good morning. it is sunday at 7:00 a.m. we are in another microclimate weather alert. let's take a look at the radar, as we track rain across the bay area, and the temperatures continue to drop. some areas are even seeing a little snow. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. the rain of course isn't the only concern, but the cold as well. vianey arana is here. i winter blast. >> it is. and you know, we're expecting to see a wintry mix, kind of remain out there at least for the next couple of hours, and the roads are wet, so slow it down, but here's what satellite radar is looking at right now. you could see the sierra is pretty active but so is the bay area. we definitely saw some of the heavier pockets of rain move in overnight, and the santa cruz

mountains saw some dusting of snow as well. we're expecting that again tonight. we've got that storm ranger scan up and going. we're seeing some rain starting to push through san jose right now. we saw some light rain move through san francisco and as we head in towards the afternoon, expect to keep the chance of seeing some showers but this winter weather advisory will remain in effect through 10:00 a.m. especially for all of the higher elevations, but also even into the lower elevations, talking about mt. hamilton, highway 17 the summit, it gets dangerous and add a wintry mix of slush, snow and rain. i'll have a closer look at the time line and what our models are showcasing and i'm looking ahead at a middle of the work week. it's going to be a pretty uneasy weather week. >> oh, my goodness. all right, we'll see you in 15, vianey, looking forward to it, thanks. the cold and rain is creating dangerous conditions.

we have new video this morning of snow in the santa cruz mountains. this was just about two hours ago on skyline highway 35 between black road and highway 9. snow coming down in flurries, as you can see. this is near the entrance to sunnyvale mountain park. you can see snow sticking to the ground but the benches there, so much so that cal trans workers were out early in morning plowing the road for drivers. in san francisco, umbrellas covered people dressed in winter coats on a wet and cold night. sports basement on bryant street saw an uptick in customers as they stopped in for even warmer clothes. one man visiting the bay area is hoping to make a trip to the sierra to see some snow while he's here. >> well, i am from mexico city, so mexico city is a little warm. i have never seen the snow before so i think it will be a great experience. >> sports basement for one has a daily bus that takes people to the sierra. however, today's sunday trip

already has been canceled because of the driving conditions. as i just mentioned, driving conditions in the sierra are treacherous at best. here is a live look at interstate 80 in colfax, in placer county. whiteout conditions were causing lots of spinout crashes so as a result it's so empty because the chp closed i-80, all the way from colfax to the nevada state line, that's about 70 miles. the chp reports multiple cars have spun out and lost control. look at that, here's just one of them. the chp office in truckee posted this picture of one driver who flipped over in the snow. all the rain we've been getting here in the bay area brought down this tree in santa clara yesterday. it fell near main street and sahara way around 5:30 lastenin. no one was hurt but three cars were damaged. within there 30-minutes, crews arrived to begin moving the tree. our nbc bay area app is your guide to the conditions today. be sure to download it for free. you'll know in advance what's

coming in your neighborhood. now to a mystery in the east bay. the nd ntsb will be back out today at the site of a plane crash on mt. diablo. a lot of questions remain about what happened. investigators believe the plane went down sometime friday night, but the wreckage wasn't discovered until yesterday afternoon. the faa says the pilot was on the way from hayward to lincoln, that's near sacramento, but never arrived. the single engine mooney m20 crashed into the hillside southwest of mt. diablo peak. early yesterday a family alerted authorities. >> the only reason why we were able to find it today at the time we found it was the clouds had lifted high enough so you could see it from the paved road. >> authorities believe only the pilot was on board. no identification has been made. rangers secured the area so the investigation can continue.

