a look at last week's drought monitor to this week's drought monitor. keep in mind that the drought persists all across the west. this is not just a california problem. and even leading upstream for other areas that feed water into california are still seeing a drought. but we've had a lot of storms and we are at 71% of california in a severe drought, but now with the update, 46% of california is in a drought. take a look at the red. it disappeared. that was the extreme to exceptional drought that has now been taken out of our drought status, and we haven't seen conditions this good in terms of the drought monitor since 2019. so it's been years. so this historic rainfall is an example of what we like to call weather whiplash. climate change fuels intense droughts, but also periods of intense rainfall as warmer global temperatures add fuel to

the storms. but the question is, now that we have all of this rain, can you have both, a drought in the midst of flooding? well, did all of this rain wipe out the drought? the answer is, it's complicated. the west has been suffering from what's called a megadrought, widespread and lasting for 20 years, and a wetter than normal season will not refill all of the state's reservoirs and recharge the water table deep in the soil. all of this rain is helping, but a research scientist who helps write the drought monitor explains. >> when it comes this quickly, we can't capture it. so a lot of it just runs off and doesn't percolate down into the water table. and it depends where the precipitation is falling, whether it's in areas where there are reservoirs to store the water. but the long-term situation, you know, in spite of all the flooding you're seeing, there are still long-term problems in

terms of the reservoir storage that have not been resolved yet, and the groundwater situation, as i mentioned, is a much longer time scale in terms of looking at recovery of the groundwater. >> we talked about so much, including how much the difference of atmospheric rivers have made in places like lake mead and southern california and what it would take to get back to normal. you can find that interview online on our climate in crisis page. we'll also push it to our social media sites. >> thanks, kari. >> the rain has made such a difference and on our roadways as well. developing overnight, a major traffic artery linking the peninsula to the coastline is closed. >> bob redell is live in santa san mateo county. there's fears of a sinkhole on highway 92. >> reporter: overnight highway

92 was shut down to be determined in both directions, as opposed to one way, which was yesterday. so between skyline and then creek road down the hill toward half moon bay. you'll have to find an alternate route. as you're alluding to, you can see in this photo there's a major depression in the road that was caused by the recent rains. yesterday chp did two-way traffic, but obviously they're concerned the depression could get worse, turn into a sinkhole and affect both directions, if it hasn't already, and that's why they've done the full shutdown. there's no estimated time of reopening. down the hill in the opposite direction, foster city, more damage from the storm. just before midnight a large tree, as you can see in the video, fell onto a parked jeep cherokee and ended up leaning against a church.

we have learned terra nova boulevard is now open. pg&e was able to get the power lines back up and running and the electricity restored. you may be wondering, should i be worried about trees falling on my property. we've seen many trees come down this week. we've seen redwoods come down on cars. there are warning signs your tree might be at risk of falling. an arborist tells us obviously, a heavy lean to one side might be okay in dry conditions but not so much when the soil is saturated with water. the arborist also recommends don't cut your tree roots too close to the base, otherwise you'll remove the structural integrity of the tree. reporting live along skyline boulevard in san mateo county, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> bob, thank you. it is 6:04. happening today, more than 100 california national guard troops are expected to resume the search for a 5-year-old boy who

was swept away by floodwaters on the central coast. the 5-year-old and his mother were driving to his school in san luis obispo county on monday when their car became stuck in rising water. rescuers managed to save the mother, but ever since then teams have been hampered due to hazardous conditions of searching for that little boy. >> such a sad story. part of st. mary's road in lafayette will remain closed this morning to allow teams to clear the recent slide. that road will be closed in both directions. the closure will last from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. it is 6:05. a live look across the bay area on this thursday morning. we're getting a little bit of a break from the wet weather today. but another storm is brewing. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking it all for us. >> it's nice to get these breaks, but it's hardly enough time to let the water levels go

