the latest soaker is set to dump a lot of rain in a short amount your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. now, i know you're hearing my voice and pulling the cost over your head and saying, you know, i'll sleep in. not today. you have to get ready for the biggest storm this month. the latest soaker dumping a lot of rain in a short amount of time. we'll tell you when the heaviest showers will fall. >> then again staying in bed probably not a bad idea. a wild ride on bay area bridges, gusty winds making for a dangerous morning commute. >> get an early start today. >> good morning, everybody. thanks so much for joining us on this thursday, the 24th of march. i'm sydnie kohara. >> hi, everybody. i'm frank mallicoat. it is 4:30. and as sidney just said, we are going to get hit again, 13 straight days of rain -- or 12

straight days of rain and this next storm is a doozy. >> this i a doozy. we haven't had much of a break from the last one. we are talking about all that rain. urban and small stream flood advisories this morning, expecting creeks and rivers to rise in a hurry as the storm system moves on. wind advisory going into effect, expecting gusts to 45 miles an hour. you can see some downed power lines and trees. here it is. it's just about to move onshore. if you can get out right now and get to work, it's time to do it. but look at this green wall of rain that's about to move onshore. that's going to pick up throughout the morning hours. i think the brunt of this comes through in the morning. the heaviest amounts of rainfall and then we'll start to taper off to showers heading in toward the afternoon. but before then, we could see as much as 3" of rain in some of the wettest parts of the bay area. pretty substantial storm system dropping into the bay area right now. here's the one from yesterday and here comes this one, supported by a jet stream. this is going to dive in and being a bomb on the bay area as

it moves through this morning. then turning to showers in the afternoon. possibility of isolated thunderstorms, 50s by the afternoon. over the next seven days, there is a ralph hope in the distance but we have to get there first. we have that rain for today, heavy at times especially through the morning, showers for tomorrow. looks like another storm drops in on saturday. we have extended the showers into sunday now but i think after that things begin to dry out as high pressure starts to build in. drier weather is expected monday and tuesday. maybe even some 70s as we look toward wednesday. all right. let's check on elizabeth out at san leandro to give us the latest out there. >> reporter: we are already dealing with a traffic alert. this is going to be a messy morning commute. we are in san leandro southbound 880 just past the davis street exit where a couple of lanes are blocked unfortunately due to flooding. i'll stand out of the way so you can see, they have the flares out right now. looks like still the two left

lanes are blocked. chp and caltrans both out here. those two lanes have been blocked since about 2 a.m. the problem is a clogged drain which they are still working to clear. we actually just talked with an officer of the chp and they are telling us that the lanes are likely going to be closed through the remainder of the morning commute causing big backups while they work to clear this drain. all right. this is one of just many problems we are like will go going to see across the bay area. as lawrence just said, windier and wetter, if you can believe it, than yesterday. and if you're counting, this is now 12 straight days of this wet weather. and it's supposed to be the wettest for the morning commute, unfortunately. so if you spot water on the road like this here on southbound 880 near san leandro, of course, don't cross it. floodwaters can often be deeper than they appear. you can get stuck. you can hydroplane. so obviously, the ground already very saturated. the roads are going to be one problem.

trees another issue. trees then cause downed power lines, kind of a ripple effect so could see power outages with this, as well. yeah, kind of a mess to start off your morning, unfortunately. let's go over to gianna franco. these going to be very busy this morning monitoring the morning commute and all the hot spots. good morning, gianna. >> good morning, elizabeth. thank you. you know, in fact, it's already busy this morning. we have three separate accidents around the bay area. the first one westbound 4 right at pacheco looks like chp saying this is on the off-ramp. main lines of the highway not affected. eastbound 4 at the caldecott tunnel accident here, as well. chp just arriving on scene. and also, a wreck northbound 17 that ramp to northbound 280. i'm also hearing of a big rig stuck in the mud on 101 down in the south bay. i'll have that coming up in just a minute. first, let me give you a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. again, it's still early, traffic slight but once that rain really hits the bay area we are going to see a very busy commute this morning. so give yourself some extra time. you might want to leave a few minutes early. that's a first look at your

drive. let's head to sydnie. >> gianna, that's what i told them, up and at 'em. you will thank us later today when you're at work and everybody else is having to deal with all this rain. gianna, thanks very much. the rain holding up efforts though to clear a big landslide in the santa cruz mountains. geologists trying to survey the fallen hillside in scotts valley to assess its stability. but the ground is just still too wet. it's going to get wetter. the hillside came down monday cutting off 33 homes. neighbors have to use a muddy path to get around the mess. >> we're dealing. we are getting routes in and out. i have now managed through this road, got a car on the other side so now we have a car on each side. >> deputies say if the weather clears, they may be able to conduct an aerial survey but it's likely going to be several weeks before the rocks are cleared away. and for complete storm coverage and interactive hi-def doppler for your neighborhood, you can really zoom in on your neighborhood, you can log on to

