>> right now watching wind all over the bay area and downpours. san jose 50 degrees. 18-mile-per-hour winds. san francisco wind speeds up to 23 miles an hour. it is a milder start at 54 degrees. storm ranger atop san bruno mountain giving you that high definition faster than standard radar scan across into the east bay. heavier rain out to livermore. san jose from campbell over the highway 17 summit down into santa cruz where you see the heavier downpours coming down along with the gusty wind. hour by hour, heavy rain at times for the morning that will transition into scattered showers. high temperatures today pretty close to where they are now. those numbers in the mid-50s but that one-two punch combo of wind and rain causing problems on the roads this morning. >> we already had the major crash in oakland but it did clear without major injuries. that was 880 around 7:00. and that did clear. traffic was moving smoothly and has been. we've seen a number of crashes and a lot of flooding reported

as well. the green and blues on the map is the road weather index on our traffic maps. green means it's slick in the area. we also have some slowing as you travel over here westbound 580 over to 24. a couple of crashes, one around harrison where there was a traffic break and slowing in the other direction as well, some debris. looking at the other crash, 880 heading up to the maze. approaching broadway or oak and four-wheel drive there. those are the two areas seeing the slower drive. everything else looks good as far as the speed sensors go. the blue over to hayward and milpitas and for highway 101 down through morgan hill and highway 17 could be a tougher drive. traffic is starting to build right now. we're in the studios. be careful on the shoulder. what's it like out there? >> reporter: we're off the roadway here at the summit but i did have the opportunity to talk with the chp officer who said

he's been out here doing round robins, the traffic breaks where you see the officers going side to side zigzagging so they can slow the traffic back behind them. he wants to make sure people are driving safely for the conditions. he has two other units coming up to do the same and watch highway 17. he says that when he came out here for his first run it was 2:30 this morning and was very sloppy. now the rain is falling top to bottom not side to side. gusty winds are picking up. we'll see the live truck rocks. rock slides, mud slides, those are a concern for folks who drive highway 17. you may have noticed if you drive during the daytime hours those rock nets that went up after last year's storm, we just got walloped and there was a mudslide near vine hill road that shut down highway 17 altogether for two weeks. that construction was a nightmare for quite some time.

the conditions that will remain are the rains, the wind, and now with that wind we are hearing reports of some downed trees and it doesn't have to be a big tree. we like to see the big visual trees. it can be a problem on the roadways so make sure you give yourself time to stop. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> some great advice there, kris. we want to bring in rob mayeda to continue our team coverage this morning. the storm, whether you like the rain or not, we certainly need this rain especially compared to last year at this time. the winter was pretty dry. >> last february we had the issues with flooding from coyote creek. this february was one of the driest we've seen in the last 10 to 15 years. you see the impact. here is an example. the north bay missing more than a foot of rain. you can see only 48% of average. for the south bay, san jose even less, 44% of average missing almost 6 inches of rainfall. so while this is inconvenient

for your morning commute this is good news for us as we need that rain and head up to the sierra, a lot of snow. speaking of rain, we're watching issues with run-off around the north bay where you have the north bay wildfires and impacts on your north bay commute. live to pete suratos with a look at how things are going there. >> reporter: good morning to you guys. we're here showing you what the road looks like off 101 north. that area is where you'll see a lot of ponding, maybe flooding conditions as we see the rain come down. you see the car zooming. be careful driving here on the freeway. we'll show you a couple new clips. driving down 101 north you can see the visibility and the windshield wipers. you want to be careful as that rain is coming down and show our

viewers another clip, another cell phone video here of 880 north near marina boulevard in san leandro. you see the rain coming down, of course. you want to be careful when you're driving in these conditions. bring you back out here live, the rain has been on and off spotty here as the rain is coming down. we'll continue to monitor these conditions and will have another update in the next hour. pete suratos for "today in the bay." all right, thank you very much. we were just tweeting out right now we're getting word more than 1,000 people without power in san jose. you can take our app with you on the go no matter where you are. the latest developments in the radar pinpointed to where you are. new this morning all lanes of 880 in oakland open after an early morning crash involving a truck and three cars. this happened around 1:30 this morning south of 7th street. you can see right there, look at that, just how one of those cars

