pounding rain, wet roads, power outages even minor flooding. tonight a fast moving storm is soaking the bay area. good evening everyone i'm frank somerville. >> i'm gasia mikaelian, julie haener has the night off. storm tracker 2 shows us how fast the rain is moving through the area. chief meteorologist bill martin will track it for us in a moment. but our coverage starts outside in the elements with ktvu's ken

wayne. >> it's been cold, wet and windy out here at times the rain blowing sideways. we're at highway 87. we've been keeping an eye on this traffic light behind me. for a while it has been bobbing wildly in the wind, few now it's settled down, but this is only part of the story. 12 to 14-foot ocean swells slashed the sonoma coastline. at the koerd guard station at bodega bay, the warnings were up but most people heeded the warning to stay out of the ocean. sheriff's deputies say the river was expected to crest at 29 feet and that's when officials start to look for potential flooding. the safeway store was busy but

few customers were buying flood gear, mostly food for a long night indoors. that was the story at the main street restaurant, but it doesn't mean the kitchen was quiet. >> we deliver, so we get a lot of deliveries on rainy nights. >> my house flooded last time. i mean the downstairs. yeah. >> reporter: so this is nothing? >> not yet. >> reporter: still they know things can change quickly and if the rain doesn't let up soon a weather incon convenience can turn ugly. this woman stocked up in case a

fallen tree blocks her street. >> the street gets blocked up and i can't get to work, but that's okay railroad >> reporter: this is the area of one of the multi vehicle accidents that took place. we did not see injuries in this crash. the rain continues to fall. live in sonoma county, ken wayne. the rain is causing flooding along some bay area roads. traffic on highway 1 came to a halt tonight. caltrans was called to clear storm drains there. some drivers ignored flood signs and drove on through. one vehicle got stuck but that was the extent of the problem according to highway patrol. it was wet right in time for the evening commute. but a lot of folks are off this week so we got away with it. it's raining out there hard right now. the national weather service did have an urban and street

advisory for the marin county. they were looking at a wind add advisory too for the entire bay area. here's a line from berkeley to oakland all the way back to half-moon bay. some powerful cells earlier tonight. when you saw the heavy rain you were seeing heavy rain. that's what you find in some tropical storms. very, very wet. daily city right now, you're getting wet. san francisco out at the airport, the avenue is very wet as well. we switch to san jose, it is very wet. it is soggy out there. and we're not true. when we come back i'll show you how much we have left. we're going to talk about the mountain, look at the computer model and yeah there's more rain. the powerful storm tonight as we saw a moment ago has led to a host of problems,

everything from stranded drives drivers to thousands of people without power. we go to amber lee, she is live in daley city. >> reporter: just a short while ago we got off the phone with pg & e they confirmed that 36,000 customers lost power at one point tonight as well. they include parts of daley city, south san francisco and san francis's richmond and sunset districts. mother nature is also wreaking havoc on the roadways. in the east bay in san leandro tonight, a tow truck driver told us he had been helping stranded motorists nonstop,

half a dozen in a few hours. >> we're dealing with areas like this where you have the freeway flooded, and it's a lot of water puddled up. >> reporter: navigating through the heavy sheets of rain didn't seem to slow town motorists, something that this tow truck driver says increases the threat of accidents. >> you have the wet ground. i would advise everyone to slow it down tonight. >> reporter: in oakland's normally busy rockwood neighborhood foot traffic was minimal as people were in a hurry to get home. >> you have to make sure you have an umbrella. >> reporter: back here live we want to show you how heavy this rainfall is. you can see all the standing water at the b.a.r.t. station.

