right now at 4:30, get ready to pay up. in less than 30 minutes new express lanes open along highway 101 on the peninsula. the one thing you need to make you have with you in your car starting this morning. [ tires squealing ] >> that is another viral tiktok challenge, and it is not letting up in the east bay. major steps two major automakers say they are taking to stop tar thieves. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, amazon fire, and online. thanks so much for joining

us on this friday morning. i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia is off. >> i'm marcus washington. we're going to get a look at the commute with mike, but it is friday and i love the friday forecasts. we should enjoy today's forecast. >> yeah, one more day of summer -- sunshine, i should say. it's not summer, not any time soon. we are going to see more rain coming back for the weekend. let's get a look at what's coming our way. i had to open the picture up far to show where the next storm is coming from. as it starts to move in tomorrow, it will bring in scattered showers for the weekend. right now it's cold, 35 degrees in gilroy, 36 degrees in napa and 46 degrees in san francisco. as we head into today, upper 50s and low 60s. that's cooler than what's normal for early march, but we are going to have a significant cooldown for the weekend as the

rain returns. so far, it's early, but it seems like a calm commute. >> it is. we have the overnight road work being done at the golden gate bridge, in fact, there's a crew getting ready to clear the cones. there will be a little slowing. a nice, smooth drive, mostly green sensors and a couple of smaller incidents on the grid but nothing blocking lanes of the freeway, including north 680. the activity has cleared from the grid on the caltrans grid, and this weekend we do not have the closure of north 680, because of the weather kari talked about coming in. today we're going to see changes along the peninsula. you've seen the express lane signs over 101 for a long time, but today marks a significant change and "today in the bay's" pete suratos is out there along highway 101. he wants to save drivers from a very costly mistake.

good morning, pete. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, mike. if you don't have that fas trak or the express lanes, you could get a $500 ticket. we're near whipple avenue and you can see the 101 express lanes. for folks, if you don't have that fas trak, you could get that ticket. that was all different during the testing phase, but all of that changes this morning. >> but this change is for that section, but we see the general concept through other parts of the bay, like further down 101, we've talked about testing and activation before, pete. >> reporter: yeah, mike. and the other phase would be in santa clara county. but this one, of course, is referring to san mateo county. we did speak to the san mateo joint powers authority about this san mateo phase. >> for those that use that portion of the highway, we had partially opened up the express lanes about a year ago, mostly

in the southern section of the county going into santa clara county. but now, because this project is complete, they are able to use the 22-mile stretch, so not just using the express lanes from the southern portion, but now being able to fully use it all the way on up to south san francisco near interstate 380. >> so we have a new lane activation, and new tool calculations are being taken through those areas. do you have anything else, maybe, for this area? >> reporter: yeah, you know, tasha shared with us some programs to help drivers with the cost of commuting, really important during this time. here she is giving us details about that program. >> the san mateo county 101 express lanes community transportation benefits program helps cover transportation costs for qualifying individuals in san mateo county, by leveraging revenue from the new express lanes to help low income

individuals in san mateo county get where they need to go. we can provide participants with either a $100 transit credit on a clipper card or a $100 toll credit on a fas trak transponder. >> pete, you're telling us about new tolls that might save us time, but also an opportunity for san mateo county residents to possibly save money. great stuff. thank you, pete. kris and marcus, how about that? >> we've been seeing those signs for a very long time. somebody is going to get caught off guard, so i'm glad you guys are reminding us. i'm going to recharge my fas trak. so if you are still a little confused, express lanes, mike shared a great video on facebook from nbc bay area's jonathan m, explains how all bay area express lanes work so you

don't lose money in the deal. plus it will save you time but not cost you money. 4:35 right now. this morning we are learning more about a huge problem, a tiktok challenge is creating. five months ago nbc bay area told you about the viral push to steal two kinds of cars. >> authorities in the east bay say this problem is just getting worse and as "today in the bay's" gia vang records, there are warning hyundai and kia owners to take extra measures. >> reporter: the how-to videos of stealing kia or hyundai vehicles not equipped with an engine immobilizer by hot wiring the car has reached east bay cities. so much so, if you talk to an owner of a kia and hyundai, they'll tell you if it didn't happen to them, it happened to someone they know. >> the custodian i work with, he had mentioned that his kia got stolen recently. >> reporter: police say this december hyundai and kia

vehicles make up 38% of stolen vehicles. >> the increase that was seen was essentially more than triple the amount that we had seen in the past of hyundais and kias stolen in the system. >> reporter: he usually get the call to pick up the stolen cars, saying about 15 or so are here in his lot he keeps a watch over. but daily -- >> every day, two, three, four. we had 18 in one weekend we picked up for various agencies we worked for. >> reporter: he says for those owners -- >> some of them have insurance that will cover it. most don't. >> reporter: it's not just an inconvenience. it's costly and about to get worse. >> we just got notice the other day, i think yesterday morning, that our insurance is going to increase by 25%. we're already paying a boatload of money for insurance. so where do we go for the money? the people that we tow have to