nearly crushed. the driver of the car did not suffer serious injuries. we do know the driver was trapped for some time. the recent threat to students of a bay area school district has parents on edge. this comes after a violent threat made via twitter. >> i work with the police department to address the matter and concluded there is no imminent danger to any of our schools. >> san jose police are investigating the threat which suggested violence against the schools in the area. the district has also asked twitter to investigate. at 5:06 continuing coverage

now, the acting mayor of san francisco says he will discuss a new effort to give legal help to immigrants detained by i.c.e. we've reported that agents arrested about 150 people in northern california this past weekend. today mayor mark farrell will join some city supervisors and immigrant rights groups to pay for universal representing for those immigrants. more details now of a brand-new report released at midnight reveals the level of psychological distress. many latino parents are feeling. this includes families who are documented. the journal of adolescent health finds 64% of parents surveyed say they worry about family members getting separated. 40% say they frequently avoid getting medical care or help from police or even support from social services because of recent immigration action and news reports. almost half of parents say they warn their teenagers to stay away from authorities and to change their behaviors when they're hanging out with friends.

and back to our micro climate weather alert coverage. nbc bay area storm ranger is actually tracking what could become the biggest storm of the season right now. >> let's turn to meteorologist rob mayeda in for kari this morning. any hot spots out there right now? >> that's what we're tracking for storm ranger mobile doppler radar. what's making that doppler difference is the difference between our high definition. look at that area. we'll zoom in using storm ranger. you can see we do have those to the east of west oakland as you head around your commute. you're seeing the isolated downpours and around the tri-valley the heavier rain starting to move away from danville. san jose, rainfall rates starting to drop off a bit but still continues to come down in the mountains. very likely as early as 5:00 this evening. we'll already have seen more than two inches of rain falling there. so hour by hour the first half of the day, the widespread range

and scattered showers which may set the stage for isolated thunder if you get into friday and temperatures today staying in the mid-50s. watch out for the wind advisory up to 10:00, mike. it's that wind and rain coming in sideways causing issues. >> and we're watching as the day develops perhaps some limbs down but none reported. you see the camera shaking. the winds pushing and the trucks in the area as well. the glow and slippery conditions. be careful. this is the nimitz. it moves well. look at your map. we have recovery north of the coliseum shot. we have north 880 rekofg to broadway. that earlier crash and the big slowing likely because they were clearing the vehicles. they are now cleared from the roadways. recovery as you head up north of oak. and over to west 580. this crash should be in the clearing stages but is still blocking the slow lane. those are the two slowest spots. still a light backup for the cash lanes. the rest of the bay shows a

smooth drive. now a crash on 152 will hamper you getting to i-5. more details but it's over there. back to you. >> that could be a thoroughfare for a lot of people. thank you, mike. 5:10. coming up next, child proof shopping. the move california lawmakers are considering that could prevent kids from buying illegal items online. plus, ceos struggle with what to do about guns when "today in the bay" continues.

mike traffic tease and right now our micro climate weather alert, gusty winds right now. dublin 23 miles an hour with heavy rain pushing through the south bay. the very latest on mobile doppler radar coming up in two minutes. and this was quick. look at that. highway 1 i told you was closed, it's open. the crash clears but still slick all over the bay. we'll track how this is affecting your commute and update the crash in oakland. well, happy rainy thursday to you. it is march 1st. fed chairman powell will speak again today. his comments were no doubt part of the beating the stocks took wednesday. the dow down 380 points. the nasdaq down. shares in dick's sporting goods okay and even higher after the company made the announcement

about not selling assault-style rifles. bass pro shops as well asking if it had reaction to dick's announcement or an announcement of its own. so far no comments. walmart, meanwhile, has raised the minimum wage of buying guns and ammunition to 21. a lot of companies are trying to figure out their policy going forward. youtube has reportedly taken down the number of gun-related videos. one man says he's been treated unfairly. >> real quick, an updated video. if you look down below there's not a lot of stuff to watch because i've had to disable the content on my channel. right now we're under attack. with recent events in vegas and fl now florida the anti-gunners are in full force. >> that was from the military arms channel. shares in ford were unchanged. this is something you don't see

