and i'm anne makovec. let s get right to neda for the latest on the storm. good afternoon, everyone. i'm michelle griego. >> and i'm anne makovec. it has been a wet thursday so far. let's get right to neda for the latest on the storm that keeps on kicking. >> it does. it brought us a lot of rain overnight and early this morning. and now let's show you where

the rain is on hi-def doppler. we are definitely noticing a lot of it to the south. some areas getting a break, even some sunshine. but not the case for boulder creek, santa cruz mountains dealing with this rain for hours, san jose getting a lot of rain moving south. cupertino a light drizzle. fremont also decent amount of rain but nothing like what you have just seen. really strong cells move down towards a lot of the east bay as well as the danville, san ramon and walnut creek areas. it's not going as rainy across san francisco. more coming up. heavy rain fell in fire scarred areas of santa rosa leaving threats of mudslides and flooding. katie nielsen explains how crews are working to protect the city. >> we have done really well thus far following the rains. >> reporter: fire debris task force leader paul lowenthal is monitoring conditions around

neighborhoods destroyed by october's deadly wildfires. >> so far, so good. we have the city crews on standby last night. i checked in. they were not needed overnight. >> reporter: ahead of the storm, the city put gravel bags and straw wattles around the 1400 storm drains in coffey park and fountain grove. >> those are protective measures to prevent the fire debris, ash, sediment, all the residual effects of the wildfire from getting into our storm drain system and creating issues. >> reporter: those neighborhoods were devastated by the fires and are now at moderate risk for mudslides. but lowenthal says the situation here is much different than southern california where massive slides destroyed parts of ventura and santa barbara counties. >> they had a major storm after a significant fire which is what we feared here locally. we didn't have those same conditions. >> reporter: another concern today is the wind. the ground is soft from the rain and with wind gusts that could top 50 miles per hour, many of the fire damaged trees could blow over.

>> there's still a lot of structures in the burn areas. they could be at risk from the dead and dying trees. >> reporter: city and county crews have been working monitoring the situation and checking for flooding and also wind damage. they hope all the preparations they did ahead of the storm will mean this area won't see any major damage. in santa rosa, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >> the heavy rain making road repairs a lot more difficult right now. a water main break has set off a chain of events that has crews scrambling in orinda. kpix 5's jessica flores is there. >> reporter: drivers facing tough conditions all day with wet roads and in orinda, crews are work on this sinkhole that opened up on this busy road. it swallowed parts of the area, 12" sinkhole puncturing a gas

line. the storm didn't cause the brake . heavy rain is complicating repairs. >> when there's multiple utility lines underground, the repair is complicated but when it's raining, it makes the job for the crews more difficult so our number one priority is safety. >> reporter: three customers do not have running water. but water did go gushing into some nearby yards. >> east bay m.u.d. is reaching out to those customers who might have sustained some property damage to their landscaping and just external areas of their homes. >> reporter: drivers in orinda drove around cones and slick roads as others braved the stormy conditions on the highways. on 880 in oakland, traffic spent much of the morning in slow mode. still, some welcoming rain after weeks of dry weather. >> definitely we need this weather no matter if you have to drive slow or take more time to get to work. but it's good. >> reporter: but force these

crews, the rain is making matters worse. east bay m.u.d. still with no estimate as to when the pipes and roads will be fixed. in orinda, jessica flores, kpix 5. rain, alcohol and speed all being looked at as contributors to a deadly crash in vallejo. the chp says two young women died when their car slammed into a light pole around 2 a.m. at sonoma boulevard and solano avenue. besides the two front seat passengers who were killed, a man and woman in the back were severely hurt. no other cars were involved. a san francisco neighborhood feels the brunt of every big storm looking for relief. 17th and folsom's project still hasn't started. jackie ward reports. >> reporter: what do people think of the weather? it depends who you ask.

>> it's crazy. it's march. it's like january. in january it was sunny. now it's going back to the [censored] weather. >> i love extreme weather. and whenever i hear a news story that that's going to be big weather, big storms, i get all excited. and then it's kind of like what's the big deal? >> reporter: a lot of business owners in the upper mission by 17th and folsom are not fans of big rainstorms because that means flooding will happen. that's why the sfpuc is working on a $250 million project to prevent that. this is one of the lowest lying areas of the city which means as soon as the drains fill up streets flood. off camera a business owner said he knows the city is working but he is frustrated because it's years from being done and this is a lengthy problem. it's still in the planning and design phase. >> one consideration is to

install a tunnel to divert the flow. >> reporter: the sf puc said a lot of work goes into preparation for a complex solution. there are year round solutions now like making sure the storm drains stay clear. the sfpuc wants to remind property owners in the city they may be able to get $100,000 for flood improvement projects. >> stay with us as the storm rolls through. neda has more details coming up. you can also track the forecast on cbssf.com. new at noon, a massachusetts man has been arrested for sending threatening letters with suspicious powder to the president's son and a stanford professor. professor michelle dauber was apparently targeted because of her campaign to recall judge persky, the judge in the brock

turner rape case. in both cases the substance was found to be harmless. he also allegedly sent threats to five addresses in the u.s. he is due in court today. bart is warning people who ride the rails for free. according to bart, fare cheats cost them between $15 million to $25 million each year. so now inspectors will start proof of payment enforcement. anyone caught could face up to a $250 citation. >> people are glad to see them on the trains and add a layer of security and they are also glad to see everyone paying their fair share. >> bart will begin issuing citations next week. the white house facing the loss of the communications director, hope hicks announcing her resignation. she is considered one of the president's closest confidantes. the former model says after months of consideration, she has decided to step down issuing this statement: ident trump/dec. 17,

