taking a live look outside from

downtown walnut creek.. all dry for now-- but thatou right now at 6:30, a live look outside in downtown walnut creek. a beautiful sight there. all dry, but that's soon going to change. meteorologist, kari hall is tracking the storm system that may hit the bay area today. good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us, i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. it looks like walnut creek took down the holiday lights. it's a good thing. won't want to take them down later today, kari. >> today is not your day for taking down the holiday decorations or getting things done in the yard. you have the opportunity this

morning to try to clear away those storm drains before the rain arrives. we are looking at the rain moving up from the south. it's well offshore. i have seen a couple lightning strikes there. we have the chance that there's enough energy in the atmosphere to allow the lightning to make it inland today. we start out dry. let's talk ability the time line, when we'll see the rain moving in. for most of the morning, it's all dry. then we quickly see that rain moving inland from west to east as we go into early afternoon. i think by 2:00, we'll have good coverage of rain on the radar. if you have that nbc bay area app, you will be able to track that rain as it moves in. we'll have the potential of storms where you see the yellow and red. that indicates heavy rain and a little bit of lightning. we will be talking about this when the rain moves in and out and how much to expect. that's coming up in a few minutes when vianey arana gets us out there with a look at the morning commute. >> i'm not looking forward to

the drive for the commuters once that rain hits especially because it hasn't rained in a while. keep that in mind, check those tires. we aren't tracking major accidents. let's hope it stays that way. we had an earlier day in the south bay, it's been cleared to the shoulder. southbound 101 from van ness, 12 minutes to sfo. sf torks highway 92, five minutes. thank you. now to a developing story in the south bay. it is a disturbing one. look at this video here on your screen. san jose police are looking for that man who they say robbed and sexually assaulted a teacher as she was working in her classroom

on her own. >> "today in the bay's", pete suratos is live at harker middle school with those chilling details about the investigation. good morning, pete. >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus and kris. yes, very chilling, as well as disturbing. let's show you that surveillance video that was given to us by san jose police overnight. you can see the suspect in all this walking on the campus of harker middle school in san jose scoping the grounds before carrying out this alleged attack. according to the police, they are saying the assault happened yesterday morning around this same time, 6:30 a.m., an hour before students and teachers arrived for classes. that suspect robbed and sexually assaulted the teacher who was alone, inside her classroom. they are hoping that video we are showing you will help catch the suspect before he attacks again. in the meantime, it has residents in the area very concerned. >> much of the time i'm working

alone. myself, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening. >> i know it's more scary to know because we have winter break going on for our kids. it's not -- i don't feel safe till he's gone. >> reporter: we'll show you that video one more time for viewers to look at it. you can see the plan, a heavy set hispanic man wearing dark jeans, a black shirt and a black beanie. security has been increased. police are increasing patrols and security on the campus. if you have information to help out, contact san jose police. live in san jose, pete suratos, "today in the bay." >> we all know teacher who is work in their classrooms before school starts and after. hopefully they will find this guy soon. thank you, pete. new this morning, berkeley police are looking for possible witnesses to a hit and run crash last month. a woman was really hurt when a

car hit her on december 18th an san pablo avenue. officers believe there may have been other drivers in the area at the time who witnessed the crime. so far, no information and that's why they are asking for help. they would like to come up with a suspect vehicle description. in pleasanton, police are looking for burglars, here on the screen. surveillance trying to break into a home near fairlands and churchhill drive. they knocked on the front door, looking official. when no one answered, they went around the back of the home and tried to open a locked slider, but were unsuccessful. >> bay area district leaders are investigating a recent flair incident. chevron refinery in richmond. the airmanagement district says they briefly exceeded state limits. it happened around 8:30. they received at least one

resident complain. after one of the driest decembers on record, lots of folks are hoping the storm arriving later today can help to add to those critical rainfall totals. compared to this time last year, water levels at most bay area reservoirs are way down. tla includes anderson reservoir in morgan hill, which opened its spillway last january. right now, it is at 25% capacity. water agencies say they are keeping a watchful eye on the winter rainfall totals but no one, yet, is throwing around the dreaded drought word. last winter, the bay area emerged from a five-year drought. new details. the raiders fans talk about john gruden coming back is in the smoke in mirrors. he spoke yesterday and confirms he's been considered for the

