we're here surrounded by sandbags. them are quite heavy depending on how weak or strong you are. these sandbags are great for blocking water that may come into your property. just a little bit of light rain. we know that more heavier rain is on the way. it was sprinkling earlier this morning ore in east palo alto where the city has designated sandbag pick up locations including this one on university avenue. city initials are concerned because of the major flooding that took place when a storm hit in december of 2012. it crested and waters over ran the levees. with rain hitting overs next few days, the city is preparing storm drains, streets, and the pump station. crews are on stand by around the clock to handle any situations that might arise. there are 23 locations in the south bay where you can pick up sandbags for free prefilled ones can be found on embarcadero where we are. now they are also available on gold and kathryn street. in san jose there are three locations. corporation yard, the central service yard, and

. >>> good morning, we are live in san rafael, we have been showing you sandbags in san rafael. get ready for possible flooding with the rain we are receiving and then we are getting more sometimes in the night and early morning and we will check in with steve for the exact details, alex savage, we will check in with him in a moment. >> are you ready? >> yes. >> there is a lot of rain and more is come something in. >> that is correct. tomorrow at this time we will be rocking and rolling and we still have a winter weather advisory and the low is moving north and the heavier rain will be to the north. we have 20 to 25 for some, a few others with this next storm will be closer and it will upgrade. we will get a one inch plus rainfall in years and it looks like things are winding down and northern napa county as well, cordelia, american canyon, marin county is still back, san rafael, mill valley, not a lot but also a little bit in the east bay, hit and miss there. overall, the high wind watch kicks in and it will be a high watch but it might be a little cooler. rainfall projections

so, i don't put the sand bags, i get a pool in there >> how many sandbags do you need? >> usually about six. >> that does the trick? >> yeah. i'm probably gonna put -- probably about ten, because the weekend, i don't want to come back. >> reporter: sandbags are also needed up in sunnyvale where lakewood elementary school has a drainage problem near a classroom so the school maintenance team has put out sandbags early, even though school will be out for the weekend so that students and teachers don't return on monday with damage to that one flood-prone glass klaas room. now, the sandbags, as i say are available a total of 18 locations throughout santa clara county. this one is located at palin avenue and center road. they have plenty of bags a available already filled, you come here and they are not filled there will be a shovel and some sand for you to shovel them yourself. we are live in san jose, david louie, abc7 news. >> david, thank you. >>> a public works crews were out in the rain today to make sure the streets don't flood over. workers armed with brooms and shov

there are sandbags.nes can be found here on the embarcadero near the air terminal they are available on ail visa on gold and katherine street. in san jose, there are three locations, the corp rigs yard on mayberry, the central service yard at felon andant the santa clara water district on windfield and blossom hill. in morgan hill, the el toro fire station on old monterey road. to get a complete list of all of the locations, go to our website at ktvu.com and click on web links. again, back out here live, you are being asked by the water district to only take 20 of these sandbags per vehicle and, you know, all morning, i've been trying to see how many i can pick up. i've been told some weigh as heavy as 70 pounds. if you think you might need help, it would be helpful to bring sub somebody along -- to bring somebody along to help you. >> you are big and strong. you can pick those up. >>> don't forget. you can continue to track the rain even after "mornings on 2" end. go to ktvu.com and mobile ktvu get the

it's light, but it's enough to get these bags wet. -- sandbags wet. you can see people are here picking up sandbags, they are great for flock -- blocking the flow of water. now all morning people have been coming to the corporation yard on center road in san jose to pick up sandbags in preparation for the storm. there's a limit to 20 per vehicle and they're available at various pickup stations throughout the county. the santa clara valley water district is providing them free to anyone who's concerned about flooding. while the peninsula are expected to get -- aren't expected to get hit as hard as the santa cruz mountains, some want to be sure they protect their homes. >> the water comes under the door. and comes in and hits -- hits the floor and the sub flooring. and you know, it's a mess. and to -- prevent further -- any damage i'm going to suck up that water outside. >> reporter: at lakewood elementary school in sunnyvale, the maintenance manager for the district picked up bags earlier and lined the campus with them. the grading on the cement walkwa

those sandbags can be picked up in oakland. we are live in oakland, brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, brian. >>> and we would like to see your weather pictures. e-mail them to news tips@ktvu.com. or you can upload them them to our facebook page. you can go to ktvu.com to look for conditions for the area where you live and follow us on facebook and twitter for the latest conditions and weather alerts. >>> san francisco firefighters regular cued a woman who fell -- rescued a woman who fell 25 feet down a cliff this morning. it happened around 9:00 near the cliffhouse. it took firefighters about an hour and a half to get her back up the cliff. they say she was hurt by the fall and was transported to sf general. her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. >>> state lawmakers say it's a major problem with a simple solution. now any want to make sure that foreign language speakers are getting the same health coverage as english speakers. how they plan to do that and where the funding will come from. >>> one of