another small plane crash yesterday, this one near monterey. the single engine plane went down in a field at monterey bay academy airport just west of watsonville. the female pilot and her male passenger did survive. first responders had to cut a wing off the plane to get them out. they were both taken to the hospital with serious injuries. the plane is registered to an address in aptoss in santa cruz county. back here locally, san jose police are investigating the city's sixth homicide of the year, around 6:30 last night, officers pulled up to monterey road just outside the santa clara county fairgrounds. a man there had been stabbed at least once, and he later died. police detained someone, but they haven't announced more information this morning. in pacifica, two people were killed, another still fighting for their life in the hospital, after a wrong-way crash that happened early yesterday morning on highway 1 and pacifica near

clarendon road. three people were in the prius going the wrong way when it collided with a pickup truck. two passengers in the prius died at the scene. the driver is in critical condition. the two people in the pickup truck also were injured. investigators are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role. this is the second deadly wrong-way crash on a bay area highway in this past week. federal investigators with the ntsb continue to investigate the gas line fire in san francisco that damaged several buildings earlier this week. flames towered 40 feet high when a contractor struck a pg&e gas line. the ntsb announced investigators will be taking a section of the damaged fuel line to washington for inspection, and they're looking into how long it's taken pg&e to shut off the gas in several incidents over the years. >> in 2008, it was two hours and 47 minutes. in 2010 in san bruno it was 95 minutes, and in this pipeline incident, it appears to be two

hours. >> ntsb investigators say pg&e crews decided to dig into concrete to get closer to the gas line, because they thought it would be a faster way to turn it off. cal trans is planning to do more work this week on the richmond-san rafael bridge. drivers should expect delays. overnight, crews did finish a temporary repair, they bolted a larger steel plate onto the bridge's upper deck, after crumbling concrete fell on cars on thursday. cal trans will start work on a long-term fix over the next few days, weather permitting. the trouble spot is something called an expansion joint, which apparently needs regular maintenance. now to virginia's lieutenant governor, calling for an fbi investigation after a second woman accused him of sexual assault. justin fairfax said the interactions with both women were consensual. just last week, fairfax appeared poised to become virginia's next governor, after racist pictures

from the current governor's medical school jeyearbook page went viral. now fairfax's latest accuser says he raped her in 2000, when they were both students at duke university. last week, a woman accused fairfax of sexually assaulting her in 2004. some democrats say they will take action against him if he doesn't step down. >> on monday, i intend to introduce articles of impeachment on lieutenant governor justin fairfax. >> one accuser says she's prepared to testify at impeachment proceedings. at 7:08, we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, another democrat enters the 2020 presidential race. massachusetts senator elizabeth warren rallies voters. what she says she's pledging to do and how president trump's re-election campaign already is responding. plus, if you were counting on a big tax return this year, prepare to be disappointed. new numbers show just how much tax refunds are dropping.

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take a live look outside -- san welcome back, on your sunday morning, it is 7:11, no sunshine to be had, as we take a live look in downtown san jose, wet roads and rainy across the bay area. vianey arana will have your microclimate weather alert, as we are under a microclimate weather alert, in just a few minutes. massachusetts senator elizabeth warren made it official this weekend that she is running for president. just yesterday, warren kicked off her bid for the white house at a rally in lawrence, massachusetts. warren says she's running against a "rigged system" that props up the rich and powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else. >> this is the fight of ourves, america where dreams are possible and america that works for everyone.

>> the president responded with a tweet reading "today elizabeth warren, sometimes referred to by me as pocahontas, joined the race for president. will she run as our first native american presidential candidate or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? see you on the campaign trail, liz!" 7:12, we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, the most sure-fire way to catch the attention of police. shae didn't kno no she didn't knock on the front door of the station. she drove right through it. details on this bizarre incident, coming up. we are under a microclimate weather alert. we're still seeing some rain and tracking a wintry mix yet again within the next couple of hours. i'll break down the time line for you, a live look outside right now, and wheat you want to know as we head into the work week. this week on "press:here" we take you inside the business of movie theaters from expensive popcorn to new features designed to bring in adults, keep the teenagers out.