pay more. >> reporter: hyundai and kia have developed antitheft software and will give it to you for free. it will make it harder for thieves to steal your car. the reality is -- >> the fact that this is a challenge, i don't think people understand the necessities and people are in hard times right now. >> reporter: the towing company says if you have a hyundai or kia and can afford it, get comprehensive coverage, because the people releasing the cars tell them that the repairs can be in the thousands. gia vang, "today in the bay." >> thank you. 4:38 right now. senator dianne feinstein is waking up this morning in a san francisco hospital. she is expected to be okay and make a full recovery following treatment for shingles. shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. it is more common in older people, but everyone can get it. ucsf doctor peter chin-hong says shingles can be prevented if you have a vaccine, but there are

other treatments. >> 72 hours is kind of the sweet spot, just like with paxlovid. so early therapy can help cause the rash to go away faster and cause less pain later on. >> senator feinstein's spokesperson expects her to get back to washington, d.c. soon. the senator announced last month that she is retiring at the end of her term in 2024. members of congress, katie porter, adam schiff and barbara lee have announced intention to say fill her seat. a big cost for investors still ahead on "today in the bay," a slowdown in demand at big box stores that has wall street taking notice. >> plus, helping the competition. we're going to tell you about the new move from espn which may reduce your search time for finding your favorite game. stay with us. we'll be right back.

right now on your friday morning at 4:42, let's head to vallejo where it's cloudy and temperatures in the upper 30s. it is a cold start and we'll have a calm wind and mostly sunny skies today. it's still going to be cool, but this is our break before more rain comes in. we'll go hour-by-hour with our rain forecast coming up in a few minutes. i just told you there might be slowing across the golden gate bridge through the area with the cones, but this looks like it might be unrelated to the crew that was doing the overnight work.

i see what looks like a caltrans truck, but the other one with the flashing lights, i'm not sure why they're blocking the other side of the freeway. it looks like traffic is slowly getting through. i'll get more detail and let you know what we find. we'll check in with pippa. >> good morning, i'm pippa stevens from cnbc. wall street is set for a flat open after stocks rallied yesterday. the dow closed up 341 points, while the s&p 500 and nasdaq both rose less than 1%. the gains coming amid conflicting comments from two at the federal reserve. one suggesting they can hike in small increments, while the other is raising the possibility that rates could go higher than expected if inflation doesn't slow down. costco's quarterly sales missed wall street estimates as consumers are being frugal amid

stubbornly high inflation. major box retailers are seeing a slowdown for discretionary items, such as toys, electronics and home goods. higher prices are forcing shoppers to buy more necessities that are wallet friendly. walmart warning last week that consumers are shifting away from general merchandise, toward food and consumable goods. espn wants to be the streaming hub for all live sports, even if it helps the competition. sources tell cnbc, espn has talked with the major sports leagues and media partners about launching a feature to link users directly to where an event is streaming. that could include national services such as apple tv and amazon prime video. espn could take a cut of subscription revenue if subscribers sign up through the website. if you're a subscription, they

would provide it as a court see. >> comcast, you can push the c on the remote and all the games come up. you push the c. all the games come up on the side and you can pick the one you want. >> i just go, quick, find the game! >> a little tip. 4:45 this morning, those alarming high prices that power your home, they're finally expected to come down. >> good news. next on "today in the bay," a all new move from pg&e aimed at skyrocketing costs.

choosing a treatment for your chronic migraine - 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more - can be overwhelming. so, ask your doctor about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start.

it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over eight hundred and fifty thousand chronic migraine patients. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. in a survey, 92% of current users said they wish they'd talked to their doctor and started botox® sooner. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you. learn how abbvie could help you save on botox®.

it is 4:47 now, and good morning, san jose. it is nice and clear this morning. you might want to make some time this afternoon to clear out your gutters because there's more rain coming. >> let's talk more about that weather, because we want to give you a live look at palisades tahoe, over 12 feet of snow has piled up in some parts of the sierra nevada. and later today a third snow survey gets under way. it will give us an insight into our water supply. i want to show you a side-by-side view of the drought update, some parts of california are in the white, which means there is no longer a drought in those areas. >> meteorologist kari hall is here now.

kari, if people want to go to tahoe to enjoy the snow, not just the snowpack and the water later on, but the snow, when is the window? >> your window is today. that's it. and then it's going to be snowing saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday, so you better make sure that you can stay there a while. and i love, marcus, how you said 12 feet so casually. [ laughter ] >> that's a lot of snow. it's hard for them to keep all of that clear as well. it keeps icing over and, yeah, it's a lot going on. and we're starting out all nice and quiet, here across the bay area. our temperatures are chilly and i wanted to give you this beautiful view of san francisco that is all clear this morning. temperatures are cold once again. take a look at where we are right now, 49 degrees, and as we go into today it's still going to be breezy and temperatures

