travelers through sfo are experiencing arrival and departure delays. we'll have the latest in a live report coming up. >> reporter: how this tree narrowly missed two people sitting inside an oakland home. and it is the busiest mailing day of the year hawaii this means for those who still have holiday mail to send. good afternoon everyone.

i'm heather holmes in today for tori campbell. today storm clouds are only adding pressure to an already difficult situation in oakland. that's where a giant tree crashed into a house. and that's not the only problem. ktvu's kraig debro is live now with more on the mess the wet and windy weather left behind, kraig. >> reporter: good afternoon. the tree still causing problems. my estimation the tree is about 100 feet long. you can see some of the branches torn off yesterday in the fall. no one has actually scheduled a tree removal service, but remarkably the home is habitable. you'll soon see why these people narrowly escaped the crash. late this morning we had our first look inside the house. two different tree branches broke through the ceiling. six adults and an infant were inside. two people were in the living room at the time of the crash. >> they were sleeping. and it missed their head and

bodies by inches. >> reporter: neighbors assessed the damage and shared the stories told by the falling tree. >> it was like thunder. like -- i thought it was an earthquake. i had no idea. >> reporter: what was it like sleeping in your house last night? >> it was cold. no power. all of house has no power. i have my daughter and my wife go live in my other relatives house. >> reporter: it was noon when this pine came crashing through the roof of a home near the oakland san leandro border. the cause of the crash is not known for sure, but a check of the tree's roots showed no water saturation leaving many to believe that the wind brought down the tree. and there are others like it still on the same hill. >> actually have a big one right next to my room that that tree clipped and took half that tree of too. so that tree was kind of scaring me last night. >> reporter: just a few houses away this natural waterfall caused by the rain already has led to problems. city crews are clearing an

underground pipe called a wear. >> natural runoff comes down. and when the trough here or the weir gets plugged up, then it comes on to the property. >> reporter: no property damage yesterday, but debris in a storm drain dammed and backed up water which flowed on to the street. in fact you can still see the mud drying from yesterday's minor flooding. a crew tells me this morning sewage and drain crews service about 100 of these across oakland. it's not just in this neighborhood. it's all over the city. as for the tree still sitting on the top of the home, tenants are staying here as the clean up continues. we just spoke to one of the women that lives inside. she said she just spoke to the owner. the owner of course knows about this and is trying to schedule a removal as soon as possible. live in oakland, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. we checked out some of the bay area's storm trouble spots and one mobile home park flooded during yesterday's downpour. it is slowly drying out now.

it's on old bay shore road in redwood city. a water pump failed just as the heavy rain began to fall yesterday afternoon. things have also started to dry up in mill valley. yesterday's heavy rain though flooded a park and ride lot as you see here. the water made simple driving a nearly impossible task. also more rain is expected today along with the possibility of more lightning. mother nature put on quite a light show during last night's storm. our ktvu cameras captured this dramatic scene as lightning flashed over the bay bridge. the scene was much the same in other parts of the bay area. in other news this noontime, rescue teams are searching at this hour for a 62- year-old woman from southern california who might have driven her minivan into the russian river saturday night. authorities say phyllis was following friends back to santa rosa after having dinner. they lost sight of her about two miles south where the highway 1 intersects with the russian river. sonoma county sheriff

investigators say her friend's immediately called 911 when she didn't show up at her hotel sunday morning. teams of swift water divers were called in to search for her and her van. she's from los angeles county. she was scheduled to drive to oregon today to see relatives. well, things are back to normal on cal train after delays during the morning commute. happened after 8:00 a.m. when a southbound train developed mechanical problems and taken out of service. as a result two southbound and one northbound trains fell behind schedule. but cal train now says that everything is back on schedule. in fact they had it back on schedule by about 9:30. it is not mechanical problems, but the recent wet weather here and blizzards elsewhere that's causing airport delays. and the timing could not be worse as people try to head out for the holidays. jade hernandez is live at sfo with details. jade. >> reporter: good afternoon. sfo started seeing delays, arrival and departure domestic