with these volatile markets. ford says it's ready to test pizza delivery in miami by robot car. it's teaming up with domino's. these automated cars are put together in palo alto, but they're going to test this out in florida. >> wait a minute. i have to walk outside to get the pizza? >> good point. >> on a rainy day? bring it to my door. >> this is going to be such a pizza weekend. >> the cost of technology. >> remember to tip because you have real humans being you your pizza. >> that's important. always tip. 5:15. california lawmakers may consider new rules to limit online shopping. one lawmaker wants to require retailers like amazon to take better steps to verify age before you buy. an investigation by our affiliate found a teenager was able to order a box of weapons including a bb gun and knifes from amazon. assemblyman ed cho wants to keep

kids from aemploying for an account with an online retailer without a parent's permission. back to our weather alert, we are keeping a close eye on the bridges this morning. a wind advisory is in effect through today. take a look there. you can see a camera at the golden gate bridge, the richmond/san rafael, some of those bridges, as you know, it's been raining. as always a little splash of water. certainly the water is something we need. >> this is like an early january type storm talking very heavy rain here and maybe not good news if you're trying to get there is our toyota tahoe report showing you the conditions. heavy snow. look at the temperatures. the base there at squaw valley is 76 inches. i point that out because it's possible by saturday we could match that in a few spots. that's how incredible the snow is going to be.

today snow 31 inches around king veil. now let's fast forward to saturday. look at those numbers. 60s to almost 70 inches of snow. that is major. that's the reason they have a blizzard warning in effect for tahoe. closer to the bay area, mt. diablo may see another dusting of snow. now this morning too warm for snow. that's a pleasant change. look at the wind speeds. 23 miles an hour into san francisco. san jose right now 50. wind speed of about 18 miles an hour. our storm ranger mobile doppler giving you that high definition rapid scan radar view of oakland where you're seeing moderate rain right now. we'll transition to standard radar back over to storm ranger radar. you can see the downpours coming in from your west within the next five minutes from the tri-valley catching a slight break right now. san jose back down through the mountains. that's where the weather is at its worst and that is where nbc bay area's vianey arana joins us with a look at the rain and the gusty winds we're going to be

dealing with today. vianey? >> reporter: no kidding. i know you told me earlier that the models were showing winds of about 40-plus miles an hour on the west slope of the summit and that's what we've seen. we have this sideways rain coming in. you could probably see it with the light smacking me in the face once in a while. that's all right. we are seeing all the commuters. to future cast. i'm going to pop up a couple graphics here and take you through a quick time line of exactly what we're dealing with in terms of the wind. around 5:30 this morning, the next 15 minutes or so look at san jose, 22-mile-per-hour gusts. redwood city and, of course, up near the santa rosa/napa area, now if i fast forward that time line to about 1 :30 a.m. right before your lunch hour we do see a slight decrease. then it starts to pick up in the south bay. san jose you could see on your screen right now 20 miles an

hour. livermore gusts. morgan hill we're now looming into 30-plus mile per hour range. you notice the winds definitely seem to noticeably calm down quite a bit. but still considered to be on the windy side. some spots will be breezier. napa dives down to 10 miles an hour. you can see it on your screen. redwood city about 22 miles an hour. we're still going to notice that wind and, of course, the windchill factor plays in. dealing with this rain, you have that limited visibility. it starts to create a couple of inwas on the roads. i'll keep you updated. rob, you and i are in contact all morning long. >> the hour by hour outlook on the rain and wind. from 5:00 a.m. through about 9:30 a.m. the focus really is the santa cruz mountains in the south bay. catching a little bit of a break. by noon the heavier rains starting to move away from the

south bay. during the afternoon may get sunny breaks. with cooler air aloft that will destabilize the atmosphere. ongoing showers, maybe small hail if you manage to fire up any brief thundershowers. that's the trend once we get past sunset tonight through friday, scattered showers cool and unsettled. this is cold enough, by the way, you saw the snow totals. elevations near 2,000 to 3,000 feet by saturday morning could get a dusting of snow. check out all the snow around tahoe or the higher peeks, sunday will be cool and breezy but dry. that drying trend we think will hold up probably through about wednesday. so a quick check of the forecast, mid-50s today. not much changed temperature wise. heavy rain at times. the seven-day forecast through saturday. chilly with clearing skies sunday. nothing clear about the morning commute so far. >> rob, we are looking at the build for the volume of cars and now we'll start to see more slowing.

