good morning. it is sunday, december 11th. 7:00 as we take a live look outside toward a cloudy san francisco, from the murrayville camera, towards the bay bridge. a dark and chilly morning out there. thank you so much for starting it with us. hope you're dry and warm, wherever you are. i'm kira klapper. we remain under a microclimate weather alert, just like we were yesterday morning. we do have team coverage, tracking those wet and windy conditions. let's bring in forecasters vianey arana and cindy apimentel. it was pouring on my drive in earlier this morning.

>> it's nice to see, but when you're inside, right? outside, it's something else. >> it was definitely raining cats and dogs out there. >> yeah. >> good morning, everybody. we are still under a microclimate weather alert because we've still got a lot of instability out there. so check out satellite radar right now. this blue that you see here is all of that sierra snow. we have some lightning strikes as well popping up on the map, just upshore and through parts of lake tahoe. we've been watching this when it comes to the rain, and it's not going to be as much as yesterday. >> no, definitely the activity, the bulk of the activity was yesterday, saturday. today, it's going to be a little bit more scattered, vianey. so possibly the chance to get outside, as well, as we take you out to storm ranger, it is currently scanning over san bruno mountain, and you can see it for yourself on our nbc bay area map as well, and get alerts to when the rain is coming on to your neighborhood, too. so we're going to walk you through the scattered activity today and we'll see what monday has in store, as well. and we'll also go through those rain totals that we saw since the storm moved in on friday

night. we'll also take you up to the sierra, where they are seeing very impressive snow totals. and behind this storm system this weekend, we have a very cold blast of air. we're going to walk you through the week ahead and talk about those frosty temperatures and the possibility for some more rain. kira, i'll send it back to you. >> cynthia and vianey, thanks so much. before we get to our top story, we have breaking news to tell you about. one person was killed after being hit by a car on the san mateo hayward bridge. it happened just before midnight on eastbound 92. the chp says that there was a two-car crash on the bridge and one person from one of those cars got out of their car and was then hit by a passing car. we don't know whether that driver who hit that person stayed at the scene. the people in the initial crash were extricated from their car and taken to the hospital. the bridge is now reopened this morning. and back to the weather this weekend, the storm already has packed quite a punch, and as cynthia and vianey mentioned,

it's not done yet. rain is still coming down in parts of the bay area, creating wet and dangerous conditions. you can see the slick roads from a few of our cameras. and as cynthia and vianey said, the rain from off the coast is headed right towards us. the wind died down a little overnight, but now we're watching for a chance of thunderstorms. also last night, another problem, some 1200 customers were dealing with power outages. the lights were out across the bay area from the north bay to the south bay, including this neighborhood in milpitas. pg&e had crews fanned out last night, and a majority of those outages have been extraordinary. some of last night's heaviest rain fell in the santa cruz mountains and in the south bay. hours of the unrelenting rain caused all kinds of problems in other places, as well. "today in the bay's" marianne favro shows us the impact. >> take a look at this flooding here on this bike path near campbell. while the rain certainly made it

difficult for bikers today, it was drivers who felt the biggest impact. heavy rains and strong winds took down this tree off of highway 680 in san jose. traffic slowed to a crawl as crews used a chainsaw to remove the trunk. in milpitas, a storm-related power outage impacting more than 2,000 pg&e customers caused traffic signals to go dark. as a result, it was slow and go for drivers, as they treated each intersection as a four-way stop. the rain also created big cleanup jobs, especially after the lark avenue on-ramp off of highway 17 flooded. this trail outside of campbell also flooded, leaving it better suited for boats than bikes. >> we were surprised to see this much rain, especially now, in december. because i believe last year, we didn't get much rain. >> reporter: he says it was worth getting out during the storm because of this. she spotted a beaver playing in

the raging river. >> i was super surprised. >> reporter: but the rain did put a damper on businesses, thinning out holiday shopping and dining crowds in campbell. and because of a power outage this morning, this starbucks briefly had to rely on a backup generator to keep the coffee brewing. marianne favro, "today in the bay". >> and those gusty winds brought down trees in sonoma county yesterday, causing major headaches. in monte rio, toppled trees crashed down on to four homes and several cars. one woman we spoke with was there for a hiking trip. next thing she knew, her car and her friends' cars were crushed under heavy redwood branches. >> we knew it was a tree limb somewhere. we were grateful for being inside and not outside and trying to stay safe. enjoying the weather. but this was a little bit much. more than we anticipated. >> fortunately, no one was hurt. the fire department says drought may be to blame for the fallen