delays around 9:30 this morning ranging from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. they expect many more delays later today. >> departure and arrival from chicago. >> reporter: diane checked the board for an arrival from chicago. her parents' plane was delayed. >> it's tough when you're stuck at the airport. and my mom is coming for an extended period because my sister's pregnant. so she's got like eight bags. >> reporter: they noticed a number of flights behind schedule but expected as much especially at this time of year. earlier two travelers headed overseas had already had patience tested by 8:00 this morning. >> i was trying to get here as early as possible but i ended up waiting any way. and i feel like a lot of people are in the same situation. i was hoping they'd know what to do. they don't know what to do when the snow hits. >> reporter: the man you just heard from was headed here. he thought he avoided delays in theling snow hit. 27 hours later he was still at

sfo. british airways and virgin atlantic canceled flights last night and tried to reschedule this morning. >> they had such bad weather in london they closed the airport for a while. had trouble getting crews and equipment to the right place. looks like they got most of those problems worked out and hopefully flights go off as planned. >> reporter: for these sisters a half hour delay did not dampen excitement over their parents' arrival. on top of the east coast storm delays sfo is limiting the number of landings due to weather here. so departures later today will most likely be effected. we just have a couple of notes to keep in mind. i want to bring you back out live here. the lines here at the american airlines terminal very, very thin. the wait is about 10 to 12 minutes. mike, the sfo spokesperson told me this morning don't wrap presents. just make sure that you go through the line and afterwards sfo will provide wrappers from various charities past a security gate for the convenience of any traveler wanting a present or two to wrap before they get on the plane. and of course remember to bring

your patience when you come to any airport because of course delays are expected throughout the day. reporting live, jade hernandez, ktvu channel 2 news. a busy terminal at newark airport in new jersey is back open after a suspicious package shut it down this morning. that package turned out to be a computer monitor. it was found behind the ticket counter at a security check point a few hours ago. the f.b.i. says the monitor normally emits small amounts of radiation and there was no danger. the monitor is being shipped to the same destination as its owner who's already in flight. british authorities announced today the arrest of 12 suspected terrorists in three cities. the raids took place earlier today as part of an ongoing operation. some details are not being released as to the charges or what exactly was being planned. they range in age from 17 to 28. just last week senior iraqi officials warned about possible attacks here in the u.s. as well as in britain and europe over the holidays. the european air safety

agency unveiled a new set of proposals today to help combat pilot fatigue. the new rules limit flight hours for commercial pilots to 14 hours during the day and 12 hours at night. right now each country has its own standards. in the united states the faa has proposed new limit that is would bar pilots from working longer than 13 hours a day or nine hours at night. it is a healthier way to get around. but this time of year walking could be dangerous. we'll explain. also just how much rain can we expect today and throughout the rest of your week? our meteorologist steve paulson is working on your forecast right now. it would take 200 fully loaded semis to haul it off. but it has to get to almost every address in the country just about as quick as santa does. that story still ahead. q

those of you hoping to send out your holiday mail, you should hurry. time is running out with the postal service hard at work to ensure delivery of the millions and millions of letters and packages. ktvu consumer editor is live now at san francisco's main postal processing facility with all the details. hi, tom. >> reporter: yeah, we're in the customer service area. you can see that the noon rush hour is really ramping up as people try to get those last minute packages and letters in. all told it comes out today to

almost three pieces of mail for every man, woman and child in the nation. just one day. folks lined up at post offices nationwide today with a specific goal in mind. today's the last day you can mail a christmas card to ensure it gets there on time. >> i think so. who knows about the storms and everything, but they've never failed me. never failed me. usually not failed me in the past. we're cautiously optimistic. >> just happen to be the time that i could get everything together. and so many other things to do. work, other schedule that must be fulfilled prior to this. so today just happened to be that day. >> reporter: so that makes today the post office's busiest. >> nationwide we're expected to do about 800 million pieces where we would normally do about 550 million pieces. >> reporter: bay area post offices will handle their fair share. >> locally normally we do about 500 to 600,000 pieces a night. tonight we'll do about 1.3