back down and some of that rain to soak into the soil. but we are definitely welcoming this little change that we're seeing as the rain lifts to the north of us, and there still will be spotty showers up around lake and mendocino counties. the next storm system coming in, as we've seen all of this water blasting the west coast, it's been kind of waving up and down. it's going to wave back down for tomorrow morning and bring back that rainfall. so that next storm comes in tomorrow morning. the flood concern remains, and also the potential of landslides. now, those rivers are still running hard and fast, and so most likely they're going to rise once again going into the weekend, continue to monitor that. winds will gust 20 to 60 miles per hour starting tomorrow morning and there may be more power outages as well as a lot of sierra snow that continues. as we look at the timing of it all, we see a storm system coming in on friday, a larger

one on saturday, and then on sunday there may be some breaks in the rain, but another system arriving on late sunday into monday, and we'll see all of this wet weather continuing, at least into early next week. we'll talk about the changes ahead coming up in a few minutes. mike, what's the update for highway 92? >> bob led with the story and laura and marcus talked about the closure that happened overnight. we had one-way traffic control yesterday afternoon and evening. folks were able to access half moon bay from highway 35, skyline 280. you cannot do that this morning. do not use that as your connecter. it won't happen. that sinkhole continues to be an issue along that stretch. so it's technically only closed and you'll be turned around. sharp park, folks know about that route. that is your alternate right now and indefinitely until they can figure out what to do about that

sinkhole and the roadway. another sinkhole may be developing on highway 1. we see slowing just above pescadero, i've marked that as a landmark. there's another sinkhole developing along the coast. highway 1 is open, but traffic control through that portion just south of pescadero. on the east bay side we have a closure for highway 84 through niles canyon. before new year's we had slippage and mud and rock and debris and damage to the railing. that all has to be fixed. 680 and mission are an easy alternate. back to you. >> thanks, mike. despite easing inflation, grocery prices you may notice are still on the rise. coming up next, important staples continue to surge. why some experts argue you may be the reason why. >> she did say easing. there is good news in the inflation report that came out about 38 minutes ago.

we'll take a look. let's take you to the futures of wall street, pleased with the inflation numbers as well. the dow is going to gain about 144 points on the open. ahead this morning at 6:25, we're going to have more on the recent storm damage. you may be wondering, am i covered? our consumer team dives into what you need to know to make sure that your home is insured. stick around. much more ahead. we are just under three minutes everyone is making room mom?

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good thursday morning. it's 6:11. we take a live look outside in oakland. a much dryer start to the day and even peeks of sunshine as we go into the afternoon. temperatures will be slightly warmer as well, reaching into the low 60s. a little bit of a break before the next storm comes in. we'll talk about the timeline as you make weekend plans in a few minutes. look at the conditions across the golden gate bridge. an easy drive. a clear view. you can even make out the cars individually traveling south. headlights into san francisco. we do have a couple of issues related to earlier damage, potentially sinkholes. local highways have closures. we'll talk about re-routes and the volume that may be building at the toll plaza. happy thursday to you. i want to point out this bed bath & beyond number, up 68% yesterday. we'll talk more about that in a second. the big news is inflation, down

again. core inflation showing prices 6.5% higher since this time last year. i said they were down and higher because this is true. prices are higher than they used to be, but inflation is getting better. month to month, prices are down, thus the down arrow. here are the specifics. prices down .1% from a month ago. compared to june, 6.5% is very good news, indeed. bed bath & beyond is going to close more stores as it tries to stay afloat. people who invest in so-called meme stocks pushed shares up nearly 70% yesterday, but the chain is in trouble. if you got a gift card from this store over the holidays, it would probably be best to spend it now. the big store will close in san jose, stores in larkspur,

antioch will also close. a new survey from the conference board says american ceos think the recession, if there is one, will be shallow and short. the bay area has been hit harder than most places on job losses as small startups run out of funding. i spoke with one of the venture capitalists about layoffs. he says if your company is close the running out of money, don't lay off. you might as well make one big last attempt to stay in business. >> i often get questions, should companies layoff, and in some cases they need to. when you only have two or three months of money, how much are you going to extend by giving up 10% of your cost? it's not the thing that's going to save you. >> managing partner of m13, my guest this week on nbc bay area's podcast, sand hill road. i knew you were going to talk about groceries. the price of eggs just in the

