this is ahead of a push of some cooler air that will reinforce what we've been feeling. we're going to see the rain taper off in the north bay in the next couple of hours. it's still a steady downpour for much of the north bay. it is a little heavier and picks up as it moves into the east bay around hayward, oakland, toward danville and just starting to get sprinkles around brentwood. that will continue to fill in around livermore. and then looking at heavier downpours up and down the peninsula. we'll also see some off and on showers for san jose down to the south county as well. once this moves through, we'll prepare for that atmospheric river. it's just a sloppy morning commute we're seeing right now. and the rest of the day is looking sunny. we'll talk about what to expect with the next round of rain, the bigger storms in a few minutes. >> thank you, kari. the bay area's wettest season in years, showing no sign of letting up. by this time friday, a lot of neighborhoods could once again

be inundated from the latest atmospheric river. >> so it's not just going to be unpleasant, it could be dangerous. "today in the bay's" bob redell is in pleasanton. pg&e will be using a relatively new technology if the power goes out this time, right? >> reporter: correct. and this will be something affecting the people especially in places like the santa cruz mountains. we are talking about drones. this past weekend the utility used a drone to fix downed power lines in the santa cruz mountains. the drone is actually large enough to fly the new power lines up into the air and reconnect them to the grid. pg&e says it started using the drones last spring. they paid about $250,000 to lease them. they say that they're cheaper than regular helicopters and also helicopters can be grounded during a storm. drones often can still operate. now, later this morning in that same area in the santa cruz mountains, caltrans will shut down the right lane of southbound highway 17 at spots between bear creek and summit

road to allow workers to clear fallen trees, and then they'll do the same on the northbound side whenever they're finished with the southbound side. the lane closures will be between 9:00 and 3:00 today through friday. we spoke with the division chief of the santa rosa fire department who was encouraging everyone in the bay area to check their own property before this next storm rolls in. >> we really pushed that message after the last storm, getting residents out into their yards, taking a look at trees. if they see something leaning, contact a tree specialist. don't leave it. the last thing you want to have is a tree come down on your property or a neighbor's property and potentially hurt somebody, if not worse. >> reporter: and here in the east bay, the city of oakland is encouraging residents to adopt a drain in their neighborhood. in other words, to make sure the drain by your house is clear of debris. they're something that people normally sign up for this adopt a drain program. this will help city workers who are out and about making sure

the water has somewhere to go as this storm gets ready to come in. we have a little rain here, it's cold in pleasanton, but nothing like we're expecting starting later tomorrow. >> going to have to add another layer. >> don't forget, our nbc bay area app, it's always a great useful tool to have. you can actually track the incoming rain with our exclusive mobile doppler radar. we'll give you a head start as well and send you alerts before the rain starts to fall in your neighborhood. we have a follow-up this morning about a woman reported missing in fairfield. police last month learned of the disappearance of this woman, 53-year-old anu hobson. they confirmed that her burned remains were found in rural fresno county. she was only identified by dna. hobson's husband greg was arrested last month on suspicion of murder. originally both greg and anu were considered missing, but after authorities located the couple's car, they arrested greg

hobson. san jose police are expected to provide new information on a bombing suspect arrested last week. 36-year-old the accused of bombing two pg&e transformers. police say officers discovered explosives and drug-making equipment inside his home at the time of his arrest. it all happened in the neighborhood near gunderson high school. he faces multiple charges, including child endangerment, because his children also lived there. we'll bring you the latest from a news conference that is happening during our midday newscast at 11:00. if you're on the go, you can watch live online at nbcbayarea.com or on our free nbc bay area news app. we will stream it, also, on roku. developing this morning, u.s. authorities are cranking up the pressure in quickly solving the kidnapping in mexico that left two americans dead, the other two were found alive. drew petrimoulx is live in washington.