trees. they are dry and brittle. so with a little bit of rain and a lot of wind, they fall much more easily. so the warnings from authorities continue this morning. use caution if you're heading out on the roads. you're taking a live look at our traffic camera on 580 in richmond. you can see, it is slick out there. "today in the bay's" alyssa goard has a closer look at the conditions. >> reporter: rain and wind pummeled bay area roads. >> it was terrible. soy came from the -- you know, the bay area. my vehicle was like, you know, shaking. and i -- so definitely, when i noticed that, i slowed down my speed and i, you know, i was below 50. >> reporter: there was no shortage of traffic incidents, spinouts, collisions, and even serious injuries. >> obviously, this is an incredibly busy time for us. >> reporter: california highway patrol who's responding to those crashes says that you should make sure your car is ready for winter conditions. that means a full tank of gas,

working windshield wipers, and good tires. >> if you do not have a good tires on your vehicle, you're likelihood of hydroplaning, spinning out is exponentially higher. >> reporter: extra careful driving will be necessary throughout the weekend, even if rain isn't actively falling, because there's still going to be water on the roads. he urges you to slow down, to protect people working in the rain, including other chp officers. >> please just give us our space, slow down, keep us safe while we're trying to keep everyone else safe. >> reporter: we called multiple local towing companies, but everyone said that they were completely booked. alyssa goard, "today in the bay". >> make sure to download our nbc bay area app. it is free and it will give you exclusive access to our mobile doppler radar. we'll also send you alerts minutes before the rain arrives where you are. and rain here means snow up in tahoe. yesterday saw whiteout conditions in the sierra.

cal trans s says 6 inchches of snow is falling every hour. lolook at that, the r road condnditions arere dangerousus. i-i-80 frorom clflfax to thee n statee line,, closesed this s m. thatat is 95 m miles o of road totally shuhut down. we spoke w with some drivers wh have been stuckck for hours n n thee summit last night.t. >> we can't r rush mother natur so while we'rere herere, migigh well m make the best of it. heavy, i it's not conduciveve t travel, but,t, yeah, thankful made it this far. sounds like we'll be able to make it home tonight. >> what an admiral, calm demeanor. here's a live look at i-80 this morning. still hardly any cars on the roads. wow, still plenty of snow. i thought that was a chair lift. that's a road sign. cal trans has no estimated time

on when the road will reopen. speaking of chair lifts, take a look at this video from heavenly ski resort. you can see the wind just knocking around that chair lift. we also have video from palisades, tahoe. a member of the maintenance team shot this on the upper part of the mountain. palisades tahoe says they will delay their opening because of this storm. we're going to shift gear now, happening today, iranian americans in the bay area will continue their efforts to raise awareness of the ongoing uprising in iran. today, there will be a rally in san francisco. this is video of last week's rally in the city. the group is urging others to join their demand for the release of all political prisoners in iran. they're also hoping to put pressure on the iranian government to halt its harassment and detention of iranians rightfully exercising their right to free expression. and an end to executions of protesters there. the rally begins at the ferry building and the group will

march to pier 39. it starts at 1:00 p.m. it is 7:09 right now. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, we take you live to washington, d.c. for our weekly interview with chuck todd for a preview of this week's "meet the press." - life is uncertain. everyday pressures can feel overwhelming it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. it's normal. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today.

welcome back. please join me in welcoming nbc news political director and moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd, who has a preview of today's show. hi, chuck! as always, thanks for joining us this morning. i want to start with kyrsten sinema leaving the democratic party and registering as an independent. in the same week that raphael warnock won the race in georgia, giving the democrats control of the senate, so does sinema's departure impact their hold? >> it doesn't impact the governing of the senate or the organizing of the senate, even though she said she's no longer caucusing with the democrats, actually, that's exactly what she's agreed to do, because,

she's getting to keep her subcommittee chairmanships. and that only comes if she's agreeing to let the democrats organize. there is no 50/50 senate. had she registered as an independent and then moved over and organized with the republicans, then we would have created the same situation that we had last, this current congress, even split on committees. it would have gummed things up a bit more for democrats. so she did enforce that action. the 51-49 organizational split is still the same. but what she did complicate is democratic party chances for carrying the state of arizona, both in a senate race and the presidential in 2024. because this is going to divide the arizona democratic party viciously, i think, over the next two years. >> all right, we'll keep an eye on that. i want to take a turnout of brittney griner's release from russia in exchange for russian arms dealer, victor booth, who served time for conspiring to