2016) "hope hicks is a tremendously talented person." her announce came just 1 day after she testified before the house intelligence co >> now, hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. >> her announcement came just one day after she testified before the house intelligence committee on the investigation into russian meddling in the u.s. election. another retailer is responding in the wake of the florida school massacre banning gun steals to people under 21. weijia jang says the move comes as president trump breaks with the nra and fellow republicans on gun control. >> reporter: florida governor rick scott highlighted his $500 million plan thursday morning to improve school safety and mental help. >> i want significant law enforcement presence at every school in the state. >> reporter: there was a large police presence wednesday when students at marjory stoneman douglas high school returned to class for the first time since

the deadly shooting. meadow pollack was killed in the rampage. her father watched the students come back. >> i like seeing the kids going to school. i like seeing kids that are alive and moving on with their lives. >> reporter: kroger is the latest retailer to say it is raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase firearms and ammunition from its fred meyer locations. the company joins dick's and walmart, who announced similar moves wednesday. >> we have to act. >> reporter: president trump is demanding stricter gun control at a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers wednesday. he surprised many with his comments saying he would even support bypassing due process to take guns away from the mentally ill. >> take the guns first, go through due process second. >> reporter: the president even criticized lawmakers from his own party for being too fearful of the national rifle association. >> i think there's a lot of excitement afterwards that he might actually lead on this and we need that. >> reporter: the president tweeted this morning:

watch. and this winter storm is bringing sierra. >> he emphasized the need for strong background checks. weijia jang, cbs news, the white house. we are on storm watch! and this winter storm is bringing some much-needed snow to the sierra. we'll show you the conditions in the mountains. coming up.

my name is jamir dixon and i'm a locate and mark fieldman for pg&e. most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg&e. my truck is something new... it's an 811 truck. when you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you don't hit them when you're digging. 811 is a free service. i'm passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. they're the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then i'll drive it every day of the week. together, we're building a better california.

can only mean one thing for the mountains... much-needed snowfall for the sierra.. reporter sean bennett is there. all the rain in the bay area can only mean one thing for the mountains. >> much-needed snowfall for the sierra. reporter sean bennett is there. >> reporter: blizzard-like conditions here at the sierra. we're hovering around 5,000 feet, you can see how much fresh powder -- take a look at this. this is from yesterday going into the middle of the night through the morning going into the afternoon. a lot just to get down to the

sidewalk here. same goes for the railing that's just above the freeway pass. all of this snow that's just loose up here just falling now on the interstate. speaking of the interstate, you can see eastbound and westbound, caltrans has been out all throughout the morning. a crew has just been blanketing the interstate, working both sides, and you know what? at the chain control there's been a lot of people that have been stopping. they don't know what they are getting into the further east they go. they are thankful for the chain installers. >> pretty nice. putting chains on is a task so i'm lucky this nice gentleman here is here to help me. >> i think slow and steady is the key. i'm not going to be in a hurry. >> reporter: one chain installer who has been working this road for 40 years says the message of not coming up was well received. >> the media pretty much

alerted everybody to this blizzard. and so traffic has been really thin with car traffic. truck traffic is always steady. >> reporter: if you are coming up to the foothills, you're going to get a mixed bag, snow, wind, low visibility, fog and, of course, you will see that rain before it switches to snow along the i-80 corridor. sean bennett, kpix 5. glad to see that people are heeding the warnings. we'll talk about the sierra but first the rain is coming down in santa clara, san jose area. plenty of raindrops. look at the rain totals. st. helena over two inches. kentfield has already reached over 3.5. san francisco almost an inch. ben lomond 2.5. san rafael two inches and orinda almost two inches. rain is come through alum rock and evergreen areas. it's winding down to the north. hayward still getting decent

amount of rain. most of it could be moving towards dublin so 680 rain. alameda a nice break. northeast marsh creek springs, they are seeing rain same with san ramon. so this is what's going on. we are going to get more rain. it's going to take a little bit. a nice treat with sunshine over ocean beach. here's the futurecast. so we are going to continue to see that chance of showers through 5:00. that's when we could see a chance of thunderstorms. more rain from 5 to 9 p.m. today. we'll have a break, tomorrow morning light showers and tomorrow afternoon. saturday we can get some light showers, as well. here's what we're also going to continue to see. there's going to be significant sierra snowfall as we showed you in that video from earlier from sean bennett up there. we are also going to have strong winds. so here's a look at the sustained winds, 14 to 18 miles

