three, 4 feet possibly 5 feet. right behind me we have been having a parade of different caltrain snowplows coming through. and if you can see kind of dimly over there, there's a sign that they just put at the entrance to this whole parking lot. that's because we've just learned that about five, 10 minutes ago they issued mandatory chains for everybody coming along i80. so this whole parking lot is going to become a chain control area. although it's been snowing heavily now, it wasn't earlier. many of the snowplows were really getting into place. the big problem earlier was the up i80 and found that the boreal ski resort that they were having a lot of problems with winds. many of the ski lifts had to be shut down. and some of the ski resorts even closed early because gusts were reaching up to 80 miles per hour in some places. boreal has cancelled their nighttime ski and shutting down

at 4:00 instead of 9:00 tonight. some of the skiers and snow boarders took advantage of the calm before the storm and braved the wind and cold temperatures. >> yeah, it hits you in the face, kind of haily at times. >> it's getting cold. my lips are getting cold, my ears are cold. >> reporter: now the snow is a very good sign though for the ski resorts because they had a really dry january. and so they've been hoping for this coming into the president's day holiday weekend. but you can see that it's still coming down pretty hard. there is no hard winds, strong winds right now. but that is sort of expected to change through the night. we will be right here covering all of this and keeping an eye on it. reporting live in kingvale. in the north it's the rain and wind creating robs there. that's where sal kas castaneda has been monitoring the winds.

>> reporter: we spoke to you an hour ago and it was windy then. it's gotten a lot worse here. the traffic still looks pretty good here on highway 101. i think a lot of people decided they were not going to drive this afternoon because they heard about the storm. but i tell you, it is very windy. today we caught up with people getting ready for tonight's storm. chp says so far there have been slightly more than the average collisions but say the winds are gusty and wind warnings have been issued for the san mateo and richmond bridges. officers say they routinely see more collisions as soon as it starts raining. before today's rain started, the wind was already whipping through marin county. still people walked pets and made other preparations before it got worse. >> we had this beautiful warm weather just a week ago now all the blossoms are gone. there's a wind advisory for the san mateo bridge issued

about 1:30. within the last half hour they've added the golden gate bridge. if you're going to be driving a car across any of those, be careful because the wind may blow you into another lane if you're not careful. sal castaneda, ktvu news. we spoke to a volunteer who was initially concerned that it was paint, hazmat crew was called in to investigate. but the city tells us it turned out to be just pollen and had to be cleaned up. ktvu.com has the latest. right now we have links to live radar and updated ski conditions as well. just click on the storm watch tab. a federal judge in san francisco ruled today some potentially devastating evidence can be used in the perjury trial against barry bonds. bonds defense team tried to lock admission of a recording

from 2003 in which his former trainer greg anderson said bonds was using a then undetectable steroid from balco lab. bonds trial is set to begin on march 21st. environmental activists gathered outside chevron celebrating an $8 billion judgment against the company. activists say texaco which merged with chevron years ago left behind 18 billion-gallons of oil residue in equador. a clean up operation is under way in waters off san francis yacht club. a barge ran offshore. only one gallon of hydraulic liquid has leaked from that barge. the view from news chopper two shows how crews are using a

boom. in a developing story we're following in palo alto, the fbi arrived about an hour ago to investigate a substance found in an envelope. he's been watched for any unusual symptoms. the fbi took the substance to their testing lab. about a dozen bay area homeless residents are trying to recover after their home went up in flames from an accidental fire last night. after a horrifying escape from the fire, the veterans are getting a much needed helping hand from a familiar place. ktvu's robert handa has our report. >> reporter: home video shows flames raging through the transitional center for homeless veterans. about a dozen residents had to run for their lives.

>> there was a fire ball coming up, and it was real heavy smoke. i started choking. >> reporter: when you were jumping out the window, what was going through your mind? >> just get out of there because i wanted to save my life. >> reporter: the place where they completed treatment programs for substance abuse and other issues went up in flames last night. >> right now the only stability they have in their lives at this point in time is a place where they know they're not homeless. but losing their personal belongings and being able, some of their cars were damaged. they worked hard, these people started from square one and now they're back at square one again. >> reporter: but ferr era and others consider themselves lucky. they remember before the middle east wars when veterans didn't get the emotional and final support they get now. >> everything is taken care of. it's got west and it's grateful to be a veteran because