head coach job. it would be a kind of full circle for gruden who last coached for the raiders in 2001, but was traded in the draft pick. gruden is expected to help call espn's wild card game saturday. after that, the raiders will announce the new head coach next week. >> we'll be watching. also, excitement is building in the south by for a different reason. the skating championships get under way. taking a live look at s.a.p. center where all the action will be in just a few hours. >> "today in the bay's", bob redell is live with a closer look at what we can expect this week. bob, you get all the fun. >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus and kris. in about 90 minutes, we are talking 8:00, the s.a.p. center will open the ice for the athletes competing in the figure skating championship. this is an opportunity to practice before the competitions

that begin tonight and continue throughout the week. these are young men and women trying to get a spot on the team that will represent the u.s. during the next month's winter olympics in south korea. some of the local athletes we are keeping an eye on, polina, vincent joe, alex benoit. here is someone you might want to keep an eye on for the 2022 winter olympics in beijing. you are looking at 12-year-old alyssa lou. she won the junior championships which she accomplished battling a fever. she gets to rest over the next few days. watch the championships here at the s.a.p. center and learn from the ladies she looks up to. >> i channel their energy into my skating as well. so, when i watch them, i think, wow, they are really good, then that pushes me to do better in

competitions. >> reporter: who do you look up to? >> a skater from russia. she's amazing. >> reporter: the championships are opening tonight. opening ceremonies at 6:00. coverage on the television begins at 8:00 on nbc sports network. the tickets are available for the events running tonight through sunday. go to skatesanjose2018.com for the info. live at s.a.p. center, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> i thought i was going to see your championship skills on the ice this morning. >> come on, bob. we know you have them. >> reporter: you don't want to see that. no, i don't. >> the archive video for anything olympics, we have you covered. visit our website to find out about the games and the bay area olympic hopefuls. go to www.nbcbayarea.com and

click on the sports tab. it is 6:39 a.m. believe it or not, the bay area has managed to keep the traffic jams under control and no major accidents. however, remember the crash i mentioned earlier in the south bay? it looks like it is causing delays. so, along northbound 101, just north of the 680 connector, still showing stop and go traffic. it is a minor fender bender, but a couple cars out there and they are struggling to move to the right hand shoulder. we are going to keep a close eye on that. a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. you can see that never fails. looks like that goes back to its regular traffic mess, especially at this hour. there's a live look right there. >> knew it would return at some point. >> we all have to go back to work at some time, which makes the weekend better. >> looking forward to the weekend and things to check out

over the next several days. looking at our saturday forecast, we will start with cool temperatures. the rain will be moving out and we'll be left with clouds in the mid-50s for the coast and 60 for the inland valleys. sunday, it looks like we should stay mostly dry, a slight chance of rain late. that chance is drying out. it looks like we will have a nice, dry weekend with cool temperatures. speaking of cool, how about heavenly this weekend? a slight chance of rain saturday. other than that, a good weekend with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. rain moves out on monterey on friday and a clear weekend still cool, with low 60s. going to napa valley, highs in the low 60s with mostly sunny skies. let me know what you are doing on facebook or twitter. let me know what is going on. you may see it featured here on the air. i'll have a look at today's temperature trend in three

minutes. >> we know you are good for it, kari. next on "today in the bay," surveying damage. what's next for north bay communities ravaged by wildfires as the head of homeland security heads to neighbors today. in washington, the president's concern over the size of his button causing world concern this morning. marcus? >> from washington to wall street, we look at what's going on with the numbers. the dow is up 37 points. 38 points right now. nasdaq opens higher as stocks rise. the time is 6:42. you are watching "today in the bay."