kill americans. some critics think that the u.s. gave in to blackmail, to the kremlin, but under federal sentencing rules, i read that boot could have actually been released from prison in five years. so you have u.s. attorney -- the u.s. attorney who actually prosecuted booth ten years ago. does he think this release puts us in any imminent danger of giving in or being weak? >> right. well, look, he's hesitant to say that. as he said, look, this man was dangerous in 2009, 2010. we don't know whether he can immediately pick up where he left off, right? that is an unknown question on that front. but, that is the concern that, you know, look, the fact is, we've done some trades before on this front, whether it's with russia. we've done spy-for-spy trades and all of this. this is not a new thing. but it does feel as if putin has figured out that detaining american citizens, he gets more

out of it than the west does. and he's going to get -- you've got an arms dealer for a basketball player and he's about to get spies for a businessman from michigan, in paul whelan. because i do think the biden administration is doubling down, putin has made clear what he wants. he wants america to tree whelan if he was a spy, so he wants a spy in return. the u.s. doesn't have any russian spies in custody, but some of our allies do, so there'll probably be something there. that's the long-term concern. and i'll tell you this, kira, i wouldn't recommend any american, whether you're in business, culture, or government to travel on your own to places like russia, china, and maybe even saudi arabia or turkey, because american citizens that are detained are leverage, pure and simple. >> right. it's -- people are saying this is incentivizing them to lock up americans, so to speak.

chuck, as always, thanks for your insight. we hope you join chuck for this morning's "meet the press." he'll have an exclusive interview with senator jon tester and an interview, as mention, with former u.s. attorney, preet bharara. tune in to "meet the press" at 8:00 a.m., right after this newscast. and coming up in about 30 minutes from now, we'll talk to nbc bay area political analyst, larry gursten for our weekly segment. we'll take a look at governor newsom's efforts to tax the oil industry's profits and the hurdles he faces. turning now to wafflemaker ego, now being find $85,000 for releasing toxic gas into san jose. according to the santa clara district attorney, the release happened in january of last year. the d.a. says that it happened after a sub-contractor damaged a pipe that began leaking ammonia. ego managers did not call 911

until more than an hour later. people in the area were forced to shelter in place. engo was criminally charged with negligence. ego says it is upgrading its systems and procedures. now to our ongoing coverage of covid changes in the bay area and mask mandates returning to one local university. san jose state announced a change via email beginning tomorrow, everyone is strongly encouraged to wear a mask indoors. masks will be required at the student wellness center and spartan pantry. and then on december 19th, masks will be required in all indoor settings until covid numbers significantly drop. happening today, it is christmas with the curries, and some lucky 500 families in oakland will get treated to a winter wonderland celebration, hosted by warriors superstar steph curry and his wife, aisha. we have video from last year's festivities. it's being put on by the curry's eat, learn, play foundation. there'll be an outdoor ice rink,

a winter-themed arcade, and family photos with mrs. and plst claus. our anthony flores will be out there tonight talking with the curries. tune in tonight at 9:00 and 11:00 on nbc bay area to watch their conversation. it's time to check in with vianey arana and cynthia pimentel for a look at our microclimate forecast and what we have on tap for christmas with the curries today. >> this is good december weather, though. this is what we like to see around this time of year. >> it is. it's needed. let's get right to that forecast. we have a lot to get you through. i know folks are wondering if we'll see those stormy conditions yet again today, like what we saw yesterday. and i want to start out with an overall look at satellite radar, because, it does a really nice job of showcasing what's just out in the pacific. it's going to push through. sierra snow, but also, if you had planned to travel down the southern california, along the grapevine today, they are also seeing very active weather patterns. you definitely want to double check and make sure that highway

5, especially that stretch through fraser park is open. because we're going to see some cold air behind that. let's zoom in now to storm ranger. you can see our mobile doppler radar. we have scattered showers pushing through san francisco right now. also a little bit of a wintry mix happening right now at the diablo range, which we are monitoring closely. especially as we head in towards the evening, we're still seeing an isolated chance of some thunderstorms and also st. lucia, take a look at that. we're looking at the snow, but how much rain have we seen? let's send it over to cynthia so she can give us an update on what we saw yet. >> very impressive rain system, nonetheless, since it moved into the bay area on friday night. and i wanted to give you a look at some of the rain totals that caught my attention this morning. we'll start in the north bay with napa, over an inch and a half of rain there and a little bit more is expected to roll in today, across the bay area, although it will be in more of a scattered fashion. mt. tam, nearly 3 inches of rain up there, and danville, closing into 2.5. redwood city, the peninsula, definitely got a big bulk of rain yesterday, over 1.5 inches