last month up 11%. >> well, yeah, and a lot of stores are limited. i went yesterday and you could only buy a dozen at a time. >> very expensive. >> thanks, scott. like he was saying about eggs, you've been paying more for groceries and now another store staple, yeah, a little hit to your wallet. last year you may remember paying a premium for flour, bread and milk. in 2022 prices for flour rose by 25% and bread by nearly 16%, milk by 14%. but now the price of eggs nearly doubling here in california. the price for eggs has jumped to $7.37 in some places. usda says prices are going up due to the avian flu outbreak affecting a record number of birds. one analyst says don't expect high prices to change anyone's diet. >> when it comes to consumers, they love what they love and it takes a lot of price shock to get them to think about changing

anything in their diet. ahead on "today," they will have more on when you can expect prices to decline at the grocery store. that's going to come up right after us. a live look at palisades tahoe ski resort. the snow has really been coming down there, and, as we're getting more rain here, more snow on the way in the sierra. they could see more than 4 feet of snow through the upcoming weekend. and there is that possibility of whiteout conditions. snow already causing treacherous driving conditions on the roads. mounds of snow line the roadways and nearly buried traffic signs. for some not driving, the snow is a lot of fun. take a look at this dog on a snowy run with her owner in truckee. nice fur keeping him warm. dog doesn't seem to mind the snow. >> i was laughing, when i was in

tahoe and it was snowing really hard, there was a skier who walked by with his dog and the dog had on ski goggles. i was, like, my goodness, yeah, i wish i had gotten a picture. everybody was looking and laughing. >> smart dog. >> we're going to need umbrellas tomorrow, not today. the good thing is we're getting a break. look at all of the rain we've had and now we have a break, we're able to tally up numbers and see how we're doing. santa rosa has measured over 21 inches of rainfall so far. that is 6.5 inches above what we typically see for this date. then looking at san francisco, over 18 inches of rainfall, oakland has had nearly 18 inches of rainfall, and it's been fairly significant, with a huge surplus across the bay area. so when you compare that to the normal amount for this date, oakland has more than doubled its normal amount of rainfall

for early january. looking at livermore, we are at 214% of the normal amount of rainfall. all of that water has been now flowing into the reservoirs and they've been gradually filling up. we do still have a lot of work to do at trinity lake. we're at 27% of capacity. but it's much better for lake shasta, orville, our largest reservoirs, we're at 38% of total capacity. some of the southern california reservoirs are also going up. we're seeing the rain heading to the north of us now. that means a break for us, but there still may be scattered showers for lake and mendocino counties for today. and then as we've seen recently with the wave of rain just kind of going up and down the coast, it's lifting up now, it's coming back down tomorrow, and that means the return of rain. and while we have this break, we're going to see temperatures warming up into the mid-60s for

the south bay, low 60s in the north bay, and even a few peeks of sunshine for this afternoon. then going into tomorrow morning, the next storm system starts to roll in with high winds and heavy rain starting at about 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning for the north bay, as well as san francisco and near the coastline, spreading across the bay area, and then we'll see scattered showers continue into the afternoon. even the chance of a few isolated thunderstorms. the next storm system comes in at about the same time on saturday, and that one is going to be much heavier in terms of the rainfall that we'll see. all of this rain continues into the weekend, and in total we could see another 2 to 3 inches of rain, and maybe even more than 4 inches of rain for the santa cruz mountains. as we've seen recently, i don't even know where all of this water is going to go. so we are looking at more flooding potential, as well as more rising creeks and rivers. we do need to stay weather