all i can tell you is it's absolutely miserable out here. i don't know why anyone would be out here unless they have to be. patti lee, ktvu news. there are no significant problems, heavy equipment is on stand by at one creek ready to clear any debris that might block the gutters. police and fire crews went door to door to warn residents about the flood danger, alerting people to the possibility of evacuations. in marin county some residents say they worry that this storm will spread contamination of a recent raw sewage spill. but officials say the rain

could actually help by diluting the contamination. there are no mayor problems on highway 17 to the santa cruz mountains tonight. earlier tonight we found families preparing for the storm by filling sandbags outside the disaster area right there. one woman told us she needs those bags to keep water from flooding her home. and rain down here means snow up in the sierra. a big surprise coming up in a live report for you at 10:30. keep in mind you can monitor weather conditions 24 hours a day. go to ktv u.com. we're going to live storm tracker 2 to show you the conditions. i'll be back here in just a

bit. i want to make a difference in the community here. the weather is still causing major problems at bay area airports tonight. what travelers are telling us about astronomical delays today.

if withering criticism could melt snow, the streets of new york city would be clear right now. there were a lot of complaints

that the city s been too slow in plowing roads in the wake of a holiday blizzard that dumped 24 inches of snow. the mayor is calling for patience and a city spokesman said crews are working at full speed, the problem is that crews have to plow roads over and over to keep them passable. some passengers today told us it could be saturday before they can board a flight. crews are having to move people place to place after 25,000 flights were cancelled because of that blizzard. more delays tonight because of the rain and wind today at the san francisco international airport. several travelers told us they checked that their flight was on time before heading to the airport only to find their flight was cancelled or delays. >> it was delayed five hour,

then an additional hour then they just cancelled it. so we've ort since 9:00 a.m. >> there are some flights to and from the east coast that are delayed up to five hours. but right now they say cancellations are few and in between. we've talked about all the rain that we're getting and the storm that is hitting us is all pounding the sierra tonight with a lot of new snow and blizzard conditions. reporter richard sharp is live in nayack tonight with more, good evening richard. >> reporter: good evening, i have to say blizzard is a good word for what is happening out here. the wind and the snow is unbearable. people coming home from their christmas vacation or headed up for their new year's vacation, either way, it was a bad night to travel. you can hear by the sound of the snow conditions were heavy. >> you are one of many tonight, what happened? >> we were only going about 10 miles per hour and just went right off the road.

>> reporter: there were several spin outs on interstate 80, the chp an caltrans had their hands full. >> very icy and a lot of snow on the road and a fair amount of traffic. >> reporter: throughout the evening conditions just got worse and worse with this howling wind. the snow was just going sideways and several people had to be towed to safety don't. >> did you guys slide off the road? >> reporter: we skid off a little bit. >> reporter: now, this is a good visual for all of the snow that's been falling. this is just what's fallen in the last couple of minutes. this car only got here when the snow started to fall a few hours ago. here at the 5,000 elevation mark. much more in higher elevations. if you're coming to the to nyack please bring your chains.

live in the sierra, i'm richard sharp, ktvu news. a man who has lived in the bay area for years now is facing deportation tonight. he's a man who served time at san quentin but has now turned his life around. he's hoping that along with support from community leaders and politicians will help convince the governor to pardon him. lloyd lacuesta is live with the story. >> reporter: that man is appealing to governor arnold schwarzenegger for a pardon to keep him from being deported. freddy yang is a youth advisor. at 16 the young chinese immigrant was sentenced to seven years to life for a home invasion robbery in china town. >> i didn't really fully comprehend the consequences of my actions, how much it affects the victims and the community

and my family. i was naive, uneducated. >> reporter: he thought himself to read and speak better english. he earned a high school diploma, a college degree, became a model prisoner. >> i took the support from my parents and many of the friends that i encountered to my participation from the outside and my self-determination, my dedication to change that i was finally able to make that rehabilitation work. >> reporter: after 19 years, ye n g won parol in 2007. but as a noncitizen, immigration wants him deported. several prominent politicians and community leaders have joined in a petition drive to have governor arnold schwarzenegger pardon yang as one of his final acts before

leaving office. >> i deserve a chance to be able to utilize the skills i have cultivated to stay in the united states with my family and to continue to serve this community. >> reporter: immigration and customs enforcement i.c.e. told me tonight it can't speculate in advance what will happen to eddy yang. live in san francisco, lloyd lacuesta, ktvu channel 2 news. 2010 was a deadly year for police. the police fatalities rose 27% this year compared to last with 160 officers nationwide killed in the line of duty. among the hardest hit agency, the california highway patrol which lost five officers. the law enforcement officers memorial fund says police are having to fight conventional crime along with the war on terror without getting extra support. a man police say is armed and dangerous is on the lose tonight.