a warning for people who might be traveling for spring break. >> reporter: yeah, good morning. the u.s. state department warning americans not to travel to certain parts of mexico due to the risk of organized crime and kidnappings. we're learning more about the group of four childhood friends from south carolina who were kidnapped south of the border. investigators say the group crossed into mexico last friday and cameras captured gunmen loading them into the beds of a pickup truck. family members confirmed shaeed woodard and zindell brown did not survive the attack. this is the mexican state of tamaulipas, which is under factions of drug cartel. the state department warns americans not to travel there and many schools are just about to go on spring break. two other victims, latavia washington mcgee, and eric williams, survived the ordeal. williams' brother is speaking with "today's" morgan chesky

this morning about when he first learned eric was safe. >> what went through your head first? >> the first thing was that i was a relieved, but i just had faith that he's a tough guy and that he would pull through and that he would want to live. i know you can't always control that, but at least i knew the desire to live would be there. >> reporter: and you can watch chesky's full interview with williams coming up on "today." that's right at 7:00 after "today in the bay." meanwhile, u.s. officials are not saying much about the efforts to track down those responsible for this attack, but experts say law enforcement agencies will first try to target the people that were involved in the attack and the kidnapping, and then work to determine who they were working for. reporting from washington, i'm drew petrimoulx, nbc news. >> thank you very much. happening today, students and parents in the south bay will protest the recent decision to close their charter school. summit charter school leaders voted last week to close north

sunnyvale summit denali school at the end of the semester. leaders say the school is losing critical pandemic funding and faces a $5 million shortfall for the next school year. the move means some 650 middle and high school students will have to find a new school next fall. 6:07 on your wednesday morning. taking a live look outside. different parts of the bay area to give you a perspective. meteorologist kari hall is watching all parts of the bay area, as yet another storm system plans on moving through. >> yeah, this one is moving through quickly. we've been, of course, talking much about the incoming atmospheric river. that's going to be arriving tomorrow afternoon. but we are going to see this in and out of here throughout the morning, seeing some breaks in the clouds in san jose. look at our trend for the next few hours. some off and on light rain through 9:00 and the rest of the day will be sunny as we head for the mid-50s. then tomorrow we will see some more widespread heavy rain with a tap-in to some deeper moisture that's going to cause a lot of

problems for us, with gusty winds, heavy rain, as well as several days of rain kind of coming off and on in waves as we go into the weekend as well. and we're also going to see the potential of more flooding. as we go beyond in the forecast, we're going to see temperatures warming up slightly. that's going to make all the difference in the type of precipitation that we see. so we're going to talk more about that and how much rain to expect in just a few minutes. mike, you've been looking at gas prices and it seems to be going up. >> yeah, and that's what gas buddy reports as well. this is where we get a lot of these prices reported through gas buddy. they're saying the summer blend is coming into play so we're not going to see prices drop as the summer blend costs more to make. right now we're looking at in solano county, vallejo the best price at $4.25. the valero on redwood parkway. it's $4.19 at world gas on monument boulevard with that

price in the middle. and then the south bay, the best is $4.09 in santa clara county. the west we have is $4.09, nothing below 4 bucks. on the roadways, we have wet roads around almost the entire bay area. we still have a lot of slowing across the san mateo bridge. a disability vehicle reported just shy of foster city. they have a flat tire, i believe it's after they hit a large piece of metal that was off the high-rise. that metal has been cleared in the roadway but the roadway has the commute. back to you. >> tough one out there. it is international women's day. coming up next on "today in the bay," how you can honor the women in your life with a simple stroll outside. >> new data show that people who are laid off from tech have a quick turnaround. they do get those jobs back quickly. let's take you out to the futures this morning, where we're seeing some mild moves, maybe, a little. but jay powell has to speak

again today and i think wall street is waiting on that. >> plus -- ♪♪ >> big names for this year's outside lands music festival. we're breaking down the lineup we're breaking down the lineup - life is uncertain.

everyday pressures can feel overwhelming it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. it's normal. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. good wednesday morning.

right now at 6:12, as you get ready to head out in brentwood, we're seeing light showers moving through that will linger until 8:00. the rest of the day is sunny and cool with breezy winds and we're prepping for an atmospheric river set to arrive tomorrow afternoon. we'll talk about more of what to expect even heading into the weekend coming up in just a few minutes. some of that water on the lens here in san jose, coming toward us, the prism effect for the northbound 280 at 17. we're seeing a buildup for the south bay, even more slowing, more water throughout the east bay. we'll show you the commute coming up. well, good morning. very happy wednesday to you. the number of the day is 6, 6%, the new possible top rate to the interest rates, after head of the fed jay powell warned the senate committee the fed would need to be more aggressive in raising rates. the economy moving too fast, he said. the rate cuts so far not taking the effect they were supposed