alert. as we go into the weekend, it is a wet one for us and we go into the martin luther king holiday with rain continuing. it looks like it clears up on tuesday and most of the day on wednesday. then the rain comes back wednesday evening and into thursday. we'll be watching all of that. mike, you were saying it's a tale of two 92s. >> the one across the bay, highway 92, the san mateo bridge, just fine. starting to pick up volume a little bit. clear, easy drive. no problem as folks are heading over the water. as you travel between 280 and half moon bay, there's a problem. it's the water under the roadway. a sinkhole developed yesterday during the midday, impeding the flow between half moon bay and the skyline area. now it's just completely cut off. overnight, about 2:30 in the morning they extended the closure to be completely closed for 92. you've got to take highway 1, sharp park and 280. that's a longer way, adding more

time. a smooth drive around 84, still the closure. but the monterey and santa cruz areas have 100 smaller incidents reported for trees and possible flood damage. we're watching those as well. >> thanks for keeping your eye on everything. next here on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> lots of people have insurance questions during these back-to-back-to-back storms. we have answers. i'm consumer iestigatornv

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the last couple of weeks a lot of video comes into the newsroom showing trees hitting homes and cars. >> you may be wondering if insurance will cover that damage so we asked consumer investigator chris chmura to look into it. >> good morning. let's start with trees. say a neighbor's tree falls and hits your house. who pays? your insurance. the insurance information institute says you should call your insurance company to get a claim going. typically that kind of damage is covered with a homeowners policy. it's the neighbor's tree, so perhaps you're wondering, why should i have to pay my deductible if it's their tree? it's a fair point. you might get your money back. in the background, your insurance company might seek reimbursement from your neighbor's insurance company.

it's called subrogation. if your insurance company wins subrogation and collects, you can get your deductible back. a flood can ruin a car. does car insurance cover the damage? it can. the key is your policy must include comprehensive coverage. the thing is, it's optional. you can decline it and cut your premium. lots of people do. about a year ago the website money geek estimated 38% of cars don't have it in california. if that's the case, you're on the hook for repairs. one final car scenario, what about pothole damage? same rules apply. comprehensive is required for car insurance to pay for pothole damage. if you have trouble, scan the qr code on your screen now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. >> thanks, chris. 6:25 right now. we've been seeing storm after storm here in the bay area. another one will soon be moving in. meteorologist kari hall is tracking its current path and

which neighborhoods can expect to get hit the hardest. >> i'm emma goss in marin county. the flooded roads have cleared up for now, but two new storms are headed our way. you're watching "today in the bay." >> plus, monterey island? well, south of the bay area people are bracing for a possible flood surge not seen in years. the new fears some neighborhoods ma bey

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flooding in some areas may be receding, but the storm damage is widespread. a small break from the rain is giving many the chance to clean up, but it won't be for long. meteorologist kari hall has a look at when the next storm is set to roll in. >> putting a stop to questionable police stops. one city's late-night decision to limit when officers can pull someone over. >> and a surprise reversal in the plan to close oakland schools. the new lifeline for families and the critical change for the district that paved the way for this unexpected twist. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, and online. a very good thursday morning to you. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. well, it may not be raining right now, but we all know it will be returning. meteorologist kari hall has a look at when we can expect rain to make its way back to the bay area. >> by this time tomorrow morning, we'll see the wave of

rain coming in. but for now, this is a break, and it's lifting to the north as we're seeing clouds streaming in, and still areas across northern california there will be rain chances. we still have to work through all of the clouds of rain that have been continuing across the region and the flood concern also remains. also, the landslide potential will continue with rivers running high and fast, and most likely as we go into the weekend we're going to see more issues with that. also for tomorrow, we're looking at high wind gusts, more power outages, as well as more sierra snow. we'll talk about all of that. mike, you've been talking about this closure on 92. >> which is different than yesterday. during the midday we talked about the traffic control because of a possible sinkhole underneath highway 92. now it's closed. at about 2:30 they closed access, so half moon bay, the drive is cut off.

