approaches. we congregate indoors more. and new testing requirements set to begin at u.s. airports. the driving force behind the changes and why the policy only applies to certain travelers. this is "today in the bay" streaming live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. good thursday morning to you. thanks for starting your day with us. i am laura garcia. >> i am scott mcgrew. marcus washington is taking some time off. and we have more on the storm making its way inland. we will start with meteorologist, vianey arana. she has a timeline on the next few storms. >> it's a few for sure. that's going to guide us all the way into 2023. today's storm isn't going to be as heavy with rain as we saw a tuesday, but it's just enough to be moderate at times.

san francisco, 49 degrees right now. in san josé, it's about 50. we are getting breaks from the rain right now. look at our mobile doppler radar storm ranger, and it's pushing into san josé that is taking a break, and san mateo and san francisco, and as we continue to see the scattered showers activity, we are expecting that to be more widespread between the hours of 3:00 p.m. tonight into early tomorrow, friday morning. the heavy rain, the area of concern will move in friday into early saturday morning, and that's the new year's eve start to your day. we will see localized flooding, and let's get a look at where today in the bay's bob redell is. he's live in fremont. officials are urging the public as we get more wet weather in the coming days.

>> reporter: to be keeping an eye out for possible flooding in the next 72 hours, and one of the concerns will be waterways like the creek behind me here in fremont. we are at the mouth of the niles canyon. you can see the water, and that's the dark area, and i know it's dark out but that's water down there. it's nowhere near flood stage, and it could change, and the national weather service issued a flood watch for almost the entire bay area starting tomorrow through saturday evening. it could cause a rapid rise in streams and rivers and it's an issue i know you will be following. we have seen alameda creek flood in years past and when it did it went up on highway 84, which cuts through niles canyon. last night a driver lost control along blossom road in san josé, and the driver was trapped and

had to be extricated and that took time. that person was taken to the hospital with what the battalion chief described at significant injuries. >> please don't drink and drive, and wear your seat belt and be cautious. there's a lot of people out and about for the holidays, and slow down to make sure you get to where you are going in one piece. >> and workers took advantage of the break in the rain to clean up the storm drains. some counties have free sandbag stations, so check yours for locations. we will go back out to the roads and we'll send it to mike inouye. >> thank you for being out there, buddy. we are concerned about the smaller creeks, the smaller bridges over the creeks and rivers as the water levels start to rise. continuous rain, vianey, is talking about, and we are

looking at the wet roadways. it will be saturated soil, potential for trees to come down as the storms continue. right now, not much of that. the major bridges, the bay bridge, they are all moving smoothly with lighter traffic but in the commune direction. the antioch bridge has an alert, the high-rise bridge has a vehicle that has to be removed and have assistance, so we have to stop traffic in both directions. >> thank you. whether you are staying home or traveling this weekend, our nbc bay area app is a great resource to have. you type in your city and we will send you up-to-date alerts right to your phone, and it's free. the number of people infected with covid is 100

million. >> the u.s. will require a negative covid test from travelers coming from friday. >> good morning, laura and scott. health officials say the new travel policy is driven largely by the increase in the cases in china as well as concerns about a possible new variant. starting january 5th, the u.s. will require proof of a negative covid test from anyone flying from china regardless of nationality or vaccination status. this latest travel requirement comes as covid patients fill up china's emergency rooms. >> a lot of them got admitted to the hospital. they are not getting better in a day or two so there's no flow. >> china eased its zero covid policy earlier this month

following mass protests against restrictions. there are fears the virus could spread from overseas to the u.s. where cases are already on the rise. in the past two weeks covid cases increased 19% nationwide. >> let's be clear, we are seeing a new variant out of new york, especially. spikes in the northeast -- >> well, yeah, there we go. >> doctors warn outbreaks are expected to get worse in the coming weeks. >> the worst is yet to come for the surge. >> the surge in covid cases is part of a tripledemic medical professionals are grappling with, and other respiratory viruses including the flu and rsv are also spreading. >> it's not a mystery. we are all exposed to the cold weather. we congregate indoors a lot more, holidays. >> officials urge caution as