nowadays they take care of veterans. >> reporter: the housing facility says because the fire victims had jobs or income, the agency can house them until a new outside house can be found. in east palo alto, robert handa, ktvu news. late this afternoon governor jerry brown issued a hiring freeze in his latest move to reign in spending. also today governor brown dropped a lawsuit filed by former governor arnold schwarzenegger when he tried to lower workers pay to federal minimum wage. and the governor is out lying further cuts if voters do not approve the current budget. two billion from the uc and csu system. 2.6billion from courts and public safety and more than a

billion from health and social services. >> they are awful. all of these are awful. the first $12.5 billion is awful. >> some republicans say the proposal could have been worse. in all the letter lists $13.5 billion worth of cuts. caffeinated alcoholic drinks could be banned in california under a bill introduced in the legislature today. manufacturers have already pulled the drinks from the market. but supporters of the bill say it's needed to prevent it's future sale. the mixture has been linked to several deaths because the caffeine masks the alcohol and allows people to drink more. a list of possible sites could be ready by the end of june -- a high end grocery store

has opened today early in san francisco's haite district. the company decided to let shoppers in today, but the store opens tomorrow. the district hopes the store will bring in more people into the haite. it had become known for homeless camps. apple takes action. what the company did to address a recent string of suicides at a plant in china. a form of street dancing created in the bay area. the motive behind the moves, wednesday on the 10:00 news on ktvu channel 2 complete bay area coverage.

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wi cke sp rwd yr arho, san francisco police released a sketch today of a man suspected of beating and stabbing a 16-year-old boy to death. police say this man is wanted

for that attack on february 7th at ocean avenue and capital street shortly before 11:00 in the morning. victor yang died at the hospital following the attack. police say they still don't know what triggered the violence. san francisco prosecutors are calling the operators of a now closed funeral home predators. today the district attorney's office announced theft charges against two men that ran funerals by washington. they are accused of misusing money that was prepaid for the funerals of seven people. >> i spent a lot of time putting money aside for their loved ones or themselves so their funeral needs would be taken care of. >> reporter: one of the customers has already died. prosecutors say the funds were supposed to go into a trust account but instead went toward the business operating costs. human trafficking takes place in a shadowy underworld few people see. but now a victim in the south bay is being honored for her

courage to expose the very dark problem. maureen naylol spoke to the woman who opens up only on 2 to try to keep other women from suffering the same ordeal. >> reporter: the woman says she was held captive here in gilroy and forced into prostitution. today she takes us where it all happened. >> reporter: this is where you lived? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: for nine months. >> for nine months. >> reporter: the mexican immigrant says she was literally locked inside with three dozen other women. >> this is the door and this is the window of the shower. >> reporter: the shower window covered with bars was the only window and the only source of fresh air. >> and you're feeling the water and you're feeling the fresh air. this is the only moment when you feeling free. it's the only moment when you live in free >> reporter: she says a man

brought her to the united states in 1996. she thought to come and waitress at his restaurant. and she says when she arrived, he said he owed her for the trip. with no phones, she says only threats against her family kept her from leaving. >> if we think it doesn't happen here that we're being very naive. >> a lot of people listen to my story and other stories because it's one story by but millions stay in silence. >> reporter: the statute of limitations ran out to prosecute anyone. a south bay coalition is giving her its healing hearts award next month. reporting live in gilroy, maureen naylor. time is running out for parents who want to add their children with preexisting medical conditions to their

individual health plan. state officials say parents have until the end of the month to enroll their children and avoid higher premiums. the reform law prevents coverage to those children. >> the rates that insurers can charge are restricted. they can charge up to potentially double what they might charge a perfectly well child. >> california parents can also sign their children up for reduced cost policies on their birthday this year. parents insured at work or by medical are not affected. a unique piece of art will soon be returned to china. crews will begin dismantling the buddah tomorrow morning. the skullture is 27 field tall and called two heads six arms. the arts commission tell us it is now looking for a new piece

to occupy the space. on to the weather now, the second of a series in storms is hitting us. looking at that map behind you, there's a lot of green there. >> and right now it's not south bay, but it's headed our way. the wind are blowing very strong out of the south. these are our live reports, this is from the san francisco airport. south at 20, that's where the south wind looks like. these are the winds that during a storm can be the most damaging in terms of knocking tree limbs down and hitting a lot of the east bay hills in such a way the coastal range. the south winds with the wind advisory tonight definitely going to be an issue when you're driving around. when you're driving around in the morning, there's still showers, but you want to watch for trees that may have been pushed down. especially in the rural areas of san jose. the winds are light but there's rain. point ray station it's raining. sonoma the rain has just started. we've had sprinkles in san rafael. that will begin to pick up. i'm going to put it in motion