you'll use the longer route, 280, highway 1. we do have slowing developing. highway 24, there may be a crash approaching interstate 580. so we're tracking the update. so far the bigger changes are at the bay bridge toll plaza. there's a backup, but dryer roads on our bay bridge camera and the flag much calmer in fremont. much better conditions to drive. >> exactly. folks in marin, some of the roads may still be slick but floodwaters have receded. >> emma goss is live. the key words, we're talking about the lack of rain, for now. i would imagine a lot of people want to try to clean up what they can now. >> reporter: laura and marcus, let me show you how starkly different the roads are today compared to yesterday. this is a completely dry miller

avenue in front of whole foods. no water at all over here. but take a look at what it looked like just yesterday. flooded streets over here, water rushing down the street, and people stopping to take video of it and saying they've never seen such intense rain and flooding like this before. in west marin, the reservoir spillway was brimming with water. all seven reservoirs around pa marin are full. driving during these storms has proved to be dangerous. in the case of a ukiah caregiver who was planning to drive a patient from guerneville to redwood city, it was fatal. the 43-year-old, daphne fontino, was found in her car yesterday morning near forestville. her husband spoke with nbc bay

area and says he's devastated. >> they came and knocked on my door to tell me that my wife had passed away, she drowned. ten feet in the water. >> reporter: fontino leaves behind her husband and three children and her loss of life is a reminder to everyone who gets on the road that these weather systems are extremely dangerous, as we head into another storm starting tomorrow in the bay area. reporting live in mill valley, emma goss for "today in the bay." >> it's hard to hear these tragic stories as a result of these storms. thank you. a warning if you plan to include going to monterey peninsula because authorities fear some of those areas may soon be cut off due to flood surge. this is what happens if the waters overtake highway 1 and 68. this is during extreme flooding. the river can block access to the monterey peninsula. the last time this happened was back in 1995.

monterey county's sheriff is warning everyone who lives or works in the area to be prepared. >> the monterey peninsula residents and to the monterey peninsula businesses, you need to be talking to your employees, you need to be preparing for what could be the monterey peninsula island, as he call it. monterey peninsula may become an island again like it did in the '95 flood. so please start preparing now. >> river levels are rising between chular and monterey bay. the national weather service forecasts it to be at flood stage this afternoon. be sure to download our free nbc bay area app. you can see where the rain and storm is going and we're going to send you alerts according to the storm. new developments in san francisco. in a late-night vote police commissioners have approved a controversial plan to dial back so-called pretextual traffic

stops, for things like driving without registration tags or broken taillights. proponents claim officers used minor infractions to look for more serious crimes, including drugs or weapon possession. data shows people of color are stopped more frequently on this basis. commissioners last night narrowly approved a new policy similar to policies in cities like oakland, l.a. and philadelphia. a victory for families in oakland where school district leaders will allow six schools slated for closure to remain open. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is in the newsroom to explain how this reversal happened. >> you might remember in the beginning the school closures were about enrollment numbers, so you might wonder how suddenly there could be enough students to keep six schools open. the reason is that it wasn't a change in enrollment numbers, it was a change in policy. [ applause ] the vote last night was met with

raucous applause. the vote was to keep the schools open. the plan when it was approved ramped up community activism, drawing a national spotlight and an inquiry by the california department of justice through the occupation of schools. protests, walkouts, you might remember there was an 18-day hunger strike and a one-day teachers strike. in the same span of time, oakland unified re-earned its positive certification, meaning it can once again meet its financial obligations and make plans for itself. between all of that and the election that brought three new directors to the board, there was enough to tip the balance. the director mike hutchinson, who has been fighting against the closures for years, had tears of joy. >> not only do we have control back of our school district, but we've been able to bring all of

the community together and reject this policy of school closures. >> i've been really happy and emotional that everybody supported us and all the parents and teachers that supported us throughout the whole entire year, or months, like, if you supported us, thank you so much. >> so these are the schools that will now remain open or unchanged. brookfield, munck, grass valley elementary, along with korematsu discovery, horace mann and hillcrest k-8 which will no longer close its middle school. the reversal does not impact the two schools that closed last year. community day school and parker k-8, that's the campus which the parents occupied to make their point. we'll keep following what this all means for the schools and the community throughout the day. >> thank you, kris. happening today, contra costa leaders will debate new oversight in the wake of that incident at the martinez