there. but look at boulder creek. very impressive rain totals, as this storm system moves on through, especially along the santa cruz mountains. they're nearing 5 inches, and we could expect them to go nearly to 8, as the storm system runs through this weekend. how much rain are we going to get today? well, not as much as yesterday. definitely yesterday was very, very stormy, around the bay area. today, we could see maybe over half an inch over in calistoga, a little bit less as we move over into concord, then livermore, possibly about a quarter of an inch there, and as we move into the san jose mountains, definitely half an inch, if not more, as the storm system rolls on through. lots of people are wondering, how is this when it comes to the drought? still as of thursday with our latest drought monitor update, we were under 30% of california, still under a very extreme drought. these updates get updated on thursday, so we're hoping that by the time that this thursday rolls around, we'll see a lot more of this red turn into

possibly some orange, if not some better conditions. but i'll send it over to vianey and we can get an extended outlook. >> and timing wise, when it comes to the rain, we mentioned it's not going to be as intense as we saw yesterday. if you look right here, we have a couple of scattered cells pushing through. and timing wise right now, between 4:00 to 5:00, we'll get some pockets of heavier rain at times, but into late tonight. around 9:30, notice, we've got some cells pushing in through fremont, palo alto, around the santa cruz mountains, clearing out for the most part into monday. however, we could still see some scattered shower activity very early on. and what's going to be left behind, that is going to be cold air. as far as the wind goes, there are no wind advisories in place. the wind advisories were allowed to expire as of yesterday, but there is a gale warning in effect for the coastline and a small craft advisory. this could make for rough seas, anywhere from 17 to 19 feet. hourly forecast right now, we've still got some gusty winds in half moon bay. take a look down through some of the higher elevations, the

diablo range, as well as the santa cruz mountains, seven-day forecast, look at this. we have rain possibly ahead into next weekend and we'll guide you through that and more sierra snow of course coming up in a few minutes. kira? >> we'll see you soon, vianey. at 7:22, there's much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, reaction from the warriors after their statement win over the boston celtics. sports is next.

good morning, everyone. i'm anthony flores. a rematch of last year's nba finals. the warriors taking on the boston celtics. some star power in the house. comedians dave chappelle and chris rock checking out the action courtside. and speaking of stars, the splash brothers came out shooting. klay thompson dropped 24 of his game-high 34 in the first half. the doves had a double-digit lead. it was cut down to just two points in the second half. the warriors took over down the

stretch. steph curry with the triple. he had 32. the warriors beat the celtics. >> definitely one of our better wins of the year. and because we were playing against the best team in the league and i just thought that we competed and did a really good job defensively, tried to make things as tough as possible for them and and we gutted it out. >> the stanford/cal rivalry just got a little more interesting. a former golden bear is now the head football coach on the farm. yesterday, stanford hired troy taylor to lead their football program. these are pictures of the coach as he was on campus. the former cal quarterback spent the past four seasons coaching at sacramento state. one of those was interrupted by covid. he just led the hornets to a 12-1 record and a berth in the quarter finals for the first time in school history.

david shaw resigned after back-to-back 3-9 season. it is game day at levi stadium. the 49ers will take on the tampa bay buccaneers this afternoon. brock purdy will make his first nfl start. on the other sideline will be bay area native, tom brady. a seven-time super bowl champion and the winningest quarterback in nfl history. even though the 22-year-old rookie is going head-to-head against the defense and not brady, it's still going to be a thrill to see number 12 playing on the same field. >> definitely so awesome to have tom brady come and play on the same field and compete against our team and stuff like that. it's awesome. so really excited about it. >> it will be great to go home and see a lot of people that i probably haven't seen in a long time. my aunts and uncles and try to go win a football game. >> no doubt brady will have a lot of fans cheering for him at levi stadium. kickoff at 1:25. that's a look at your morning sports. >> anthony, thanks. it's 7:26 right now. still to come on "today in the

bay," rain, wind, and flooding yesterday. coming up, what the storm has in store for the bay area today. we're keeping an eye on the trouble spots for you. and there are no wind advisories, but the trouble spots are going to continue out on the roadways as we continue to see more ponding water on top of what we already got yesterday. we'll take you through the timing of this, stay with us.

