spiking once again. covid cases surging, especially among children. the new response from president biden's administration and the guidance health officials urge you to take before ringing in the new year. plus, a major way in and out of tahoe back open. doesn't mean you should load up your skis just yet. this is "today in the bay." tracking our forecast, good

morning to you. >> good morning. thanks for tuning in. 45 degrees right now. we're blue. no microclimate weather alert. this is going to set us up for the next three days of dry weather overall, which will be a nice change of pace. let's take a look at the radar. pretty quiet compared to yesterday. we do still have some low clouds lingering through the morning. it's stopping temperatures from are dropping below the 30s. santa rosa, 40 degrees, napa 42. i'll take you through your forecast coming up.

covid case numbers are steadily climbing across the country. >> we have a three week snapshot of those numbers. on december 15th, fewer than 4,000 californians were hospitalized with covid. last week that number rose to just above 4,000 people. as of yesterday, nearly 5200 californians are hospitalized for covid. hospitalizations hit a high of nearly 23,000 in early january last year, then dipped down and rose again during our summer surge, reaching nearly 9,000. this uptick in cases come as many americans still struggle to get tested. >> reporter: a wave that continues to swell, the u.s. seeing a 60% surge in daily

covid cases compared to last week, largely due to the omicron variant. the contagious variant may be less severe than delta. >> i absolutely feel like i have not left the pharmacy in the last few weeks. >> reporter: in the path month adults hospitalized with covid rose by 38%. >> i feel like we're at the point of we've done everything we can to protect them and keep them safe and healthy. >> reporter: new shortened isolation guidelines from the cdc could receive staffing shortages, but the change has received criticism from those on the front line. >> we are not out of the woods. loosening these guidelines when the fire is raging, it's a bad

move in my opinion. >> reporter: health officials still citing vaccination as the most effective tool to end the pandemic. here is a look at the backup on the highway to tahoe. let's see what the latest is. good morning. >> traffic on i-80, the warning very clear, stay off the freeways if travel is not

essential. that's because it's hampering emergency responders from getting to people who need help. it's also keeping people who came to visit from going home. >> the problem is going to be the roads. too many accidents. >> reporter: cortez and his family have been stranded in south lake tahoe since this weekend. he says there's no fuel to be found in town, so they don't want to risk hitting the road and getting stuck in traffic and running out of gas. this is video he shot from their hotel window. demand for lodging for stranded travelers skyrocketing. >> normal prices are $75. when we came to the hotel, prices for one room was $450. >> reporter: residents are also asking people not to travel there right now. power outages have made for dark and cold situations for many and tourists may be making it more

difficult. >> the people that were without power were trying to get to gas stations to get gasoline for their generators, and the gas stations were all over run by people coming up trying to get to tahoe. >> reporter: pg&e has restored power to this man's home, but the power company is still racing to repair damaged equipment. >> i think all of our businesses are excited with all the snow. the skiing is going to be great. you've got a lot of snow to create that base and extend our season into the spring. now let's check in with vee they. >> when he was talking about

when it comes to still not safe to drive up there is exactly what we've been talking about all week long. wait until tomorrow and maybe even today might be a better option for some of the lower spots. let's talk about today's temperatures. we are going to see low clouds for the first half of our morning and even some areas of patchy fog. we're going to be in the upper 40s in napa, low 50s into the interior valleys, concord 50, san jose about 50 degrees. it is going to be a chilly day when it comes to the overnight lows. let's get a quick check of our traffic conditions. this is along westbound 80 near the cutting exit. it appears to be causing a little bit after a slowdown into

the richmond area. your bridge drive times doing okay. i'll be back with another look at weather and traffic coming up in just a few minutes. the travel trouble still ongoing. still ahead, the major airline cancelling even more flights amid rising covid cases and the winter blast. stay with us.

good thursday morning. temperatures right now in the 40s for the most part, but there is a windchill factor, especially for the north bay. fairfield, 37 degrees and a couple of 30s down through morgan hill. we're finally going to get some sunshine. good morning. wall street right now is set to open higher after the dow and s&p 500 closed at new records yesterday. the s&p notching its 70th record close of the year, the second most of the index since 1995 when it recorded 77 record

closes. the nasdaq bucking the trend, ending lower yesterday. with just two trading days left, the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 are poised to end the year in the green. this would be the first time since 2005 where the s&p outperformed both the dow and nasdaq. vanguard has been suffering a power outage but is working to minimize the disruption. vanguard says some customers may experience delays in their mailings as well as not be able to access statements, confirmations online. jetblue is trimming its schedule through mid january as more flight crews test positive for

covid. jetblue is cancelling 1300 flights. the move comes as u.s. airlines continue to struggle with covid driven staffing issues and bad weather. alaska air are taking the step of asking fliers to postpone nonessential travel due to the heavy snow in the pacific northwest. not exactly good news. >> that's amazing that they're cancelling that far out. >> i wonder how many people will be willing to take that offer to delay their own travel. ghislaine maxwell found guilty. next, the time behind bars she is now facing. things are finally quiet on the radar.

in the 40s right now.