people prepare to gather for the new year's celebration. they are waiting until january 5th to enforce the new covid travel policy for those leaving from china to allow more time for airlines to implement the change. laura? >> thank you so much, brie. we also have a follow-up for you this morning. it's 6:07 right now. pg&e made its first court-mandated payments to the non-profits because of the kincade fire. 174 homes were destroyed and many others damaged. a state investigation traced the cause of the fire to old pg&e equipment east of geyserville. as part of the settlement, pg&e was ordered to pay more than $20 million in five payments to local charities. snow is piling up in the sierra. >> that's right, cynthia joins

us for that. >> that's welcome news for our skiers and snowboarders. let's look how much snow has fallen in the last 24 hours. sierra tahoe saw half a foot of fresh snow, and 13 inches over at palisades and a little moreover at kirkwood with 15 inches. the national weather service issued two watches we are looking at right now in and around lake tahoe, so limited windows for you to get up there this holiday weekend. here in blue, a winter storm watch in effect tonight through saturday evening. this is for the greater tahoe area. you can see it extends further down into areas of yosmite. one to three feet of fresh snow mixed together with the strong wind gusts, up to 45 miles per hour around tahoe, and gusts close to 100 miles up on the

upper elevations, and could make travel very dangerous. fast-forward to tomorrow morning and we have a flood watch. that's the green here. there's concerns for flooding during this time and, of course, that could lead to road closures. meantime, if we take a look at the earlier estimates of snow accumulation. look at this, guys, almost 100 inches of snow in kingvale, and kirkwood, 38 inches. we are looking at a very active last week of december on into january. we would love to see all the rain, the snow, and we need it to last into spring and summer so we can see the melt water. and the gorgeous sights if you are driving up during the summertime. >> we are going to get a string of storms here. >> yeah, your window of opportunity has pretty much closed if you are not up there already, because you are not

going to get another shot until sunday. let's look at your hourly forecast for today. rain at times, we are seeing the early-morning storm, not a huge rain maker and cooler temperatures. right now we're in the 40s, and we will see that through 7:00 a.m., and fast-forward that time stamp to 11:30, 12:00, just light scattered showers activity. partial clearing, and we will start to see clearing and the peeks of sunshine will start to come through. in the afternoon, around 3:00, we will still be in the partial clearing phase but we will see increasing rain, especially for the north bay. daytime highs will be in the 50s, and rain estimates right now, a couple 0.01 to quarter of an inch through friday evening. and then our big rain maker will cause concerns for the north bay especially if it stalls out, that frontal boundary, along with the gusting winds. i will guide you through that, but first let's get over to

mike. yeah, make sure you fill up with gas and replace your windshield wipers. gas stations, sunnyvale, 3.84 on old san francisco road. danville's best is 3.89, and that's at expressway gasoline on san ramon valley boulevard, and then marin gas looking good for 3.75 a gallon, and these are all reports from you reporting through gas buddy. check the prices and report them. that's how we get the word out. looking at the roadway, not a lot of folks out. roadways are still damp so watch for the areas all around the bay. we are looking at northbound 101 just past the airport, and oyster point, there's a crash. we are looking at slowing as you pass by the scene. getting to and from sfo, it's fine. getting away is the issue on the airplanes as they are continuing with delays.