police in san jose and santa clara police say that on christmas eve joseph jenkins robbed a men's warehouse and then carjacked a car. early christmas morning, a sedan struck a 24-year-old bicyclists at the intersection of 26th and bartlet street. residents say that intersection needs a stoplight because of the busy traffic. >> i don't cross there because i'm afraid of the traffic. >> reporter: police are asking anyone with information on the hit and run to call them. exactly when san francisco

mayor gavin newsom will leave office is still up in the air tonight. january3rd is the official start date for his new postas lieutenant governor. but today the san francisco governor reports that newsom could remain mayor a few days beyond that. we sent a message to the mayor's office this evening but so far we haven't heard back. the mayor's office said today all the necessary permits have been approved. plans submitted show how the target will sit. it'll be an 85,000 square foot store. building it is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs. and as i mentioned not too long ago the national weather service issued an urban and stream flood advisory not just

for the north bay but has included the entire bay area as this weather system rolls through the region. we've had rainfall rates in excess of an inch an hour. that's a lot of rain. that's the kind of thing that you find down at the gulf. right now in san leandro that's heavy rain. when you see the reds that's when you almost can't see when you are driving, you are in those positions with downpours. out toward vallejo, richmond, heavy rain, the green representing moderate rain. that's about the middle setting on your windshield wipers. out in the avenues, we have a lot of folks living out in richmond. some areas reporting half inch to an inch of rain. daly city you see heavy rain here. down by the airport and san francisco, heavy rain as well. the story goes, we've got more

rain moving through tonight. and that rain is eventually going to start to die down. but not any time, not in the next 20 to 30 minutes. it's going to keep going until after midnight. in the mountains it's another story, we'll talk about that when we come back and when we take a look at that computer model. caltrans is hoping that tonight's rain won't stop their efforts to fill a huge pothole. the road is closed until caltrans can see what effect the rain has on the hole. drivers tell us they are noticing a lot more potholes on bay area streets these days. >> no matter how hard you try to you will hit one. when you hit it, you hit it. >> yesterday crews scrambled to fill in a 12-inch pothole. the highway patrol says at least two cars were damaged

when they drove through that pothole. a rare problem at disneyland today. what forced the park to turn people away for the second day in a row. strong winds and blowing snow here at lake tahoe. obviously it's a tough night for drivers trying to make it to the mountain, but it's good news on top of good news for the state water supply.

a pilot who created a sensation with a you tube posting spoke out today. john fowler reports. >> reporter: it's cell phone video from airport public areas. >> you can see airport security is kind of a farce. >> reporter: you tube video posted by 50-year-old airline pilot chris lou waving his

notebook here. he says the tsa reaction surprised him. >> i up loaded the video to get the reaction from the you tube committee, community. >> reporter: the tsa has not addressed lou's claim that employees entered the airport by a simple card swipe. lou and his lawyers say it's a well known loophole that needs to be addressed that they've heard from hundredsover pilots and ground crew. >> who have all said unequivocally that this problem exists. >> let me make it clear that i

have the up most represent of the pilots and crew. california soon to be governor jerry brown will get to decide whether the pursue the sale of 11 state buildings. today the state supreme court denied governor arnold schwarzenegger final plea to allow him to complete the sale before he leaves office. arnold schwarzenegger says selling the buildings and leasing them back would save the state money. critics say that leasing the buildings will cost them more money. disneyland has been the happiest place in the world. disneyland stopped selling tickets. disney which is always private about its business declined to offer numbers on their visitors. no word on the wait time on

those popular rides. the allegation about apple that iphone and i pad users will want to know about. helmet camera video shows the view from 30 feet above

the rain continues to come. the yellows, the oranges, you see the heavier rain throughout the bay area. the funnel system, the main system still not here yet. another hour or so before that happens so we can expect continued heavy rain right between oakland and san leandro. this is a heavy area of rain here. that red cell represents a half inch of rain an hour. there's the live radar sweep. half-moon bay you have heavy