the sandbags are stacked and ready for neighbors to come and pick them up. county is reminding neighbors with that well needed wet weather may come some flooding. neighbors in the area are limited to about 15 bags a house and officials want to be sure everyone who gets them who needs them. here in oakland they are going to be handing out bags at 8 a.m. they will be doing it until 9 p.m. if you want to pick some up on the weekend open until 4:30 p.m. live in oakland, cate caugiran, kpix 5. >> i think the animals will be lining up 2 by 2 over the weekend. >> especially in the north bay. >>> that will be the main focus. you get down to san jose they will get less than an inch of rain so a big difference in how much rain you will see. already seeing clouds in the skies. scattered light showers. but expecting that to pick up this afternoon. this is just the beginning of the storm system that's now setting itself up. and the way it is setting itself up, once it starts raining, it's not going to stop right on through sunday. we're going to see a lot of rain this we

businesses near here all had sandbags out front. most were just fine, but two spent the morning cleaning up and drying out so they could reopen again today. the runoff from nearly four days of rain is coming down the hills all around mill valley this morning at joe's tacos on miller. they're cleaning out six inches of water. fans ran all night to help dry it out. right next door is the 2:00 a.m. club. the owner cleared out mud from the doorway and removed sandbags. he said that corner started filling up with water late saturday night. the back of the bar, his office soaked in about two inches of water. one owner says that it's the storm drain and tidewater from the creek causing it to overflow. at the 2:00 a.m. club, the owner dave marshall says he will be open today. the next hurdle that he's thinking of is wednesday and the possibility of more rain. >> wednesday, you know, we'll watch the forecast. it takes kind of several factors for us to flood like this. a combination of heavy rains, which we haven't had in a long time. big tid

north bay ready for the storm with sandbags and umbrellas. enjoin us live in novato. sergio? >> not getting as blown around as sandhya was but i can tell you it's starting to come down just a little bit. it usually comes in waves we saw the chp out on stand by and talked to a lot of people who are welcoming storms but getting ready. a full day of rain was a welcome site from heelsberg, the rains came down enough for a good runoff from home. in santa rosa, it meant it's time to pull out the umbrella. the rain kept crews busy trying to restore power for as many as 1700 customers. this crew repairing a downed power line. residents say it's well worth it. >> we need 20 inches. to get to normal. yes. this will help. >> in mill valley, residents got ready for problems, sandbags ready to be filled. >> i may be preparing for the worst but for now, i'm open for business and just plugging along. >> the 2:00 a.m bar flooded during of the the a lot of round of rain. david marshal trying to make sure that that doesn't happen again. >> firefighters had to bring out the chain saws. no one w

many cities are offering homeowners free sandbags. some call nilled.e filling up sandbags are stocking up because their homes have flooded in the past and they don't want it to happen again. to find out where you can pick up sand backs in your area -- sandbags in your area go to ktvu.com and click on web links. we have more stormwatch coverage on ktvu.com. you can check out the live radar on our website or by downloading the ktvu app. >> all right. >>> 7:37. later today, we'll get an update on how the drought is affecting the state's snowpack. know know survey is being conducted today. earlier this month, the sierra snowpack was 29% of normal and the storms we're getting this week, they are not expected to do much to change that. >>> happening today -- the b.a.r.t. board of directors is set to discuss a proposal to ban b.a.r.t. strikes in the future. brian flores is live at the rockridge b.a.r.t. station with reaction to the plan and more on how the board wants the public to get involved. >> reporter: even though it's been months since the end of the b

several sandbag stations stocked. crews have made repairs to flood prone creek to keep it from overflowing. >> water fishes are telling two million people, cut back on water use by 20%. the move by the santa clara valley water district paves the way for possible fines and higher water bills. >> you have to drink a fifth less. that's what's happening it "today in the bay." back at 7:25 with a local news update. >>> good morning. all eyes on arizona. governor jan brewer sends out a late night tweet on the controversial bill. criticized for being anti-gay. will she veto it as early as today? >>> record-breaking, extreme temperatures push their way into california with rain. and the deep south with tens of millions ever americans battling the brutal cold. >>> taking the stand, kerry kennedy set to testify at her drunk driving trial this morning. will that help or hurt her case? >>> and welcome home, fresh from their gold-medal winning

here in oakland, you can pick up sandbags until 9:00 tonight.want to wait until the weekend, they will be doing it until 4:30. i'm understanding i don't think you want to wait until the weekend. right? lawrence? >>> this is the time to do it. we are catching a break now. even by the afternoon, cate, i think that rain starts to pick up outside and here we go. probably not going to stop until about sunday evening. so if you are headed out the door this morning, we are just seeing some scattered light showers showing up on our hi- def doppler radar. mostly cloudy skies even some patchy fog showing up now. i think temperatures fairly cool in spots. 50s and some 40s. very muggy. the whole atmosphere is changing right now. we are seeing a little subtropical moisture coming in and that's why we're talking about very heavy rainfall. this afternoon temperatures will be in the mid- to upper 50s. the rain will be picking up. the commute ride on the way home could be very wet. but this weekend, wow, it could be a washout. we'll have more on that in a moment