it's 6:45. we begin with mostly clear skies and getting busy out there as we take a live look outside in palo alto. let's check out what to expect. upper 40s. more clouds and rain as early as 1:00 this afternoon. have that umbrella handy. we'll talk about when the rain moves in, when it moves out and how much to expect. that's coming up in five minutes. before you head out the door, give you a check of the mass transit. bart, no delays running 46 trains and a quick reminder if you take caltrain, you may have to park elsewhere. keep that in mind and give yourself extra time this morning. happening today, the head of homeland security is said to be in the bay area. she will survey some of these

neighborhoods damaged by the wildfires. secretary kirsten neilson will be here. we plan to talk to her. president trump declared major disaster declaration and funding for those sights. 44 people died and more than 5,000 homes destroyed. a video apology after a massive backlash from a video stirring all sorts of controversy. logan paul shot the video in the forest of japan where suicides are common. they came upon a suicide victim and kept the cameras rolling. the video was post t. it's since been deleted. he apologized. >> i don't expect to be forgiven, i'm here to apologize. for my fans who are defending my actions, please don't. they do not deserve to be

defended. >> he says he only meant to raise awareness about suicide. youtube says that video did violate its policy. for now, logan paul's channel is still operating. hard to imagine anything the president tweets could shock anyone, anymore. >> scott mcgrew, he managed to do it. >> he did. good morning to you, marcus and kris. some conservatives call for the president to step down, this, after a tweet about the size of the president's nuclear button. i have no doubt you have seen this, but here it is again. paraphra paraphrasing, kim jong-un said the nuclear button is on his desk at all times. i, too, have a nuclear button, but it is bigger and more powerful than his and mine works. there were freudian overtones. some are taking this issue more seriously. bill crystal of the weekly standard is calling for president trump's removal under

the 25th amendment, second four spells out how the president can be removed from office because he is physically or mentally incapacitated. more trouble for president trump, steve bannon called the trump campaign meeting with russians in the trump tower treasonous. the guardian newspaper says bannon's comments will be included in a book by michael wolf. the senate goes back to work today. doug jones of alabama takes his seat on the democratic side. other news, orrin hatch said yesterday, he would retire at the end of his term. that clears the way for mitt romney to maybe take his seat. that's bad news for trump as well. romney may be republican, but no fan of the president. if you remember, romney held an address before the election, warning america about the dangers of a trump presidency, calling him a phony and a fraud.

we examine the president's tweets, executive orders and speeches here on "today in the bay." we would love to hear from you. you can reach my on twitter. happening today, the first of five scheduled snow surveys at phillips station in the sierra. you are looking at caltrans camera. the department of water resources says it will measure hundreds of sights winter and spring and use the data to predict eventual run off from the mountains. >> like sticking a straw into a piece of cake. >> see how long -- >> hopefully, when we get rain, we say bay area rain and sierra snowfall. i think this time around, it's bay area rain and sierra rain. it's not helping in terms of the sierra snowpack, but we are glad

to get the rain moving in. this beautiful sky, a chance to look out the window. we are going to have temperatures starting out in the upper 40s, mostly clear morning. the clouds are starting to roll in. that seven day forecast is up at the bottom of the screen showing the temperatures and the rain chances over the next few days. come over and take a look. we are going to be up to 65 degrees in san jose. 60 in santa rosa and 61 in antioch. getting dressed this morning, wear something nice and warm with the cool start. make sure you also dig out that umbrella, dust it off. you will need it later on today, but not this morning. later today, make sure you are wearing long sleeves or boots or shoes you don't mind getting wet. we will have puddles, the rain coming down heavy enough to make puddles on the roads and sidewalks. the rain is zwrus to the south of us and offshore. this is lifting to the north as we go into the next several hours. it has a way to go before it brings in wet weather to the bay

area. as we look at the time line, we see spotty showers late this morning, some of the heavier rain arriving, look at that, by 1:00 or 2:00 this afternoon. we will, at times, have heavier rain moving in. we see the yellow and red showing pockets of down tours and rumbles of thunder and lightning. it is time to move indoors as we see the waves of rain move through as we go into the evening and clearing up by early tomorrow morning. we have the potential of getting over an inch of rain the next couple days. the north bay, really great news, but most of us getting a quarter inch of rain. check in with me at 9:00 on facebook. we'll do a facebook live and answer questions you have about the weather as we go into the next several days. temperatures staying in the upper 50s for san francisco. inland cooling off as well and there's more rain in the forecast. i'll have more on that coming up. vianey arana gets us out there with a couple slow spots