to. and while he didn't give specifics, it sounds as if the next rate hike will be a half a percent instead of the expected quarter percent. now, i know interest rates are not that interesting, maybe not first thing in the morning. but, honestly, they effect everything. yesterday's testimony was a big, big deal. we'll talk more about it, in fact, as we talk politics coming up in about a half an hour. for all of powell's concerns about the economy not slowing down enough, we do continue to report layoffs. this is clif bar in emeryville, warned the state they'll cut about 40 staffers. and of course yesterday we said facebook would likely cut thousands. now there is a lot of data showing the demand for tech workers is still so high, laid off tech workers get new jobs very quickly. this is salesforce's trailblazer event, a job fair in san francisco, and for many it is

paying off. >> this is our conference for anyone building on the salesforce platform and wanting to learn new skills. we have 5,000 people here on site and 20,000 online. we have over 250 technical sessions to learn the salesforce platform, to learn new skills and to get a great career in the salesforce ecosystem. >> and, finally, san francisco-based sofi, which makes its money refinancing people's student loans, is suing to make the government make students start paying their loans back again. sofi is suing over lost profits. one headline calls the lawsuit absolutely baffling. here is the problem, kris and laura. as you know, this issue is in front of the supreme court. and within about the next 60 days one of two things is going to happen. either students are going to have to immediately start paying back their loans after this long delay, or a good majority of students will never have to pay back loans again.

so why exactly sofi is getting into the fight at this point, we haven't been able to reach them this early in the morning. one headline calls it baffling where they would be involved. they can't get the lawsuit into the system in the time it's going to take for the supreme court to make a decision. >> it will be interesting to see how much they end up paying in legal fees over this whole thing. >> that, too. >> the lawyers are going to be all right. it is 6:16 right now. trending this morning, three-day passes go on sale for san francisco's much anticipated outside lands music festival. here are some of the headliners this year, including kendrick lamar, foo fighters and odesza. also going on stage in august, lana der ray and a lot more. it runs august 11th through the

14th. the eager beaver tickets sold out before they even knew who was being announced. here is one way to celebrate international women's day. lace up your sneakers and get stepping in a four-mile hot girl walk, united global challenge. you can participate wherever you live by signing up on the fitness app or here in the city there is a group walk starting at 8:00 this morning at columbus circle. for every four-mile challenge completed, they will donate $4 to charities that support women and girls in sports. >> cool. kari and i used to go for walks all the time in our overdressed anchor lady outfits. >> in these lovely outfits with sneakers. >> you know what? i bring up kari because we have the privilege of honoring a mother, meteorologist, and of course a dear friend. we are wishing you an early happy birthday, kari hall. her birthday is actually on friday, but well deserved, she's taking some time off, which we

love. but we cannot not celebrate you right here on "today in the bay." >> listen, you do such a good job of living your life, you're always doing something over the wen. i have to imagine your birthday weekend is going to be great. >> i sure hope so. going to take a little time off and relax. i'm going to send you all some rain. >> that looks so good. thank you so much. you guys are so sweet. you're a gift every day. >> oh, you are. >> you are! >> kari is being all nice and polite. do you know what she's saying in the weather center? i keep hearing, it's my friday! >> oh, rude. >> happy birthday, kari. >> good for you. >> we love you. i've also got a gift in my email box. take a look at this picture we got from one of our loyal viewers. we see this beautiful dog here. >> you got a dog? >> that would be a nice gift.

i love the rainbow, too. we are going to see lots of rainbows and i really appreciate you, ross and ursula, for spending in this picture. i love your dog. very beautiful. we are going to possibly see a lot more rainbows in the forecast. whatever you see out there, i love to get your weather pictures. i'm at kari hall weather. you can tag me on facebook, twitter and instagram. in the north bay we are going to see things clearing a lot more quickly as our temperatures go from 40 in windsor to the low 50s today. we're already starting to see some rain tapering off on stormranger as the rain continues to shift its way across the bay area, into the east bay, as well as the south bay. this is going to be clearing for the afternoon. we're preparing for this. all of the clouds, the area of low pressure, and the high amount of moisture that's going to be pumped in from hawaii straight into the bay area. we call that an atmospheric river.

