and are lined upset to shop. >> reporter: and these are the first wave of the shopping tsunami that begins before dawn. even stores that closed their doors, the sales and inventory staff here had four hours of work before heading home for thanksgiving. >> we're setting for tomorrow, we're going to have a huge day tomorrow. we're going to have about 599 door busters, we start at 4:00 a.m. >> reporter: the merchandise heavily discounted will be there. that's because the ever growing popularity of internet shopping, especially in an age where anyone in the store who has a smart phone can compare prices right on the spot, region wide, nationwide, worldwide. then there's crowd avoidance. a major reason some shoppers came out today turning thanksgiving thursday into transaction thursday. >> i think it's a great thing. that way the lines are not humongous and there's a lot of

rude people out there. you know. and it's not a nice thing the day after thanksgiving. >> so you come in here and you can shop comfortably not in a rush, and not in a hurry. and they have good deals, and i can't believe the stores are open. >> reporter: joining me now is john vasquez who's been in line for a long time from oakland. what are you waiting in line for? >> i'm waiting to buy a laptop here at best buy. >> reporter: how much do you think you will save? >> i believe i'm going to save $300 to $400 on a laptop. >> reporter: the final question, is it worth it to you to spend a cold night out here? >> yes it's worth it because you save a lot of money. all these people out here it's worth it to them too. >> reporter: okay well they certainly are waiting. there's about 40 people waiting in line. they'll be able to get up to 40% off of some laptops. ktvu channel 2 news. emergency weather shelters are open early this year and today one south bay

organization put together a last minute push to get the word out. ehc builders has already opened an emergency shelter at the becardo center in san jose. >> we can do 125 beds at all three of our sites but this weekend with the state of emergency we will turn nobody away. so if we need to go over we will. >> reporter: efc life builder says the shelter will be open every night until the end of march. our meteorologist mark tamayo is here with what we can expect for tonight. >> right now there's a look at some of the projected numbers. first thing tomorrow morning look at all the 20s for santa rosa, napa, morgan hill and san

francisco. all the areas shaded here, overnight temperatures 25 to 30 degrees. a frost advisory right around the bay reflecting temperatures mainly in the low to mid-30s right around 32 to 35 degrees. there will be a storm that will impact your holiday weekend we'll have more on that coming up in just a few minutes. and many people are hitting the roads, right now on interstate 80 traffic is flowing pretty good. 4.7million california are traveling by car. and a look outside, this one at whitmore, it is definitely slow going and snowy conditions there. cal caltrans at this point telling us there's no chain requirements on i80 at this

time. that could change, ski resorts have already seen between five and 9 feet of snow this year. we all know how tough flying can be these days. that's why a lot of people are choosing now to fly on a holiday like today. with yesterday's rush over, folks arrived early this morning at san francisco international airport. the crowds railroad -- the crowds were smaller and the wait was shorter. >> there's less people, this cost me $700 round trip. >> she isn't alone in paying more. compared to last year ticket prices are up 4% for thanksgiving air travel. demand greater than supply. the concept may work for some business models but not for feeding those in need. ktvu's ken pritchett attended

one of the largest events. >> reporter: the economy is said to be recovering from recession but on this thanksgiving in san francisco that was not reflected in the number of people in need. >> happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: the dinner was served up by the bay area kings. a motorcycle group that gives up their thanksgiving to serve up meals. reverend cecil williams is referring to the increased need. up 30% this year and to the make up of who needs help. >> we've seen for instance more people who don't have jobs. we've seen a lot of children. >> reporter: match increased demand with drop in donations in the past years and there is concerns for the year ahead. >> we need people coming every day to help us out. >> reporter: 500 volunteers help prepare and serve the meals at glide. and 100 volunteers did the same

at st. anthony's this morning where 4,000 meals were served today. >> the reason i come is because i've been fortunate in my life. these people are a lot less fortunate than i am. >> reporter: the cooks were busy preparing 500 turkeys and 400 pies. the organization says it's seen an increase in need this year. >> we're seeing a lot more seniors coming through our line for food. their dollars just aren't stretching. >> reporter: organizations such as glide and st. anthony's receive most of their donations in november and december. with donations are down, getting through the rest of the year could prove a challenge. ken pritchett. if you want to see some of the fastest most expensive or the greenest cars around you might want to head over to the auto show in san francisco. this year if you go, you will

be able to do something they've never allowed before. >> reporter: auto show organizers say they are giving thanks for an up tick in the auto industry which might help these new models move quicker from showroom floor to the streets. range rovers ran an artificial hillside this morning. it's the first time consumers have ever been allowed to drive the vehicles at the city's international auto show. show officials say it's a show of new economic optimism in the economy. >> i think the attendance at the auto shows across the board has been up which is also a strong indication that people are out there looking to buy a car. >> reporter: the show features dozens of 2011 models from 36 car makers. unlike previous years, this corvette sting ray is one of the only concept cars on display. the focus is on smart technology and alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles. curious car buffs got to drive the nissan leaf inside a ballroom. >> that's different too.

