who knows what will happen in the next couple of months. it's really frustrating. right now at 4:30 help is on the way. the temporary relief set to roll out for restaurants and small businesses across the state who are struggling to stay afloat. in crisis mode. a look inside southern california hospitals that are already dealing with an overflow of covid-19 patients. the solution doctors are trying to find in meeting that demand. clear skies for now. vianey arana is tracking when

that wet weather is set to return to the bay area later this week. "today in the bay" starts right now. thanks so much for making your morning start with us. i'm marcus washington. mike has a look at the commute in just a bit. first we want to get a look at the forecast today. vianey tracking when we'll get the wet rain. yeah, we have a couple of changes coming our way and that rain could make its arrival as early as tonight. so let's get to our live look over walnut creek because, of course, once again we're waking up to these cold 30s in the bay area. 38 degrees and meanwhile over in san francisco 41, which is actually pretty cold for san francisco. a cold 39 degrees right now. we're starting out dry, but this is what we're monitoring now. doppler radar, you can see the satellite there. we can see an increase in cloud cover, and as we head into the later portion of, i would say,

the second half of our day when we'll see some rain pushing through the north bay and then beginning to spread a little bit southward. we're not expecting a washout of a night or a day. it's going to be a quick moving storm and then we have even more rain on the way for the weekend. let's check in with mike. good morning, vianey. when it's cold, it's not the blanket of fog. there was some fog and now you see a move from the south side where the camera is up mid span. there's low clouds floating around. do be aware but the map shows you there's not really the problem. the highlighted yellow where we see the fog affecting 101 across that area. north of the golden gate bridge and that's about it right now, marcus. small businesses struggling to survive during the pandemic. the state will begin accepting

applications for grants. that grant money is expected to be awarded in january. not sure when that help will arrive. >> who knows what will happen in a couple more months. >> reporter: david isn't sure what the future holds for his restaurant but the community in san rafael is showing its support. >> first of all, thank you so much for being here. small businesses are turning to community fund-raisers trying to survive. they can apply for grants up to $25,000 from the state's small biscoe individual 19 relief grant program. he is applying but isn't banking on it. >> it's not first come first served. the money will run out real fast. >> a piano bar, thinking of

doing jazz on sundays. >> reporter: in the new never opened lion's den entertainment space. >> we're signed off ready to go. >> and sam's restaurant. a venue he's not allowed to open and a restaurant that can only serve takeout would provide some relief, but he's applied for covid grants before. >> we either didn't get them or, sorry, you don't qualify. >> reporter: he's hoping the state program will be different. >> that money will come in handy during these couple of months and, like i say, with the vaccine there is hope that we can hold on until spring. >> reporter: jean elle, "today in the bay." happening today supporters of a peninsula brewery will take to the streets to protest county health orders. the shutdown is unlawful. this comes after it was in

violation of health orders at the beginning of the pandemic. supporters will march from the brewery to rock system away beach and then back. the protest starts at 1:00 p.m. colorado is confirming the first known case right here in the u.s. of that more infection covid-19 mutation that has been spreading rapidly in parts of the uk. it's a man in his 20s with no travel history. officials aren't sure how he actually got this virus but he is recovering in isolation just south of denver. an infectious disease specialist says that the mutation allows covid to stick to your cells easier so that it can replicate faster. she believes it's already spreading around the country. >> it will spread from person to person faster and is likely to take over the strain. >> the worry is cases and

hospitalizations will increase. dr. gandhi says there is good news that new strain does not cause more serious symptoms and the vaccines will protect people going against it. >> stay-at-home orders extended for southern california and san joaquin valley. the governor making that call yesterday. both regions are now with zero percent availability. the bay area only 10% of icu beds available. our stay-at-home order expires january 8th. that is a week from friday. in the meantime one los angeles hospital is taking extreme measures to deal with its surge in patients. riverside community hospital is converting the former cafeteria into an alternative care space to handle those waiting for hospital beds. what's more, nine members of california's national guard are now stationed at the hospital to help its emergency department. one noncovid patient is sharing

her experience while trying to get care at another hospital. >> the second visit into the e.r. when i was in the hall and being treated in the hall, that is when i had to go into the restroom to have my catheter removed while in the restroom because there were no rooms available. >> riverside community hospital is currently treating more than 200 covid-19 patients. meantime in san diego county hospital officials say that they are rolling out of room -- they are running out of room to hold all those bodies. hospitals have had to rely on county medical examiners and other mortuaries because of exceeding capacity. race for a vaccine. seniors and staff at walnut creek facility will receive their first doses of the covid-19 vaccine today. its facility is actually among the first communities to do so in northern california. the vaccinations begin at 11:00

this morning. so when is it your turn? check out our interactive tool. it will ask you a few questions and then give you a rough estimate of your place in line for that vaccine. there's a link on it on our nbcbayarea.com website. click the link where you stand in the vaccine line at the top of our trending bar. now to a live look at the roads in the sierra. you can see there a man is just walking on the snow right there. just having a good old time. and happening today for you the department of water resources will hold its first snow survey of the season and will check the water content and snowpack near highway 50 at tahoe road. we have been talking about that weather. we have the rain here, vianey. they have a nice amount of snow up there? how much snow did they get up there? >> they definitely got a good amount of snow up in the sierra. that put our snowpack at 55%.