developing on the roads. >> we knew that bliss of clear roadways wouldn't last long. a look at the area for wednesday, looking good. however, i have been following this accident and chp reporting there is a traffic hazard. southbound 101 and embarcadero, there is a lane blocked. it's not quite a crash. it was a vehicle that stalled out and narrowly caused a crash. it's now created a road hazard. please be careful. i want to show you that palo alto cam. you can see the delays that this is causing because of that vehicle that is stalled on the right hand shoulder. expect that to move over. the tow truck is already on scene. hopefully that helps clear up the traffic. a live look in san jose, along 101, another area where we are seeing the build up. you have to get out the door now. back to you. coming up next, a look at the top stories on "today in the bay." more victims after a man is

arrested for peeping into a young girl's bedroom. first, happening now, breaking news out of africa. ethiopia dropping charges and closing the notorious prison camps. it's not clear how many are in custody. people in the country are there to support the move. in america, mortgage applications were lower at the end of 2017. experts say it's because interest rates rose. application volume down 3% for the last two weeks of 2017. we are back with more news after the break. in the bay--

6:56, right now. welcome back. before you head out the door, here are the top stories on "today in the bay." >> look live at this picture. san jose, middle school will have higher security because a teacher was assaulted and robbed in her classroom. the video shows the man who attacked the teacher. he is a hispanic man wearing a black shirt and beanie. you can see the full video at www.nbcbayarea.com. a new and disturbing twist and a recent arrest of a north bay man peeping through the bedroom window of a girl. authorities booked the man,

francisco cortez on a misdemeanor charge. they believe they exchanged numerous messages on snap chat. some were sexual in nature. cortez was rearrested and faces sexual assault charges. >> lawmakers return to sacramento in the 2018 legislative year. it will bring debate for sexual assault victims and people who report sexual misconduct. the governor will, next week, submit a budget proposal. a live look at capitol hill, which gets back to business today after a long winter holiday. the senate will swear in two new democrats, doug jones of alabama and tina smith of minnesota. congress will have to get to work to reach a new budget agreement. that covers children's health insurance and disaster relief. keep on dreaming megamillionaire wannabes, until tonight. nobody matched all six numbers

in the mega millions draw. that means the next mega millions jackpot on friday could be $418 million. tonight's power ball draw is expected to reach $440 million. no matter how you add it up, it is a lot of money and you are going to have a lot of fun. >> oh, yes. count me in. a live look at the shark tank, home of the u.s. figure skating championships. the best skaters will be named to team usa. then compete next month in the olympics. we are your home for everything olympics. visit our website to learn more about the games and olympic hopefuls with the bay area. go to web eww.nbcbayarea.com an click on the sports tab. now a live look in foster city this morning, all dry for the morning commute. that's going to change in a couple hours. a live look at the radar shows we are tracking some rain, but

let's let the experts talk about that. kari? >> it is going to be fairly dry for a couple hours. that will move into the bay area as we go into the afternoon. this evening commute will be quite heavy. i will have facebook live coming up. we will talk about everything going on with this round of rain. we are going to keep the temperatures in the upper 50s. showers continue tomorrow into early friday and another round possible for next week as well inland areas going to see quite a bit of rain. >> nice and smooth for a couple days. now it's back. vianey arana is tracking delays in palo alto. >> we are tracking delays in palo alto. it was due to an earlier kind of crash, more like a road hazard. that vehicle looks like it is off to the side. the tow truck is on scene but we are expecting delays. head out now. that is what's happening "today in the bay."

we will be back with you with more live local news at 7:25. >> join us for nbc bay area news at 11:00. it's wednesday, have a great one. good morning. here comes the snow. after more than a week of brutally cold temperatures the entire east coast now bracing for a massive winter storm. tens of millions from florida to new england in its path. from the dangerous ice in the south, to blizzard conditions in the north, we've got the very latest. taunting north korea. president trump escalates his war of words with kim jong-un tweeting his nuclear button is bigger and more powerful than the north korean leader's. will this latest provocation push the two nations closer to the brink? shocking twist. a former taliban hostage held for years, along with his wife