refinery. this happened over thanksgiving weekend when 20 tons of dust was released, which leaders say contained elevated levels of aluminum and other metals. prosecutors are looking at possible charges in connection to the amount of time it took the martinez refinery to notify the county. supervisors will debate a new oversight committee tasked with conducting an independent investigation and community risk assessment. taking a live look at the lexington reservoir in los gatos. look at the sun's arrival, and a dry day on tap, maybe to clean the storm drains a little again, pick up some leaves. well, maybe not. more rain is coming. let's check in with kari. >> you're trying to make weekend plans, but let's talk about what to expect. if you're trying to get to the sierra, there's going to be a really tough time getting there, because of the rain changing back over to snow this weekend. you do want to make sure you're

checking ahead to make sure the roads are even open. it's going to be difficult to see and you need to be flexible with when you go or when you can come back to the bay area. looking at l.a.'s weather this weekend, it's warm and dry for tomorrow, but then the rain returns going into saturday, as well as sunday, and temperatures drop into the mid to upper 50s. for napa valley this weekend, off and on showers, you'll need that warm jacket. and, also, that umbrella, because we'll see a lot of rain there, as well as the rain gear at the 49ers game this weekend. so you see the theme. it's going to be soggy this weekend and windy and cool. let's go through our hour-by-hour forecast. there will be a few breaks here and there, but we're going to see at times heavy rain, maybe even thunderstorms. saturday is looking like we'll see the heaviest of the rain and there may be a brief break on sunday. but there's more rain early next week, so we'll talk about the impacts of that. mike, you're seeing a backup

for highway 24. >> there was a crash reported here and finally got more detail. this is a crash i had been tracking earlier. i think it was on one side of the freeway. we have it moved over to the right lane. the right lane is the only blocked one but the activity caused backup as the volume builds as well. coming off of highway 13, highway 24 is really jammed up. should be recovering, as now only one lane is blocked there. we have a build through berkeley for west 80, out of richmond and vallejo. we haven't seen that much traffic and we had the rain disrupting a lot of the normal flow. actually, the rain is still an issue because of the sinkhole that developed. now highway 92 is completely cut off between highway 35, no access. use the longer route. coming up on "today in the bay," a flame war in washington over gas stoves.

over gas stoves. we'll try to turn it down

♪ ♪ ♪♪ voltaren. the joy of movement.

♪♪ right now at 6:43, get the camera out. something that looks amazing out there, the sun! it's giving us a very colorful sunrise this morning over san jose. we'll see it peeking out from behind the clouds as we get a chance to dry out and clean up. we'll talk about the drought monitor and how much all of this rain has added up coming up in a

few minutes. >> that looks like a postcard from hawaii. we have similar colors because speeds are improving. a crash just cleared from highway 24, but a lot of folks are getting toward the bay bridge toll plaza. slowing off the 880 overcross and we'll talk about a bigger problem than the backup at the bay bridge coming up. well, a tip this morning in washington, natural gas. >> scott mcgrew joins us. tempers are boiling over. >> they are, indeed. at issue was a series of government studies showing gas stoves emit far more pollutant than we thought and may contribute to life-long asthma in children. the average person probably said, you know what, i'm going to set the hood to low whenever i cook. politicians reacted much more strongly after the consumer product safety commission suggested a ban on future sales

of gas stoves was at least possible. president biden quickly weighed in, said he doesn't support such a ban, and the cpsc now says a ban is off the table. but the reaction was quick. ronny jackson tweeted, they could take his stove from his cold, dead hands. now, any ban, and there isn't one at the federal level, would be on new appliances, not old ones, just like when the government changed rules on light bulbs. nobody came to your house and unscrewed your light bulbs. california already has a ban on future installations of gas water heaters and requires them to put in an electrical box that will handle it if the owner wants one. if you're cooking with gas right now, nothing changes. nbc the first to report that lawyers working for the president found a second set of classified materials at an old