plus 5g, what does it mean and what will it cost, all ahead on "press:here" at 9:00. it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 24-month financing on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

that leave therea lasting impression. like the feeling of movement as a new journey begins, or the sight of soft fur, warmed by the morning sun. you might remember new flavours, the sound of an old friend's laugh, or a view that defies all expectations. these are the memories that stay with you, long after the moments have passed. take a live look outside -- sf from emeryville welcome back. 7:14 on your sunday morning. we are under a microclimate

weather alert. san francisco looks beautiful and clear, looking at the bay. we can expect rain off and on today, and very chilly temperatures, 44 right now. turning now to video of some anxious moments at an l.a. police station. a driver crashing right through the front door of the san pedro station. you can see a police officer come from the back, very surprised about what is sitting in front of the desk. this happened about 5:00 yesterday morning. the woman behind the wheel then backs out of the station as more officers arrive but she was trapped by a barrier and was arrested. there also was an infant in the car. fortunately no one was hurt in the incident, but police did have to set up a temporary mobile station because of the damage. why she drove into the station remains unclear. get ready for an unpleasant surprise, when you do your taxes this year. some taxpayers who thoughthey were due a large refund are

getting less than expected. others are finding they actually owe money. expe change iname. last year the irs issued nearly 111 million refunds, averaging more than $3,000 each. so far this year, the average tax refund is down 8%. >> if you're surprised by your bill this year, the most important thing that you can do is update your withholding, go back to your employer, change your withholding. >> 30 million americans are expected to owe the irs this tax season. looking ahead now on tuesday, san mateo county lawmakers will propose a new law requiring firearms be stod be stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock. lawmakers say the proposal is a common sense approach that will. in the aftermath of several deadly wildfires, a state senator from the north bay is pushing for a new of safety. senator bill dodd, a democrat from napa, wants the state to

open a wildfire warning center. the center would be linked to a network of automated weather stations across the state, and would be able to identify dangerous conditions allowing for power lines to be deactivated, and firefighters to be put in place before a fire erupts. dodd's bill was introduced this past week and currently is in the state legislature. a major snowstorm is pounding washington state, leaving nearly 50,000 people without power. seattle got about a foot of snow yesterday, that's more than the city usually gets in a year. in fact, it's theos washington governor jay ensley declared a state of emergency. many popular attractions are closed, as people are being told to stay off the eckn with viane a look at our sunday forecast. we are under a microclimate weather alert, not as bad as seattle but we're seeing snow. >> we are, not any measurable snow but thankfully it is a

weekend. last time we saw snow in the bay area hilltops it was during the week when people were driving to work. hopefully today if we get a more wintry mix, accumulation, you'll be able to go outside and enjoy it or avoid the roads at all. 40 degrees right now in san francisco. we've still got some showers pushing through and satellite radar, you could see it's pretty active, a lot of the thunderstorms that you see here are off to the north, and we've got an active sierra. zooming in closer using our storm ranger, where the rain is now in the bay area, we have some pockets of rain that are riont area, you might catch some rain. alsoin pus througan expecting to see the showers on and off again throughout the entirafst a litt mid morning. now, there is still again that winter weather advisory for the bay area hills in effect until 10:00 a.m., talking about mt. hamilton, mt. diablo, mt. tam, and highway 17, which already saw some good snow last night,

and that wintry mix, that threat will remain for the next couple of hours. judging by the models we could see another round of wintry mix falling on top of mt. tam, as we head in towards the 9:00/10:00 a.m. hours so i'm excited to see what those photos look like, if you get some amazing photos, please make sure to tag us. he sierra has been very active. as you saw, there are a lot of road closures so not going to be a good day totravel. in fact, you probably have to wait until monday evening because that winter storm warning will remain in effect through 10:00 p.m. ght gng to b good day to travel at all. they expect accumulations of teet heavy snow accumulation fall this past week, as well as friday and into last night. now, your hour-by-hour outlook, i want to show you this. notice by 9:30, the wintry mix that i was talking about, it looks like it's going to make