a smooth drive through the roadways with wet conditions. back to you. >> thank you, mike. the founder of ftx is accused of defrauding millions, but he could be getting a book deal. what he is up to while he awaits trail. he's in his parents' home in the bay area. and then a new project under way to convert a california strip mall into a massive marijuana hub. stuck in the ice, but not for long. for long. how this goose was able to get

sosometimes a a cough isn't t just a couough so it's s better to o be prepar. keeping g binaxnow™™ handy so it's s better to o be prepar. makekes it easy y to test. so it's s better to o be prepar. and self t test kits so it's s better to o be prepar. mamay be reimbmbursable so it's s better to o be prepar. withth no copayy throrough your h health plan. withth binaxnoww™, throrough your h health plan. you'llll have reliliable resus in 1 15 minutess with the s self test in 1 15 minutess ththat featureres the samee tetechnology d doctors uses. and detetects multipiple varian, includuding omicroron ba.5. and detetects multipiple varian, so y you can alwlways be prerd wiwith binaxnonow™. the #1#1 covid-19 9 self test in the u us

it's 6:14 right now. we are under a microclimate weather alert because there's a lot of rain ahead, but right now we are at 50 degrees, and head into friday we have concerns for flooding, wind. we will guide you through all that in just a few minutes. we are trying to guide you through what you can't see so well sometimes. here we have rain on the lens of the san rafael bridge. you still have an alert going on for one of our bay area bridges, and i will check with chp to see the progress on the crash. wall street set to open higher following a broad selloff yesterday. worries about a recession next year certainly have been weighing in on investors over

the past few weeks. apple, the world's most valuable company hit a new low for the year. the dow is off 9.5%. the s&p 500, more than 20%. nasdaq, 35%. in focus today, data on jobless claims. disgraced crypto mogul, sam bankman-fried is awaiting his next move. he met with a holywood writer and producer at his parents' home where he is free on $250 million bail, as he faces charges following the downfall of atf. he faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted. an abandoned outlet mall in

california's mojave desert could soon be the home of a new 29-acre cannabis super center. the former outlet mall has sat empty for almost two decades. the project would turn the ball into dozens of legal pot businesses. it was approved by the barstow city council last week with a final vote coming next month. 6:17. trending this morning firefighters in indiana helped a goose in need. a canadian goose was frozen in the wet sand along lake michigan. several good samaritans tries to free the goose that was frozen but did not have any luck. firefighters were called in to safely remove the goose from the frozen beach. the bird is now at a wildlife

rehabilitation center for treatment. can you imagine, couldn't move? >> poor guy. >> everybody prefers fresh goose over -- >> mike! >> he's at a rehabilitation. >> doing fine. >> he's been pardoned. >> as you get up this morning, you will notice rain, but there's more on the way. >> this is considered very light compared to what we have in store. we are seeing breaks in the rain right now, especially with our storm ranger. we're the only ones in the bay area that has it, and it does a nice job of showcasing where some of the rain is falling right now. notice concord, it creates a nice service for us, and not a lot of rain for san josé or fremont. we have a couple pockets in the interior, and aside from that, this is not a concerning storm, but this is. look at that. this will line us up with a

series of storms. first, let's get to your hour-by-hour forecast, because i want you to get to some of the timing and temperatures. breezy winds, 5 to 15, pretty light. not a big concern there. rain at times and partial clearing. we will notice the wind picking up a little more around the coast, and increasing rain especially for the north bay by the afternoon. rainfall totals for today, a couple hundreds to about a quarter, and then through friday and saturday. the index up here will be your guide. notice the purple color and the pink and gray color, 5 to five inches. santa cruz, calistoga. the concern will be if that system will stall out and for

how long? right now the models are showing this moving in overnight. but by 3:00 a.m., san rafael, calistoga, san josé, we see the rain picking up with heavier pockets and then it stays there through 7:00, 8:00 a.m. seeing all that rain at once creates a big concern, and the rain has nowhere to go. the ground is so saturated that it becomes impermable where no water can seep through. then we will start to see the bigger pockets of rain, heavy to moderate at times. i do have a little bit of relief, though, so the impacts head into the evening will be anything that potentially happens during the day. the wind will kick up, too. prepare for possible outages especially with the early-morning commute, but notice by 4:00 p.m., that storm