our website, cbssf.com. just click on the weather tap. it is 4:35. in other news, this morning france's foreign minister says the military operation in libya may last days or even weeks. but not months. a coalition air strike in the city of pajora today, home to a libyan military base about 20 miles east of the capital tripoli. the coalition says it's part of an attempt to protect government opponents and other civilians from forces loyal to libyan leader moammar qaddafi. one u.s. commander says the air strikes have left qaddafi's air force incapable of fighting. and in japan, two workers have been hurt while trying to prevent a nuclear meltdown there. officials say their feet touched radioactive elements at the crippled power plant. they are hospitalized with burns. workers were reportedly exposed to levels below the government- allowed maximum. and the japanese government

is asking people not to hoard supplies like bottled water. yesterday, people raced out to stores after tokyo's tap water was found to have levels of radioactive iodine too high for infants to drink. officials now say the levels have since gone down. 4:37. today state regulators will consider fining pg&e millions of dollars for not providing safety documents in a timely fashion. now, this is all the latest fallout from last year's deadly pipeline explosion in san bruno. the public utilities commission will consider charging the san francisco-based utility a million dollars a day. pg&e says it may need the rest of the year to produce all of the documents. and the puc will also have a public hearing today about pg&e's controversial smartmeters. critics are concerned about potential health effects from those meters as well as their accuracy . regulators may consider letting customers opt out of having the new meters installed. at the barry bonds perjury

trial, former bonds personal assistant, long-time friend steve hoskins will be back on the stand today. he testified yesterday that back in 2003, he secretly recorded a conversation with bonds' personal trainer greg anderson about bonds injecting drugs. the recording is kind of hard to understand. hoskins says he made the tape to show bobby bonds that his son barry was using steroids. former prosecutor paul henderson not mean hoskins said he made the tape to show bobby bonds that his son barry was using steroids. the former prosecutor says the tape does not mean bonds is guilty. >> doesn't stand alone and it's not an independent smoking gun to indicate guilt or innocence in this case. >> bonds is on trial for lying to a federal grand jury about

steroids and not for using them. and in another high-profile bay area trial, the star witness could take the stand today in the chauncey bailey murder trial. devaughndre broussard is expected to testify that yusef bey iv ordered him to kill chauncey bailey and that co- defendant antoine mackey drove the getaway car. broussard is expected to be on the stand for several days. a man died early this morning the victim of a shooting in the berryessa district of san jose. police say he was shot sometime around 9:00 last night near lundy avenue and berryessa road. investigators trying to determine a motive and how the victim made it to the hospital, where he died. the man is believed to be in his 20s. berkeley high school taking action after two incidents involving guns on campus tuesday. no one was hurt when a shot was fired in a campus restroom and another student was found with an unloaded gun. three students in all were

arrested. the school will have extra safety officers on campus now and there will be meetings this week with students and faculty about gun safety. and then two more meetings next week. it is 4:40. a dramatic rescue going on right now in texas. we have some live pictures here from fort worth, texas. it's a tanker truck hanging off the edge of a freeway ramp in fort worth. rescue teams got the drive out safely but there are still two people inside a small car that's pinned under the truck. crews are trying to get them out right now. the truck is a water tanker and is empty. >> that's good. good news. it is 4:40. a major canteloupe recall. >> at 3 a.m. i woke up with real severe cramps. >> the store that actually called customers to warn them and why it came a little too late for one customer. plus, it's being called the

groupon killer. facebook jumps into the discount market. its special partnership with some bay area stores coming up. ,, [ wheezing breaths ] [ woman ] the first time i smoked, i was 13. i was in a hurry to grow up and wanted to look cool. big tobacco knew it, and they preyed on me. i'm here to tell you that big tobacco hasn't changed. they continue to profit... by selling kids the same lies... to get them to use... the same deadly products.

don't be big tobacco's next victim.

just getting up, folks? rain already showing up in the north bay. we'll talk about that coming up. >> that is huge. get up, get going. 4:43. federal health inspectors are looking into a salmonella outbreak traced to canteloupe produced by del monte. several people have been affected. costco used its membership database to track down customers who bought the recalled melons and called the customers with this recorded message. >> the fda and del monte fresh produce today announced a limited recall of fresh canteloupe due to possible salmonella contamination. >> the canteloupes being recalled were grown in

guatemala and were available for sale between march 10 and this past monday. costco says it restocked its stores with canteloupes from a different supplier now. it is 4:44. san jose has reached tentative agreement with three more unions to reduce their pay and benefits by 10% over the next two years. the union represents city engineers, supervisors of trade workers, and mid-level managers. union leaders say the sacrifices are needed to save jobs as the city faces a $105 million deficit. and san francisco supervisors are expected to vote next month to give tax breaks to twitter and other companies in the midmarket and tenderloin areas. the final plan is still in the works. the "chronicle" reports the plan might be revised to not cover part of the tenderloin. and language might be added to require some local hiring and community assistance from the companies getting tax breaks. it is already being hyped as a possible groupon killer. facebook is launching an online coupon service here in the bay area.