rain, rock away, redwood city, lahonda. heavy rain across san francisco now. we're out close to the olympic close and near pacifica. so we're seeing heavy rain, pockets of it. there are breaks, but that flood advisory is up until 1:00 a.m. for the entire bay area. we'll be watching it. we'll be back in just a bit. now back to the sierra where all the snow is crucial there. tonight we have results from the first snow pack survey of the season and the numbers are startling when compared to last year. ktvu's ken pritchett is live in lake tahoe with the figures. >> reporter: frank right now we are in state line nevada. looks like we're in the middle of nowhere. we're actually standing in the parking lot where you can see all of the snow that's come down in the past hour. the snow should be deeper than this but the strong winds have blown it all. you can see cars covered in

snow. but you managed the snow survey today, the state took their first state survey, all of this snow is obviously good news for the ski resorts it is also good news for the water supply. the results were phenomenal. >> currently we're at 55 today. >> reporter: sam gurkey is with the snow pack committee. >> it started building two weeks and as has seemingly not let up. >> reporter: here the snow averaged 168% of normal for this test site in the central sierra off highway 50. a big difference from last year.

>> a little more than double than we had last year, same location, same time of year. >> reporter: it is early in the season, the key to a healthy water supply is continued snowfall in january through march. >> most of the reservoirs are in flood control mode, meaning they are making releases to main storage for flood control space so even though we're starting out with a pretty phenomenal snow pack, come april first it may not be so good. well twice as much snow in that snow pack survey now compared to the same time last year. but last year was a good snow year, that's because the snow came late in the season. that's why the numbers now, they have to watch those numbers because what the year really depends on how much snow we get in the coming months. it's that snow survey in april that will really tell the picture about the snow pack.

reporting live in state line, ken pritchett. now here's how that statewide number breaks down. the northern mountain snow pack and the trinity river basin is 169% of normal. snow pack in the central mountains around lake tahoe is a 180%. and the deepest snow pack is in the southern mountains with 261% of normal. across the country in maine, investigators are not sure whether wind or mechanical failure caused a ski lift accident that injured several people. we have video from a person on a snow lift. eight people including three children were hospitalized. all are expected to recover. dozens were stuck on that lift for about an hour. i felt a big jerk, then i heard people screaming then i saw the chairs just drop. yeah for a little bit i thought i was going to go down. the lift is 35 years old

and was about to be replaced. a 70-year-old man was killed this morning when a downed oak tree he was cutting up rolled on to him. the accident happened at the 100 block of gafney way in scotts valley. the man was standing below the tree on a hill when it rolled over him and crushed him. a tree removal crew spent the day clearing a redwood tree that crashed next to highway 9 in bolder creek. a tree just missed a house it was standing next to. rain and wind means he is in for a busy night. and you can check weather conditions any time at ktvu.com and of course bill is tracking the storm right now. we'll have his updated forecast just after 10:45. negotiations are coming down to the wire in antioch where six police officers who could soon be laid off. city leaders and the police union met privately today

hoping to keep those officers employed. >> crime has gone up, with less help from the police it's obviously going to provide more stress to the community. the lay offs if they occur are expected to happen in the next few day, there's no word on if today's talks were productive. tomorrow a new era in human rights monitoring is scheduled to begin. the effort is called satellite sentinel and includes google, harvard university -- satellites will photograph any burned or bombed villages. the mass movements of people or

other evidence of violence. there are concerns that the january 9th vote could trigger renewed violence probably even a civil war. at&t wireless companies in san francisco will soon be getting companies that have been missing. something that has been a big hit in time square. tom vacar explains how it's going to work. >> reporter: when the ball drops on time square, at&t customers there should have fewer complaints like lucy har who wet met at time square. >> i sometimes hang up on people because i lose service. >> i don't have coverage where verizon customers do. >> reporter: the embarcadero center will soon become a giant wifi site. then folks who want to access the internet can choose wifi

