sonar. you guys use this at your station to predict the waters that are most at risk. the entire bay area is under a flood watch that goes into effect 1:00 thursday afternoon as the next atmospheric river. this flood watch goes all the way through sunday morning. we will track the approach of that rain hour by hour coming up in your first alert forecast. how much time you spend downtown, chances are it is not the same as it used to be a few years ago. today through cbs news, we are looking at why some cities are failing to make a post pandemic come back and also highlight the secrets behind one downtown's impressive turnaround

welcome back. it is a common lament, activity in our bay area downtown really does not look like it used to look before the covid pandemic. we are not alone. new data shows that most u.s. downtown areas are struggling. what is the solution?

we need our downtown corridor is to be resilient. as national consumer corresa comeback. >> reporter: it was in march 2020. yeah, that march 2020. downtown was quiet. it was a tough time. >> reporter: covid-19 turned san diego downtown into a ghost town. >> i assumed things would not come back to the levels they were. yet, three years later, metro san diego is bustling with business. we are in the little italy neighborhood of san diego, easily the most thriving part of downtown. >> reporter: mayor todd gloria showed us around. >> many of those businesses are hitting the pre-pandemic level.

we have this pre-pandemic level grow. is a sign of pre-ndemic >> reportre back him up. 2019sa took in $314 million. in 2022, the city took in $375 million, a jump of more than 19%. >> san diego stamp and rebound is something of an anomaly. many cities are still struggling to entice people back to the urban core. not here. >> reporter: we know that thanks to cell phone data. >> we are able to collect 18 million things that we are able to look at overtime. >> reporter: here in chapel, researchers at uc berkeley analyzed changes in cell phone use before, during, and after the pandemic in downtown. at the end of 2022, san diego was near the top, recovering 99% of its pre-pandemic activity. >> a lot of thought has come to it. that has made san diego one of the most resilient cities in

north america. >> reporter: resilient because of plants that started long before covid, having diverse job sectors that bring employees into their downtown workplaces. tech heavy systems flatlined since many techies now work remotely. >> if you were too specialized, you might be suffering. >> reporter: too much office space and not enough housing especially for families. >> the residential tower going up right there. that came online during the pandemic. >> reporter: mayor gloria says san diego prioritized living here, not just commuting in. last year, the city added 260 affordable housing units with post construction on another 1100. >> what does the mix here? >> we are more balanced. we have 30,000 residents downtown. the city envisions having more than 90 residents downtown. >> reporter: the city made her decisions during the pandemic like sacrificing parking for outdoor dining, a controversial move that is now permanent.

>> desperation is the father of innovation. >> we could not go indoors. these are restaurants that employee thousands of people. the city that did this, this is owned by the people. i will tell you, we have not lost a single business here. >> reporter: in fact, in one year, nearly 300 new businesses opened downtown, an increase of 100%. >> what we've built here is a downtown that has a healthy office, a lot of tourism, a good amount of retail, a lot of residential. troop here is a reason to come. a 10,000 seat outdoor concert venue. >> this was almost like a welcome back gift to san di gi's rtth

coup atare oking and hug ofour owtown ars. seatchanged before the pandemic. we have that story coming up. let's look at our forecast with first alert chief meteorologist paul heggen. i have been watching your twitter nonstop . >> a lot to talk about. we have another chance of showers headed our way tonight and we have the next atmospheric river that will be heading our way. talking about passing rain showers. some locally heavy downpours will not last long. a flooding threat. the focus does come in the long- term timeframe and the atmospheric ribbon, you can see the trail of moisture aimed were over 1000 miles directly toward the coast of california. that is going to arrive by thursday night but already some rain in place by thursday afternoon. we have a few spotty showers mainly north of the golden gate