this quick morning shower, once again, and then we have an aerial flood watch that's been put up for the entire bay area as we're preparing for 3 to 7 inches of rainfall. this will increase the threat of landslides and mudslides, as well as high winds kicking up as the storm system arrives, 20 to 50 miles per hour winds, could cause power outages, down some trees. you do want to make sure you're starting to prepare for the potential of not having power for a while. now, we're also going to see sierra snowmelt, about 4,000 feet in elevation and below, and there could be up to 5 feet of snow in some higher elevations. so once again, the rain we're seeing now will be clearing out and that will be the time to clear the storm drains, make sure everything around the house is ready for a lot of rain we'll see coming in tomorrow afternoon. it continues off and on through friday. there will be some breaks, but it's basically going to be very short breaks in between the rain, and it continues for several days as those temperatures warm up. we're headed for the low 60s for

saturday, some of the warmest weather we've seen in a while. but that will also cause a lot of the snow to melt and that includes parts of the sierra, too. and looking at san francisco, we have temperatures in the 50s through the next several days, and it is looking so soggy, even through next week. mike, you're seeing lots of rain on the east bay commute. >> blurry right now on the camera across from the coliseum. hopefully you have windshield wipers in good condition. as the commute buildings for 880, we see slowing through oakland. a lot of puddling and ponding. there was a crash on west 24 that caused slowing toward the caldecott tunnel. we're watching for flooding, 580 around macarthur. you're likely to see more standing water throughout this portion of contra costa county. the build for the richmond area, getting to the bridge. on the bridge, san mateo bridge still slow.

a disabled vehicle after some debris was hit earlier. no injuries but a slower commute on the high-rise. dumbarton bridge, more traffic on the nimitz-free. the san mateo bridge, those conditions are not good. >> thanks, mike. 6:21 right now. changing the game one play at a time. next on "today in the bay," we introduce you to aroup of g

who is ready for some spring baseball? >> you are. >> i love baseball. it's about to get a little more interesting for the giants because of the team they're facing today in scottsdale. >> this is pretty cool. their opponent includes some of america's best known players, not only regular spring games going on at the facility, but this week team usa is there preparing for the games in the world baseball classic. that roster includes stars like mike trout, mookie betts and paul goldschmidt. today the giants will face them in an exhibition and you can watch it here at 6:00. we continue to honor women's herstory month and we want to shine a light on a group of women making a change in a sport dominated by men. >> leaders of the nfl believe the future includes more women and they're creating opportunities. teams attended the nfl women's summit and invited 41 young

women to meet the teams and help them turn their love of the game into careers. washington commanders coach jennifer king became the first full-time black female coach in nfl history in 2021. he forum helped her land her dream job and respect from her team. >> have you received pushback from men in this world who question, why are you qualified? >> i'm sure i have, but i don't really read the comments. no one that i've worked with has ever questioned anything. i was just another coach to them, and that's all you want to be. >> coming up on the "today" show, they are celebrating international women's day by sharing stories of incredible women breaking barriers and making history. it's at 7:00 a.m. right after "today in the bay." coming up next, the top stories we're following today, including the ongoing rain that continues across the bay area. not close to being over. >> not even close. meteorologist kari hall is leading our coverage as we brace for another atmospheric river

taking aim at the bay area, and it's not even happening today. >> reporter: teachers in the north bay are demanding action from school board officials following a deadly stabbing incident at a local high school. i'll expin what they'lare

right now at 6:30, an overnight arson investigation at a south bay strip mall. new details we're getting from firefighters on what they found

upon arrival. now leading to so many questions. >> this should have never happened. we shouldn't be here right now. >> we don't call a therapist when there's a gun on campus, you call the police. >> frustrated and fearful. an emotional night in santa rosa with parents and students once again calling for better protections in the wake of a deadly high school stabbing. we're there this morning with the brewing controversy over what should handle things. >> and we're tracking the arrival of a new storm system that is passing through the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is monitoring the timeline and what's to come. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, xumo and online. >> good wednesday morning. 6:30 right now. thanks for starting your morning with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the day off. we have a lot to get to. we want to start with meteorologist kari hall. it's raining in a lot of places. that's a lot of green on your map. >> we have some rain right now

but we're also going to have this ahead of a big storm system that's going to be coming in starting tomorrow. so we do have a wet commute. but the system is moving through quickly and the rest of the day is looking sunny. then we zoom out to show the next incoming storm that is a fairly large one and we'll be connecting with some tropical moisture over hawaii and streaming that right into the bay area, which means we could see some heavy rainfall. expect a potential of flooding. we have an aerial flood watch in effect for the bay area starting tomorrow. we're looking at 3 to 7 inches of rainfall, landslides, mudslides will be possible as well as power outages, as well as sierra snowmelt in lower elevations and up to 5 feet of snow in the upper elevations of the sierra. we're going to talk about the impacts in just a few minutes. it's so sloppy out there, mike. >> these taillights, what few you can see, they're moving slowly to the high-rise. look at the map.

