. accidents seem to be everywhere this morning, connected to the heavy rain. it's part of our storm watch this noontime. good afternoon. i'm tori campbell. as promised, the bay area saw quite a strong storm overnight and early this morning. we have team coverage of the storm. we begin with claudine wong talking about all of the accidents out there. good afternoon, claudine. >> reporter: good afternoon

tori. things look good now but it was a rough morning. chp said they responded to 125 incidents. many were minor but one in the peninsula was fatal. it can happen in just an instant. in san mateo, the chp says two brothers were headed to san carlos when they crashed along highway 101. for some unknown reason, he lost control, hydroplaning and struck the median. >> reporter: the driver died. just after 5:00 this car landed on its roof along highway 101 in san francisco. a half-hour later in oakland, this car spun out of control on interstate 880. both drivers were okay. but traffic was backed up for miles. and in this solo crash on the fruitvale offramp, he's not sure what happened. >> i was coming off the

offramp. it was completely dark. it was raining. i could -- raining. i could barely see. i hit -- i don't even know what i hit blnklth in some cases, the hazard was easy for drivers to see. it looked a little like a lake until caltrans cleared a drain. but the hazard may not have been seen until it was too lay, prompting repeated warning from the chp. >> don't tailgate. don't be impatient. it's just this simple to hit a puddle. >> reporter: we're live along 880 in oakland. the rain is gone for now but will it stay away? mark tamayo is watching our system for us now. what can we expect? >> hi, claudine. well, we have to hold onto the possibility of some scattered rain showers. the main storm center has moved out of town, moving out to the

south and the east. the bulk of the accumulations actually happening early this morning with the moderate to heavy rainfall but still some scattered showers out there. right there on the stormtracker2 here is latest. not a lot of coverage out there. but still some light rain reports up in the north bay, right around napa, closing in on solano county as well. we'll move to the south and more activity to the east of milpitas. but for the most part, we have the yellow. it's a sweep. it shows you the changing of the weather pattern and some rain showers to the -- in the hills to the east of gilroy. in the afternoon hours we'll hold onto the possibility of scattered rain showers. i'm tracking another weather system. we'll highlight the rain showers. also a preview of the weekend. we have big changes setting up

by saturday. >> talk to you soon. thank you, mark. the chp says the overnight rain played a role in this six- car crash on highway 24 in contra costa county. one person suffered moderate injuries the crash happened around 11:30 last night in orinda near the caldecott tunnel. investigators say a speeding driver was racing down the highway during the overnight storm when he slammed into another car. that set off the chain reaction crash. it's not clear if anyone was cited. the wet weather and winds may have been a factor in other problems around the bay. a tree fell across a one-lane road in the oakland hills, causing some delays for the people would live in the area. came down around 5:00 a.m. off skyline boulevard, not far from where skyline meets grizzly peak road. no one was injured. there was no damage. about five miles away, another tree came down, this one at a home daycare center on

carlston avenue. the family that on -- operates the daycare center woke up to find a tree on the building but there was no damage. and a boat broke away during high winds and heavy waves. we called the coast guard but officers did not have specific information about the incident. and a storm has been dring -- has been bringing a good amount of snow. we'll tell you more of what's happening at donner summit and you will hear from drivers trying to deal with the condition. the abuse trial for ross mirkarimi resumed this morning. the san francisco sheriff and his wife were not in the courtroom while several motions were used by the judge and his attorney. tara moriarty joins us live to explain what's happened so far in court. >> reporter: good afternoon.

things did not go the way that mirkarimi's wife wanted them to go. she lashed out not only at the prosecution but also the judge when she came out of the courtroom. we asked her what her client thought. >> she doesn't have anything to say other than this is [bleep]. how's that? >> reporter: she's angry that the judge denied all of her requests. first, a motion to exclude the videotape of lopez shot by the neighbor the day after alleged abuse by lopez's husband, ross mirkarimi. she argued it fell under don't- client privilege because lopez believes that madison was a licensed attorney and then a motion was filed on friday that revealed still pictures from the video of lopez crying and pointing to a bruise on her arm. the attorney said that violated her client's right to privacy. third was a motion to quash a subpoena of lopez's phone records. all three denied.