system, that frontal boundary continues its trek through central and southern california, and this will make a window of us to enjoy a dry new year's eve. i am talking about 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 at night to bring in the new year. that is good news there, but we will continue to monitor the morning hours of the flood watch from friday into early saturday morning. mountains could see three to five inches. we will monitor the creeks and stream flows and we will see a rapid rise. with your 7-day forecast, keep out the rain boots, and mike and i talk about it all the time, and i had an issue earlier this week with tires. >> good luck on your new tires, vianey. again, we have no metering lights or backup, and we see water kicking up on the vehicles and it's pulled up by the tread

in the tires, and that's what it is designed to do. no major issues for the bigger bridges for the commute. just a little slowing of the richmond side of the richmond san rafael bridge. southbound, we still have the crash being cleared on the bridge itself. north bay across the bridge here, we have a traffic break. we still have issues with a spinout reported 17 on the northbound side coming up around bear creek. no injuries. >> good to hear, mike. thank you. 6:22. excitement for space travel as we head into the new year. we head into the new year. coming up, the exciting new way

[narratotor] everyonone nees quality y health insnsuranc, even if f you'rere hehealthy and d active. [narratotor] everyonone nees quality y health insnsuranc, covered d californiaia is a f free servicice to helelp you get t covered. covered d californiaia is a f free servicice 90% of m members have r received fifinancial hp

and evevery plan o offered is comomprehensiveve, covering p preventive e c, doctoror visits, and evevery plan o offered is comomprehensiveve, emerergency carere, and more. regardrdless of yoyour incom, check todaday to see h how coved califofornia can h help you. regardrdless of yoyour incom, and ifif you have e question, there's free assssistance everery step of f the way. and ifif you have e question, covevered califofornia, this w way to healalth insuran. enrollll by decembmber 31st at c coveredca.c.com. welcome back. it's 6:25 right now. this year has been a major one for space exploration. >> and 2023 will shape up to be commercial operations, like spacex. one physicianises explains why commercial companies need to accomplish crucial commercial missions so they can eventually set up shop on mars.

>> it's about building a permanent base. it's about building a space station that will orbit the moon. it's about getting us started in terms of having fuel depots, supply depots, it's an infrastructure we can build off of. >> more on that coming up on the "today" show coming up at 7:00 after "today in the bay." vianey arana gives us a look with when the heavy rain will start. then, we are in italy with the latest. the nationwide flight-mare continues. up ahead, we will tell you how cancelations from southwest airlines are impacting travelers, and is it getting better? plus, a look at new promising data, and how soon we can see some of the prices at the pump start to drop.

stay with

♪ this renental car isis so bororing to dririve. let's be honesest. the e rent-a-carar industrys ththe definitition of borir. anand the reasason can be e d in the n name itselflf. rent - a a - car. you u don't wawant a frien. yoyou want thehe friend. you don'n't want a a job. you u want the j job. the isis always ovover a. that's s why we don't t offer a cacar. we offffer the carar. ♪ sixtxt. rent thehe car. right now it's 6:30. tracking another storm. the wet weather back again and it's here to say. meteorologist, vianey arana, is timing out your new year's weekend forecast as you may start to rethink any outdoor plans. i really hope they figure out whatever the problems are and get back on track. >> you see it on your screen.

a flight-mare. airlines still canceling flights by the thousands. one airline in particular leaving many travelers to face endless lines and limited options. we will have a live report from sfo on what passengers are doing there. this is "today in the bay" streaming live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. good thursday morning to you. i am scott mcgrew. marcus has some time off. >> i am laura garcia. let's take a look at the bay area this morning. we are talking about the rain. it's out there. the strongest of the storms is yet to come. >> let's turn to meteorologist, vianey arana. it been a busy week and it will only get busier with another one moving in. >> absolutely. this is a calmer storm. if you are leaving your house in the next hour or so this is what you are going to be encountering. we have a break from the rain in oakland, down through hayward and san ramon. if you zoom it out through the