its path kind of over the hilltop areas bringing with it also some periods of moderate to heavy rain, and then it kind of continues on and off at about 2:30, notice once again we see that wintry mix, which is why that will be in effect that advisory through 10:00 a.m. we catch a bit of a break. notice by the afternoon in through the 10:00 p.m. hour we're not going to get heavy, heavy rain. it's just going to be cloudy and a little bit drizzly at times for the coastline and the winds ll likely kick up to breezy. hour-by-hour outlook, monday morning the majority of the rain will be off to the north, and this is what we're looking out for into the middle of the week, talking about a potential atmospheric rerti. the majority of it over central and so cal but this could impact the bay area as we head into the middle of our work week, and we're looking out for that, as we head into tuesday and wednesday, that could kick up some gusty conditions, as well as some good additional rainfall. this is definitely wintertime in the bay area. kira, i'll send it back to you. >> vianey, thanks. it is 7:21. still ahead on "today in the

bay," he calls himself a superfan, and he has all the ticket stubs to prove it, but it's how he sees the game that makes it so unique. colin resch joins us with this story next.

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we'll do it every year. i thought you'd say that - let's do it. ♪ ♪ see how investing with a j.p. morgan advisor can help you. visit your local chase branch. sporting event. but have you ever wondered how welcome back. there's nothing quite like the sights and sounds of a live sporting event. have you ever wondered how different the experience would be if you could only hear the ? here's colin resch with one man's unique view of the sports world. >> barracuda coming to the afternoon. best winning percentage in the entire american hockey league. >> this san jose guy is good. he has a good voice to listen to. he paints a picture. >> draws one by san jose over the wood, one-timer and it got through the five hole but i think they ran out of time. >> well, this wasn't patrick yarber's first time seeing hockey in san jose, there was one first to the nashville resident this past saturday. >> when i get my frequent flyer

miles and take a trip, i want to take it as far as i can, and you know, it's awesome to be able to see an nhl game in the same building on the same day. >> reporter: barracuda in the afternoon, sharks that night. this first was the latest in what has turned out to be a life time pursuit of first time visits to hockey arenas and college football stadiums all over the country. >> i decided i wanted to venture out and see, you know, different places a year and it started piling up, so i've now seen home games in all 131 of the fbs division one football stadiums, almost 1,100 hockey games. >> reporter: yarber says he's seen all those games but in actuality, what makes his story all the more unique is that he's heard them more than he's seen them. >> i've lost about 90% of my vision. in the last five years, it's been difficult. i know my days are numbered, but

thank goodness i can pick up the game on my radio and you know, the playing surface is nice and white and i know enough about the sport to know what's going on, so it's just fun to get out and see new venues, and new teams, new fan bases. >> patrick yarber, the super fan, who won't let eyesight affect his passion. >> if there's a hockey game swrrks i wa more ahead on ay in the bay." coming up, imagine losing your life savings with a single email. for many home buyers, this is their reality. scammers swiping their entire downpayment with one click. what's being done or not to stop this scam. also we're continuing to track the cold and the rain, the bay area in another microclimate weather alert. vianey arana will have the latest update on the icy conditions. it is february 10th.

we )re in another microclimate weather alert.

let )s take a look at the radar, we )re tr good sunday morning. it is february 10th. we are in a microclimate weather alert once again. let's look at the radar, as we track rain across the bay area and temperatures continue to drop. some areas are even seeing a little snow. it is 7:28. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at this microclimate weather alert. once again. >> once again, and we've got that wintry mix and it makes me laugh because people on facebook and instagram and all that are like let's get rid of the rain, i'm tired of it in the bay area. this is what satellite radar is show casing. i want to show you wider outlook. we have an active sierra, we have showers and thunderstorms off to the north. if i zoom this in now closer to just got some light shower activity. we saw a lot of that heavier rain move in overnight along with the wintry mix. of course, some of our hilltop

areas saw some snow and we expect the wintry mix chance to continue at least through the 10:00 a.m. hour. if you see we've got some rain that just kind pushed through santa cruz right now, and the winter weather advisory will remain in effect through 10:00 a.m. we'll keep our focus on hilltops, highway 17, the summit, mt. hamilton, mt. diablo, mt. tam, all areas have a shot of seeing more snow. no major accumulations but thankfully it's on a weekend, you can stay inside and stay warm or go outside and share amazing photos with us. another update in 15 minutes. the cold ayn rain is mak