you can't go real fast and you can't go around the turns real quickly. >> reporter: while luxury vehicles remained the biggest attraction. >> my first house cost less than this car. >> reporter: many here were drawn to american car makers emerging from economic hard times. chrysler has partnered with fiat to sell this sub compact nationwide. >> i think it'll catch on. i think there are people who will like the new small cars and different styles, i like it. it's a good city car. >> reporter: other said that vintage vehicles on display offered a hint on what's missing in today's designs. >> i think there's a lot to be said about classic styling. i would like to see auto manufacturers bring some of this back. >> reporter: up to 400,000 people are expected to attend the auto show before it closes on sunday. tomorrow, friday is expected to be the busiest day. david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. a political uproar in south korea has led to the

registration nation of that country -- resignation of that country's defense minister. today the department of defense announced the death of a young bay area marine serving in afghanistan. he is identified at 19-year-old lance corporate arden joseph venagua of san jose. he was killed yesterday while conducting combat organizations. he was part of the first marine force out of camp penddelton. and today rescue crews on the ground weren't able to move -- from the rugged hills so they called a rescue helicopters. the hiker was taken to the hospital. the man was with two friends when he fell 25 feet injuring

his back and ankle. a rash of robberies in the east bay has two police agencies looking for suspects and wondering if the robberies are related. walnut creek police are looking for a black bear diner on bancroft road early this morning. the latest a denny's restaurant. the two police departments are now sharing information trying to determine if those robberies are related. >> that's helped to develop some patterns and some descriptions of people and how they act. walnut creek police say the suspects who robbed the black bear diner this morning are described as three black males wearing dark clothes and masks. san leandro police arrested a man who beat a 3 -month-old puppy and left it to die. police have arrested doug doell. police believe doell was one of three men seen beating a man

with a bottle. the puppy was found with multiple wounds and died shortly after it was found. -- initial reports indicated residents might be trapped inside. once on the scene, firefighters found out that everyone got out okay. no one was injured. but firefighters say this home is a complete loss. the cause of the fire is under investigation. buses will replace cable car s so the route can undergo major renovations. the project should be finished by july. some work has already started but will be on hold for the holiday shopping season. that line runs from the financial district to van nuys avenue.

some residents take a plunge for a very good cause. plus -- >> reporter: feeding the nummi is not a rare sight. but feeding the nummi on this day is very unusual, honoring a young boy who died.

the moment you feel run down or achy nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud.

tomorrow kicks off the annual coat drive all across the bay area. it's called one warm coat. and ktvu personalities will be on hand to take your donations. if you want to help those in need, you're encouraged to drop off a warm coat or make a cash

donation. we hope to see you sometime tomorrow. this morning, a few bay area, a few dozen bay area residents plunged head on into the thanksgiving holiday with an early morning swim and it was all for a great cause. the money raised from this event goes to the karen m. boarden scholarship funds: it helps to pay for scholarships for two life guards and swimming classes for low income family kids. >> i'm very excited for the kids. it's just a good feeling to be able to help the others in this world. karen gordon was an intern here at ktvu when she died. she was killed in 2001 on her 19th birthday from a driver who was fleeing from police.

and on this thanksgiving, there is no bigger thanks being given than a mother who's child was saver bid a donor. >> reporter: turkey and all the trimmings for people in line. it was the brain child of a 13- year-old child. >> we promote donor awareness because of michael. >> reporter: because two years ago, michael got a new lease on life, a donated liver. he held his event in the name of a friend who lost his life this month. >> with him being gone, seems like everything is different. >> reporter: 14-year-old malike grayson who knew michael through football. >> even though my son was not here with me, he was able to

save a lot of people's lives. and i know he is here with me. >> reporter: malik became an organ donor. adding to his relationship with michael. >> she did it for me because my son is a recipient. >> he said he wanted to be here. so he's here with us in spiritual ways. >> reporter: all told, michael and his family had enough food to feed 300. a far cry from the first event that fed just 25 people. >> reporter: this mike a big day for michael. but it is small potatoes on what's going on december 21st, where he's riding in the new year's float parade. >> after a measurement of south bay reservoirs today, this thanksgiving it represents a