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good morning. it is sunday, december 11th. 7:29 as we take this live look outside over san francisco. yeah, oh, indeed. beautiful look at cloudy skies, a little darkness and light on a chilly and wet sunday morning. thank you for starting it with us. i'm kira klapper. we remin under a microclimate weather alert and we have team coverage, tracking those wet and windy conditions. let's bring in forecasters vianey arana and cynthia pimentel. i talked to you guys already about this. it was pouring on my drive in, but you say we won't see as much

rain today as we saw yesterday. >> definitely not as much as yesterday. so a better chance to get outside for sure, kira. >> great. >> a little bit more of a break pattern. if you look right now, we're seeing some clearing in the skies in san rafael, but it on and off stormy. notice the temperatures weber starting out in the 40s. not necessarily a very cold start, but the roads are going to continue to be an issue. we already have a ton of ponding water out there. a live look in dublin. notice the sleet conditions. in addition to that, you can see just how much sierra know we're getting. and that instability could bring the possibility of some hail as well, and that's what we'll be keeping a close eye on. >> and. >> we'll keep an eye on storm ranger as the day goes on. you can keep an eye on it too and see when the rain will move into our neighborhood. currently scanning over san bruno mountain, you can see south san francisco getting some of that rain activity, as well as the east bay shoreline down into san jose, as well. if we take it down a little bit farther south, this is just

south of carmel valley, we're seeing some of that purple on the screen. that could be some wintry mix, some snow up above 4,500 feet. and a few moments ago, we were looking at thunderstorm activity just off the coast. but for our headlines today, we have a lot to talk about in the bay area here today. that possibility of thunder. we'll take a look at how much rain and snow we've gotten in the last 48 hours and a look ahead at the week ahead with those frosty temperatures. a lot to get to, but back to you, kira. >> we'll see you soon, thanks. as mentioned, this weekend's storm has already packed quite a punch as cynthia and vianey just told us, it will continue today. rain is still coming down in parts of the bay area, creating those wet and dangerous conditions. lots of ponding water on nose freeways. you can see those slick roads from a few of our cameras. and more rain off the coast is headed right towards us. the winds have died down a little overnight, but now we're watching for a chance of

thunderstorms. also last night, some 1,200 people were dealing with power outages. the lights were off in parts of the bay area, including here in milpitas. pg&e crews found out last night and as of right now, a majority of the power has been extraordinary. some of last night's heaviest rain fell in the santa cruz mountains and in the south bay. as mentioned, hours of the unrelenting rain caused all kinds of problems in other places, as well. "today in the bay's" marianne favro continues our coverage. >> reporter: take a look at this flooding here on this bike path near campbell. although the rain certainly made it difficult for bikers today, it was drivers who felt the biggest impact. heavy rains and strong winds took down this tree off of highway 680 in san jose. traffic slowed to a crawl as crews used a chainsaw to remove the trunk. in milpitas, a storm-related power outage impacting more than 2,000 pg&e customers caused traffic signals to go dark.

as a result, it was slow and go for drivers, as they treated each intersection as a four-way stop. the rain also created big cleanup jobs, especially after the lark avenue on-ramp off of highway 17 flooded. this trail outside of campbell also flooded, leaving it better suited for boats than bikes. >> we were surprised to see this much rain. especially now in december. because i believe last year, we didn't get much rain. >> reporter: she says it was worth getting out during the storm because of this -- she spotted a beaver playing in the raging river. >> i was super surprised. >> reporter: but the rain did put a damper on businesses, thinning out holiday shopping and dining crowds in campbell. and because of a power outage this morning, this starbucks briefly had to rely on a backup generator to keep the coffee brewing. marianne favro, "today in the bay." >> reporter: and those gusty winds we saw brought down trees

in sonoma county yesterday, causing major headaches for people there. toppled trees crashed down on to four homes and several cars. one woman we spoke with was there for a hiking trip. next thing we knew, her car and her friend's cars were crushed under those heavy redwood branches. >> i knew it was a tree limb somewhere. we were grateful for being inside and not outside and trying to stay safe. enjoying the weather, but this was a little bit much. more than we anticipated. >> reporter: fortunately, no one was hurt. the fire department says drought may be to blame for those fallen trees. they're dry and brittle, so with the rain and a lot of wind, they fall much more easily. the warnings from authorities do continue this morning. use caution if you're heading out on the roads. you're looking live at our traffic camera on an empty 580 in richmond. you can see, it's still slick out there. "today in the bay's" alyssa alyssaguard