snow is sticking to the ground and benches, so much so that cal trans crews went out early this morning to plow the roads for drivers. in san francisco, umbrellas and people in warm winter coats on a wet and cold night last night. sports basement on bryant street saw an uptick in customers as they stopped in for even warmer clothes. one man visiting the bay area is hoping to make a trip to the sierra to see some snow while he's here. >> well, i am from mexico city, so mexico city is a little warm. >> sports basement for one has a daily ski bus which takes people to the sierra. however shall today's trip already has been canceled because of the driving conditions. those driving conditions in the sierra are treacherous. here is a live look at interstate 80 in colfax, in placer county. whiteout conditions were causing lots of spinout crashes, so as a result the chp closed i-80

from colfax to the nevada state line, that's about 70 miles. the chp reports multiple cars have spun out and lost control. here's just one of them. look at that. the chp office in truckee posted this photo of a driver who flipped over in the snow. all the rain we've been getting here in the bay area brought down this tree in santa clara yesterday. it fell near maist a crew about half an our nbc bay area app is your guide to the conditions this weekend. be sure to download it for free. you'll know what's coming to your neighborhood in advance. now to a mystery in the east bay. the faa and ntsb will be back out today at the site of a plane crash on mt. diablo. a lot of questions remain about what happened. investigators were out yesterday, they say they believe the plane went down sometimes friday night, but the wreckage wasn't discovered until yesterday afternoon. the faa says the pilot was on the way from hayward to lincoln, near sacramento, but never arrived.

the single engine mooney m20 crashed into the hillside about two miles southwest of mt. diablo peak. early yesterday a family alerted the pilot was missing, had not landed asdule hikers spotted the debris and alerted authorities. >> the only reason why we were able to find it today at the time we found it was the clouds had lifted high enough so you could see it from the paved road.elie only the pilot was on board that aircraft at the time. released. park rangers have secured that area so that today's investigation into what happened can continue. now to another crash, this one yesterday near monterey. the single engine plane went down in a field at monterey bay academy airport just west of watsonville. the female pilot and her male passenger did survive. first responders had to cut a wing off the plane to get them out. they were both taken to the hospital with serious injuries. the plane is registered to an address in aptoss in santa cruz county.

san jose police are investigating the city's sixth homicide of the year. around 6:30 last night, officers pulled up to monterey road just outside the santa clara county fairgrounds. they found a man who had been stabbed at least once. he later died. police detained someone, but they haven't announced any information this morning. in pacifica, two people were killed, another still fighting for their life in the hospital, after a wrong-way crash that happened early yesterday morning on highway 1 and pacifica near clarendon road. three people were in the prius going the wrong way when it collided with a pickup truck. two passengers in the prius died at the scene. the driver remains in critical condition. the two people in the pickup truck also were injured. investigators are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role. this is the second deadly wrong-way crash on a bay area roadway in just the past week alone.

federal investigators with the ntsb continue to investigate the gas line fire in san francisco that damaged several buildings earlier this week. flames towered 40 feet high when will be taking a section of the damaged fuel line to washington for inspection, and they're looking into how long it's taken pg&e to shut off the gas in several incidents over the years. >> in 2008, it was two hours and 47 minutes. in 2010 in san bruno, it was 95 minutes, and in this pipeline incident, it appears to be two hours. >> ntsb investigators say pg&e crews decided to dig into concrete to get closer to the gas line, because they thought it would be a faster way to turn it off. turns out it wasn't. how well can pg&e inspect its power lines from a helicopter? that question is hanging over

pg&e in the wildfire zone of butte county. our investigative unit has been reviewing inspection records and found in the years leading up to the fire, pg&e never climbed the transmission tower believed to have started the comp. fire. it only expected it from the area. here is investigative reporter jackson van derbeken. >> reporter: while cal fire has yet to announce what caused last year's camp wildfire, pg&e has pointed to a worn hook that broke on this tower on a hillside in butte county. the company recently recounted the tower's inspection history to the judge, considering whether to impose new probation requirements on the company in the criminal case over the 2010 san bruno blast. the company lists some two dozen patrols and checks of the care beau palermo circuit, but no problem with the hook that snapped before the fire, leaving electrified lines dangling, that