many neighbors are glad to see the rain but hope sandbags are not needed. >> if they are, sandbags are tree to all residents. $5 million in flood protection has been okayed by the we state to raise and reinforce the levee here and widen the creek to the bay. construction on that begins in the spring. a lost residents we talked to are concerned about this weekend. >> work as usual. >> you expect to work? >> yep, yep, yep. >> employees are back on the job in spite of a raid year at the company they work at by the state investigators. there have been a couple of complaints sin the investigation exposed complaints against a company that installs well-known walk in bathtubs. amy hollyfield joins us from richmond where the employees are worried. amy? >> an employee tells me that a lost people did not show up for work today and those who did come here came with a bundle of nerves wondering if they. have a job and if they get a paycheck today. >> employees of safeguard tubs arrived not sure what to expect. >> hopefully we will be able to...to work together. >> i don't know if we will be workin

their many others bossy to pick up sandbags please look on our website to find the address also keept you need to bring a form of id. website to find the address also keep i[ sports announcer ] to here's another one, alyson dudek. hales corners, wisconsin. nice pass by alyson dudek. can she hang on to that spot? and she does! [ male announcer ] with the u-verse wireless receiver, your tv goes where you take it, allowing inspiration to follow. ♪ [ dad ] looks pretty good, right? [ girl ] yeah. [ male announcer ] switch to u-verse and add a wireless receiver today. ♪ [ male announcer ] switch to u-verse and add a wireless receiver today. one of the best things is that millions of peopleia will qualify for financial assistance. it's important to remember that the lower your annual income, the greater financial assistance you will receive. enroll today at coveredca.com. ♪ [ male announcer ] spring is calling. get sta-green fertilizer now just $8 at lowe's. ♪ where's have room those clunkers this evening. this was premature chicago party all whethethe weather. ay. k good hey! ladies, how

which will stay out for a precautionary measure. >> reporter:a do it yourself sandbagging station is set up and ready to go here at the city of concord corporation yard in preparation for the next big stormthis is one of 12- sandbag distribution centers in cities throughout incorporated contra costa county at this location if sandbagging supplies start running out as you see hereinside the yard you will findmore sandshovels and a sandbag building stationjust fill the white bags with sand, pack, grab and gojust keep in mind there's a 25-bag limit for concord residents >> reporter:sandbags are also available in parts of unincorporated contra costa countylike her behind the ambrose rec center in bay point bay pointjust look for this green waste can chained to a treefull of empty brown sand bagsand although the sand and these sand bags are free to contra costa county residentsyou have to bring your own shovels so you can load the sand into the bags and haul them awayin bay point haaziq madyun kron4news >> pam: we will show you what impact the rain is having on the drought. on the web sit

this is one of many sandbag stations set up.iding the sandbags for free but limiting the number. most counties offer sandbags either already filled or the kind you can fill yourself. you can find locations near where you live on our website at ktvu.com just look under web links. >>> you can also get the forecast any time on the go with our new weather app. you can get live radar, weather web cast, plus tweets from our weather team all with a single swipe. download it for your apple or android device. it's free in the app store. >>> president obama said to pay a valentine's visit to the central valley to talk about the drought. this week the republican controlled house passed a bill that would send more water from the delta to farms in the san joaquin valley. opponents say it ignores state and environmental protection. the bill is unlikely to win approval in the senate. the president is also opposed, he's due in fresno on february 15. >>> a man tried to climb over a perimeter fence. president obama wasn't there at the time. he ha

this is one of many sandbag stations set up.it's providing the sandbags for free but limiting the number. most counties offer sandbags either already filled or the kind you can fill yourself. you can find locations near where you live on our website at ktvu.com just look under web links. >>> you can also get the forecast any time on the go with our new weather app. you can get live radar, weather web cast, plus tweets from our weather team all with a single swipe. download it for your apple or android device. it's free in the app store. >>> president obama said to pay a valentine's visit to the central valley to talk about the drought. this week the republican controlled house passed a bill that would send more water from the delta to farms in the san joaquin valley. opponents say it ignores state and environmental protection. the bill is unlikely to win approval in the senate. the president is also opposed, he's due in fresno on february 15. >>> a man tried to climb over a perimeter fence. president obama wasn't there at the ti

will tran is live in san mateo where sandbags are available.pretty easy to get here. people are trying told load up. >> why do you need sandbags? >> it is not my home, it is my business. it floats. >> has it been difficult over the past several months where it has been dry? >> it has been good for me but we do need to rain. >> the city of san mattel pass-are you a resident here? >> yes. they would like for people to be residents but it does not matter. they stated that if you run out they have people available. this is a great place because i have done this story before and some other parts where they do have these available. there have been changed requirements it has especially good for added traction if you have a pickup truck. >> this is a quick bridge check. we see slower traffic coming in from the nimitz. this is the 880 connecting ramp. >> this is really the only slow approach. the san mateo bridge has been a good ride although it looks as though we have threatening clouds. we may see rain for 92. we have been seeing rain at the richmond