has a closer look at the conditions. >> reporter: rain and wind pummel bay area roads. >> it was terrible. so i came from the -- you know, the bay bridge. my vehicle was like, you know, shaking. and i -- definitely, when i noticed that, i slowed down my speed and, you know, i was below 50. >> reporter: there was no shortage of traffic incidents, spinouts, collisions, and even serious injuries. >> obviously, this is an incredibly busy time for us. >> reporter: california highway patrol who is responding to those crashes says you should make sure your car is ready for winter conditions. that means a full tank of gas, working windshield wipers, and good tires. >> if you do not have good tires on your vehicle, your likelihood of hydroplaning, spinning out is exponentially higher. >> reporter: officer barclay says careful driving will be necessary throughout the weekend, even if rain isn't

actively falling, because there will still be water on the roads. he urges you to slow down, protect other people on the road, including chp officers. >> please just give us our space, slow down, keep us safe while we're trying to keep everyone else safe. >> reporter: we called multiple local towing companies but everyone said they were completely booked. alyssa goard, "today in the bay". >> we keep telling you this, but really, make sure to download our nbc bay area app. it is free. it will give you exclusive access to our mobile doppler radar and you'll get sent alerts minutes before the rain arrives where you are. and of course, rain here means snow up in tahoe. yesterday, there were whiteout conditions in the sierra. caltrans sayss 6 i inches of sn is falliling every h hour and t road c conditionss s sure arere dangererous. i-8080 from clfax to o the neva statate line c closed lasast nid it does remain closesed to drivs this morning. that's 955 miles of r road shut downwn. we spoke with some drivers who

have been stuck for hoursrs n n thee sumummit lasast night. >> we can'n't rush mother natur so w while we're here, m might wewell make t the b best of it. heavavy, it's not conduciveve t trtravel. but, yeaeah -- thankful i made this far. and it sounds like we're going to be able to make it home tonight. >> here is a live look at i-80 at the summit this morning. our camera partially covered by snow. still no cars on the road, plenty of snow. caltrans has no estimated time on when that road will reopen. back here locally, new this morning, one person is dead after being hit by a car on the san mateo hayward bridge. it happened just before midnight on eastbound 92. the chp says there was a two-car crash on the bridge. one of the victims got out of their car and was hit by a passing vehicle. we don't know whether that driver who hit the pedestrian stayed at the scene.

the other victims in the crash were extricated from their vehicle and taken to the hospital. the bridge is now reopened. just shy of 7:38 right now. up next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> more people every month are getting an unwelcome letter in their mailbox, a notice that their home insurance is being canceled. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. i'll show you why and why you need to act fast if you're being dropped. and the live camera behind me up in tahoe showing whiteout conditions up in the sierra right now. there are a couple of active warnings in place. we'll take a look at those as well as the impressive snow totals that have come down this weekend in a few minutes.

good morning. it is 7:40 right now. it is sunday. we remain under a microclimate weather alert, but we are going to get some clearing in the skies today. breaks from the rain, not as continuous as what we saw yesterday. a live look right now in san rafael. you can see some blue in the skies. temperatures right now in the 40s, but satellite radar is

definitely painting what's going on up in the atmosphere. you can take a look at all of that sierra snow, plus down to l.a., also seeing a active weather pattern. in addition to that, we'll continue to see pockets of downpours at times. storm ranger scanning some rain. pushing through san francisco, into the interior as well. zooming us in closer, the north bay taking a bit of a break from the rain, which will be nice compared to yesterday's definitely rainy saturday. now, overall, we're going to see some activity in some of the higher mountaintops above 4,500 feet, we could see the possibility as well of some thunderstorms. but i want to update you on a very active sierra snow. let's take a look at how much snow we've gotten and what to expect with cynthia. >> very active time going on in the sierra. we are currently under this winter storm warning, which remains in effect through about tomorrow morning. so if you're up there, possibly wait it out until tuesday, wednesday, just when officials say it's clear for you to come on down. snow amounts today, we could see