>> the way the prosecution has handled my client is outrageous. there was absolutely no reason to append those photographs for that motion. the judge didn't need the photographs. >> of they trying to pressure her -- are they trying to pressure to testify? >> of course they are. >> reporter: she will now file a writ to the state court of appeals. now, in 45 minutes, a pool of about 200 potential jurors will start showing up. to, plain if they will be able to -- to explain if they will be able to stay for the duration of the trial. they will whittle the juror pool down and then begin. back to you. >> thank you. we're getting new information about a bank robbery in walnut creek. a bank of the west employee confirmed for us there was a

robbery on north california boulevard at pringle avenue around 9:30. police say they sched for the rob -- searched for the robber but the man got away. as we reported last thursday, a man robbed a bank of the west branch in concord about five miles away t was a quick exit -- away. it was a quick exit after a fire. firefighters got the call just before 3:00 for a duplex on denise way. this is video from the firefighters. the roof was engulfed in flames when any arrived and high -- when they arrived and they winds made the job challenge -- and heavy winds made the job challenging. >> she woke me up. >> and you went to wake them up? >> yes. we share -- we're in a duplex so we share the same building. >> reporter: all four people got out safely and the house is now boarded up.

there's no official cause. firefighters believe it began in the attic and may have been due to an electrical failure. the young man you just heard told the reporter he's thinking about becoming a firefighter. in the meantime, firefighters in the north bay had their hands full battling a fire at a large home near napa. coming up in eight minutes a report on rare antiques destroyed by the flames and why the homeowners are all too farm with rebuilding. the house of representatives is set to vote as early as today on a bill that would drastically change the rules for water distribution in california giving the responsibility largely to the federal government instead of the state. the bill was wrote and called "the sacramento sanwa teen valley water reliability act." it's drawn fire from john gary

medical menially -- garamendi. he was an american music icon. lead singer davey jones of the 1960s's pop group "the molkies" died -- "the monkeys" died today in florida. ♪ oh, what can it be ♪ to a day dream believer ♪ >> "day dream believer" was one of the group's biggest hits along with "i'm a believer." jones formed the group in 1966 with mickey, michael and peter. the group eventually disbanded but jones continued to perform. his last show was a week ago sunday in oklahoma. he died today of a heart attack at age 66. they came a long way to tell their stories.

children who survived a huge daferner are talk -- disaster are talking to bay area kids who could be in a similar situation some day. the sunshine is not back yet. mark's gonna tell us when we can expect the sunshine. fire destroys antiques in a fire. still. homeowner able is to go on. i will have that story ahead.

. tornadoe and high winds killed at least nine people overnight in the midwest. this funnel cloud was spotted in kansas. it's one of several to hit the area. twisters flattened homes in harveyville, kansas, south of topeka. the sheriff said the storm damaged 80% of the town. tornadoes and possible tornadoe left six dead in illinois and three fatalities in missouri. the storm damaged branson. there's been a breakflew in negotiations between the u.s. and north korea over nuclear proliferation. north korea has agreed to suspend uranium enripment and place a more moratorium on long- range and missile tests. this comes a week after talks

were resumed for first time in three years. secretary of state had hillary clinton called the developments a modest first step. three people were tracked down after a high-speed chase across the east bay. the suspects are accused of robbing a shell gas station in martinez around 10:00 last night. an off-duty police officer spotted them and followed their car to highway 24 before the chp took over. our roof camera tracked the pursuit as it eventually stretched to highway 880 in oakland. speeds hit more than 100 miles an hour. the suspects were caught near the dumbarton bridge. two men and a woman were taken into custody. a homeowner near napa is trying to regroup today after a three-alarm fire destroyed or damaged a number of antiques and personal items. the fire broke out last night at the home on redwood drive just north of napa.

broken windows, charred calls, is all that remains after fire fore through the second floor of this napa county home. sandy said she was in bed asleep when the fire alarm an smects woke -- smoke detectors woke her up. they grabbed their clothes, the dogs and left. they saw flames coming from the attic of the 3500-square foot home. it took eight fire enginessened -- engines. fire officials had to use more than a half a mile hose to get to the fire and although the cause is still being determined. investigators may know where it started. the homeowners have stated that they did have a fire going in the fireplace last evening. the fire caused $300,000 in damages all of which is not replaceable. she runs an antique business and lost 6,000 pooks, furs, jewelries -- books, furs and

jewelries. items were filled to the brim. although she's lost everything she owns she's able to keep her spirit up. >> old stuff, interesting stuff, but just stuff. we'll do what we can. >> something she's familiar with. an earthquake destroyed everything in her home a few years ago. although firefighters tried to salvage as much as they could, she believes it's a total loss. back to you. the contra costa county board of supervisors is holding another special meeting today to discuss a controversial church project. here is a design at the proposed 66,000 square foot church sanctuary. the group wants to build the facility near walnut creek. a meeting last week through hundreds. some are concerned about the size of the facility which would be bigger than the white house. opponents say that's too big and would cause traffic

problems. a group of japanese quake kids visited a san francisco element school this morning to share their stories of surviving last year's quake and tsunami in last year's -- in japan. students at rosa park amendmentary school greeted their guests in japanese. the american children raised $7,000 to help victims of the earthquake in march of last year. they describe what it was like. >> it began to shake. i couldn't couldn't stand. >> the japanese students come from the sendai ymca, the area hit hard by the earthquake. more on the storm watch.