as of the latest check. and then we have more snow on the way this weekend thanks to more storms. it will be looking good up in the sierra which is fantastic to see. we do have our first storm moving in later this afternoon so let's take you through the hour by hour outlook. a weaker storm. we're not expecting a huge rainmaker. notice right around 7:00 a.m. up to the north bay, santa rosa, san rafael areas, north of the golden gate bridge a couple of light showers and it sort of falls apart. as we head into the evening, that's where we're expecting to see the rain move southward. i'll go into more detail on that. let's check in with mike. vianey, we're looking at light traffic flow now until next week when folks start to come back to do more work, i guess. they might need to drive around. the green sensors show you the slowing. i did spot a series of red sensors going eastbound across 84, the dumbarton bridge. there are no incidents to report in the area that i've heard

about, and so that's the good news. usually a sensor read update or one slower vehicle. coming out of the altamont no slower vehicles with that arrow on 580. a live look shows you here, marcus, you have company but you don't have problems. we're at the speed limit through the dublin interchange. back to you. thanks, mike. rolling out of new rounds of vaccines. still ahead on "today in the bay," who is next in line for the covid shot on capitol hill? plus, when is it safe to do so. the four seasons has a new perk. you're watching "today in the bay."

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you mean like this one? why choose one when you can have two? my 2 for $5 bagel breakfast sandwiches. good morning. it is 4:42 and a cold start. novato below freezing at 28 degrees, which means the patchy, frosty conditions especially, napa 32 degrees. we will eventually warm up into the upper 50s and tracking some rain chances for later this evening. i'll have the full details on what to expect coming up in just a few minutes. mike? i hope we expect to warm up a little bit. getting out to the roadways, we expect more traffic but not a whole lot of problems. now yesterday this stretch of 880 did show slowing north of high street. that was about 24 hours ago. we'll check on the crew and see

if you might have any problems. we would advise 580. a bigger look coming up, marcus. back over to you. for many of us the pandemic ruined our 2020 travel plans and now many people are now looking forward to finally cashing in their vacation time. the four seasons resort at disneyworld wants to help you out so is offering a full package saving guests 20% on booking costs. the package includes several connected suites so you can safely socially distance with family. when can we even do that? if you thought 2020 was the most stressful year ever, you might want to think again. historians say 2020 is only the eighth worst year in u.s. history. the 9/11 terror attacks was ranked number seven. the worst year in u.s. history was the peak of the american civil war in 1862. 2020 also ranked number six worldwide behind the pandemic

and the holocaust. new york city gearing up for new year's eve as many look to leave 2020 behind. in final preparation for the big moment when we kick 2020 to the curb, testing the giant ball today. the ball will be lit up and sent up the 130-foot pole atop number one times square. facing fallout next on "today in the bay." the new traction the gavin newsom recall this morning. colgate optic white renewal

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here we go wednesday, hump day, and the last wednesday of this year. here we go. it's always interesting the last week of the new year. or the old year, going into the new year, right? it's always one of those times -- >> it is. >> wow. we made it. we made it. almost there. >> don't jinx it. do not jinx it. >> don't speak too soon. laura and i are like, wait, no. >> okay. >> vianey, just take it away. just take it away. all right, girl. let's talk about the weather now. it's a great -- i get what you mean, marcus. i get what you mean but not this year. we're not messing with it. think about clear skies and we do have a really cold start. we're talking below freezing in novato. when i saw this, wow, they must have some frost.