south bay, no rain coming down. as we head in the afternoon, a break in the rain remains. through 1:00, we will catch a window of opportunity for a little sunshine, and light scattered activity right now on the san francisco camera. it's about 49 degrees. we will see that rain make its return around the 3:00 mark, becoming more widespread with pockets of rain at times. in through your friday morning commute, so friday morning's commute we will still see heavy but not as heavy or crazy. by saturday, that will change. speaking of the rain -- >> yeah, i want to continue with the camera. chp is preparing for that next wave of rain that you are talking about. what i mean by that, i see in their computer dispatch system, they are creating more entries where they expect flooding. we see a lot of traffic on the

richmond bridge. highway 37, slowing as well. the two usual suspects we have are showing slowing on the decline for west 80. oyster point north of sfo, a crash blocks two right lanes but traffic is so light there's no slowing into sfo. access around the bay is moving around well, but watch because of the slick roadways and vianey arana is talking about the slick conditions coming. stay with us all morning and all week long as we continue to follow the storms hitting the bay area. we are streaming online at nbcbayarea.com, and as i mentioned, roku, fire tv, apple tv and our free app, and you can track the storms there with our interactive radar. there are no signs of southwest flight cancelations easing up.

>> this is sending a ripple affect across the country, and they are calling it a nightmare. ginger conejero saab is at sfo. what is the situation? >> reporter: the flight-mare, long lines at airports, and people sifting through a sea of luggage trying to find their bags and navigating everything in between. today almost 4,000 flights canceled nationwide. over 2,300 of them are from southwest. here at sfo, things are quiet. we are downstairs at the arrival and people are alphabetizing and grouping them out and sending them out to be transferred. and yesterday southwest canceled 2,400 flights, and confusion and

frustration was felt. yesterday passengers searching in a sea of luggage for their bags using air tags to get close but not close enough to bring their bags home. the airline's ceo issued an apology saying he's, quote, truly sorry, and other officials from the airline are doing the same. >> i want to speak to every person disrupted by our challenges. i want to offer you three things. first, my personal apology, on behalf of myself and everybody at southwest airlines for all of this. >> now, talking about those numbers here in the bay area over at san josé, 145 flights have been canceled according to flight aware. 144 of them are from southwest. at oakland international, 117 flights are canceled and all of those flights are southwest's. when it comes to being a passenger impacted by what people are calling the

flight-mare, flight aware.org says you have a right to be compensated. >> the number one thing is you have a right to get a refund of any ticket where the airline cancels it regardless of their reason and regardless of whether the ticket says it's unrefundable or not. >> reporter: final numbers here at sfo, there are 38 flights canceled as of early this morning. 35 of them are from southwest. we have been here for the past hour or so a couple hours or so and still things quiet upstairs as far as lines are concerned. most people probably already know their flights are canceled, and here at baggage claim, relatively well managed by the grouping and sorting. we will give you more updates as the day continues. ginger conejero saab at sfo for

"today in the bay." a pilot had to turn a plane back from honolulu because of the passengers misbehaving. they were supposed to be home on tuesday, but after two hours in the air two passengers reportedly got into an argument. one of the persons involved being escorted off in this photo. the pilot turned around because of the behavior of the passengers onboard. >> something about a seat being pushed back, and he's throwing a drink. >> i heard loud voices and ice cubes being thrown all over the place. >> and there was a medical situation, but it's unclear if it was connected to the disruption. a deadly fiery crash on the way on i-5 this morning. it happened around 1:15 this morning in hollister. we know one person was inside

this vehicle at the time and that person was killed. all lanes are back open. we are still trying to figure out what led up to the crash. developing oversees at the vatican, prayers are flooding in for pope benedict xvi. pope francis described him as very sick. within the last hour, a vatican spokesperson said he rested well last night and is lucid and vigilant but his condition remains serious. >> reporter: the vatican confirmed in a state of pope benedict xvi's health has deteriorating due to age. italy's main news agency wrote today that according to their sources within the monastery inside the vatican walls behind me where pope benedict xvi has

