storm. we start with lawrence who has been keeping an eye on the conditions. >> a very difficult day to get around. we have had numerous lightning strikes this morning, strong gusty winds over 50 miles per hour and of course all the heavy rainfall outside. let's check out high def doppler radar. rain has been coming down in sheets early today, a lot of ponding on the roadways. driving in, i saw numerous wrecks. be careful. there are localized puddles and flooding. we continue to see heavy storms across much of the bay area. in for a closer look now you can see strong storms. along 280, strong storms. further south we see numerous lightning strikes. marine statement has been issued with this line pushing now south of santa cruise into monterey bay. lightning strikes, strong gusty winds, heavy rainfall. we will likely see more of this

weather throughout the morning. it looks like it may taper off a bit but we have stronger storms to come. we'll talk more about that. now though in the high country they are getting dumped on with lots of snow. of course it is tough getting there. you would need the chains. we have advisories up there as well as we could see upwards of two, maybe six feet of snow and maybe two feet right there at lake level, lake tahoe. how about that? >> well again good for the holidays but not for the travelers. thanks. we may see breaks in the rain which will allow people to clean up storm damage we have already seen. in the north bay a husband and wife narrowly missed being crushed by a falling tree yesterday morning. a douglas fir came crashing down on top of their carport as they were getting into their car. part of state highway 1 in may reason a total wash out thanks to flash flooding. it was closed in both directions

yesterday afternoon. the storm slowed traffic all over the bay area on one of the busiest travel days of the year. pge is warning customers that high winds could cause widespread power outages. utility recommends having flashlights and batteried powered radios ready to go, a phone with a cord if you have one is good because cordless phones won't work without power. it is a good idea to freeze water in bottles now so they can keep items in the refrigerator cool if the electricity goes out. close to 1000 are without electricity in the bay area on the peninsula. there are 400 customers without power, 200 homes and businesses in the dark, 100 each in the north and south bank. there are 50 in the dark in san francisco. you can track the storm at any time with live high def doppler radar on our website.

powerful mid western storm is weakening as it moves out of the region but not before dumping more than a foot of snow. a man was killed in indiana after icy roads caused his semi trailer to spin out of control. winds not snow was wreaking havoc on air travel with gusts above 50 delaying 10,000 flights and canceling more than 700 just yesterday. the storm is moving through the area now and is causing delays at sfo. arriving flights are delayed an average of an hour. no delays at san jose and oakland at this hour. running in newtown connecticut to raise money for the sandy hook condolence fund. letters have been coming in. there are thousands everyday from all over the world. the post master says it's hard not to cry as they sort the

mail. more reaction after the national rifle association spoke publicly for the first time about the school shooting. many want new legislation. as danielle nottingham tells us the head of the nra says limiting sale of weapons is not the answer. >> nra has blood on its hands! >> reporter: security guards had to remove demonstrators when the head of the nra was speaking. protesters want a ban on assault weapons like the ones used in last week's shooting in connecticut. wayne lapierre says gun control is not the answer. he believes the government should put an armed police officer at every school. >> we can immediately make america's school safer relying on the brave men and women in america's police forces. >> reporter: senator diane fine stein working on gun control legislation says nra plan won't work on its own. she points out that many schools already have armed guards. >> in fact there were two armed

law enforcement officers who twice engaged the shooters at columbine. that didn't prevent 15 from being killed. >> reporter: mostly democratic lawmakers pushing for improved gun control were hoping to get nra support. now it looks like that's not going to happen. lapierre blamed video games, music games and media for exposing children to a violent culture. a ban for assault weapons is pushed saying the time for change has arrived. >> parents and school officials in the bay area are skeptical even dismiss civ of the nra proposal to put armed guards in every school. >> it's a horribly poor choice to say that the answer to gun violence is to put more guns out there. >> several school districts already have armed police officers at high schools but there are no cops at elementary

schools and no plans to put them there. an alleged prostitute has been arrested with a deadly home invasion robbery. 22 year old raven dixon was in court yesterday. there she is. she's charged with being accessory to murder with gang enhancement. investigators believe she played a role in a slaying last month. police say the wife was also injured. meanwhile her family says she's scared. >> she's a nervous wreck. this is new. to see her in chains like that come out, it's hard for our family. >> the victim was a well known businessman and one time owner of the mountain winiery. the police are reassuring the public that a the murder was not random and there is no ongoing danger to the community. >> ♪ dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh.