>> it's called facebook deals. you know, groupon is the like coupon, the group coupon online shopping, you know, get the coupons you get a discount. shoppers can get special discounts if they get it on the social networking website. palo alto based facebook wants a piece of the coupon industry which brought in millions last year. >> merchants will be able to tap into this gigantic customer base of literally half a billion worldwide usingers. >> facebook deals being tested in five cities including san francisco, even google getting in on the action. they want to launch a similar service in the coming months. i mean, who had even heard of groupon in the last year or two? >> and 10 years ago, who had heard of facebook? >> they are taking over the world. twitter. >> are you a britney spears man? >> sure. >> are you going to the concert? >> would have been fun.

>> a lot of people are bummed out because her concert in the castro a change in the bay area. >> it got bigger than they thought. >> plus, why more women are going gray in their 20s. >> plus two planes forced to make a blind landing because an air traffic controller was asleep. the scare raising serious safety questions today. and a tornado touched down in northern california. we'll tell you where a funnel cloud ripped the roof tiles off homes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

dramatic live pictures out of fort worth texas. take a look at this: a tanker truck is hanging off the we continue to follow breaking news. dramatic live pictures, fort worth, texas, this is a tanker truck hanging offer the edge of the freeway ramp in fort worth. rescue teams getting the driver out safely. you see the bed of the cap hanging out there. you can see under there, there is a small car that's pinned under the truck. jews are trying to get two

people inside the car out. but it's an empty water tanker so still working to get the two people trapped in the small car. >> it is 4:49. imagine trying to land a plane and not being able to reach anyone because the air traffic controller was sleeping. it apparently happened. two airplanes landed at reagan national airport outside the capital yesterday without any assistance from the tower there, that's because the only controller in the tower had apparently fallen asleep. the incoming flight contacted a regional controller 40 miles away. >> so you're aware, one aircraft going to dca, the tower is apparently unmanned. called on the phone and nobody is answering so the aircraft went in with an uncontrolled airport. >> wow. so transportation secretary ray lahood has ordered a national review of the air traffic control staffing because of the

incident. from now on, there will be two air traffic controllers on duty at night at reagan airport. a northern california town cleaning up from damage caused by a tornado. the national weather service says the small twister hit the rural town of williams in colusa county about 70 miles north of sacramento. it happened yesterday afternoon. meteorologists say the tornado packed winds of 65 to 85 miles an hour ripping roof tiles from several homes, no one though was hurt. >> yup, we could see that again today in the state of california. you don't hear about it very often but tornadoes, you get a little afternoon heating, one of these storms roughlibling through and yeah, certainly that's a possibility especially in toward the central valley. tell you what the green is starting to move onshore. what a wall of green it is, too. we are about to get into the storm system already starting to see it moving in parts of the north bay where rain is just beginning to pick up through guerneville to inverness and petaluma starting to see some showers there also up into santa rosa. but this is going to really get

going through the morning hours today. and it is going to be heavy. your commute is going to be difficult as we see the rain dumping all around the bay area. urban and small stream flood advisories going up today. going to have to watch out for the creeks and streams. we are going to see rapid rises with the ground already saturated, also wind advisories going into effect as we are expecting some strong gusty winds with the frontal system gusting to 45 miles per hour with the ground saturated easily could knock down some trees possibly some power lines coming down? be prepared for power outages today. still, we are going to try and see that system move on through through the middle of the morning or so and then things begin to break up a bit. out the door, plan on that rain all around the bay area developing this morning. this afternoon, the possibility of some thunderstorms outside. still a bit windy. and again, some very odd weather around the state of california could see some more pockets of some of that hail and yeah even some tornadoes in california. here it is, folks, pretty interesting storm diving into the bay area, got a strong jet on the back side. that is giving it that nice

push and, of course, it is dropping down with a whole lot of moisture this one packing a punch than what we had yesterday and again it comes in, in a hurry behind the last system. we haven't had a chance to dry out so we're worried about some of the local creeks and streams. so wet for today and windy, lots of snow in the sierra nevada. get this, they could see about 4 feet of snow across some of the higher peaks. just from this storm system. here it is timing it out for you as we head through the middle of the morning and the middle of the day. there it goes. lunchtime rough but as we head toward the afternoon it starts to break off into some scattered showers around the bay area. and the possibility of some isolated thunderstorms. rainfall amounts maybe 2.5" in the north bay inch and a half in the east bay, santa cruz mountains another 2.5" of rain. you get the ideas pretty good soaker on top of all the rain we had yesterday could make for a dangerous commute out there this morning. temperatures in the 50s around the bay area. and as we look out over to the next seven days, we are going to watch showers developing for tomorrow as well and another storm drops in come saturday,