lived since he retired, his condition has not changed overnight even though it remains serious but stable. in the meantime, in and around st. peter's schedule, it's business as usual. there is a lot of people working around the faithful, and few seem to be aware pope benedict xvi is very sick, as pope francis said yesterday. we will keep you posted with any more updates coming from the vatican today. >> the "today" show will have live coverage from roam this morning on his health and the constant medical care he's receiving. that's coming up at 7:00 a.m., right after "today in the bay." and then taking you out to new york city times square. the first time since the pandemic there will not be covid restrictions at the festivities at times square on saturday night. >> but back here at home, we are bringing in the new year with

rain. keep the umbrella handy. >> the big thing i want to point out, residents that live near burn scars or creeks are very familiar and aware of the dangers surrounding when we see continuous rain nonstop, and that's what we are going to see friday into saturday. so before you get prepared for your festivities, get prepared for the rain to come. please. i don't want folks to get caught off guard, and that's the reason we are under a microclimate weather alert. we already saw five to six inches in mount tam, and as the system stalls on saturday morning, that flooding could cause instant runoff. as we continue to see the hourly forecast, it pretty much sticks in the bay through 7:00 a.m. becoming widespread eventually. down through the south bay, the

rain increases with heavier pockets around 11:00 a.m. the big thing head into friday, early saturday is also going to be wind. the potential for downed trees. we're talking about power outages. it's going to be a big one, especially early saturday morning. that flood watch will inbound place for the entire bay area. into 10:00 p.m. on saturday, localized flooding, creeks and streams, we will see a rapid rise and will keep a close eye on that and inform you of any changes. the roads are important, and how are they doing? >> you talked about the roads getting a little bit of a break, as we all are, and at the richmond san rafael bridge, there's a traffic bridge, and now a backup at the toll plaza. there was a disabled vehicle causing that unexpected slowing.

another hazard, and chp just got a report around lucky drive southbound 101, there's reports of water across all the lanes. they have not closed the freeway but are heading out to check out the severity. mean while, the rest of the bay, the severity of the commute, not back. the wet roadways could be a factor. the hillsides could be a factor. we have a tree down at the on-ramp of 280. the sharks game, looking ahead, there could be folks heading into san josé. drivers may see savings next year as the cost of gas is expected to continue to fall. a live look at the gas station in daly city, and it's a shell. $4.49 for regular gas. and gas buddy says americans are

expected to collectively spend less gas than in 2022. a spokesperson said we usually see a dip in demand in the winter. >> gas prices fall in the fall and that's because americans drive less in the winter months, and it's not nice to hit the road in the middle of winter, and then as the weather warms up starting in march, that's when we see americans getting outside more and demand for gas begins to accelerate in march, april and may. >> every morning here on "today in the bay," mike breaks down the places in the bay area where you can find cheaper gas. 6:42 right now. a growing problem for local shelters. more and more pets are being abandoned across the bay area. next on "today in the bay," the help that is now being offered. giving a new definition to surf's up. we will show you how some locals are having fun

(steven) every timeme i come toto see careremore, theyey go abovee and d beyond to o take cacare of me.. i feel a l lot better r now. i'm takiking medicatation for t i shouldld have beenen takingng years agogo. (vo) call the n number on y your scn to learnrn more abouout medice plans inin your neigighborhod that include caremore.

good morning. it's 6:45 right now. we are starting out just a little warmer compared to yesterday. morning lows in the 40s and 50s. daytime highs in the 50s as we get showers again through this evening. we will take you through all of it and what to expect this weekend, coming up. you are driving through this mist, drizzle, light rain.