staying in the 40s throughout much of the morning. only headed to 55 degrees for a high this afternoon. then we see high temperatures for the east bay reaching upper 50s. this is basically like yesterday, which turned out to be nice and mild, compared to what we've had for the past week or so. and then tomorrow it does get much cooler, only reaching 53 degrees in dublin and in novato, as well as santa rosa, and 53 in half moon bay. on sunday it's colder. we're going to struggle to make it out of the 40s into the low 50s. it will be a chilly weekend. we'll see rain coming back. it starts at 9:00 in the north bay, and it's going to start to move into the north bay shortly thereafter. you can see it quickly sweeping through, by noon heading into the tri-valley, as well as the south bay, with a break for much of saturday afternoon. another round of rain, as well as snow, as you go above 2,000 feet, coming in from late

saturday night to sunday, and then more spotty showers in sunday's forecast. it's going to be snowing in the sierra at least into the first part of next week. the bay area getting some rain and snow on our hills once again. so over the weekend we could see the possibility of another half inch of rain, but it may be over an inch farther to the north on top of that already saturated ground. and then for the sierra, several more feet of snow, up to 55 inches of additional snowfall for parts of the sierra. and it's going to take a while before we warm up. take a look at ukiah. not only next weekend do we make it into the low 60s once again. mike, you're going to take us back to the golden gate bridge. >> the camera we saw, we saw trucks on the left side and what looked like maybe a disabled vehicle on the right and folks were weaving through to get past the scene. it has cleared over the next few minutes.

i believe that's better news for the golden gate bridge. we still have the cones in the construction zone on the northbound side and we see slowing toward spencer. in fact, just a bit north of there. the rest of the bay shows an easy, light drive. lanes are being activated for tolls along 101. we'll talk about that much more today. >> thanks, mike. pg&e says your natural gas bill will be going down a lot. the utility says this month customers can expect bills to drop as much as 75%. pg&e is distributing the state's april climate credit one month ahead of schedule. the market price the utility pays to buy natural gas dropped significantly, and that's the reason why. people can also tend to use less gas in march, as cold weather fades away, but maybe not this march. consumer reporter chris chmura dug into why prices soared before this point. you can watch his story at nbcbayarea.com/investigations. new for you this morning,

more people in california could be detained against their will because of mental illness. under a new proposed bipartisan bill, current laws allow courts to order people into treatment only if they are a danger to themselves or others. the new proposal would expand that definition to include people who are not capable of caring for themselves due to mental illness or an addiction to illegal drugs. some oppose that bill because they believe it would lead to more unnecessary arrests. lawmakers think they have enough support to get the bill passed. our investigative unit has been taking a closer look into the mental health situation, safety and crime in our community. this is all streaming on our app "saving san francisco" which you can watch all six episodes for yourself on nbcbayarea.com/saving san francisco. a sight in the skies had a lot of people in the bay area looking up a little more than 24 hours ago. still ahead on "today in the bay," we'll show you what scientists say was behind that

bright show. >> happening now, mountain view is celebrating the groundbreaking of new apartments. they will be located on the corner of la avenida avenue, across the street from microsoft's corporate campus. it will help bring 100 new homes for veterans and formerly for veterans and formerly unhoused individuals who have

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ you can beat it! ♪ visit youcanbeatit.org or call 833-422-4255 to ask for medication to treat covid-19. did you see this? it was a light streaking across the sky early yesterday morning from vallejo to san jose. it wasn't a chinese spy balloon or ufo. >> it was actually a meteor.

"today in the bay's" audrey asistio is breaking down what we learned. >> we reached out to the space and science center and astronomers confirmed what you saw was in fact a meteor. >> i stood out in the cold looking for a shower when it's reported it's active, and this time i was just in awe. >> lee ann baker wasn't in the cold when the meteor came through but her security camera was rolling. >> haven't seen one in action quite that large before. they've all been teeny little steaks in the sky. so this one, it was just exciting that i saw it. >> she lives in vallejo but many across the bay area spotted it as well, including people in fremont, oakland and san jose. >> this one, just judging by videos, it's somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 meters or 6 to 10 feet in size. >> reporter: this is an astronomer with the space and science center and says it

likely started as a mall astroid. he says it likely came down somewhere south of san jose. >> this is actually pretty common. we get these types of meteors several times a year. we had one in february near france, and of course this one last night. so a little bit of excitement. >> reporter: audrey asistio, "today in the bay." so the conservative action political conference is getting under way this weekend in d.c. next on "today in the bay," the 2024 presidential hopefuls attending and the one big question democ

right now at 5:00, another round of rain set to move into the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is timing out the weekend washout as you make your plans. >> not over yet, a san jose home is still the focus of an ongoing investigation this morning. police say the home was filled with explosives and drugs, triggering evacuations. the reason some neighbors tell us they might have to leave their homes once again. >> plus, traveling to the bay area, vice president kamala harris is expected to touch down in a matter of hours. what we know about her visit and who she plans to meet with. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, amazon fire, and online. a good friday morning. thanks for allowing us to be a part of your