don't quit your day job. the winning streak continues against the bobcats. >> when you feel rejected, left alone, abandoned that is the hardest thing to accept because you know it was intentional. >> we look to a student rising finding a positive way to deal with a loss, a young woman we have been following 15 years. fierce storm slamming the bay area now and a stronger one to come. will it be dry for christmas? we'll talk about that coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

a live look at (( it is 7:10. another look at our live hd doppler. you can see the rain is coming down around the bay area. we have reports of lightning strikes and very strong winds as well. we are taking a live look at truckie. you can see the snow is coming down. it will be a white christmas but treacherous travel conditions for anybody heading up there for the holiday weekend. high surf advisory in effect

until 4:00. lawrence will be joining us in a couple minutes with your complete forecast. there are two road closures related to the stormy weather. highway 1 is blocked in marin after a tree and power line fell over the roadway. there is a mud slide on highway 128 near rag canyon road. all lanes blocked in both directions. some difficult traveling out there all around the bay area this morning. we all need a little bit of hope after all the violent news of the past week. now we find some light shining in a young woman who had to deal with gun violence growing up in west oakland. in this morning's student rising above we have a young woman's message that is i don't feel, timely and deeply felt. >> reporter: when we first met selena she was only 19 and totally on her own. she and her younger sister lived

month to month in east oakland raising their younger brother. they worked minimum wage jobs after school to pay bills. no welfare, no parents to rely on. >> it's something that will never go away. when you feel rejected, left alone, abandoned, that is the hardest thing in the world to accept. you know it was done intentional. >> reporter: if you can imagine children from the time they're infants where no one cares whether you wake up in the morning, whether you have food in your belly, whether you have any clothes much less clean clothes, whether or not you go to school. >> reporter: we followed selena as she graduated from usf and served in peace corps in africa. now she's program director for a nonprofit called up on top, working with kids from the tenderloin and western edition. more recently it was a tragedy that reconnected us. in august she got a late night

call from her uncle. >> of course he couldn't get a word out. i knew before he said it that someone in the family was murdered. >> reporter: her cousin was only 17 murdered in what appeared to be an attempted robbery. it was a flash back for selena whose brother was murdered in 2006. frederick lamar lane. his case has never been solved. >> it's never a moment in a day that i don't think about my brother and how he impacts every decision i make. >> reporter: during the last ten years, ten members of selena's family have been murdered. but it's lamar's murder that haunts her. she wonders should she have skipped the peace corps to stay home with him? >> what i have learned from the experience is i cannot help anyone without helping myself. i can't be a resource for anyone if i am not establishing myself in a very solid foundation. >> reporter: she talked about her brother at a speech for

students rising above. >> i thought i could give him something, something of substance, some guidance but i later realized that he needed a man, a father, not just a big sister. >> reporter: more than half the homicide victims in the united states are african-american. 85% are men, most of them young. >> men have to step up. there is an accountability factor. we need our men to be role models. >> that is another good one. >> reporter: it's not just men she says. it's everyone. the values begin at home. >> i lead by example. going to work everyday, making sure bills are paid, making sure i am constant available when someone needs me. >> reporter: the reason selena works with low income kids now. >> this is my purpose in life, to educate young people.

each one teach one. >> reporter: she prays a lot she says and everyday she does something for someone else. everyday. >> that was wendy reporting. students rising above helped selena get through usf and this year will help 60 teens like her. the rain is coming down. trouble on the roadways. lawrence has more information. >> a white knuckle ride coming in today. i saw wrecks coming in. it is very dangerous outside. if you are headed out, be careful. we have seen heavy rainfall especially this morning. it has been dumping around the bay area, lightning strikes with more to come. let's go outside in san jose, very soggy start to this saturday as the rain has really been coming down overnight. very heavy rainfall, strong

gusty winds. some gusts over 50 miles per hour. our high def doppler radar has been tracking storm system and continues to show plenty rain outside. you can see pockets of yellows and oranges as a severe line pummels parts of the area now. you can see toward fairfield, napa, very heavy rainfall there, possibility of thunderstorms embedded in some of the cells. we continue to track a lot of the cells sliding through the bay area. they will be on and off this morning. then i think it will begin to taper. as we head to the afternoon things should begin to settle becoming more widely scattered. in the meantime don't be surprised to get a heavy downpour and maybe a lightning strike. these big time storms are generating big time surf toward the coastline. northwesterly swells expected 13 to 16 feet. stay off the rocks. it is dangerous toward the beaches. today we are starting with the rain and gusty winds, lightning