could be because pg&e only checked that tower from the air for at least the last decade >> if they haven't gone up the tower in a decade, that's wrong. >> reporter: state senator jerry hill says climbing the tower is a best way to inspect one. aerial checks are no substitute. >> that's not enough information to determine the structural integrity, the corrosion of the tower or the fittings that are holding things together. >> reporter: while pg&e requires its highest voltage towers to be climbed every 3 to 12 years, lower voltage towers like those on the care beau paleromo circuit need only be climbed under special circumstances and inspected every five years with a method that has the ability to view all sides of the facilities. pg&e typically relies on ground inspection crews, records show tower number 27222 was checked from overhead in 2014, an

exception typically reserved for when ground conditions limit access. five years before that, inspect inspectors did catch a problem with wire clamp connectors, but not the hook that later failed. >> they didn't find anything. >> reporter: attorney dario decataldi who is suing the company over the camp fire, says aerial inspections were clearly ineffective. >> if they can't find a problem like this in looking at this tower over 20 times over a ten-year period, if they can't find that problem, this gives me no confidence about the rest of their transmission system. >> reporter: california regulators leave it up to utilities to choose how they want to inspect their towers, and pg&e says aerial inspections allow it to comply with state and federal regulatory requirements and to identify and address safety and reliability

issues. but for hill, the aerial method isn't good enough. >> if you're going to rely on the integrity of that infrastructure, and if you're going to put people's lives at risk by not doing it properly, and that's what may have happened in this case. >> reporter: jackson van derbeken, "nbc bay area news." after a sexual predator on the peninsula was sentenced to prison the san mateo county sheriff's office is asking other possible victims of his to step forward. 71-year-old daniel miranda admitted to multiple inappropriate acts with multiple young girls dating as far back as the early 2000s. he pleaded no contest and was sentenced friday to ten years in prison. police say a number of victims have already come forward but they fear there are more. they're asking anyone who has had contact with daniel miranda or allowed him to be around your children to contact authorities. alameda police need your help finding this man. they say he stole from burma

superstar, a popular restaurant in san francisco, but this location is on park street in alameda. the theft happened wednesday at the restaurant's business offices. no word on what or how much this man stole. virginia's lieutenant governor is calling for an fbi investigation, after a second woman has come forward accusing him of sexual assault. justin fairfax said the interactions with both women who have accused him were consensual an. he appeared poised last week to become virginia's next governor following racist pictures from the current governor's page. now fairfax's latest accuser says he raped her in 2000, when they were both students at duke university. last week, a woman accused fairfax of sexually assaulting her in 2004. some democrats say they will take action against him if he doesn't step down.

>> on monday, i intend to introduce articles of impeachment on lieutt she's prepared to testify at impeachment proceedings. it is 7:40ht ahead on "toda bay," it may have been raining, but spring was in the air at oracle park. the giants hosted their fan fest yesterday, but the buzz was all about a player who may soon be wearing orange and black. laura brit of nbc sports bay area is next. this is my buick. how are we gonna fit in your mom's buick? easy. i like that new buick. me too. i was actually talking about that buick. i knew that. did you? buick's fresh new lineup is full of surprises. get great deals on our expectation-shattering lineup. pay no interest for 72 months on most buick models.

laura britt here at the xfinity sportsdesk. the first weekend without football could only mean one thing, baseball is just around the corner. the unofficial kickoff to the giants season started with fan fest at the newly minted oracle park, and despite the weather, there was plenty of excitement as reports swirled about bryce harper's decision potentially landing him in san francisco.

that's all still up in the air, but it was the players that are already on the 2019 roster that fans got some facetime with, plenty of autographs and pictures getting take dot to wait long to see this team in action. pitchers and catchers report in just five days, then it's full-on spring training. the ice? the sharks and the oilers in edmonton, team teal looking for their fifth straight win. first period no score. seven lebank gets things going with a shot through traffic and that, my friends, was just the warmup. second period 2-0 sharks. evander kane finds lebank and he finds the back of the net again. 3-1 sharks, plenty of hockey to be played but lebank says i don't care, i'll score again. first hat trick and the sharks get their fifth straight win 5-2 the final as they beat the oilers. next up they head to vancouver to face the ka numberings on monday.

we'll be back with more news after the break. this is not a bed.