the conditions out there demand the slowing and, in fact, kris sanchez not far from vianey talked about chp going back and forth to slow commuters as they travel over the summit as the conditions require. over here a smooth drive for most of our sensors. we do have recovery now west 580 at 24. the sensors are back at speed. a nice, easy drive. see all the green here in the east bay. that's where the wet roads continue and they're going to still be slick across the golden gate bridge as well. a live look at the bay bridge shows you a backup has formed right on schedule here. they should have the metering lights turned on in the next couple of minutes. the rain you can see in the background and on the lens. that is the main factor. even here in palo alto our camera shows you the water has hit the lens. you'll see the cars as they travel by, a little bit of rain kicking up off the tires as well. headlights are northbound from palo alto. >> those illustrate how stormy it is out there. thank you, mike.

coming up next on "today in the bay," protecting students. how this backpack could be used to save lives during an active shooting. weather alert this mor.

ad lib live picture-- san rafael welcome back, everyone at 5:24. we are under the micro climate weather alert this morning taking a live look outside at san rafael and our doppler radar there.

on the left, upper left, you can take that with you with our bay area app. you can see where the rain is fall wherever you are. a security company is offering what it says it additional protection for students in the event of an active shooter. a specially designed bulletproof backpack. the designer is the president of the company and father of two. he came up with this idea shortly after the sandy hook shooting. sales are up 150% since the parkland school rampage. >> they're protective against 9 millimeter. if you have the back against the shooter pull it over your head, cover your back, the back of your head, your vital organs. >> while they protect against lower caliber weapons authorities say they do not hold up against higher velocity rifles like the ar-15. the company guard dog security has pledged to donate all proceeds from their backpacks to the parkland families as well as those victims. new overnoight a surprise fr

a "black panther" fan. >> a heartfelt message about what the movie means to them. then the film's star shocks them by walking in. >> i want to say thank you so much for making "black panther. "i can't express how much it means. >> i think there's something wrong with your microphone. >> such grace and poise and joy. >> that was so great. >> that's actor chadwick boseman. it has earned $400 million in the united states. >> it's only going to go up. we have more for you here on "today in the bay." meteorologist rob mayeda continues our coverage. watching wind and rain in the bay area now.

san francisco, our storm ranger radar showing you a break in the rain. scanning off to the west the next round. when these will arrive coming up. morning.. the power outages w plus, we're live at pg&e crews prepare to deploy this morning. the power outages we could expect with this powerful storm. e

weather alert.. as a powerful storm barrels throu right now at 5:30 we're under that micro climate weather alert as a powerful storm is

barreling through the bay area. i'm laura garcia. >> storm ranger is tracking the widespread rain as it moves in and it's not just the rain we're talking about this morning. snow as well. the area is getting doused. >> we have team coverage to get you prepared. meteorologist rob mayeda with where that storm is heading right now. rob? >> we're about to see heavier rain move in. you have temperatures pretty mild. wind speeds at 23. san bruno mountain and one of the reasons in position this morning is it can look to the west to see where the next bands are coming in. reaching the east bay and

concord 6:27. you can see the higher definition view, faster scanning, more detail as it moves into the bay area. the peninsula, heavier showers around your commute. a letup in the rain but not as much. south of san jose into the mountains is where the downpours continue. rain rates a quarter of an inch to a third per hour. hour by hour today, heavier rain for the morning and right around lunch time we'll transition over to scattered showers and a cool and blustery day. highs low to mid-50s. a chance of thundershowers. more on that in about ten minutes. your morning drive. >> i tried desperate will to get the lens more clearly visible. you can see the droplets still on the lens. this is over here and they glow.

the light refacting through the rain. typical slowing around the interchange. no closures but, again, we'll watch for traffic affected by that as we come through san jose. i want to focus on the one crash, a vehicle reportedly hit a wall around 238. no major injuries. i don't know if the vehicle is still there. approaching the bay bridge though through 880. slick conditions. traffic moves well but at the bay bridge a backup at the toll plaza. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. let's take a live look at fremont right now. rob has been telling us it's not just wet. the flag billowing in the wind

it is windy. crews are dealing with power outages this morning. already more than 1,000 customers are without power in san jose. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live at the equipment yard with what we need to know in case of an outage. bob? >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus and laura. don't be surprised if you see the pg&e repair trucks out this morning. power out and as the storm progresses other parts of the area. pg&e is putting out a warning, a notice to customers throughout the bay area with the storm if there is power outage there are things to keep in mind. if you see a downed power line, avoid those. even if they're downed you don't know if they're energized or not. if you have a power outage in your home they recommend you don't use candles to light your way for the obvious reason there's fire risk, draperies that can catch fire. use a battery operated flashlig