sandbags to residents concerned about flooding. the dpw warehouse is at the corner of caesar chavez and kansas street. >>> the rains didn't dampen the a tight of people in san francisco today. they lined up for the food trucks on green streets despite the soggy weather. >>> in see area, not the rain but snow covering the region, laiding to really da leading to dangerous driving conditions. chains required for drivers who don't have four-wheel drive from baxter to truckee. see traffic moving very slowly along the summit. lillian kim live at sugar bowl right now with a look at a lot of snow that's coming down, lillian. >> wow. >> reporter: larry and carolyn, the snow is on the wet and heavy side, what's commonly called sierra cement. the folks here at sugar bowl say it's exactly what's needed right now. skiers and snowboarders were wondering when the snow would come. some had even given up hope. >> we had given up. we made plans to go camping. we got rained out. snowed out. >> a good thing. >>> it s we are up here instead. >> reporte

to protect itself from more problems the business already put out sandbags just to be safe. also flooded during the last round of rain. >> reporter:the sandbag supplies are fully stocked at the public safety building. businesses and residents can come fill up. >> reporter:back at joe's, sandbags are ready for deployment in the storage unit. as are boards for the windows and brooms to cleanup the anticipated mess. >>the rain the last time >> it def shut us down for 24 hours >> area floods frequently. >> reporter:so the sandbags are out now.ahead of the storm to we are use to it >> reporter:and ready for it in mill 4 news >> pam: coverage. the arrival of the rain is good news for california's but will it be enough to end the dry conditions?? >> pam: kron 4's charles clifford is live along the pennisula. to update us on the severity of the situation at this point. charles? >> reporter:well, more rain is good news but the drought hole we are in is deep and it will probably take several big storms to get things back to normal. >> reporter:this is a graphic put together by noaa an

you have a lot of sandbags behind you. expecting quite a bit of rain out there. >> reporter: they are. good morning. it's already windy and cold out here, no rain just yet. you can kind of feel it in the air. when it does rain, yeah, they are ready here in palo alto, stacks and stacks of sandbags ready. this is the story across the south bay. these along the embarcadero road are filled up and ready to go. six sites run by the santa clara valley water district in san jose, palo alto, morgan hill and 17 more sites run by different cities in santa clara county. some sites have the bags full, others you've got to fill on your own. they suggest you bring a shovel. most cars can only handle 20 to 30 bags at a time. east palo alto, the city has been working very hard to repair damage on the creek and improve flood protection along the garden neighborhood. december 2012 storms caused it overflow and three dozen families had to temporarily evacuate. city staff on storm patrol. they are ready, clearing out drains and streets, pump s

pick up the up to the 20 sandbags courtesy of the. << you can pick up more sandbags and at this locationas in some detail early this or did not see anyone pick up anything from that location i've been here the last half hour 45 minutes no one has come through here pickups amex so if you need them that are available to you. maybe the brain needs the pick up a little bit to motivate the people to go pick up the sand bags. even track the storm from a lack crime 4 dachau. red is residents and the santa clara valley are now being urged to cut their water by usage by 20 percent. the vote was that anonymous with water district officials. they say over the next few weeks residents will see companies like san jose water implementing new mandatory measures to reduce water usage. but it is still up to the companies to tell their customers to cut down on water composition. the district says it there's several and said those available for people would try to changeover to less water dependent. the toll bridge oversight committee will be holding a meeting today as new questions are being raised about

sandbags are available in 18 stations throughout the country. this is video of the sandbags that are up for grabs. it is right near the palo alto air terminal. for a list of the locations visit valley water.org website and search sandbag sites. >>> it make take a rocket scientist to figure out way out of the drought. bob redell is joining us. what can nasa offer. >> just moments ago they ape announced they were partnering with the department of water resources to provide state access to it's satellites, the kind that can help us down here. in just a few days nasa in conjunction with japan's space agency will launch a mission to measure rain and noesnowfall he on earth. and they can measure moisture in the top five centimeters of earth's soils. this will help with earth's sciences. nasa scientists are meeting with the state's department of water resources conducting workshops to figure out how the data collected by these satellites can help us better manage water and minimize the damage caused by this drought. >> these are providing us new inhave

in mill valley, sandbags are out. downtown and throughout residents and also sandbags are posted outside of resident's homes in san rafael. we drove to san rafael, went to the fire station where we saw a ready for residents who are experiencing flooding. one gentleman did experience flooding and here is what he had to say. >> the watt ever is comes inside of the house because of the way some of the rainage is running and i'm trying to divert it. >> it has happened before? >> yes. and the fix didn't work. so now i'm trying something different. >> reporter: if you need any sandbags, you can collect up to ten at the san rafael fire department off third avenue. otherwise, we have more rain in the forecast. again, we are live outside miller avenue which is adjacent from mount tamalpais high school where this westerly direction is shut down because of high tide causing this flooding. we had high tide at 6.6 feet this morning. paired with the rain, that is causing this. the waters are beginning to retreat since low tide will