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were dealt shocking blows when scammers stole their entire down payments. welcome back. working to take action for some bay area home buyers who were dealt shocking blowsacke into emails and le savings overseas. c consumer investigator chris chmura is working to bring national attention to this scam. >> the power brokers are letting people know about this scam yet people keep falling for tefr day. we wanted to start an open national conversation, go big, but we got shut down so we spent small and had to fly 2,700 miles east to get insiders talking. >> i appreciate everyone coming by. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: it's a miracle our cameras are here, outside boston. it's true, we were invited to this historic law office. >> you ought to be asking yourself what can i do about this? >> reporter: but this very small, very private and very blunt meeting is not the kind of thing you'd ordinarily let a ne

>> reporter: here, real estate >> why are the criminals doing this? >> reporter: how hackers are stealing their clients downpayments. >> traheled more than 2,000 miles to hear agents horror stories but i'm not the only west coaster here. >> people fall for it all the time. >> reporter: nate baker is from the bay area, too. he travels the country and hosts confidential meetings like this, wherever people will listen. baker started a company called qualia in san francisco. it helps process home sales and aims to stop the scam. qualia offers agents software with a digital safe room of sorts. baker says all home buying communication goes through qualia, with only trusted and verified participants allowed inside. >> that locks everything down, and makes it more difficult for any fraud or phishing attacks to happen. >> reporter: other companies offer similar safe room technology but baker says few agents are using it. our investigation has shown lots of agents communicate with personal emailhi

infiltrate. >> we need to build a for fres. >> reporter: closing agent barry feij gold is the exception. >> it helps us. >> are this is aprotecting consumers, should it be required? >> i believe so. >> reporter: the large real estate groups could require agents to use secure software, make it a condition of membership, but they don't. the people at this small meeting told us there's a bigger, more fundamental problem. this gathering is rare. the industry is reluctant to even talk about the scam. should there be more discussions like this out in the open? >> yeah, there needs to be a lot more conversation about this. i think people have the view, oh, it won't happen to me. >> reporter: but people are losing money virtually every day. there was even a case right near the boston office where this meeting took place. hackers took ted williams $300,000 downpayment. >> it's gone. there's no recovering that. >> reporter: and yet the most influential players in the nation told us they never met like this to discuss stopping it. so we arranged a first of its

kind national meeting. the associations of realtors, mortgage brokers and title companies committed to an open brainstorming session in d.c., but the realtors canceled and privately hosted their own meeting. we were not invited. the realtor association told us it is addressing the scam, with agent training, warnings on its website and this youtube video. >> criminals are currently hacking into email accounts. >> reporter: it's been viewed 28,000 times, impressive, but nowhere close to reaching the association's 1.3 million members, or the more than 10 million people who bought a house since it was posted. >> i think they need to do a lot more. >> reporter: nate baker feels national, tech and security standards are urgently needed to protect home buyers, as well as -- >> it's necessary to lock down communication. >> reporter: more open meetings like this one. >> this issue is not going to go away. >> reporter: where agents can be honest about the nonstop hack attack. >> this really hits home. >> reporter: and get the message

out. >> and we have to do something about it. >> after that eye-opening meeting in boston, we have two recommendations for buyers. first, insist that your agents never use personal email for business. that's how many hackers get in. second, shop around for a title company. don't just take the one your agent offers, and when you're shopping around, ask if they have a safe room to block hackers. our digital team has produced this short video about the home buying scam and how to protect yourself. it's posted on our website, nbcbayarea.com/responds. you can also tell us about your consumer problems on that web page or you can call us. the number is 888-996-tips. >> always good information from chris chmura. it is 7:51. still ahead on "today in the bay," freezing temperatures across the country have led to this rare phenomenon involving fruit. we'll explain, coming up. >> and we have a winter storm advisory that will remain in

effect through 10:00 a.m., talking about a wintry mix expected once again for the bay area hills. we've already seen some overnight. i'll take you to the futurecast in a bit. stay with us.