million pieces here in the san francisco plant. >> reporter: and if it doesn't arrive on time. >> even if someone's thinking about me and if i get a card or gift in january, i would appreciate it. >> reporter: now just today's cards and letters alone will weigh nearly as much as five fully loaded jumbo jets. not including heavier packages and parcels. we're talking nearly three letters for every man, woman and child in the country. reporting live, consumer editor, ktvu channel 2 news. a lot of mail. all right. with less than a week before christmas, shoppers are packing the malls. retail analyst calls this the first normal holiday shopping season in three years. sales of clothing rose 9.8% with especially strong sales for men's clothing. jewelry and furniture sales also were up more than 2%. and about half of the people surveyed say they still have lots of shopping to do. a new survey shows you'll pay less for many popular christmas presents this year than ever before.

in fact, tvs are now 93% cheaper than they were in 1980. toys cost 55% less than they did in 1980. and the cost of small appliances including coffee makers and toasters also down about 30%. those prices have not been adjusted for inflation. now comes with a $285 price tag. senate democrats believe they have enough support to pass president obama's nuclear arms control treaty with russia. the president made one final pitch that reduces nuclear arsenals on both sides. >> isn't about winning a victory for an administration or a political party. it's about the safety and security of the united states of america. >> the president has signed the agreement back in april, but the senate still needs to approve it. just yesterday senate minority leader said he will oppose the treaty. but democrats say they believe they have the 67 votes needed

for ratification. the 2010 census report is coming out tomorrow. and the results may have big implications on the make up of congress and the 2012 presidential election. the data shows republicans will gain as many as four house seats in texas. meanwhile, new york and ohio two very important states won by president obama in 2008 are each projected to lose seats. it's anticipated that here in california we will keep 53 seats and remain the largest delegation. the census report also shows many bay area neighborhoods remain segregated. it finds the average white resident in the east bay lives in a majority white neighborhood. in contrast, african-americans in the east bay typically live in neighborhoods that are about 28% african-american. that's a big change from three decades ago when the typical african-american resident lived in a neighborhood that was 56% african-american. a new report says san francisco is one of the most dangerous cities in the state

if you're walking. more than 800 people are hit by cars in san francisco each year. according to to the san francisco chronicle. and december is said to be one of the most dangerous months for pedestrian accidents. more people are out walking and shopping during the holidays and also an increased alcohol use this time of year. >> i feel safe out here walking on the streets. but i am extremely careful to pay attention to the cars and my surroundings. >> the top ten most dangerous parts for walkers are concentrated in the financial district, tenderloin, south of market and bayview neighborhoods. well, if the weather cooperates you'll be able to check out a rare treat in the skies tonight. the longest total eclipse in this century. e earth's shadow will completely cover the moon at 11:41 tonight. the last of the partial eclipse finishes at 2:01 tomorrow morning. it's the fire time in almost 500 years that a lunar eclipse will coincide with a winter soloist. the science center in oakland

and hall of science in berkeley will be hosting viewing events. the series of storms has led to avalanche warnings in the sierra forcing the closure of some roads. snow is expected to keep falling at least through this afternoon. this is what it looks like in tahoe city about an hour ago. chains are required on many roads including interstate 80 and highway 50, 88 and 89. highway 88 is closed near kirkwood and highway 89 is closed near emerald bay due to avalanche concerns. the fresh snow is drawing skiers and snow boarders to the resorts. high winds forced sugar bowl to close one lift on saturday. but this could be one of the best holiday seasons for resort operators in several years with lots of new snow. and of course both christmas and new year's falling on saturday this year. and you can track the snow in the sierra and the rain a little closer to home on our website. visit ktvu.com and click on the storm watch tab. all right. let's go ahead right now and check in with our meteorologist steve paulson to find out what we're in store for today.