again today no metering lights. so far none this morning. we are looking at a nice drive, but i will show you the conditions and what you are going to watch out for, coming up. 6:46. the county of santa clara animal services says the shelter in san martin has been over capacity since march, currently at 150% capacity. that means if pets do not get adopted this weekend they may have to start euthanizing as early as next week. they are not the only ones feeling overwhelmed. spay and neuter non-profits say hundreds of pet owners are asking them for help because they can't afford the surgery. >> it sounds a lot sadder, like, hey, i can't make rent this month and my dog just got attacked at the park, and what

am i going to do? >> the clinic says they are conducting about 40 surgeries a day. the wait list, more than three months. new this morning, 'tis the season to give back specifically to your community, and that's the end of the year message. back in october the latino community foundation say they are disrupting philanthropy by giving the power to the people. >> normally we have a perception that philanthropy is only for the rich, but we are proving that giving is in our dna. >> 37 organizations received over $300,000 from donors just like you and me, people who believe that by giving they can create tangible transformation. >> the latino giving center network which is part of the

latino circle foundation is the largest donor group of its kind in the country, investing $2.5 million to community-led organization across california. having fun in the recent downpour of rain. >> take a look at how they are getting through some flooded roadways. video of a man being dragged on a surfboard through the flooded streets of the aftos area. man, that's fast. >> that's pretty fast. >> i think that's scary, though. >> you have to wear a helmet, because you are not landing on a wave. >> yeah, you don't usually worry about road rash when you are surfing. >> do not try it at home, but if you do, send us a video.

this is a light storm, and we have the perfect ingredient for more storms, and i want to take you through that time stamp there. san josé, a beautiful start. 50 degrees right now. nice conditions. look at storm ranger, light to moderate rain. notice if i zoom the map out, we have breaks all the way down through the south bay. some of the rain coming down into the mountains, and it will make its return in the afternoon. san francisco, you can see the camera there. we have light activity coming down. we will get a break from the rain and peeks of sunshine and then by 3:00 it picks up again becoming more widespread. today's rain totals from quarter of an inch to an inch in some of the higher elevations. this is taking you through saturday at 5:00, and then the big storm system will roll around and that will create the biggest impact. let's talk about the initial

storm that moves in. to start our year, though, we have a nice setup, unfortunately, that will create dangerous conditions heading into the first week of january. i want to guide you through the timing of all this because it's going to set us up for a pretty dangerous weather pattern and it has the perfect ingredients to do that. let's look at the atmosphere and what is happening -- oh, looks like my maps are having a meltdown. we have a subtropical moisture tap that will create the plume of moisture. you can see it, actually, right here, setting up really nicely and extending this all the way out you can see the ingredients -- when you look at this, we have subtropical moisture, and mid latitude cold air, and winds from the southwest, and all that is a perfect set up to create storms lining up ideally into the first week of january. let's look at the timing. four to six inches on saturday,

and then sunday we get a break. the breaks are key components in creating a barrier between getting the storms time to dry out when it comes to the ground. then january 2nd, another storm lines up and then storms continue the first week of january, and then we get this break on tuesday. that's a good thing. head into wednesday, we line up with an additional storm that trends all the way from oregon to the bay area to southern california with the heavier pockets of rain, creating almost instant runoff at that point with how much runoff we are seeing. then another line january 6th. the precipitation setting up with the moisture tap for that january 6th storm, and right now model runs are showing the possibility of an additional six inches. so now the breaks we are seeing will be critical, and the first

week of january we will see another storm system line up into saturday. i looked at some of the extended model runs, and in the atmosphere, those ingredients still continue to line up. please do not put your guard down. you are thinking, oh, it's just rain. yeah, but if you live anywhere near a burn scar or near a creek, you have either had experience or you are new to it, and keep in mind, your 7-day outlook looks a lot like december into january. how are the roads looking? >> all right. the richmond side of the bridge to san rafael, there's a backup. light traffic getting there and heading over towards san rafael, but that's the choke point. recently traveling across the north bay and across that

richmond and san rafael bridge, we are seeing a good drive. 101 continue into lucky drive where chp has a report of flooding, per usual, and the usual suspect there. more rain coming in the coming days and week ahead. we are talking about flooding potentials with saturated grounds. we are continuing to track that looking ahead. back to you. >> thank you. it's 6:53 right now. happening now, the clock is ticking if you get health care coverage from health care california. open enrollment ends for everybody on january 31st. nationally president biden's administration says it's an 18% increase of those getting health care from the marketplace compared to yesterday.