office. they say they reported it to the government immediately. one big question, why did it take so long for us to find out? the first group of documents was found in an old office before the midterms, but we're only learning about it now. there's still a lot of differences between the biden situation and the trump situation. namely in the trump situation, the government knew it was missing documents, the trump team said they didn't have them, only they did, and they were found in a search by the fbi. there's no question, though, biden has lost the moral high ground in the minds of many, even if the cases are different. >> a group of gop lawmakers calling for george santos to step down. the new congressman lied to the public about all kinds of things, where he worked, where he went to school, said he ran a charity for animals that doesn't seem to exist. house speaker kevin mccarthy says santos should stay for his full term, let the voters decide two years from now. >> so a lot of people here in

the senate and others, but the one thing, i think the voters who made that decision, he has to answer to them and they can make another decision two years from now. >> we'll talk about that and other interesting things, you know, like birthdays or whatever, on social media. you can find me on facebook. >> thank you, scott. you know what we're doing around here? celebrating. trending this morning, we want to wish a very happy birthday to our own mike inouye. every single day on "today in the bay," you know him as our traffic guy, who helps you get from point a to point b. to us, he's a wonderful friend. he really is. >> thank you. >> he's a great dad, great husband. >> talks about "star wars" and all those things. you cook, one of the best dads we know around here and you deserve nothing but the best. >> you smile almost more than anyone i know. >> when i'm here. [ laughter ] >> also when you bring things like this. i have to tell you, this is the

hardest part. >> there's marcus. >> a dance-off. >> i was showing off my cargo shorts. >> like we said, you're a dad. >> contributing to the dad bods. >> i have to pick two people to share this with. let the games begin. [ laughter ] >> we do appreciate you. >> this is absolutely the best gig i've ever had. we are, like we talk about, family, and i appreciate the folks behind the camera, especially. it's great. >> we still like each other. [ laughter ] >> better than some marriages. [ laughter ] >> awesome. we appreciate you. >> thank you. >> happy birthday. >> think of me. i improved the drought for you. >> that's true. [ laughter ] >> let's talk about that, as we've been talking about all of

the rain that we've had recently, and the big changes that we are seeing. but just keep in mind that the drought is not just a california problem. it's happening all across the west. and we see a huge problem that's been persisting, and so now that we look at where it was and where we are now, 71% of california was in a severe drought. well, now with the update this morning, it's at 46%. we're just going to remove that red part. the bay area still in a moderate drought, but we've seen the extreme to exceptional drought taken out of the state for most of us. so this was a significant change. let's talk about all of the rain we've measured here. over 21 inches of rain measured in santa rosa, and that's actually more than 6.5 inches above the normal amount for this date. san francisco measuring over 18 inches of rain. oakland about 18 inches of rain. livermore, more than 13 inches

of rainfall so far. san jose, over 7 inches. you can see with the green numbers how much that is above our typical amount for this date. so oakland, you've had more than double the normal amount of rainfall for early january, and livermore about the same. now, we're still making some progress in santa rosa. we're at 145% of normal, and for the sierra snowpack it's been amazing. if you've seen some of the pictures with the snow walls on the side of the road, we're at more than double our usual amount for the sierra snowpack. the southern sierra, 269% of normal. we know there's more snow and more bay area rain on the way. as of now, it's lifted to the north with warmer air, a warm front coming in. it's going to start to push back to the south, and coming down with cold air, and we may have kind of the same situation that we had yesterday with the cold front. i should say on tuesday with the

cold fronts as it moved through. it did produce thunderstorms with lightning and small hail, and that will be a possibility for us tomorrow, especially in the afternoon. as we head toward saturday, another storm system arrives with some heavier rain. that continues into early sunday and maybe a brief break on sunday afternoon before we see another system arriving on monday. we know it's been one storm after the next. but let me show you how the pattern starts to change going toward the end of next week. on thursday, there will be some rain coming in, but a lot of it dries up before it gets here. so we're still going to have a chance of showers, but even seeing that signals to me that there's going to be a change in the pattern where the storm systems may weaken and we may head toward dryer conditions beyond that point. but just this weekend we're looking at another 2 to 3, possibly 4 inches of rainfall and we know it's coming down on ground that's already more than saturated. so we're still concerned about the potential of flooding and