in marin, the sandbags are up in mill valley in front the 2:00 a.m. club on miller avenue.businesses were flooded in the big storm that hit two weeks ago. when there is high tide or heavy rain a number by creek rises and floods. business owners blame a faulty storm blame thatted city refuses to fix. >>> we have another way to keep an eye on the rain following live doppler 7 hd on twitter for the latest. >>> in santa cruz, police will unveil a memorial honoring two veteran officers murdered a year ago today. we have a review. matt? >> the santa cruz police department says it has been a long road over the past year. today the memorial is ready for the dedication ceremony. community remembrance was held at the santa cruz city hall last night for sergeant baker and detective butler shot and killed by a suspect during a sexual assault investigation february 26 last year. the suspect was shot and killed by police later that day. two of baker's children attended the event. >> we are still obviously going through the phrases of grief. it feels like it was yesterday. >> he is my her

they've already handed out 18,000 sandbags. they hope to fill 12,000 more and lay miles of these concrete barriers. the heaviest rain is expected friday, which will bring winds up to 60 miles per hour. >> we're going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. >> reporter: it takes hundreds of sandbags to shore up a home. and barriers can catch runoff water and some debris. but what they cannot do is stop mudslides, like the ones that covered conchita, california, in 2005. for much of the rest of the country, winter still rules supreme. in minneapolis, a ground blizzard. five-foot snowdrifts. zero visibility. after a weekend warm-up started breaking ice on rivers, the big refreeze has river towns from the northeast to the midwest, now dealing with destructive ice jams. in kankakee, illinois, authorities had to shut down this bridge because of the ice. it's these enormous chunks of ice pushing up against the foundation of this bridge that are a huge concern. the army corps of engineers, actually releasing warm water from a n

. >> san mateo is one of many cities opening sandbag stations for the approaching storm. crews have been placed on storm ready status 24/7 in case of flooding. >> it tends to be more of a react tiff. maury -- more reactive. >> she is well aware that rain is on the way to the bay area. they just remodeled their home in east palo alto, in the same neighborhood that flooded before . the creek over flowed its banks. >> it could take out people's homes it is all people have. it is a beg deal. >> the last big flood was christmas on 2012. dozens of homes were damaged. not surprising considering 50% of all homes in east palo alto sit in a flood zone. >> just be monitoring around the clock to make sure everything is okay. >> community development director says the city is storm ready. sandbags are available and the creek will be monitored for any signs of a flash flood. >> the challenge we have is the water coming down the creek and the city is coming from the santa cruz mountains, and it is hard to monitor everything that is occurring in the mountains. >> reporter: improvements h

>> there is a small amount of sandbags. you can come down here if you are a resident and pick up to at least 10 beck's. they tell me that they do have an extra stock available. there also want to be out in force to make sure the storm drains are not clogged so that water can easily drain. a gang, if you need a sense that if you can come down anytime and this address is 1949 pacific boulevard. they have a location's all across the bay. we have posted a link on our web site. >> >> in mill valley, the city is offering sandbags to help people protect their homes and businesses from flooding in this coming storm. residents or business owners may pick up sand bags at fire stations on 1 hamilton ave and 26 on corte madera ave. there is a limit of ten sandbags per household or business. the hauke park parking lot, the thaila parking lot and parking area on molino ave have a stock pile of sand that residents can use to make their own sand bags. and coming up at 5:30, we will talk to kron 4's jackie sissel who is live in mill valley.

in east palo alto, residents are picking up sandbags just in case. they don't want a repeat of 2012 when a river overflowed its banks. >> my concern is my garage area and if there's heavy rain and it settles there, then it comes in the house. >> brad daniels says he's glad people are preparing. he wishes they thought about these things in the calm before the storm. >> it gets committing. at the same time, it would be real nice if they called during the summer. >> reporter: daniel has several more appointments several with people hopefully before the next rain on friday. anne ruban channel 2 news. >>> and crews were trying to prevent damage and high winds today. umbrellas were out and water pooled in storm drains and on city streets. in oakland, the city's providing sandbags in case of flooding, and also crews cleaned out tree branches so they wouldn't become a problem. the petaluma river rose today. still far lower than this time of year, with today's rain, water officials say lake sonoma is at 67%, and lake mendicino is at 40%. >> and we'll have mor

. >> sandbags are available on the if lanes near the creek prone to overflood the banks. >> to heavenly mountain in lake tahoe you can see the skiers are loving it. the clouds have not given way to a lot rain or snow. that is coming. >> good morning, thanks for joining us. >>> from the bay area to the sierra, we have you covered with complete storm watch coverage. reporters are on the scene of a tree that fell on a major road and the area that flooded in marin county last month. first, though, mike nicco is tracking the storm outside the studios. mike? >> good morning, it has been wet. it has been steady rain. you are right, not measuring up to lot yet but i am feeling the breezes. up to .09" in santa rosa, the least amount. in san jose, .17" in rain so the rain has been the most at conquer at .75" and here is where the heavier radar runs are now: pulling from walnut creek and concord at 680 to martinez to benicia and vallejo. you have some more now moving through san francisco and look what coming our way, this area of low pressure will have the instability for the stronger afternoon a

they have sand and sandbags available for people. worried about the possibility of flooding as this next round of rain moves in this weekend. the storm that blew through during the commute yesterday morning just a preview of what is to come. most spots picked up less than an inch of rain. but the rain will return full force beginning later on today and continuing throughout the weekend. the forecast calling for several inches of rain to fall in most areas. a true soaker compared to yesterday's storm. some areas will get more rain in two days then they did during all of last year. down in the south bay, preparations are being made to avoid flooding with this storm. the santa claire real county valley water district is looking to clear debris from water ways to make room for for all of that water to flow through the area. as we bring you back out here to live picture. sand and sandbags ready to go for people. free of charge. in case people are concerned about flooding at their homes with so much rain expected to fall in this area. agai