flashlight. have a backup phone in place either your cell or an old school standard that plugs into the wall. secure your furniture. furniture can become air important and could hit power lines. if you need a generator, use it safely. don't turn it on inside your house that would cause carbon monoxide poisoning. and turn off or unplug your appliances if the power goes out inside your home so when the power turns back on you don't overload the is your cat. you want to turn those appliances back on one at a time. bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thanks for the latest there, bob. >> we are keeping track of what's going on weatherwise. can you stay connected with our weather app. can you log on to that, download the app. it is free for android and iphone users. happening today jury selection

begins for the widow of the gunman in the orlando nightclub rampage. >> authorities arrested nor salman in january of last year. she drew up in the bay area and returned after the pulse nightclub shooting. she's being tried in florida. prosecutors believe she helped plan that attack. the gunman, omar mateen, killed 49 people before authorities killed him. classes will be in session today at olympic high school in concord. that's where police arrested one student yesterday. this is after they say he had two loaded handguns on campus. officers took 18-year-old cortez into custody without incident. investigators say they found nothing to indicate he was planning violence on the school or students and faculty were threatened. students in los gatos will prepare to deal with an active shooter. a drill is scheduled at fisher middle school. the issue is at the top of minds following the parkland shooting.

the school last held that type of drill in september. and city college of san francisco is encouraging undocumented students to still sign up for financial aid. that deadline is 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. college leaders say students are protected under the california dream act. applications are down 20,000 from last year. leaders tell the paper they blame fear and confusion related to the national discussion about daca. back to our micro climate weather report on this thursday morning, rain here means snow in the sierra and a lot of it. a live look at a dangerous drive heading up i-80. this is along kingvale. the lake tahoe area itself is under a blizzard warning right now. the storm is dumping snow on to the sierra and on the slopes. visitors we talked to say they hope this energizes a sluggish ski season.

>> me and my family love snow. >> the vibe in the town is excited, stoked. happy. >> hopefully they close the pass so we get all the fresh powder. >> they could shut down roads if gusty winds and cold temperatures lead to ice and low visibility for drivers. in a half hour a live report from lake tahoe. we'll get an update on some of the conditions. for the conditions here in the bay area this is what the radar looks like from nbc bay area's storm ranger. both the bay area and the sierra as well further north getting hit hard right now. i want to check in with meteorologist rob mayeda right now for a closer look at this. rob, we're talking about inches of rain here in the bay area. all that snow in the sierra, not a good weekend for me to head up or will i have a window of opportunity at all? >> i think the second half of the weekend we'll be good. the sierra snowpack, only 23% of

average as of today. now if you fast forward to the 24-hour forecast with snowfall. there's two to three feet of snow. by saturday almost 60 to 70 inches and if that happens that would be literally doubling the base conditions at some of our ski resorts. a tremendous amount of snow. let's take you on our mobile doppler radar. you see a batch of heavier showers with the storm track on this we think will move into san francisco just past the top of the hour. concord, the east bay by 6:30. and there's an example of our standard radar view versus what we can do on storm ranger. that rapid scan detail as it comes into the peninsula and the south bay. that's where it's been coming down in yellow and orange throughout the morning on the radar which means about a quarter of an inch to a third per hour.

maybe sideways rain thrown in and scattered showers moving into the afternoon. >> storm ranger like that retina display. looking at the weather this is what happened as the rain came through. the blue puddling and ponding. a later build for the commute. reports have just come in over treasure island into the tunnel there and off the lower deck as it rises up. a possible car carrier might be stuck. westbound still moves pretty predictably.

no more flooding reported for this portion of the east bay and b.a.r.t. is not changing any of their trains. no problems for the weather. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. >> more for you here on "today in the bay." we continue with our micro climate weather alert coverage. the mudslide concerns this morning not just in the north bay burn zones but southern california. we're tracking the impact this storm could have on communities in montecito. >> and gun rights supporters absolutely astonished by the president's stunning turnaround. we'll take a look when "today in the bay" continues.