more issues there going into the weekend. it's going to be a soggy weekend into the martin luther king holiday. if you are able to just stay inside and watch the rainfall, especially heading into early next week as those impacts continue, you might want to plan on doing that. mike, you're seeing a backup for the longer drive. >> at the bay bridge toll plaza because the folks were let loose from the backup forming coming into the area. now we have a better flow of traffic from 13 to the toll plaza. slowing for highway 4, typical for 37. there is a new crash that looks like it might be affecting 242. i'll let you know if there's any big deal. we'll also put it on twitter as we continue to update you through the morning. continuing on 280 to highway 1, or vice-versa.

no access between half moon bay and upper skyline. we have highway 84 also closed through niles canyon. >> thank you very much. happening now, nearly 100 state parks across california remain fully or partially closed due to weather related issues, including collapsed roads, downed trees and mudslides. that includes seacliff state beach where heavy surf damaged the seawall. also closed, candlestick point and the park along the peninsula. as kari has been telling us, we have a brief break between those storms and the bay area is rushing to clean up and make repairs before the next round. up next, from a possible sinkhole to removing downed trees, we are moving you forward with what you need to know ahead of the next

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6:56. we want to welcome you back. we are moving you forward with a look at top stories. a major traffic artery linking the peninsula to the coastline is closed. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live along skyline

boulevard. these are fears of a sinkhole on highway 92. >> reporter: actually, we just received new video of what used to be a depression on highway 92. it is now a sinkhole. this came from the man running traffic control for caltrans. this is in the southbound direction of highway 92 just over skyline boulevard. the concern is that that sinkhole has become a sinkhole and it is now enroaching on the northbound direction. early this morning chp did shut down highway 92 between skyline boulevard and highway 35. if you're trying to get to half moon bay, you're going to have to try to find an alternate route. there is no estimated time for reopening of the road. down the hill in foster city, more damage from the storm just before midnight. a large tree fell onto a parked

car and ended up leaning against a church. in pacifica we have learned that terra nova boulevard has reopened after a large tree fell, took down power lines and blocked the read. pg&e was able to restore electricity. again, the headline is overnight they did shut down highway 92. they're diverting traffic here, telling people to turn around, at skyline boulevard. this, of course, is a major corridor from the peninsula to half moon bay. if you're trying to get to the coastline, you have to find another route. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you. and be sure to download our nbc bay area app. it is a great resource to have with you at any time. you can look at the same doppler radar we look at right here in our newsroom. oakland families are celebrating a surprise reversal by school board members. six schools slated to close will remain open. parents, students and teachers

erupted with joy following last night's vote. for nearly a year proponents protested holding a hunger strike and others occupying one of the schools that was closed. board members say the reversal came not from higher enrollment numbers but a policy change. two schools that closed last year will not reopen. here's our chance to celebrate not only mike's birthday, but a nice sunrise and dry day on tap. >> they are going to have a nice day with peeks of sunshine and temperatures headed for the mid-60s. rain is back tomorrow, continues off and on throughout the weekend, and also flooding concerns will persist into early next week. >> and concerns over the sinkhole bob showed us that dropped on highway 92, the reason it's closed between highway 35, skyline and cutting off half moon bay. you're taking the long way. >> that's going to do it for us. join us for nbc bay area news at 11:00. coming up next, the "today" show. have a great morning. look at this beautiful shot.

don't you just want to go there, get on the boat? >> that's lexington reservoir. you could row and sing. >> we'll have a nice party over there. good morning. it's thursday and off to a calmer start at the nation's airports. >> but the fallout over the coast-to-coast chaos, it is far from over. it's january 12th and this is "today." ♪♪ glitch in the system. an investigation underway into that massive faa failure that brought flights nationwide to a standstill for hours. more than 10,000 canceled or delayed. passengers and the airlines still scrambling to recover. >> we can't look at this as just some software glitch. this was a major problem. we can't have this again. >> this morning, a closer look at what created those problems and what's being done to make sure they do not happen again. paper trail.