you're looking at all this water kicking up onto the lens. obviously slowing on the right side, west heading across the flat section toward the high-rise where there was an earlier issue. it looks like there may be a second issue getting over the high-rise. the dumbarton bridge is a much easier drive. the blue shows all the puddling and ponding reported throughout contra costa county. highway 24 there is slowing past a crash getting into orinda out of lafayette. the bay bridge toll plaza has the metering lights on. a typical pattern for the rest of the bay. firefighters are still at the scene of this strip mall fire that happened in the south bay. it started about 3:00 this morning on silver creek road in san jose and investigators say the fire damaged a chiropractic business, but also the surrounding businesses sustained smoke and water damage. firefighters are now trying to figure out if that fire was set on purpose. that's because they found

windows shattered when they arrive. students and parents in the north bay are demanding changes following a deadly stabbing in a classroom. pete suratos joins us live in santa rosa. we're hearing the teachers are getting involved as well. they're holding a rally before tonight's school board meeting. they want immediate action. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, laura. yeah, they're definitely looking for some immediate action when it comes to safety on school campuses and it's been about a week since that deadly stabbing incident here at montgomery high that took the life of a 16-year-old student. now, the teachers union are going to hold a rally before the school board meeting and they're demanding a number of changes, specifically they want to see more counselors on campus, more mental health support for students, as well as violence prevention programs. we'll see what they say a little bit later on tonight. we did see some of those similar concerns raised at a listening session here in santa rosa last night. you had parents and students. they're saying that safety concerns have been an ongoing problem throughout the district.

of course last week's incident sparking a bigger discussion on this issue, whether or not to bring more counselors to campuses, as well as adding potentially some school resource officers at different schools. here is what they had to say at last night's listening session. >> this should have never happened. we shouldn't be here right now. everyone should be at home, every should be at home right now. >> and when i check snapchat, when i check instagram and see all these things being posted saying, oh, we're on lockdown, there's threats, there's this, there's that, what am i supposed to think? >> i lost my child. my child is not coming back. your children are here and it's sad to see the community is now doing something to move forward when we weren't here two weeks ago. so let's go ahead and keep momentum and keep going something. i love you all and have a good night. >> reporter: i take a look at the agenda and it appears the teachers union will speak at tonight's meeting. the rally will take place at 5:00 p.m. and of course there's going to

be a public comment. the meeting is going to take place at 6:00 p.m. we'll send it back to you in the newsroom. >> you can feel the emotion behind all of this. thank you very much, pete. we'll continue to follow it. the recent discovery of a noose outside a south bay kaiser medical office is prompting a hate crime investigation. kaiser says the noose was found in a tree in the parking lot outside the medical offices in gilroy. it's calling this incident painful and triggering. law enforcement and the hospital's own security staff are now investigating. kaiser adding it is providing emotional support for staff and released this statement. the culture of safety and inclusion is a cornerstone of our values at kaiser permanente and acts of racism have no place in our community. 6:35, and happening today, mixed martial arts star cain velasquez will learn when his criminal case goes to trial. he's due in court for a trial setting hearing. he has pleaded not guilty to

attempted murder charges in connection to a shooting in san jose a year ago. authorities say he shot into the truck, targeting a man accused of molesting one of his close relatives. another man was struck and injured. velasquez is currently out on bail. the latest bird flu outbreak appears to be reaching a new critical stage. the avian flu is already having a major economic impact. in the last year, the u.s. euthanized more than 50 million chickens, and as you know, those egg prices continue to skyrocket. this week, according to "the new york times," the white house is looking into vaccinating chickens and as dr. peter chin-hong explains, the other concern with bird flu is not about the virus jumping from humans to humans. >> there are two things we're looking out for. the first is a jump from birds to mammals, and that already has occurred with this particular strain. the second is human-to-human transmission. and that is not occurring right