not the slower 3g phone system. >> while these folks are enjoying the fast feeds of the wifi network, other folks are seeing better network experience with the 3g network. >> i definitely believe it's a great idea. in my instance, when i lose reception with my 3g, i think wifi would definitely come in handy. >> reporter: it's like a wifi you find at starbucks but on a super scale. >> we have more wifi's throughout the world than any other carriers. >> reporter: as time goes on, these so called hot zones will be expanded. >> this is the first, the program is going to continue to expand throughout 2011. >> reporter: the most congested areas will be the first to receive the upgrade. meaning many will be added here in the bay area. tom vacar, ktvu news. for those who ride ac transit buses the days of the paper ticket are numbered. friday is the last day that ac

transit will be accepting paper tickets. and you can obviously still board the bus with cash. new numbers out today with the health of the housing number. how the bay area stands out. in a live storm tracker 2, i can see the back end of this thing as it moves through the bay area. lots of rainfall. it's still raining in a lot of places. i'll let you know when it ends and when it's coming back.

bay area home prices are down in the latest survey from a leading index. from september to october prices fell 1.3% the nation's top 20 markets. however there's a bit of good

news locally, prices in the san francisco region climbed year to year by 2.2%. the dow closed at it's highest level in two years. that came with a modest gain today of just 20 points. the nasdaq was down four. home prices disappointed investors. the price of gold broke records today jumping by more than $22 an ounce. inflation concerns in china are creating a bullish attitude in gold. cooper also set a report. major airlines confirmed today they are raising fares on domestic routes by $10 each way. according to fare compare, american airlines won't confirm any raise, southwest fares are staying put for now. rising fuel prices are to blame for the high. cash was the big concern on

a bay area freeway after a big rig collided with an armoured truck. it happened at about 7:30 this morning, the armoured truck leaked several gallons of diesel so another armoured truck was called in. and you can see, security guards stood by as the money was transferred. a fire happened outside a san francisco building, investigators suspect arson. in iran, a man accused of spying for israel and another accused of being an opposition activist were hung today. the government is facing a public backlash over cuts in fuel and food subsidies. in ivory coast, an angry

mob attacked a convoy today. the country faces a grave risk of a return to civil war. violence in ivory coast has escalated since last month's disputed presidential election. thousands of people are fleeing to near by siberia, most of them women and children. meteorologists say more trouble could lie ahead with flood waters expected to completely submerge homes in some southern parts of the state. australia had it's wettest september to november spring on record. i think this is something that's a long time coming. a lawsuit targeting some of the hottest tech toys in the country. the allegations against apple coming up next. and bill is continuing to track the wet weather, what to expect tomorrow and the rest of the week in the complete forecast.

a new lawsuit that could radically change the use of wireless devices is accusing apple of violates fraud laws. it's all about personal information and advertising. maureen naylor has our report. >> reporter: the apple store in los gatos was bustling this afternoon. >> i think i'm going to be playing with it, it told all my friends where i'm at. i think it's kind of fun. >> reporter: that geographical service is why a man is suing apple. >> i think this is something

that's a long time coming. >> reporter: this tech analyst is to give customers free stuff with the company getting personal information in exchange. it's a model used by my space and google. >> google is based on taking your information providing third parties. that somehow made illegal it would certainly be an ugly thing to their business plan. >> reporter: according to the lawsuit, apple claims apps are not allowed to transmit data about any user without the users consent. >> for a weather app i will. i will put where my location is. some of the other ones i'm not sure why they're asking my location when i'm, you know using an application that doesn't need my location. >> i don't go on facebook for that reason. i don't have a facebook account because i don't want anyone to know my business. and i think that it's too out there, it becomes too public, anyone can find out anything about you on facebook. >> i put in a variety of apps,

i'm some what suspect but not overly concerned. >> reporter: anyone who download an app to their iphone or i pad. and the first court hearing is set for next month. in san jose, maureen naylor. hewlett packered's ceo is looking to place a lawsuit against his former company. today hurd is trying to keep the confidential letter private. the letter was sent for a contractor who accused hurd of sexual harassment. starting next month all first class stamps will be forever stamps. forever stamps can be used on first class mail no matter the price of postage. the postal service is seeking to increase postage rates after losing $8.5 billion during it's last fiscal year. and we go right back to storm tracker 2 because it has