good sunday morning. it is 7:54, and we're still seeing some rain out there. this is a live look right our golden gate camera. we've got some raindrops out there but we did see the heavier rain move in late last night and into early this morning. here is a look at satellite th is a wide we've got plenty of activity just far off te plentyf activity just south of us, and

that means if you're going to be traveling either up north or down to l.a., using the grapevine, you want to download our nbc bay area app because we're dealing with some pretty crazy weather conditions. we've got a wintry mix going on, and this is what our storm ranger is capturing now. things have calmed down quite a bit. we see showers just near the san francisco area and then if i kind of zoom this in, we have showers pushing in through san rafael right now, and then further in through san jose we don't have as much rain but we saw rain push through within the past couple of hours. one thing we're going to keep an eye out for is the possibility of seeing another round of wintry mix snow throughout the next couple of hours, so here it is. we've got that winter weather advisory, this is mainly why we're under a microclimate weather alert so that you can be aware headed out to the hilltops or if you live near the hilltops. mt. tam, mt. hamilton, mt. tam, mt. diablo and highway 17 are all going to

be good areas of seeing the possibility of more snow, especially in through the next couple of hours until about 10:00 a.m. so that's when we're expecting that advisory to expire. in fact, we already saw some overnight, and here peace what we're dealing with, low snow levels, you could see right through the 9:00/10:00 a.m. hour. it kind of stops, you could see the system begins to trail off but look at mt. hamilton. we've got a good mixture through there. look at how the sierra is doing. we're expecting to keep that winter storm warning through about 10:00 p.m. and a lot of the roads are completely closed off because of those dangerous travel conditions so if you planned to or have family up there, they probably will have the best shot of driving down maybe tomorrow once that storm warning expires. we're going to be seeing additional snow accumulations through today. here is a look at your hour-by-hour outlook. we have instability out there, pockets of rain expected to push through until about 10:30 and then where you see sort of the white, purposing, blue hues is where we could see more

accumulations in the higher elevations. all right, so for the next seven days, we have a couple of changes. we're going to catch a break later this evening, and the majority of that rain will stay off to the north into monday morning, but we're looking out for this system, and this one is going to be more centered through central and southern california, but it is a bit of an atm toser bring some moisture also dipping into the bay area, along with gusty conditions. so very active weather pattern this week. unfortunately, we've got rain for the work week. >> oh, my goodness. all right. it is winter, as you said. >> it is. >> we'll take it. before we go, we want to show you this beautiful site, the record cold across the country created quite the spectacle in michigan, a phenomenal called ghost apples. they're used to snow there, right, but this rare site was caused by freezing rain. it coated apple trees and froze in the shape of apples. the apples inside frozen to mush, and as the grower pruned

the tree shaking the branches, he said the mush melted through, leaving only the shape of the a. >> wow. so beautiful. >> frozen water. the ghost apple left behind. gorgeous, like christmas tree ornaments or something. thanks for making us a part of your morning. we'll have more local news for you tonight at 4:30, 6:00 and 11:00 and all day on nbcbayarea.com. what's better than having fast, reliable wifi with coverage throughout your home? how about having internet that can help you save on wireless phone service? xfinity gives you the fastest speeds for all your devices. plus, now that xfinity mobile is included,

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this sunday, the democratic divide. >> when government works, only for the wealthy and the well connected that is corruption plain and simple. >> some progressives are pushing hard for goals like a green new deal. >> i don't think that we lose elections by addressing climate change. >>ut other democrats worry they're being impractical. >> i know congress won't pass med care for all. >> i'll ask senator michael bennet about this divide. wall.

>> we need security. it's not an option. >> will he