now. >> that's my mistake. that is the concern. the experts believe in the short term the potential for human-to-human spread is unlikely, however in the long term it might be inevitable. it is 6:36 right now. taking a live look outside. a cloudy start overlooking in the south bay, san jose. >> it's chilly. >> a little drizly and rainy. kari said this is the appetizer. yeah, this is not the main course. we've had a lot of main courses. >> we're full. >> this is nacho atmospheric river. [ laughter ] >> this is moving fairly quickly. it's starting to clear the north bay, as well as san francisco, it's moving into the east bay with some moderate showers and we'll continue to see it pushing into the south bay. for san jose, once again, 44 degrees, a breezy wind. the rain should be tapering off around 9:00. the rest of the day is sunny. use that time to clean up around

the house, patio furniture, as well as clearing the storm drains, making sure everything around the house is secure. because we will see some sun today, although a chilly sunshine. tomorrow we start in the morning with scattered showers, but the rain really picks up during the afternoon. and it just continues off and on throughout the weekend. that's when we do have the concerns of the flooding, as well as those high winds that could bring down some trees and also have impacts to our power. and so we're going to be continuing to deal with this over the weekend. another storm moving in next week. i'll have more on what to expect coming up in a few minutes. mike, do you have better news for the san mateo bridge? >> no news is good news, because they just cleared the san mateo bridge incident. now we have a disabled vehicle, pulled to the side. a lot of times what happens if there's sudden slowing, someone will pull out to the service lane. they're going to get back into the lanes. it's jammed on the flat section but things are moving better on the high-rise. i believe they had to do a

traffic break to remove another disabled vehicle. now that's cleared and it's cleared from the chp report. we should have a better flow. some folks are using 88 to toward the dumbarton bridge. blue all over this portion, contra costa county, down toward alameda county. no additional complications, but maybe local flooding. we're looking toward the peninsula, palo alto. remember the express lanes are functioning now and charging through san mateo county. >> thank you, mike. we have a special surprise from the "today" show coming up and you don't want to miss the bay area twist. >> everybody was talking about essential workers and nobody was talking about the farmworkers. >> jumping into action. we share the story of a local woman and the work she's doing to give back to underserved communities. impacted by recent storms and covid. her story straight ahead. >> a budget fight in washington,

at least there will be when both sides get into the ring. let's take you out to the big board. jay powell is going to speak in front of the house today. i think wall street is not going to make any major mes untilov

good wednesday morning. right now at 6:42, as you head out in brentwood, we have a steady rain and it continues through about 8:00. we will see still the cold weather, but at least it will be

sunny. and it may be the longest stretch of sunny weather we have in quite a while. tomorrow a storm comes in and it's going to be raining off and on for the next several days. we're going to talk about the impacts and what you should do to prepare coming up. traveling through richmond, wet roads and a building commute. traveling from the east bay to the peninsula, san mateo bridge is in recovery mode from the issue, the disabled vehicle, but not from the rain. it's still wet. president biden continues to worry republicans will try to cut key programs for the poor. >> that's right. scott mcgrew joins us. it's going to be a battle of the budgets. >> good morning. it will be a battle of the budgets once we see both sides' budgets. so far we haven't seen either one of them. the white house says it will have its budget ready tomorrow. republicans, so far, have not offered one but have said they will not raise taxes, which means they're going to have to

cut somewhere a lot if they want to cut spending the way they have promised to do so. then you've got jay powell trying to lead the u.s. economy, if not into recession, into some kind of slowdown. yesterday the head of the fed testifying before the senate, said the fed's effort to slow the economy through interest rate hikes wasn't working, at least not so far, and that more hikes were coming. >> although inflation has been moderating, the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy. as i mentioned, the latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated. >> the republican-led house subcommittee, select committee on the pandemic, has its first major meeting at 7:00 a.m. today. the committee's job is to better understand the pandemic and

america's response to it. democrats had a similar committee when they were in power, though this new committee has members like georgia's marjorie taylor greene, who once compared the mask mandate to the holocaust. house leader kevin mccarthy welcomed the latest new member of the house, virginia republican jennifer mcclellan, the first black woman to represent virginia in history. she took the oath on a family bible which contained a poll tax paid by her father tucked inside. we'll be talking about it on social media. on facebook you can find me at scott mcgrew tv. march is women's herstory month and we introduce you to a bay area woman making history of her own by gathering and giving to an often overlooked group. >> during the pandemic we all learned what essential workers were, doctors, nurses, emergency