if you're watching us and do have frosty conditions, snap a picture and share it with me, please. i would love to share it on social media and give it a shout out. napa, 32. livermore, 33. even san jose dipping down into the 30s. 39 degrees. it is so cold. we will warm up eventually, though, into the 50s. i want to show you the 24-hour temperature change because novato is running five degrees colder compared to yesterday. so what's up next? we are tracking rain for this evening. doppler radar, you can see the satellite there. the approaching system. it's not going to be a complete washout of a day. we're expecting to see this rain move in really late. we have our storm ranger up and running for that. the radar is quiet. our microclimate highs will be in the 50s, so slightly cooler compared to yesterday. just one or two degrees. seasonable for this time of year. if you have to head to the beach for any reason, there is a beach hazard statement in effect because of sneaker waves and rip currents in place until 10:00

p.m. the hour by hour outlook. a good shot you might see some late showers right before 9:00 a.m., maybe even around palo alto. it dries out. we get a break. look what's behind that. more rain but very spotty. so, again, not widespread. not a huge rainmaker. just a couple areas of drizzle. some may not even make it to the ground. don't worry, we have more rain on the way. it looks like we will see another storm move if late on friday into saturday and then again on sunday night. so we have several storms interacting to create a bit of an atmospheric river event heading into monday night and tuesday, january 5th. that's going to be something to watch out for especially for the north bay. a look at the seven-day forecast. keep that umbrella handy. we'll have a dry new year's eve. we'll have a dry friday morning. it looks like now the timing is more into friday evening and

sort of stays cloudy and rainy at times for the first week of january. mike, let's get a check of the roads. all right, vianey. the roadways are dry. obviously you talk about changes ahead. but we're looking at clear roadways as we look at the green sensors dominating the map. the whole map. the south bay, no problem. coming in from the south county, over to the east bay there are patches like the oakland patch which are clearing early actually. i expect to see a little slowing. cleared from the department of transportation grid. and so that's great news traveling through oakland. for the nimitz, no need for the 580 alternate. one crash in the north bay i've circled in vallejo. a smaller crash. we'll track that. a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. we had no metering lights yesterday. i'm predicting the same for today, laura. back to you. all right, thank you very much, mike. new details this morning, a federal judge is blocking president trump's attempt to keep immigrant children at the

u.s. border. "the chronicle" reports the children must be released to a parent or guardian in the u.s. as soon as possible due to a 1997 legal settlement. the settlement requires i.c.e. to put the children in the least restrictive setting available. the trump administration has been trying to end the settlement since 2019 because of an influx of immigrants coming to the border and new confinement regulations. according to the sf gate the money came from an orange county consulting firm and organizers say they have 800,000 signatures to force a recall election. a live look at capitol hill, members of the congress and senate staffers will receive the vaccine. they have received guidance from the capitol ofls of the attending physician that limited

staff are allowed to receive the vaccine. an email was sent to congressional offices. the house and senate staff must have an onsite role. back in action on the court. up next on "today in the bay," the highlights from the warriors big victory and what lies ahead this week. plus, the royal rollout. a first look at prince harry and meghan markle's first podcast and the famous guest joining them. scientists are keeping a close eye on a volcano that's erupting on hawaii's big island this is new video from usgs hawaiian volcanic observatory. they are taking those measurements from the part of that road that collapsed into the crater. lava erupting and volcanic gases are blowing out. they say this can be dangerous for people with heart or respiratory problems, infants, young children and pregnant women. that eruption started last week. we'll be right back.

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the warriors finally heading home. so far four games this season on the road and all without draymond green. he's out with that foot injury. while in detroit last night steph curry had 31 points. the warriors won 116-106. they're 2-2 on the season. they host the blazers at the chase center on friday night. the best story in sports in the bay area san jose state football getting ready for the biggest game of the season. that bowl game against ball state. 19th ranked spartans are 7-0. the team's most successful season in more than 80 years. kickoff is tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. a virtual pep rally is planned for today.

trending this morning prince harry and meghan markle's first ever podcast is here. >> and they are inviting famous guests to reflect on 2020. take a listen. >> fill in the blank, 2020, the year that -- >> the year when we start taking our existence for granted. >> the year defined by vulnerability and uncertainty. >> the year that made us all look closely at ourselves. >> the year that empathy shows up on every corner of planet earth. >> you may have recognized some of the voices there. the 33-minute show includes sir elton john and chopra. not only do they look back but ahead revealing their hopes for the new year. the couple's son, archie, a little more grown up in these pictures, also taking part in the podcast. you can listen to the full show

now on spotify. also trending, a big congrats to music legend paul mccartney. the beatles member back on top. he posted this video on twitter to celebrate his album three which just hit number one on the charts. this is the first time he's had an album at the top of his native uk charts since 1989. check your bank accounts and when those stimulus checks are on the way. will you get one in your bank account as early as this morning? >> if can you get me one that would be great, marcus. plus, more signs of hope. the vaccine the uk is green lighting and it comes as the country deals with more infections. crafting our authentic fragrances

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working families need help now. not next year. right now. >> right now at 5:00, far from over. our washington insider breaks down the debate on capitol hill still looming over more relief checks for struggling americans. the money you can expect to roll into your accounts as early as this morning. plus, the one-two punch. cases surging across the country just as a new strain makes its way to the u.s. a live report on the growing concerns and what is now being done at airports to try to stop the spread.