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right now 5:43. tracking a half inch of rain falling in parts of areas just south of downtown san francisco and storm ranger mobile doppler radar continues to pick up heavier showers here approaching the coast that will be heading through san francisco right around 6:00 a.m. and eventually on to concord by around 6:27 this morning. mike? rob, a live shot from our oakland camera. from time to time the wind pushes it around and definitely flurry as the water kicks up on the roadway. even if it's not actively raining you have to deal with the traction and the visibility. we'll she you a bigger look coming up. it's easy to slip slide today. be careful. the latest storm long overdue after one of the driest februarys on record. there are very real concerns about potential mud slides in

areas hard hit by the wildfires. the good fuse less concerns about toxic run-off because crews have had about four months now to clear hazardous waste and most of that work is reported to be near completion. in southern california people who live below the areas where the december wildfires are burned are being advised to evacuate. that extends to heavy rains and may trigger damaging mud slides. montecito among the areas under evacuation warning. sadly people died in the massive mudslide. no plans to close highway 101 which was closed for days after that january slide. 5:44. b.a.r.t. says its fare inspection team will use new devices to make sure ride verse paid. they have been trying to crack down on people. the new technology will let them easily and quickly scan a particular or clipper card to make sure the riders have paid.

the president has stunned his fellow republicans with a sudden turnaround on gun control. >> president trump had headline writers reaching for their th thesaures. >> they were stunned, bewildered. president trump appeared to do a 180 on gun control during a meeting with members of congress. >> i'm a big fan of the nra. these are great people, great patriots, they love our country, but that doesn't mean we have to agree on anything. it doesn't make sense that i have to wait until i'm 21 to get a handgun but can get a weapon at 18. i don't know. i'm curious as to what you did in your bill. >> president trump talked about changing the rules so government could, in his words take people's guns first and go through due process later. i want to go back to that meeting. california senator dianne feinstein was seated just to the left of the president on screen -- or to the president's left. she is the one who authorized

america's assault weapons ban in 1994. watch her face as she realizes where the president is going. >> and i think you can -- can you do that? joe, can you do that? can you add some of the things -- you're not going to agree. >> anyone who has worked with the president will tell you, he changes his mind very, very frequently adopting the ideas of the last person who talked to him. so neither feinstein nor the nra should assume we've found a permanent position here. you heard hope hicks is going to resign as white house communications director. she says she's been thinking about that. vladimir putin just made a speech in moscow. [ speaking in russian ] our nbc translators have been hard at work on this one. he says russia has created two nuclear missiles, new ones. one sublaunched and another an

invincible low flying missile that can evade defense systems. we presume the white house will react to this speech. we will watch it and we will tell you the very latest both on twitter and facebook. >> thanks a lot, scott. jumping back to our weather alert coverage at 5:47, nbc bay area's sky ranger tracking this powerful storm that's moving through the bay area. and this is what it looks like right now in palo alto, very slick commute. you can see the water on our lens out there. traffic it looks like people are slowing down allowing extra time. i want to check in with rob right now. >> is this going to be steady throughout the day or downpours? >> more so through the morning. showers, cooler temperatures and

the story this morning a half inch of rain and climbing. seeing more than a half inch of rain. richmond closing in on an inch of rain. as you see there, the high definition scan. now back on to our storm ranger mobile doppler radar you can see the downpours in high definition as they approach the coast around the peninsula to san jose. you're seeing lighter rain. we will see rain totals and speaking of the rain totals now live to nbc bay area's vianey arana who joins us and we're seeing the rain coming in at times sideways due to the gusty

winds. vianey? >> reporter: the rain hasn't stopped so i will get out of the way. the sideways rain continues to flow. this is one of our better higher resolution short-range models and this gives you a good look at approximately what we can expect tonight until about 9:30 p.m. that's close to about 2 inches of rain, possibly even two and a half. a lot of rainfall. up to napa, nearly an inch of rain expected tonight and about

how it hasn't stopped, it's continuous, slow it down, guys. i already felt that little swivel of hydroplaning. back to you. >> that's one part of the story and a detailed report. here is the problem this morning. gusts from 20 to 35 miles per hour decreasing for the bay area, probably past lunch time for areas in san francisco and later tonight we'll see the wind speeds back off. we'll turn the page, if you will, as we get to the afternoon with scattered showers to follow. not nonstop rain. even manage sunny breaks at times as you approach the evening, a cool day, blustery. windy at times. tomorrow and saturday things get interesting. that cold air come in. and look at the snow levels. could be as low as 2,000 to 3,000 feet. >> we're looking at the conditions for drivers who are starting to get to the roadways