5 to 10 inches, if not up to 20 inches on the mountaintops. those winds will also be an issue. they could gust upwards of 60 miles an hour, and then upwards of 100 miles an hour. very, very blustery conditions up there. travel, avoid if you can, at all -- just do not go on the roads if you can avoid it. but if you must, officials tell us, be prepared. ma means packing extra water, any emergency tools that you can use if you do get stuck on the roadway and some snacks, of course, if you have kids in the car. we are tracking this avalanche warning. this is for tahoe as well as east of yosemite here. greater tahoe area, heavy snowpack on top of that weak snowpack, if you can, travel not recommended, as i was mentioning, but very impressive snow totals that we've seen in the last 24 hours. sierra at tahoe, 45 inches of fresh powder. kirkwood, 20 inches there. and over in sugar bowl, 41 inches of snow. and more is expected today, as we wrap up the weekend, we could

see nearly 10 inches of fresh powder in king israeli, 3 inches of fresh powder in south lake tahoe. but for more on our extended outlook, i'll send it over to vianey. >> definitely avoid travel, at least until monday, the conditions get a little bit better for tahoe area. but locally, notice the showers become a little bit more scattered, but we'll still get a couple of areas of pockets of rain, at least into late evening tonight, right around 9:30 into early monday morning, though, notice that most of the rain clears out. we'll get a couple of scattered showers and wind wise, no wind advisories in place, which is fantastic. now, behind that cold front, the next story we'll be seeing here is just how cold it's going to get. heading into today, temperatures will be in the 50s. very similar to tomorrow, but when you wake up on monday morning, we'll see some 30s in through parts of the north bay and some of those sheltered valleys. keep that in mind. heading into wednesday, we could see frost advisories in place. out on the coast, we have that

gail warning. that means not a good day to head out to the beach. and the seven-day forecast looking good, very december-like around here. kira, back to you. >> all right. december. we'll take it! thanks, vianey and cynthia. it is 7:44 right now. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, nbc bay area political analyst larry gursten joins us to talk about california's push to tax oil companies. and the hurdles ahead.

welcome back. in recent years with fire season becoming more prominent in the bay area, fire insurance has become a must. and it's been pretty easy to buy. you just put your policy on auto renew. but now many insurance companies are dropping bay area homeowners. consumer investigative chris chmura is here to explain why. >> phillip's insurance company sent him an unexpected

cancellation letter, even though philip's family had done lots of work to make their home fire safe. >> the person i spoke with literally told me, it doesn't matter what you've done, my commuter tells me what zone you're in and we can't give insurance because of your zone. >> reporter: thousands of other california homeowners are in the same boat, dropped, so what's going on? many insurance companies say they're rebalancing their books to reduce their overall fire risk. you may have to hunt to get a new fire policy. you may have to act fast. coming up after tonight's football game, we'll walk you through the process, step by step, who to call, where, and when. if you have an insurance battle you just can't win yourself, perhaps we can help. snap the qr code on your screen to fill out our consumer complaint form center line. i'll join you again after tonight's game. kira, back to you. >> chris, thanks. always with great information there. it is 7:47 right now. and we're going to turn now to california governor gavin

newsom. he recently ordered the legislature to meet on the issue of taxing what he called the oil industry's windfall profits. the legislature met last week on the matter with little decided, other than that the members would focus on the question again next month, when the legislative body reconvenes. nbc bay area's political analyst larry gersten joins us. i get gas, i look at the prices, but can you back up and give us what the basis of newsom's allegation is? >> good morning, kira. you get gas, we all get gas, we know what it costs, $6, $7 a gallon. not too long ago, and that's what makes this so important to us, governor newsom came out fighting a couple of months ago, saying, this has to stop. i want a windfall profit tax. is there any justification? you bet there's justification. huge profits for the five largest oil companies in california, kira. and these companies have about

90% of all the gas and oil that we use. take a look at this chart. and look at the bottom for the second quarter, one quarter, kira, one quarter of this year, 26 billion plus profits this time compared with 12 billion last time, last quarter to a year ago. that's 109% increase, kira. and we saw that in the gasoline prices we paid. so whether anything can be done, that's the big question, because this is a problem that is really unsustainable, should it emerge again. >> wow, 109%. that is remarkable. back a few months ago, newsom tweeted something along the lines of, you know, announcing calling for this new windfall tax. if they won't lower their prices, we will do it for them, he said. but you seem uncertain about the possibilities of enacting a special tax on excessive oil industry profits. you know, dare i ask why? >> well, you know, there's