. >> san mateo is one of many cities opening sandbag stations for the approaching storm. crews have been placed on storm ready status 24/7 in case of flooding. >> it tends to be more of a react tiff. maury -- more reactive. >> she is well aware that rain is on the way to the bay area. they just remodeled their home in east palo alto, in the same neighborhood that flooded before . the creek over flowed its banks. >> it could take out people's homes it is all people have. it is a beg deal. >> the last big flood was christmas on 2012. dozens of homes were damaged. not surprising considering 50% of all homes in east palo alto sit in a flood zone. >> just be monitoring around the clock to make sure everything is okay. >> community development director says the city is storm ready. sandbags are available and the creek will be monitored for any signs of a flash flood. >> the challenge we have is the water coming down the creek and the city is coming from the santa cruz mountains, and it is hard to monitor everything that is occurring in the mountains. >> reporter: improvements h

. >> san mateo is one of many cities opening sandbag stations for the approaching storm. crews have been placed on storm ready status 24/7 in case of flooding. >> it tends to be more of a react tiff. maury -- more reactive. >> she is well aware that rain is on the way to the bay area. theyemodeled remodeled their hoe in east palo alto, in the same neighborhood that flooded before . the creek over flowed its banks. >> it could take out people's homes it is all people have. it is a beg deal. >> the last big flood was christmas on 2012. dozens of homes were damaged. not surprising considering 50% of all homes in east palo alto sit in a flood zone. >> just be monitoring around the clock to make sure everything is okay. >> community development director says the city is storm ready. sandbags are available and the creek will be monitored for any signs of a flash flood. >> the challenge we have is the water coming down the creek and the city is coming from the santa cruz mountains, and it is hard to monitor everything that is occurring in the mountains. >> reporter: improvements

kpix 5's cate caugiran is in san rafael where sandbags are disappearing fast. cate. >> reporter: yes, they are, frank and michelle. the rain is coming down here steadily right now. what we know about this area is that flooding is a common problem for neighbors here so they have been stopping by fire station 2 to give us the scoop on the first line of defense against flooding. san rafael residents are picking up the shovel to protect their homes. >> it was no fun. when you're out in your backyard trying to push water with a push broom to the lower regions of the backyard, it's just difficult. >> reporter: carol's sun valley home was flooded with more than a foot of water last year when the big storm came. this year, she says lesson learned. >> hard to do. >> reporter: several fire stations in the bay area are telling neighbors to filler up. stations are offering free sandbags to keep water out of basements and garages. >> we are going to divert the water from possibly getting under the foundation and causing further erosion. >> reporter: this person also had pro

the water has receded but the sandbags are out. you still see those pondings so you want to be careful as you head out. >> thank you, christie. you know you'll notice from her being out there live the rain is certainly subsiding. but look at this. in napa we have such great news. for the grape growers up there, over the past 72 hours we've accumulated almost 11.5 inches of rain. that is higher than the january and february total average for the month of february and january combined. we typically get 10.48. but yeah, we surpassed that and we're looking good for more rain on the way. everybody in the south bay is asking me why didn't we get those totals down here? i can tell you what happened. we get rain shadow effect. as the moisture works up the mountains it condenses, you get the heavy rainfall on top. but on the other side of the mountain really dry air. as a result we didn't get much here. we accumulated an inch and warter. that's typically the case if you live in the south bay. the good news is we get most of our water supply

they have sandbags for people who want to be prepared, alex? >> well, people up here in marin county know they are not out of the woods just yet. that is why today you can expect people will be dropping by to fill up like this one here. they have a big pile of sand and the bags are ready to go and these sandbags will help people protect their homes from flooding as more rain arrives. yesterday, i worried south of tonight mollies. that tree came down on top of some power lines and it happened across the bay area, yesterday with high winds and they were topping some high winds and some of those downed trees led to power outages. for that reason they have extra crews on standby to deal with storm-related problems. >> they will be ready to ramp up at the command center in order to deploy services. >> reporter: they say 13% of all downed trees are caused by storms like the one we had yesterday and storms that saturate the ground and bring in high winds all at the same time. flooding is a real concern and that's why you can bet this sandbag station,

dozens of sandbags arrived in neighborhoods this morning. with more ready as the demand and water rises. >> hopefully everything works out. we have plenty more. we load up another truck with more palettes. >> utility crews are looking to the sky for trouble with the tomorrow. what pg&e are doing to keep the power lines up as the rain comes down. >> we've called in our sal cast nella -- cast neda tonight. pretty bad out there. it is, i spoke with chp. on a normal day we have 200 incidents, yesterday we had 309, when it rains the incident count goes up. show you, this commute started early people trying to get out of the south bay. silicon valley trying to get out. started at 2:00, still underway. let's look at interstate 80 westbound, or 880, south bound is worse trying to get to highway 92. the red on on the maps, some of the slowest traffic, you can see what we're talking about. 80 is bad, contra costa 680 is the worst. highway 17 will be an adventure, allow extra time to stop. this is what causes crashes. people who are driving too fast fo