crews, law enforcement to name a few. but one bay area woman felt there was a group of essential workers being forgotten. this is her story. >> reporter: when darlene sees a need, she doesn't just sit on the sidelines. she jumps into action. she started what she calls the farmworker caravan during the height of the pandemic. >> you know, originally when the pandemic started everybody was talking about essential workers and nobody was talking about the farmworkers. and everybody was sitting at home eating, and they didn't think about where their food was coming from. and the farmworkers never stopped working. they work every single day all the time for all of us. >> that simple thought led to bags and bags of essential supplies being driven in her own caravan directly to the fields to farmworkers. >> we would bring like toilet paper and diapers and beans and rice and very, very essential things. >> as their needs grew, so did her supply, with donations

continuing to pour in, this time simple luxuries bagged with care, specifically for the female farmworkers. >> we know as women we're the last to do something for ourselves. they will always spend money on their children and family members. we wanted to give them just a little something special. >> with the recent storms and massive flooding, work has halted for many farmworkers, making the need all that more essential. >> translator: right now there's no work due to the amount of rain we've been getting, which is what we need. but at the same time, it's caused disasters like floodings. obviously while there's rain, there's no work. lots of families of farmworkers only work by season. >> so the season of giving is year-round with the farmworker caravan. now reaching out across the bay area with every little need. >> it's grown so much. they actually make tamales

during christmastime to take to some of the workers in half moon bay. we know what followed up, the shooting there that happened. >> it's a hard life. >> she knew some of the people who were actually shot and killed from that. and the good thing is that uncovering some of the living conditions some of these farmworkers as well, bringing so much more to light. not just helping but helping in a bigger way. >> it must be nice for them to feel seen, because they do toil in the distance. >> they're very appreciative. >> absolutely. this morning we have a special surprise from the "today" show. >> that's right. good morning, dylan. >> good morning, kris and laura. we have something huge to share. we're so excited about it. at the end of april we are taking the third hour of "today" on the road to sonoma county, california. we can't wait to head out west and showcase all the incredible food and wine the area is known for. it's the perfect place to reset and recharge. we are inviting the bay area to be part of our live audience. if you want to join us for the show sponsored by sonoma county

tourism, head to today.com. >> mike can drive. >> i'll find the best route. >> it's always fun when you're watching the "today" show and you see people from the bay area there. they're coming to us. that's really cool. >> i'll have to check out that link. >> let's hope the weather clears by april. >> it feels like it's not going to. it's been nonstop all winter long, and this is no different. so as we take a look at the clouds, over-san francisco right now let's talk about how much rain we've measured this year. because in santa rosa it's been over 28 inches of rainfall, that's a surplus of 2 inches. look at oakland. we've had 10 inches above what's normal, measuring 24.5 inches of rainfall. and in san francisco, about the same. we are looking at livermore with 6 inches of surplus rainfall and san jose has a little bit more than normal. we look at those numbers, we're

at 171% of our normal amount of rainfall, which has already been measured to date for the water year. our reservoirs have gone up so quickly and they're still standing in some spots at 100% or above. now, the coyote reservoir has been lowered for seismic safety, but even that is above what they want it to be at at this point, as we have more rain coming in. we're starting to see a quick round of showers clearing, but still hitting the east bay. parts of the peninsula may see lingering showers, as well as the south bay, for about another hour or two. there are some pockets of heavy rain moving through hayward, as well as danville, up to concord. now extending toward brentwood. then some lighter showers up and down the peninsula after some early morning rain. it's also moving through the south county as we see more of those showers coming over the santa cruz mountains. so this is moving out ahead of that bigger storm system which will make the ground wet, as we're getting ready for an atmospheric river. so basically what that means is

an area of low pressure is going to pump in moisture from the tropics dead into the bay area and that's also going to enhance the rainfall. so this is what we're looking at. a break in the rainfall today, starting out at 9:00 tomorrow morning, some light showers. that's going to continue to fill in and get heavier as we go throughout the day, along with some gusty winds. there will be some breaks in between as we head into friday, saturday. but it's going to rain pretty much off and on over the next several days and then another storm system, possibly another atmospheric river, will be moving right back in on tuesday. it should clear into wednesday, but we still see a very active weather pattern through next week. so we're running the computer models out about a week and it's showing that for the bay area where you see the yellow, that's 7 inches of rainfall. the areas in white or pink, that's about 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. so really significant rainfall. as we mentioned, on an already