the storm is expected to drop up to five feet of snow by tomorrow afternoon in the sierra. and the sierra avalanche center has issued an advisory. they say the avalanche danger is high and is recommending that skiers stay out of avalanche terrain. this is video from donner summit where you could see the road conditions are also dangerous. a winter storm warning is in place and chains are required along interstate 8 80 and highway highway 50. some drivers say -- 880 and highway 50. some drivers say it's been slowing if. >> i've been here two hours. i'm heading to sidney, montana. >> this is crazy. i'm just trying to get to reno. >> the snow coming down is extremely light and powdery which will likely provide premium ski conditions. remember to bring chains and when you are on the slopes, stay away from avalanche

terrain. these hot and cold storms, as a result snow levels have been down to around 2500 feet. right now, as you can see, looking out toward our -- with our camera in oakland, showing you partly to mostly cloudy skies. it looks like we switch it up and show you, the -- san jose looks like the south bay. you can see the cloud cover. some breaks in the clouds. we do have some rain showers showing up, not all of the coverage too impressive. but as we switch things up, a little bit of activity moving into the delta. concord at last check reporting some light rainfall and also some activity in the hills to the east of san jose. we'll continue to move the maps to the south and the main storm center is moving out of town but we still have some lingering instability. as a result, we have to hold onto the possibility of scattered showers throughout the afternoon hours. it's cold out there. just recovering back up into the low to mid-50s. san rafael checking in at 52. hayward in the mid-50s. right around 55 degrees.

this is the weather setup, this cool trough, we call it a trough for today and tomorrow. for this afternoon, we'll have a little bit of everything with some sunshine, some clouds and a passing shower, pushing through the region. but the main storm center as you can see, heading out to the south and to the east. there is another system we're watching for thursday. as a result, this will reinforce the showers as we head into your thursday afternoon. but beyond that, we have a significant change developing by the weekend. winter storm warning right now in praise for the sierra -- place for the sierra until 4:00. additional snowfall will be on the order of 5 to 10 inches. i was talking about the snow levels down to 2,000, 2500 feet. even in the bay area they could be down to 3,000 feet. there's some breaks in the clouds, a few clouds and some popup showers into your afternoon forecast. pretty much the same story as we heed that the -- as head

into the -- as we head into the evening hours. and we increase the shower chance as we heed into thursday. forecast highs not much of a change. san jose tops out right around 56. san mateo, 55. here is a look ahead to your five-day forecast -- five-day forecast and where you-- and your weekend. we strip away the clouds and temperatures warm back up. and saturday and sundaying we're back up into a familiar territory, the readings back up into the mid- to upper 60s. at least for today and tomorrow it will feel more like the calendar says. >> leap day. >> yes. >> still ahead, what the head of the feds told congress today about the prospects of the economy. what san francisco's mayor had to say about helping companies modernize their payroll system. '. and our perfect dream factory's been built.

you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling] [ traffic passing ] ] ♪ [ music box: lullaby ] [ man on tv, indistinct ] ♪ [ lullaby continues ] [ baby coos ] [ man announcing ] millions are still exposed to the dangers... of secondhand smoke... and some of them can't do anything about it. ♪ [ continues ] [ gasping ]

. the nasdaq briefly cracked 3,000 for the first time since the collapse more than a decade ago. numbers are down slightly. the dow is down 37, below 3,000. the nasdaq is down 15, to 2971 and the s&p is down 4. the u.s. economy has performed much better in recent months than the federal reserve

anticipated. he -- ben bernanke does not expect any sharp drops in unemployment and they plan to stick with the policy for record-low interest rates. ed lee and jose cisneros launched a new initiative to help businesses modernize their payroll system. it provides everything a business and employees need to switch to the direct deposit of paychecks. mayor lee says it's more efficient and better for the environment. if you use those tools like direct deposit or the bankcard as we're introducing today as well, you have the other benefits of preventing some 50 tons of paper being used on these checks themselves. employees can have direct deposit paychecks automatically loaded onto a payroll card and use that card just like a debit card. tonight at 5:00, a new day,

a new price, gas prices are clicking upward. we're noticing what that is doing to the b.a.r.t. commute and even to the demand for gas lien. tom vacar is tracking all of the fallout of the high prices. thank you for trusting the news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. we're always here for you on ktvu.com and mobilektvu.com. thanks for watching.