>> thank you, heather, we will. most of the action has been up in the north bay where they've had thunderstorm activity. we've had hail, thunder. sonoma had some hail. off and on brief heavy rain from marin county and sonoma county and also napa county. and even snow as you work your way up north. we had a few breaks. couple locations said partly sunny. but now things are starting to fill in as a lot of cloud cover offshore is beginning to swing in. the tropical band we had over us for the weekend is now moved south. in fact extremely heavy rain down san louis, santa maria. record rainfall for the date. that's moving to southern california. as this system pushes in it sends us the colder unstable air. so the pattern's changing a little bit. we're not going to get that intense cloud cover streaming overrous constantly. one bay moving on shore near the san mateo, santa cruz coastline. and then the other activity near napa and highway 29 popping up. anywhere right there also by inverness and point ray.

some thunderstorm activity that comes ashore. all associated with coming around this low that's sending in the cold unstable air. but the band sliding south as another system comes in behind that and pushes it south. the forecast today even though it's cloudy to mostly cloudy, showers possible thundershowers. more hail possible. more rain comes in on wednesday. a break thursday, friday. but then it looks like on saturday, yes, saturday, we'll see another system come in. these are colder systems. they're a little different than what we had over the weekend. anywhere from an inch in the last 24 hours santa rosa, palo alto, san francisco an inch and a half. over the weekend to three upwards of 11 it's cold out there. only low 50s for everybody. concord, livermore at 53. snow continues to stack up. reports now coming out of mammoth at the top of the mountain of eight foot drifts. incline village in the last 24 house 36 inches of snow. the cold air begins to turn in and the rain becomes snow.

there's the system right there. it will take shape into tuesday night and wednesday. the pattern's not changing. it's just changing the way it's directing a lot of this moisture so the moisture came up north of the hawaiian islands is now in central and southern california. system maybe one to two feet higher elevations and the snow level's come down now. it was up around lake level. went down to around 5,000. now getting below 4,000. so showers, possible thundershowers. cloudy to mostly cloudy today. low 50s. few mid-50s. it's cool, it's cold, it's gray. and there will be more rain. we might get a break in the cloud cover tonight. maybe around midnight, heather, which we could see the eclipse. we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed for that. >> looking for the break tomorrow. >> a little bit. >> thanks, steve. parts of southern california are getting a drenching and there's more rain forecast. heavy rain over the weekend dumped up to seven inches in some areas and caused a mud slide in the hills.

others quickly evacuated while others were still in their homes. >> we were in bed sleeping and we looked outside and we could see our fence that runs along the street one picket after the other started to fall over. >> flash flood warnings are also in effect in many areas especially in the mountain areas burned in recent years by wild fires. forecasters predict the rainy weather will continue through christmas day. santa's little helpers are hard at work. who got to enjoy a last minute shopping spree on the house.

taking a live look now at wall street. trading for the holiday week starting off rather lightly. stocks rose modestly early in the day. the dow struggling to hold onto strong december gains. we are coming off of three straight weeks of gains. the dow though as you see now down a few points. the nasdaq also down a fraction. facebook's ceo is beginning a trip to china today where his own website is banned. he began the day in beijing where he met with the head of china's largest search engine. that's raising some questions about just what he might be trying to accomplish while he's in china. he has expressed a business interest in china saying how can you connect the whole world if you leave out 1.6 billion people. this was a very special morning for some children in san francisco who might not

otherwise have had much for christmas. >> little different. >> old navy gave 200 children from live memorials church's family services program a shopping spree at a store on market street. each child received a $100 gift card as well as some expert advice from personal shoppers who work for the san francisco based gap corporation which of course owns old navy. >> these are kids who just get to go shopping and not really think about, oh, we don't have enough money. or we're not sure if we can get something for everyone. that the kids just get to come. it's volunteers who love to host this event. and really that they get something new for christmas just for them, just what they wanted. >> this is the seventh year that old navy has hosted the shopping event for children. nice to see that there. coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00, if your mailbox seems a little empty, it might

be because that hallmark of the holidays, the christmas card, may be going the way of the dinosaur. card manufacturers have seen their sales plunge in recent years. find out why facebook might be making a dent in the traditional seasons' greetings. our next newscast is ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. we hope to see you then. until then, have a great day everyone. we'll see you back here at 5:00.