big change from our drought years. robert handa has our reports. >> reporter: it's been a few thanksgiving since our south bay's reservoir has looked like a big reservoir. at this time last year the south bay is in the third year of drought conditions. today many people told us that we have grown tired of holidays with mandatory conservation and restricted activity. >> it was devastating, because when you need water it's not there. >> i want to make sure water was in the lake so we go swimming and stuff like that. back when we had the drought, we couldn't go camping. >> reporter: four business such as campbell's rock bottom cafe, mandatory conservation also meant higher rates. >> we cooked everything and looked at every fixture and faucet in the building to say, is everything up to snuff, are we dripping water? we wasting water. last thanksgiving, reservoirs were below 50% water

capacity. many reservoirs are well above that. the big plus is the heavy snowfall in the sierra. >> that's a huge part of our water supply. we consider that our biggest reservoir, the snow pack. >> reporter: another bonus after dropping mandatory conservation, the public is maintaining good habits. >> we wont ask for water. we will say no water because other people order water and they don't drink. >> if i'm washing my face, i will turn the water off. if i'm doing disher, turn the -- disher, i turn the water off. >> reporter: officials don't expect to see another cig any cant boost until the storms start coming in one right after the other. at anderson reservoir, robert handa, channel 2 news. meteorologist mark tamayo is here to tell us about winds coming our way. >> as we head into the weekend, we will be talking about more rain shower there is. the up close and personal look at my tie. you can't see right now on our

live storm tracker 2. you can see all the clouds in the pa pacific. the bigger story in the short term will be of lower temperatures. you can see across the bay area as we take a look at those, the 40s. look at the upper right portion of the screen. right now it is 38 degrees in fairfield. that's pretty close for our 6:00 hour. that forecast will be down to the mid- to upper 20s right around 26 degrees first thing tomorrow morning. that's why we have a freeze warning in place. san francisco 49 and livermore 48 degrees. high pressure sticks around for one more day, as a result we're going to have another cold day. high clouds in advance of this, that cold front that will be approaching the bay area. showers likely as we do head into saturday. with the clouds in place, the overnight lows won't be nearly as cold. no more frost advisories or freeze warnings for your

weekend: most readings will be in the 40s: rainfall expectations will be .1 to an inch at the wettest locations. so this snow pack a bit of a punch, primarily for saturday morning. winter storm watch kicks in late tomorrow night. here's a look at our forecast model. by tomorrow night, wind gusts kicking up. and the coverage will be decreasing saturday afternoon. clear and cold tomorrow morning, 28 to 42 degrees. into the afternoon hours, primarily the 50s with partly sunny skies. temperatures mainly right around 52 to 57. the afternoon temperatures not a big change from today. san jose 57, san mateo56 degrees. here's a look ahead. there's that one rain cloud as

we look into saturday. into sunday we're going to gradually clear out those clouds and increase the wind speeds. but bundle up once again first thing tomorrow morning. stay with us, sports director mark ibanez is up next.

our sports director mark ibanez is here. with thanksgiving you think football. but you have baseball news. >> even on this traditional thanksgiving football day, the giants need a pitcher. and tejada is a free agent. and uribe probably wants a hefty race with the giants. meantime there is plenty of football still going on and that has happened. traditional holiday games of course. dallas is always one of them. looked like they were going to come up with a victory over the

world champion saints. kitna connecting with williams. but a strip of the ball. and the saints recover. and quickly led by drew brees they march 88 yards in 68 seconds. and dallas has victory snatched away from them 30-27. and then a big time game for none other than the patriots tom brady. perfect quarterback rating today. completed four touchdown passes. 341yards, 79 right there to deon branch, easy win over the host detroit lions 45-24 and the bengals are also playing against the new york jets. highlights of that, 0-0 game so far tonight at 10:00 along with local college hoops. that's the sporting life though for right now. >> that tom brady is

incredible. >> pretty good quarterback. he probably would look good in a niner or raider uniform. >> he sure would. coming up on tv 36, we're live in san francisco where the holiday shopping rush is swinging into high gear. black friday may be tomorrow. but retailers and consumers aren't waiting and they're not holding back. that story and more coming up in 30 minutes on tv 36. i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm gasia mikaelian. for mark and everyone here, happy thanksgiving. see you at 10:00. >> good night.