too. by the afternoon, it turns into showers. but tonight there is a stronger storm coming our direction. we'll have to watch out for potential for flooding through the day tomorrow. then it looks like we may catch a little bit of a break. this is the storm system here. it's moving through the bay area. behind that you see the cold speckled clouds. those will be diving in later on. in the high country we have a lot of snow, winter storm warnings, could see upwards of five feet of snow. we have pictures for you in the high country. along i-80 we have very heavy snow. you need your chains if you are going that direction. we are going to see stormy conditions through the weekend t looks like things will continue to be unsettled or wet throughout the area and looks like storms will fly by. tomorrow more than picking up as we'll see heavy rainfall. the totals will be impressive. we are moving near three inches toward the afternoon by

tomorrow. we have a strong storm coming today and one on the way tonight in toward tomorrow. temperatures will stay mainly in the 50s. next few days it looks like things are settling down. on monday, christmas day looks like another chance of showers late in the day. that's the latest from here. back to you. >> thank you. oakland a's may have a place to call home after next season. that's next in sports. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

we are continuing to get heavy rain around the bay area

now. look at our live hd doppler. you can see the yellow areas where it is really coming down. heavy rain has been coming for several hours, and it will be on and off for the rest of the day. we are taking a live look now at highway 92. you can see the roadways are wet out there, several car wrecks reported. wind advisory for san mat aoh, bridge as well as bay bridge and richmond bridge, special marine warning also in effect from point arena to pigeon point where you can expect gusty winds, high waves, heavy rain and lightning. >> tony has another great recipe for us now with the help of his daughter stephanie. >> i used to go to the farmers market and get vegetables they had. the day you came this was on my table. >> we saute'ed zucchini. >> yes in olive oil and garlic.

we added cut up romo tomato. >> nice. the pasta creates its own broth and makes all the flavors come together. >> add rig tony. >> mix it up. >> beautiful. look at that. this reminds me of being in that apartment. little bit pepper. okay. a touch of salt. delicious. i sat and ate this on your balcony. i liked what you added on the top. >> little bit mozzarella mozzarella. that brings it all together. >> let's go back to sicily now. >> okay. >> we're going to sicily, bye.

the video are stephen curry, klay thompson and ekpe ( fe) ud holiday message for fans performing on the video. the warriors will be playing on christmas night against the la clippers. warriors are off to the best start in 21 years. they hosted charlotte bobcats. highlights from golden state's latest win. >> reporter: good morning everyone. david lee strengthened his case for a trip to houston with his third triple double of his career. with bobcats in town dell is getting time with grand baby riley. a nice pass for the dunk, warriors up 12. bobcats would go on 18-5 run later in the quarter. cutting warrior lead to one. a behind the back pass to curry

who nails one of his threes. a triple double. warriors win by 5. stanford wraps up a two game road trip at western. game is tied at 70 with under two minutes to go. cardinal answer on the next possession, brown hits go ahead 3. stanford wins 70-68. a's, in a letter, owner lieu wolf reportedly asked for an agreement to keep a's in oakland through 2018. that is a look at sports. see you at 5:30. >> a live look now of downtown san francisco. the rain is coming down. next is one more look at the top stories including the weather. all the rain and wind for the holiday storm that is now upon us. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

area this weekend. right now nearly a thousand custom a look at this morning's top stories. holiday storm hitting the bay area this weekend. it is raining as we speak. nearly 1000 are without power including 400 on the peninsula. we are taking a live look now at jaw valley. snow is coming down. it will be a white christmas. they're expecting a couple feet of snow at the lake level from this current storm system. tomorrow on eyewitness news, san

francisco's top cop on the gun control debate. does it have substance or is it low hanging fruit? >> it is low hanging fruit. this is no brainer stuff to reinstitute an assault ban to ban the weapon that just killed 20 children. but it's a start. the discussion needs to be had. a look back at one of the most active gun buy back events in the area. that is tomorrow on eyewitness news this morning at 7:30. time for our last look at the forecast. >> a lot of people traveling will be impacted. folks going out for last minute christmas gifts. it is stormy outside now. just about wherever you go we have heavy rainfall outside. you can see a lot of yellows and oranges and numerous lightning strikes showing up along the peninsula as we have thunderstorms rolling in that direction. looks like by afternoon things will start to taper off.

look at that. it looks like a stronger storm tomorrow. >> thanks for joining us. next newscast is 5:30. ,, ,,,,,,