been a wet wet night around the bay area. out toward san francisco, you have more rainfall. there's breaks now for a while we were just getting lots of heavy rainfall. now we are seeing it in spurts. from san francisco out toward daly city, out toward pacific heights, out toward the marina district in san francisco, you're getting a lot of rain now. san leandro toward hayward. this thing is starting to slow down you can feel it. you can see things starting to dry out up in vallejo. the forecast for tonight is going to be lingering showers. the heavy stuff down by midnight that's the plan. after that widely scattered showers, the long range forecast brings more showers in here toward saturday. here's how we know it's coming to an end. see the back of the front, it's moving pretty quick. it'll get here and when it does it will pass.

we'll start to see it taper off a little bit. and they are just getting hammered, there's a big storm out there. 2.5feet, 3 feet in some of the higher elevations. here we are midnight tonight. the computer model, you see most of are scattered showers. just some instability with the front. here we go. this thing is a fast mover, i have to tell you it's forcing a fast mover. when you get rainfall rates of half an inch even more per hour, you will see that. oakland got an inch and a half of rain in the last four hours. forecasts for the mountains, a winter storm warning for the mountains. up above 5,000 feet and of course they are chaining up on 50 and 80. i talked to ken pritchett, he's up there at south shore and he

said listen it's a big storm. he's been in a lot of these. it's coming down hard, windy conditions, it's a full out blizzard. thursday not a bad day. friday not a bad day. saturday more showers coming our way. this was the real deal and it's moving through. we have that urban and stream advisory. it remains in effect through 1:00 a.m. the north bay urban flood advisory drops at midnight. wind advisories staying in effect. but a fast moving storm and this is what you get. if this thing stalled out, and we've seen that happen. when that happens everything breaks lose. this one is very progressive. from bay area nature lovers spent this day counting birds. >> like a nonstop just stream

of looms going by. >> reporter: the annual san francisco bird count is going on. the associate says the number of birds have climbed in the last years. elton john has something new to sing about. the legendary singer and his husband david furnish are now parents. on christmas day, a surrogate gave birth to their son. the couple married after two years together. the couple says they are overwhelmed with happiness and joy with their new child. and today's game between cal was one for the record books. coming up.

sports director mark ibanez here. it's a big night for cal's basketball team. for their coach too. >> and coaches always want to tell you that the only number that's important is the one on the scoreboard.

but cal's coach knew what number it was today. his 100th game. he had 19 to lead the bears tonight. franklin also copping through with a -- also coming through with a nice pass. who would wind up slamming it. kind of a routine victory. but you know what certainly not routine for mike montgomery who celebrates with his team. some would call sanford the harvard of the west. they schooled yale, jeremy green from downtown. 11 of the 15 in the second half as they pull away josh owens. following the break and his hustle will pay off as he will cram down the court. now to stanford women, we're kind of looking past today's

game toward their tango with legendary status now uconn. they have 89 straight wins. also best individual player of the land mia moore asked today how she plans to beat the husky star. >> different people can guard her. jocelyn will guard her, janet will guard her. she's a great player and, anybody? >> pretty much going to take everybody to guard her and they'll make it happen. tuesday football, doesn't necessarily roll off your tongue and it hasn't had to in

a long time. antwon willfield and he recovers it. returns it for a touchdown. and he gets the seal of approval from the old guy in the sideline, favre probably wrapping it for a career although you never know. just because things didn't work out in the win tunnel, that doesn't mean there's not a whole lot of talent floating around. patrick willis and justin smith going to the probowl for san francisco. sean leckler as usual, they punter. richard seymore and the great amdemu they are going to hawaii for the probowl. congratulations to those guys. there's good football being

plays. that does it for us but be sure to join ktvu tomorrow at 5:00. they'll have the latest on the stormy weather. >> and our coverage continues online at ktvu.com. have a good evening everyone.