reason to doubt. there's reason for doubt here. and here's why. two reasons, actually, kira. first, we have an organization known as the western state's petroleum association. it is a very powerful organization that's comprised of the major oil companies in this state. they spent $8 million this past year on just ten races. they won six, and those are folks that they believe are allies in the legislature. and they've got some there already. that's the first concern. the second concern is, newsom originally wanted a windfall profits tax. if you get a windfall profits tax, any tax in california takes an absolute two-thirds of the legislature. that's a huge number that's 27 out of 40 in the senate and it's 54 out of 80 in the assembly. then he decided, well, no, maybe that's not a good way to go. let's instead just make it a fine. that will be there instead of a tax. well, the governor may say that's a fine instead of a tax, it doesn't matter. it doesn't require that huge majority. but in fact, the courts are

likely to take that under consideration and say otherwise, and say a tax is a tax, whatever you call it. you put these two things together and it makes you wonder just how likely it is for us to get anything out of the legislature. >> yeah, it does sound like there are a few hurdles in the way there. as i always seem to do to you, larry, i'm sorry, hot seat, look in your crystal ball, tell us what you might -- what you think might happen. >> kira, we're going to look backwards this time in the crystal ball. that may help us more than usual. the fact is historically, when we have these kinds of problems emerge, people get in aflutter over it. this isn't right, we must do something. all the legislatures come together, the governor says we've got to do something now. then the problem goes away. and that's what's happened with this gasoline tax issue. we're not paying that kind of price anymore. here, we're down to $4-something a gallon. so people are now taking their issues elsewhere. what does that mean? it's likely that this whole issue by january and february

just is going to go away. >> that's what happens. >> interesting. yeah, and i -- googling about this before i talked to you, something about jimmy carter already trying to enact this, so, we'll look to the past and we'll look to the future. i'm sure we'll talk about this again, larry. thank you so much for your time this morning. it's 7:52 right now. up next, a quick look at the top stories we're following, including our team coverage continues as we follow this storm that's battering the bay area.

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welcome back. here's a quick look at the top stories we're following on this sunday morning, including hours of unrelenting rain in the south bay, including a myriad of problems. that coupled with strong winds took down this huge tree off highway 680 in san jose. traffic slowed to a crawl as crews used a chainsaw to remove the trunk. in milpitas, more than 2,000 pg&e customers lost power, traffic signals went dark. the rain created big cleanup jobs, especially after this flooding at the lark avenue off-ramp on highway 17. not just roads, this trail outside of campbell also flooded, leaving it better suited for boats than bikes. the rain also put a damper on businesses, thinning out holiday shopping and dining crowds in campbell. the storm has created dangerous conditions on bay area roads, of course. i think officials are urging caution if you're going out driving today. the chp says even if the rain

isn't actively falling, there will still be standing wart on roadways that will lead to problems. before you head out, make sure you have a full tank of gas, working windchill wipers and good tires. the chp is urging caution if you see troopers or other workers on the roads like caltrans. if you see flashing lights, slow down and move over one lane if possible. you should also make sure to download our nbc bay area app. it is free. it will give us exclusive access to our mobile doppler radar. we will send you alerts minutes before the rain arrives where you are. and vianey and cynthia have one last check of the forecast. >> i know fans are happy when i say the weather is not going to be as wild as yesterday. if you're heading to the game today for the niners, and you have plans to tailgate, good news. the storm system today is going to be a little bit nor scattered, so it will be a little bit breezy. there it is at times, so the wind may play a little bit of a role, but notice the rain. heavy downpours, 53 degrees.

however, towards the end of the game, you might notice the possibility of some showers moving through, so you still want to be prepared for the potential of that, especially towards the end of the game, basically the second half after halftime. it will still be chilly in the 50s. remember, the windshield makes it feel a little bit colder. something to consider if you're going to today's game. the good news is, we're not going to see those heavy downpours. so i think that's good news for all of those fans out there. cynthia, how's the seven-day looking? >> the seven-day, we're going to remain under the microclimate weather alert through tonight, just because of that isolated thunder chance. it will thin out by monday morning's commute. but then look at the temperatures. we're only going to stay in the 50s in san francisco. there is the possibility of rain returning next week, so i wouldn't put the umbrella away just yet. and as we take you on to the inland valleys, showers today continuing, probably gusty at times, but we're just going to keep our fingers crossed for more rain. >> all right. vianey, cynthia, thanks so much. thanks to you for making us a part of your sunday morning. no 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. news

tonight. instead, it's football night in america right here on nbc bay area. the miami dolphins take on the l.a. chargers on sunday night football. we have a special edition of our news right after that and then we're back at 11:00 p.m. until then, stay up to date on nbcbayarea.com. have a great sunday. we'll see you back here next weekend.

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