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we're finally going to get a break from all the rain that we've seen, but it was very needed and it definitely helped boost our reservoir. 49 degrees in walnut creek.

in the san francisco area, it's about 45 degrees. we are going to see low clouds for the first half of the morning as the system works to completely clear out. i want to show you satellite radar. you see a much calmer picture compared to yesterday. storm ranger has been working so hard. we're ready to give him a break, at least for the next three days before more rain is on the way. right now temperatures are in the 40s for santa rosa, but the windchill factor is making it feel like it's in the 30s. daytime highs for this afternoon, it is going to clear out at times with some sunshine, but it's also going to be breezy with temperatures in the low 50s.

tonight and early tomorrow morning there is still a chance of some frosty conditions. in lake tahoe, 7 degrees right now. definitely a fantastic way to enjoy the cold if you're inside. over the next three days i want to give you an outlook of your south lake tahoe forecast. that winter weather advisory could expire. looking ahead, this is monday, january 3rd. i know i skipped over new years. i'll get to that in a second. we're going to get more rain on the way, mostly for the north bay and the north coast.

this is going to linger into tuesday and wednesday and thursday. january 7th, we get another round of rain. we are going to see the first week of january as a pretty active one overall. new year's eve, no rain, but it is going to be cold into friday night and early saturday morning. if you're going to be out and about enjoying fireworks, bundle up, enjoy the dry weather. sunday night into monday the rain moves back into the bay area and we start a new active weather pattern all over again.

fantastic commute through the tri-valley. i'll have a closer look at traffic and weather in a few minutes. the san mateo county sheriff's deputy is in mourning after the death of a young deputy sheriff trainee. the sheriff's office tells us the san jose native died of natural causes the day after christmas. his coworkers describe him as kind hearted, fun and caring and he'll be dearly missed by the sheriff's office family. after a day of deliberations, a jury has convicted ghislaine maxwell of federal sex trafficking charges. they found maxwell guilty on

five of the six charges. prosecutors argued maxwell played a pivotal role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by jeffrey epstein. her defense team argued prosecutors were only going after maxwell because epstein couldn't be prosecuted. he hanged himself in jail as he awaited trial. the jury heard testimony from 30 witnesses over three weeks. this morning one of jeffrey epstein's accusers is offering her response to the verdict. >> we were told constantly, you know, these people will never go to jail, they're too powerful, they're too rich. >> maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison. so far a sentencing date has not been set. the "today" show will have much more from the accusers at 7:00 right after "today in the bay." helping the environment next

on "today in the bay," our climate hack. the small step you can take to stay eco-friendly while drinking your daily cup of tea. the world paying tribute to archbishop desmond tutu. his body will lie instate until tomorrow at st. george's anglican cathedral. he has been recognized by the world for his lifelong fight against apartheid. grand canyon university, a christian university, is one of the largest and fastest-growing universities in the country offering over 200 engaging programs online.

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welcome back. with these cold temperatures, many of us reaching for a hot

cup of tea. >> did you know those little tea bags are actually hurting our environment? meteorologist vianey arana has a climate hack to get around that. >> there is something so relaxing about enjoying a cup of tea at any time of the day, but you might be surprised to find out that these small tea bags have an impact on our planet. that's because most tea bags are 25% plastic. a canadian study says tea bags can release billions of micro plastics into tea when heated at a certain temperature. paper tea bags aren't much better. millions of trees are cut down to make them. it's time for your climate hack. instead of buying tea bags, go for loose leaf tea instead. on any given day an estimated 150 million americans drink tea. some of us switched to using

loose leaf so we can prevent lots of trees from getting chopped down. >> it's all on nbcbayarea.com. back to our jimmy g watch and whether he will play on sunday. you might recall he suffered what coach shanahan said is a grade three sprain of his thumb ligament in last thursday's loss. that has his status for this sunday in doubt. garoppolo said yesterday he definitely has a chance to play on sunday when the niners host houston. the 49ers could clench a playoff spot this weekend if they win and new orleans loses. stanford was set to play the bears on sunday at maples pavilion. last week they had to drop out

of the game in hawaii because of health and safety protocols. the covid surge also forcing the cancellation of five college football games. the holiday bowl was cancelled, this after ucla had covid cases within its team. you saw nc state declared the winner, proudly displaying their trophy, but they're not happy with ucla. they believe a replacement team could have been found if ucla had been more transparent about dealing with covid cases. still ahead, one couple calling off their wedding for a third time now because of omicron. we speak to the bride and groom about what's next. and a live look at the san francisco skyline.

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cutting back on mask exemptions and requiring booster shots, what changes across the bay area mean for you as omicron cases climb. plus, still no verdict. the fate of disgraced ceo elizabeth holmes remains unknown as the jury goes on break. when deliberations are set to resume. this is "today in the bay."

we're broadcasting through your television and streaming live through nbcbayarea.com as well. good morning. it's thursday. i'm scott mcgrew. >> vianey is in for kari and mike, tracking our forecast and the traffic. >> good morning. it's so cold but at least it's not raining. we're done with the rain for the next couple of days. we're in the 40s right now. the reason it's going to dip down into the 30s is once we get those low clouds to back off, it will get a chance to get even colder. through about 2:00 we're going to be topping out in the 50s today. still pretty chilly and pretty normal for this time of year. heading into the overnight hours, especially into early friday morning as well as early saturday