and folks got a later start and the traditional backup but look also at this shot. water on the lens. no warnings issued by chp. be careful because it was on the san francisco side. and here a crash, a possible sig alert. reports there also this car hydroplaned and that's why i'm calling that out. vianey was talking about that. vianey is near the summit where the blue shows the puddling and ponding. watch for them as well. >> good advice. thank you, mike. >> so it is time to file your taxes but there are a lot of

questions about the next tax law. the new tool to make sure you don't owe money to the irs. >> first, happening now at 5:52, spend the gas tax soon. governor jerry brown is asking the new head to turn the gas tax hike no a quick and visible highway improvement fund. raising more than $5 billion. the royal family is doing something it's never done before. prince william will make the first official visit by a member of the royal british family to go to israel. kensington palace reports the prince will visit jordan this summer. no dates have been announced. wer

alert this morning-- as welcome back on this thursday morning. we remain in the micro climate weather alert as we probably will for some time. tracking the storms. that's a live look from our bay bridge camera on the upper left there. the metering lights are on. making for a very wet community. we're going to have full team coverage in just minutes. in an exclusive bay area investigation we uncover problems plagued by first

responders struggling to cope with the stress of a job. >> liz wagner found many of these men and women are not getting the help they need. >> reporter: thousands of firefighters responded about mental health. we started out last year by sending questionnaires to california firefighters. the survey may rank as the largest of its kind and the results are heartbreaking. we asked about everything from ptsd to problems with substance abuse. they just don't cut it and most doan believe there are support services even necessary. our survey has been called groundbreaking. >> we'll determine what is it we're doing right and, more importantly, where are the gaps. what programming do we need to get the help they need.

coming up at 11:00 the results. you'll see even though we depend on firefighters to save our lives we're not doing enough to protect theirs. that's at 11:00 on nbc bay area news. back to you. of course if you have a story you'd like our investigative unit to look into it is easy to do that. call the number 888-996-tips. or you can go to the website nbcbayarea.com/weinvestigate. it is 5:57 right now. as the gun control debate continues across the nation. a california lawmaker is proposing tougher laws here. anthony sefbs as a senator in southern california but says his most important job is being a father and the shooting in parkland, florida, hit too close to home. now he's proposing a new bill in direct response to the school shooting that would require young californians to wait until they're 21 to buy a gun.

it would force buyers to wait 30 days in between individual gun purchases. >> here we are the biggest state saying to washington that we're going to get it right while they twiddle their thumbs. >> the second amendment advocates say the bill takes advantage of a tragedy in order to advance an agenda. the bill does make an exception for hunters. people ages 18 to 20 with a valid hunting license would still be able to buy long guns. tax season is in full swing and the irs has a new tool to help you figure out your tax withholding. it's designed to help you figure out how much money you need to deduck und deduct so can you get a refund instead of owing money. couples are spending less money on their happily ever

after. overall wedding costs decreased last year because couples chose less formal weddings. the average cost rang in at over $33,000 down from 2016 when the average was a little over $35,000. the price does not include the honeymoon. the academy awards are coming up on sunday night. the red carpet is ready to go as you can see there. rolling it out. here you can see the outside all set up at the dole by theater in hollywood. for a lot of people what happens on the red carpet is just as exciting as the awards show itself. now this is the 90th year for the oscars. jimmy kimmel returns as host. it's the first time someone has hosted two years in a row since billy crystal did 20 years ago. >> wasn't that so hollywood them taking pictures of the red carpet? >> so hollywood. 6:00 right now here in the bay area. we are tracking the storm.

a live look at our radar from storm ranger this morning as rain is moving across, look at that, the entire bay area. meteorologist rob mayeda tracking it all. >> staying safe on the roads. >> and really a wet morning commute across the bay area. the impacts the storm could have on your drive. "today in the bay" continues right now. let's start out with another look at our live radar from storm ranger. really tells the story, doesn't it? one of the strongest storms to hit the bay area so far this year. you can almost challenge yourself to find a dry spot in there. i don't think so. thank you for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. full team coverage. we want to begin with meteorologist rob mayeda. right now we are seeing the heavier showers just offshore in san francisco as you just saw on the storm ranger radar approaching the coast.