. >>> on the peninsula residents are ready for a pair of storms with sandbags available including this sand begin station in east palo alto. residents are concerned about flooding with 50 percent of all storms sitting in the flood zone. this week last overflowed christmas of 2012. >> the challenge is the water coming to the creek into the city is coming from the santa cruz mountains and it is hard to monitor. >> improvements have been made on the levees but only temporary fix. >> the sandbags are up in mill valley at the club on miller avenue. the stretch of businesses was flooded not big storm that hit two weeks ago and when there is a high tide or heavy rain another creek rises and floods the area. business owners blame faulty storm drain the city refuses to fix they say. in addition to the weather team we have another way to keep an eye on the rain follow live doppler 7 hd on twitter with the latest bay area weather conditions. >>> happening today in santa cruz police unveil a memorial honoring two veteran murdered officers a year ago. matt keller is at police headquarters with a pr

redwood city and oakland are among those with free sandbags for pickup.ught situation in the entire bay area and most of the state. it's considered extreme in parts of the central valley. the only parts of the state not in a drought are along the arizona border, where there's barely any rain in a normal year. >>> stay with us. traffic and weather in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ use chase freedom at gas stations this quarter and get 5% cash back. so you can keep rolling in style. activate your 5% cash back at chase.com/freedom chase. so you can. >>> good morning. it's still damp in the road. traffic never recovered very sluggish from 238 into your downtown oakland exits. bay bridge much improved. the metering lights are on. traffic in the busiest lanes backed up to the end of the parking lot. all lanes now clear in livermore after an earlier fender-bender. it is still very slow though coming out of the altamont pass. drive time 24 minutes between there and the dublin interchange. that's your latest "kcbs traffic." here's lawrence. >>> elizabeth, we have seen some

come out here now and get your sandbags before the water starts rising up on you. by the way, pg&e said they are prepared to activate their command center if they need to, to try to address what could be a significant number of power outages. >> all right, chase, thank you. >>> this rain and snow is a welcome sight but it's not doing much in terms of our drought. the third snow survey of the season showed that the snowpack is at 24% of normal, so we're still well below where we should be. the snowpack is considered the state's largest reservoir providing a third of the water used by cities and farms. bob redell was in the snow today. coming up in about ten minutes, we'll find out which sierra resort has benefited the most in terms of fresh powder. obviously big few weeks for skiers and snowboarders. >>> i want to invite you to stay with us for continuing coverage of the storm. our weather team will continue to track its movement throughout this newscast and throughout the evening as well. then you can track the weather where you live. just go to nbcbayarea.com. >>>

and out west, the race to get sandbags in place ahead of floods and mud. >>> coming home. our investigation. the epidemic of american veterans from iraq and afghanistan hooked on addictive painkillers. >> it is a living, seemingly never-ending nightmare. >> tonight, why is this happening? and will the news today change it? >>> and, the sleep whisperer. a new and simple solution for a nation of insomniacs. is this woman -- >> hey, guys. >> -- about to change your life tonight? >>> and a good evening to you on this tuesday night. we begin with the sights, sounds and struggles of a nation watching everything that had thawed freeze up again, as polar air plunges so far south, even texas will feel the freeze. while out west tonight, a race is under way to get the sandbags in place before heavy rain threatens to bring mudslides down on thousands of homes. and abc's meteorologist ginger zee is tracking the split personality weather for us tonight. >> reporter: parts of southern california laying out almost 150,000 sandbags. preparing for what could bring more rain in four days th

they had to get their sandbags out. this so when you do get a lot rain it tends to get in there. they were basically repair their received a little bit of damage but repair crews are still out pripet they have a little bit of the time to dry out the they're want to keep their sandbags out here just in case. then you can also see the standing water. 8 in. of rain in just 48 hours, 72 hours it is just too much for the system to handle. >> another problem for the new section of the bay bridge. caltrans officials found water in part of a steel structure that should be watertight. rainwater was found beneath the road deck on the new eastern span that opened last year, engineers say the leaks could cause the bridge to corrode and significantly shorten its life span. bridge officials say inspectors are trying to pinpoint how the water is getting in but that the problem so far looks manageable. >> >> two men have been rescued after being stranded at santa rosa creek over the weekend. the men were stuck in the middle of the cree