. a couple of sprinkles possible through the afternoon and into this evening but the bulk of the rain will hold off until later tonight, not heading toward the northbay. most of the rain falling while you are sleeping. there will be some left over rain showers including some locally heavy downpours for the early commuters on wednesday. if you don't usually leave the house until 8:00, odds are the rain will be winding down but there might be some left over puddles on the road. then we get into a break in the action. the rest of wednesday, wednesday night, the first half of thursday all looked dry. the clouds will can through thursday morning and there is all of the rain. here it comes. that will be moving in by this time on thursday. even a couple of hours earlier with the heaviest rain likely from late afternoon, continuing thursday evening and continuing into thursday night. this will be accompanied by some gusty winds, maybe a couple rumbles of thunder. friday morning, that is when the bulk of the heaviest rain will give way to lingering off and on showers. our atmospheric river scale,

the bulk of the forecast data is looking at a being an ar three which is moderate to sometimes strong but it means a balance of beneficial rainfall but also hazards, wind damage, localized flooding. those are things we will have to watch for thursday evening and thursday night and there will be more rain to follow this up. the seven-day rainfall outlook shows 2.5 inches of rain or more in the rain shadow location in santa clara valley and the further inland in the east bay. most of the area looking at 4 inches of total rainfall over the next several days and some of the highest rainfalls. we will be looking at those gusty winds kicking in through thursday afternoon but the bulk of the strongest winds will occur thursday evening, 30 to 40 miles per hour gusts capable of doing more tree damage and resulting in more power outages. for now, calm across the bay area. temperatures only in the low to mid 50s. we will drop down to a mix of

upper 30s and low 40s. the low average and so will high temperatures be tomorrow but only in the middle portion of the 50s. alert days for thursday and friday because of the heavy rain falling and than any leftover flooding problems that we might be experiencing before the end of the workweek on friday. off and on showers friday and saturday. then, another week or atmospheric river might be headed our way monday and tuesday of next week. long-range data somewhat muddled . we will keep you te the snow cut off some southern california mountain communities. coming up, how neighbors are helping each other while they wait for some relief. a lot to be thankful for. look at these skies. because i love it so much. i am going to tell you about something that is part of my regular routine. i had to just replenish it because i love it so much.

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we believe in highlighting bridge builders in our community. today, we are shining a light on a southern california woman

who was going an extra mile for her snowdon neighbors acing a great need. meet carole wolfe. she is among the many still stranded up in the san bernardino mountains. after last week's record- breaking snowfall, they had a problem. the roof of the only grocery store in the area collapsed so she waited three hours in line with her neighbors in mind. >> if you have a neighbor, they have two little kids. >> with the roads impassable, she made the nearly mile-long snow we hike back to her house. she carry not only groceries for herself but for her neighbor, rick sawyer, who was a grateful dead. >> i've got a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old. it has been rough. >> she knew that and stepped forward, even in the snow. officials have cleared snow from more than 400 miles of roadway but it could take a few more days to reach her neighborhood. coming up, a big-time musical collaboration where you can see the top 10 r&b icons on

stage together right here in the bay area. even watches anytime anywhere on our streaming service, cbs news bay area.

i'm carter evans and this is the lunch rush in downtown seattle, if you can believe it. the number of workers here is

only 40% of what it was before the pandemic. that means fewer people to go out to restaurants and small businesses. it is a big problem across the country, leaving down towns and cities struggling to survive. the story is coming up tonight on the cbs evening news. coming up, insight into one of the rarest whales in the world just spotted in monterey bay. we will hear from the captain who got a firsthand look. some music legends teaming up. we are talking about lionel richie and earth, wind & fire, all planning to present a sing- along all night. the 20 city north american tour kicks off august 4 in st. paul, comes to chase center in san francisco on september 8. other cities include chicago, toronto, new york, and los angeles. you better get in on the dealing booth. i always wondered how that worked. >> people back in one room. >> three years after all of this started, i am not taking for

granted the people are allowed to gather occasionally. cbs evening news is back on kpix 5. it is all about stevie nicks for me. local s continues streaming on cbs news ♪ ♪ >> norah: tonight, new reporting in the investigation of the americans kidnapped in mexico. two killed by a drug cartel. two others found alive and now back in the united states. new photos of the two americans who survived, after a trip to mexico for cosmetic surgery turned deadly. >> mexican authorities say they have one suspect in custody. ♪ ♪ >> norah: breaking news: two small planes collided in florida. plus, the words no passenger wants to hear aboard a plane. >> i'm taking over this plain. >> authority say francisco torres allegedly tried to stab a flight