maybe some lingering showers into sunday but after that, we start to dry out and by next wednesday, gianna, we are talking about the possibility of some 70-degree temperatures and by this time, i think we have earned it. >> yay! yeah, yesterday my dog and were walking and we got doused with a little hail. we made it inside pretty quickly. all right. let's get to the roads, live look at 101 and mckee in san jose. traffic not too bad, in fact so far, so good but, of course, this is kind of a calm before the storm. when that rain hits, things will get busier on the freeway so you might want to give yourself some extra time if you are heading to work this morning. all right, over to our maps. we have a couple of things brewing. 101 at 880. we had reports of a big rig stuck in the mud. chp heading out to the scene, didn't turn out to be much so things are moving along through that portion of the south bay. along 280 northbound through downtown san jose, so far, so good traffic fairly light through there. we have an accident northbound 17 ramp to northbound 280, on the right shoulder, not much of

a factor. 880/237 in silicon valley, looking good. no delays through that portion. south 880 between davis and marina, we have elizabeth wenger live at the scene giving us more information but the two left lanes are blocked due to flooding so take it slow through that area. northbound not affected. if you are heading northbound into oakland traffic moving nicely all the way into the maze. you can see southbound conditions through oakland as well looking pretty good along 880. chp just cleared an accident eastbound 4 at the caldecott tunnel. everything taken out of lanes. the rest of the area looking good along 24. no delays to report at 24 and 680 in walnut creek. live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, quiet, not a lot of cars heading towards the toll plaza. clear across the deck but again it is windy this morning so use caution as you cross the span. and if you are heading to the snow, sierra travel, get your chains. you are going to need them for 80, 50 and parts of 88. in fact, here's live look at 80 at truckee and you can see some of those big rigs and vehicles pulled over to the side to put

the chains on. definitely give yourself some extra time. that's a look at traffic. back to you. >> thank you. judging from that waffle green, you may be chaining -- judging from that wall of green you may be chaining up for a month in the sierra. thank you. gay marriage will not resume in california for now. a federal appeals court has refused a request to allow gay marriage while it considers the constitutionality of proposition 8. the process could take at least another year. an illegal hospital operating out of a california town statehouse closed. san gabriel city officials busted the makeshift maternity ward this month. they found 10 newborns being cared for in what used to be a kitchen. they say a dozen chinese mothers came to america to give birth so their children could get citizenship and access to public education. neighbors always wondered why the pregnant women filled the townhome, walked the neighborhood and disappeared after their babies were born. >> they just seemed to not know where they're going. >> reporter: what do you mean?

>> they just wandered. they would walk back and forth and back and forth and then cars would pick them up and take them away. >> the owner of the building denies any wrongdoing. he was fined $800. 4:56. your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. more and more women are going gray at a younger age. the daily mail reports that 32% of british women under the age of 30 have gray hair. that is up 14% from two decades ago. many are blaming their changing hair color on stress and their husbands -- no, just on stress. [ laughter ] >> could be some husbands, kids. but doctors say one way to beat it is to start taking more vitamin d. >> the tributes are pouring in for film legend elizabeth taylor. the academy award winning actress died yesterday after spending weeks in the hospital with congestive heart failure. many of those tributes are coming from san francisco, a central location in the battle against aids. she was one of the first high- profile people to use her

celebrity to fight the disease. in fact, she formed a charity after former co-star rock hudson died of aids in 1985. >> suddenly it hit home that this was something that could hit all of us and something that was not going to stop and so she wanted to put her, so to stay to finding a solution. >> there is no official word on a service but some celebrity websites say a private ceremony is planned for saturday in los angeles. elizabeth taylor was 79. the show will go on, just not outdoors. >> yeah, i guess not. this weekend's free britney spears concert will not be happening in the castro as originally planned. it's being moved inside to the bill graham civic auditorium. the reason obvious. bad weather this weekend. it's being taped for "good morning america" to coincide with the release of spears' new album. the concert all set to go sunday at noon.

seating is first come first served. >> i bet they will be lining up for that. strong winds, heavy rain the biggest storm yet headed our way. we have team coverage around the bay. >> and a wind advisory about to go into effect here in the bay area. we are watching it pick up. we'll tell you what we are expecting coming up. >> plus explosions heard in libya's capital on day 6 of an air assault there. the new signs qaddafi's forces may be losing some sting when we come back. ,, ,,,,,,,,