and then southwest, what the and then southwest, what the air

[narratotor] everyonone nees quality y health insnsuranc, even if f you'rere hehealthy and d active. [narratotor] everyonone nees quality y health insnsuranc, covered d californiaia is a f free servicice to helelp you get t covered. covered d californiaia is a f free servicice 90% of m members have r received fifinancial hp and evevery plan o offered is comomprehensiveve, covering p preventive e c, doctoror visits, and evevery plan o offered is comomprehensiveve, emerergency carere, and more. regardrdless of yoyour incom, check todaday to see h how coved califofornia can h help you. regardrdless of yoyour incom, and ifif you have e question, there's free assssistance everery step of f the way. and ifif you have e question, covevered califofornia, this w way to healalth insuran. enrollll by decembmber 31st at c coveredca.c.com. welcome back. we're moving you forward this morning with a look at the top

stories on "today in the bay." >> starting with the next round of rain starting to make its way inland, we have a live look across the bay area for you this morning. right now not coming down too hard but that could change. today in the bay's bob redell joins us live in fremont this morning. how is it looking there, bob? >> reporter: good morning, laura. we have a lull right now. the rain, of course, as vianey has been mentioning, not expected to pick up until the next 24 to 48 hours, and one of the concerns is when the storm hits this weekend is the waterways, like this creek in fremont. there's a good flow to it but the concern is, of course, flooding. that's why the national weather service has issued a flood watch for much of the bay area starting later tomorrow through saturday evening. this weekend storm could cause a rapid rise in streams, rivers and creeks like the one behind me. we have seen this in years past where the alameda creek has started flooding highway 84 that

goes through niles canyon. as you are heading into work, watch your speed. last night a driver lost control of their car and rolled over and crash, and the driver was trapped and had to be extricated and taken to the hospital with significant injuries. >> first and foremost, just slow down. try and obey the speed limit. wear your seat belt. please don't drink and drive, and be cautious out there and slow down and make sure you get to where you are going in one piece. >> reporter: even though this is not the first big rain of our season, the battalion chief points out it's possible some of the oils and other liquids that have been settling on the road over the dry months could be still coming up and making the roads extra slick. bob redell for "today in the bay." vianey arana is updating our app. you can find out when the storms are going to hit your neighborhood on the nbc bay area

news app, and you will get alerts when there is changing weather conditions heading your way. 6:58. taking a live look at sfo where there's a sea of baggage. southwest airlines continues cancelations for a third straight day. yesterday southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights sending a ripple affect to airports across the country, including sjc. >> weather is not going to help. let's get a final check of the weather. the component of the storms is tallying over ten storms. your 7-day forecast, if you look at when you are going to see a break, sunday, the first day of the break. ideally we need a break, and it's going to be a beautiful day for a morning hike, aside from the wetness. we are looking at 280 now, and reports of flooding in your left two lanes and a truck in your left two lanes. i don't know if it went through that puddle and stalled out, but

that's the warning we give folks when you see standing water. >> yeah, don't drive through it. >> we will be back with a local update of news in about 25 minutes or new year's now two days away thousands of passengers still stranded from christmas. >> it's not the holiday week many americans were hoping for it's december 29th this is "today." running out of options the nightmare home for stranded southwest passengers not over yet. with the airline still canceling flights by the thousands families enduring endless lines just for the chance to rebook. >> things were really out of control. u. >> in some cases, desperat travelers even facing trouble with the police. other airlines step anything to bring some relief. we have it all covered covid checkpoint