saturated ground. now is the time to make sure you've cleared the storm drains, as well as clearing the gutters and all around the house, making sure it's prepared for heavy rain, as well as high winds. and also the potential of not having power. we've seen that happen quite a bit throughout the winter. and as this rain falls on already saturated ground, it could bring down more trees. our temperatures will be warming up, so there's going to be more melt of the snow for those upper elevations around the bay area, as well as the sierra. we're going to be talking more about that. mike, you're seeing the commute calming down a little bit. >> it's calming town because the conditions are calmer. the volume is still kicking in. east bay, more slowing down the eastshore freeway, and we continue with the slower drive for 24. the blue shows the puddling and ponding hitting pretty much all of contra costa county and pushing toward alameda county. 680 toward the dublin interchange as well. we have a slow drive across the

bridges. the san mateo is really the slowest. it's an unusual drive time because of the conditions as well as the disabled vehicle that was on the high-rise. it started early and continues to be slow as the commute packs into westbound 92. the roadway is reportedly clear with how slow it is, so i would suggest perhaps heading toward the dumbarton bridge if it won't add too much time to your commute. a slower drive building for southbound 880. some folks are avoiding the bridges completely and taking 237 into the south bay. i want to quickly show you there is a slower drive for 680. there may be a new crash in sunol. it shows general slowing toward the area of dublin toward the dublin grade, a westbound commute that may be because of rain having traveled through as well. the south bay really kicking in over the last 10, 15 minutes. we see a lot more slowing on 87 and 85. back to you. 6:53 right now. happening now, nature is

unfolding at yellowstone national park. a biologist observed the first grizzly bear to emerge from hibernation this year in the area yesterday. yellowstone national park is reminding those who plan to visit to prepare for potential bear encounters by carrying bear spray, staying alert and hiking or skiing in groups of three or four. the first bear sighting of last year also happened on march 7th. maybe that's their alarm clock. >> they didn't hit the snooze. next, a quick look at stop stories, including a strip mall fire that is an arson investigation. the flames that destroyed a south bay business and the discovery made by first responders sparking a lot of questions. >> but first -- >> good morning. i'm candice nguyen with the nbc bay area investigative unit. are dim bus headlights making dark roads in san mateo county more dangerous for pedestrians? a bus driver involved in a fatal accident says yes and is coming forward. the transit agency says its

buses meet industry safety standard, but more than a dozen bus operators tell us some of those headlights need to be changed. watch the full investigation on our website right now on nbcbayarea.com/inv es

6:57 on your wednesday morning. we're moving you forward with a look at our top stories, including an investigation at a scene of an early morning strip mall fire. >> it started around 3:00 this morning on silver creek road in san jose. investigators say the fire damaged a chiropractic business, but the businesses around also have smoke and water damage. firefighters are now trying to figure out if this fire was set on purpose. they say that when they arrived, they found shattered windows there. teachers demanding better safety measures are organizing a rally tonight ahead of a school board meeting in santa rosa. it follows the deadly stabbing in a classroom last week at montgomery high school. last night the district and law enforcement held a listening session. at tonight's school board meeting, teachers union reps are scheduled to speak. there will also be a public comment segment. the rally starts at 5:00 p.m. ot

santa rosa city hall. >> let's take a live look at sfo where showers are rolling through that part of the bay area and others. it's about to get a lot more hectic as an atmospheric river takes aim starting tomorrow. ahead of arrival. utility crews are preparing, pg&e using a drone over the weekend to restore power to homes in the santa cruz mountains. the drone large enough to move power lines midair and reconnect lines to the grid. >> one last check of the forecast before we go. >> we're seeing some quick-moving showers moving through right now. the rest of the day is going to be dry. i think by 9:00 pretty much all of this will be out of here. we've been turning our attention to the atmospheric river that's been churning in the pacific. it's going to bring in days of rainfall starting tomorrow afternoon. >> and with the dryer roadways, that will help. it's slick out there. francis just saw a big rig on 680 near sunol boulevard lost

traction and slid off into a ditch. hopefully no injuries. we'll track that. >> a lot of slick roads. be careful as you head out the door. we'll be back in about half an hour with a local news update. >> you can catch the midday news at 11:00. have a great day. good wednesday morning. the survivors of that kidnapping in mexico now back in the u.s. >> we are hearing from the families for the very first time. it's march 8th. this is "today." dramatic rescue. two americans held hostage in mexico, now safe and being treated at a texas hospital and this morning what we are learning about their violent abductions. the two members of the group who were killed. and the search for suspects in the case. we're live at the border. growing fallout. fox news host tucker carlson ridiculed and condemned by democrats and republicans