per hour coming out of the south. we still have the wind advisory through 10 p.m. today. our afternoon highs today will feel similar to what they are doing right now. mid-50s for the highs. sunset tonight at 6:03 p.m. we are looking at sunrise tomorrow at 6:39. now let's show you what it looks like now around this truckee tahoe airport. they have been plowing the runway there. look at the sideways blowing snow. there's blizzard-like conditions. you can see it all coming down across interstate 80, highway 50. that winter storm warming is until 10 p.m. saturday night. 7 feet of snow at the higher elevations, even low snow levels tomorrow. we also have a blizzard warning to tell you about and tahoe report up to 5 feet of snow. we'll be right back.

estuary to get into what's become somewhat of a legendary rummage sale. aron chin sh this weekend thousands of people will line up for blocks near the oakland estuary to get into what's become a legendary rummage sale. as sharon chin shows us, the woman leading the once a year tradition and why she is this week's jefferson award winner. >> i would say it was a model of my leg but it's not.

>> reporter: were humor and -- with humor and dedication, judy wilkinson volunteers for the "white elephant sale" for 19 years as a member of the nonprofit oakland museum women's board and as board president for the last year, she has been in charge of the fundraiser. it's funded more than $1.6 million in museum programs last year. so that's 10% of its budget according to the museum director. >> judy and the women's board is the lifeblood of the museum in terms of making possible our exhibitions and education programs every year. >> reporter: judy credits her close-knit group of 1,000 mostly retired volunteers. >> we have volunteers who have been here for 60 years. they are in their 90s. they still come down here. >> reporter: with judy at the helm, helpers painstakingly sort, price and organize donations from bedroom furniture to beads. >> she leads by example and there is no job too humble for

her to tackle. >> reporter: this long-time volunteer says judy, a retired computer programmer, helped upgrade the nonprofit's operation from a paper to computer-based system. >> people respect her and her knowledge and her background. >> reporter: and her love of the miscellaneous section of the rummage sale. >> look at this. >> reporter: and it is judy's favorite section because you never know what you'll find. >> you can find anything here. >> reporter: and judy doesn't mask her joy when it's over. >> to walk around the museum and see our while elephant logo on all the exhibits, i stand tall and proud. >> reporter: so for her leadership and commitment to the annual "white elephant sale," this week's jefferson award in the bay area goes to judy wilkinson. sharon chin, kpix 5. >> the oakland museum's women's annual "white elephant sale" is this saturday and sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a warehouse at 333 lancaster street in oakland. it's free open to the public and i have been there. it's quite an experience. anytime is a good time to

nominate your local hero for a jefferson award. do it online at our website, cbssf.com/hero. >> let's check the big board and see how the stocks are doing. the dow is still down 378. >> a reminder if you have a consumer problem or question, email or call us. trump junior... and a stanford professor... fe

ell, today's tip of the day is going to be purple artichokes. in europe especially italy you see a lot of them. it's kind of like a mainstay over there, mainstream. they're everywhere but you don't see them here too often. the color makes it beautiful. let's talk about selection and storage. when you buy them, purple all the way around, all the leaves in the center nice and tight. squeeze it. when it's squeaky that means it's fresh. if you overcook them, the purple may go away. it will be green. you don't want to overcook them. the sweet nutty flavor is there. make sure you select and keep them in the -- make sure you select them right and keep them in the refrigerator. cook them first and then enjoy them. i like them so many different ways. 'm tony tantillo, your fresh grocer. nd always remember to eat fresh and stay healthy. but don't these look absolutely beautiful? purple artichokes, mixed with

green, or anything. >> donald trump, jr., and a stanford said they were both sent white powder from a suspect. today we'll talk to the professor about her thoughts on the connection. that story and lots more coming up at 5:00. and we of course are still going to be tracking all that weather until later tonight. >> until saturday. >> okay. there you go. >> join us tomorrow morning. we'll be here bright and early with the latest on, you know, whatever is happening. [ cell phone rings ]

>> yeah, i'm watching it too. i see them every day. >> the curtains, they're always drawn in this place. >> i know. >> that guy, it seems like he's in charge of them. i don't know, i don't feel very good about this. >> we have to report this. >> yes, absolutely.

♪ [ door opens ] >> pam: oh! [ shivers ] how is it so cold out there? >> steffy: i know, it dips below 60 in l.a., and it's like we're in a deep freeze. >> pam: i know, we're spoiled, right? you're in early. everything okay? >> steffy: oh, yeah, i'm just getting a handle on the hope for the future reboot. >> pam: you sure? >> steffy: i'm fine, pam. >> pam: just being protective, you know, my favorite niece and all that. >> steffy: yeah, i'm hanging in there. i mean, the -- the baban