you will see the direction. here it comes and it nears that last frame. you see a little bit of yellow off of point rays right there. that's the enhancement now. the front is still offshore, the main rain is headed our way. be with us tonight, again this is sort of a developing situation. the storm is just happening right now. so as we go into the evening hours, we do a 7:00 news after this and then we do the 10:00 news. we'll track it for you and tell you how late the computer models run. this one is still sitting offshore but when it gets here it's going to pack a punch. probably around 9:00 or 10:00 tonight. it will also effect the morning commute with wet roadways and sprinkles and showers. but after that it's still going to be wet. so scattered showers for the commute. the winter storm warning in the mountains will verify two to 3 feet of snow. that will give you big problems

on 50 and 80. jana mentioned chaining up on 80. i'm sure they'll be chaining up on 50 shortly. it's a little further south. so be prepared, mountain travel time not just tonight but literally the rest of this week. because there will be chains on and off all week in the mountains. computer models show 10:00 when the snow starts to pick up, heavy. then it starts to continue through the evening hours, the mountains keep going. behind this more squattered showers as we head -- more scattered showers as we head into the morning hours. this is exactly what we need. we need a lot of rain. we're going to get a lot of rain in periods throughout the week. i think the mountains will end up being the big story. i think tomorrow's big story is going to be the heavy winds and limbs down in the morning hours. united airlines is

grounding six planes to complete routine checks. united says it's unclear how these groundings will affect flights. united says each check takes any where from 60 to 90s minutes. apple announced today it is taking steps to reduce suicides in china that makes i pads. the factory rushed to fill orders to fill the popular i pad, there was a string of suicides. apple says it reviews working conditions of all of the companies that produce its products. president obama will head to the silican valley. the president will land at sfo and spend the night here at the bay area. details about the visit are being kept confidential because of security reasons.

the president is expected to visit lobbiest. and home depot will create hundreds of jobs in the next months. the retail company announced it h be hiring 60,000 seasonal workers. spring is the busiest season for home improvement buildings. energy and material drops led the drop in stocks today. the dow jones lost 41.5 points. the nasdaq dropped 13. and the giants are starting to warm things up. the action today at spring training in scottsdale.

almar samen is now heading to cairo. he'll be joining egypt's national team. his father is from egypt and still conducts business there. sanman is probably used to culture shock. the former uc student went to

lithuania to play basketball there. >> definitely looking like baseball weather. today was really the work out for the world champs. a lot of eyes focused on their next move. tim lincecum always seems to get a great amend of attention along with that guy too of course. mr.wilson, but how about lincecum. first three years in the mayor leagues, two sy young awards and a world series in his third. what can he do for an encore. bruce bochy is happy with his work ethic. >> he's been thrown, he came in camp and shaverred. i was a little surprised really to be honest. where he's at on his first time out. he was letting it go and says he's been thrown for you know a little while -- he hasn't thrown for a little while so that's good news for us. >> speaking of what he can do

for an encore. how about buster posey. world series in his first full season in the mayor -- major leagues. he is not thinking about all that. just put his nose to the grindstone and ready to see what he can do in this new season. >> we have to be concerned with what we do and not really concerned with what others are, in other teams or throughout the media. >> he did a great job of jumping in and getting ahold of the staff. not afraid to call games. >> the regulars will show up a little later in the week but that is the sporting life at this hour. sharks and warriors both in action. full highlights at 10:00. >> mark, thank you. coming up, strong winds

have already caused headaches in the north bay. we'll bring you live coverage including the latest from the bay area where there is a lot of snow in the forecast. less than 30 minutes on tv 36. good night.

♪ so no one told you life was gonna be this way ♪ ♪ your job's a joke ♪ you're broke, your love life's d.o.a. ♪ ♪ it's like you're always stuck in second gear ♪ ♪ when it hasn't been your day, your week ♪ ♪ your month, or even your year ♪ ♪ but i'll be there for you ♪ when the rain starts to fall ♪ i'll be there for you ♪ like i've been there before ♪ i'll be there for you ♪ 'cause you're there for me too. ♪