, and get better sheeting down. >> fresh wet sand arrives to fill sandbags for forever needs them. kilometers away, princes william and harry lending a hand. forecasters are predicting another 14 millimeters of rain will fall in the next few hours, and over the next few days that will result in a rise in the river again. now the attention has turned to the causeds, climate change and shifting weather patterns are the chief suspects. the five wettest winters on record in the uk have all happened since the year 2000. >> the stein advertises tell us about science, which is quite strong, i must say, but then they say -- what does it mean for people like us? and what they said it means more of the same. it means more unpredictability and more extremes. >> reporter: if this is a sign of things to come, huge infrastructure projects will be needed, and they will cost billions. at a time of shrinking budgets, finding the money will be a challenge. >>> and emma haywarding sent us this update. >> reporter: the battle to keep the water at bay is an ongoing one here. here you can the see water

by to pick up some free sandbag on pacific boulevard and each person is allowed to take up to ten bags. >>> >>> the sierra is seeing plenty of snow and in areas of 4000 feet. that also means the roads on the way there will be treacherous, kron 4 news jus justin has more on that. >> we took this video just a few hours ago from caltrans's cameras. this is 80s and you can see a lot of snow on the roads. next up video from 80 at king bell, it is hard to see out of the distance and the off ramp is not plowed. watch here as two cars almost crashed right into each other. this video right now from 80, it shows us what it looks like driving in the dark, very hard to see and the roads appeared not to be plowed either. chp respond to several accidents. in the news room . i am justine wall man, kron 4 news. >> remember you can stay with the weather by going to www.kron4.com and check the latest conditions and the forecast before you head out. >>> still to come at 11:00. strategy strikes the campus as a football player passes away while working out with his teammates >>> >>> the 17-year-old girl sh

the cities and residents have been placing sandbags around homes. ahead tonight a piece of the art work causing quite a stir. this triple to apple founder, steve jobs. uñ [ male announcer ] fact: the 100% electric nissan leaf... is more fun than ever. sees better than ever. ♪ charges faster. and will charge. cool. and heat. from your phone. fact: leaf never needs gas. ever. good for the world. built in america. now, leaf's an easier choice than ever. ♪ shop at choosenissan.com. ♪ >>> it has no authority over bitcoins. virtual currency is not issued by the government. words as creepy and hideous are swirling about a statue for steve jobs. this is video from youtube of a miniature. the completed statue would be 16 16 feet tall. his head is there at the top with cryptic characters. >> it's the stuff that nightmares are made of. >> talk about a hot ticket. burning man is proving to be on fire. last year's burning manifest value set an all-time attendance record. the 32,000 tickets sold out in 44 minutes. more tickets will be sold at a later date. burnin

stations and fill them up and sandbag around my house. if i didn't know it was going to be flooding, i might not otherwise do that. >> reporter: whether you live here in marin county or elsewhere, you are asked to make sure that you have signed up for your city or counties emergency alert system because if there is some isolated flooding, that way they can give you a call, send you a text message and let you know what is going on. but for now, marin officials do not expect things will get that serious. they want everyone to be prepared in case it does. we're live tonight in san raff fell. chase cane. >> get inside and get dry. >>> fresh powder now but would take five to six hours to get to lake tahoe. here is the commute, interstate 80 covered in snow. chains are required, not surprisingly. if you're headed to the sierra, be careful. jodi hernandez is along 80. relatively smooth at 5:00. how is the get away friday looking now? >> reporter: raj, it is wet. it is soggy and drivers need to be on they are toes. they are on interstate 80 where

-- sand and sandbags to people.he storm that hit the bay area yesterday is just a preview of what is to come. most areas picked up less than an inch of rain. the rain will return later today and continue through the weekend with big-time numbers. the forecast calls for several inches of rain in most areas. really a soaker compared to yesterday's storm. some areas will get more rain in just two days than during all of last year. down in the south bay preparations are being made to try to avoid flooding with this storm. the santal clara valley water district is looking to clear away debris from water ways to make sure all of that rain can flee flowly. while we may be dry this morning, things are about to change. it could be a dry commute. but by this afternoon you can expect the rain to begin moving in and a whole lot more of it on the way throughout the weekend. live this morning in san rafael alex savidge ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the city of oakland has decided to cancel today's first friday outdoor event because of

there is a ten sandbag limit per address. in oakland, you can get up to 20- free sandbags and 50- feet of plastic sheeting. at the municipal service center at 7101 edgewater drive. between 8 a-m and 9 p-m monday through friday. in san jose, there are three locations: the city service yard on mabury road. the city's central service yard on senter road. and the santa clara valley water district's. winfield warehouse. no listing on how many sandbags per residence, but make sure to bring proper identification. and in other parts of the south bay. on embarcadero road in palo alto -- adjacent to the palo alto air terminal. on the northeast corner of gold and catherine streets in alviso. and at the el toro fire station. on old monterey road in morgan hill. also happening today. of course. is the cecond of two storms in a row. to roll into the bay. the rainfall will be adding to the water supply. but also creating headaches. expect wet weather and sometimes gusty winds through saturday. and lingering into sunday. but what can we expe

thehe sent up a wooden blank and sandbags. but this morning about 7:30, another high tide brought water back and it came from in the building. >> it was like a reverse hydraulic effect. the creek was at a level to push water up there u the storm drain, all of the floor drains, poilts, and other drains were taking water on. we were filling up from the inside out versus taking water on from the outside in. >> about three inches flooded the bar. >>> police are trying to determine if a deadly crash was caused by the rain. they were called to greenville way when someone spotted an overturned suv in a gully. in a few yards, a body was found in the backyard of a nearby home. >> it could be weather related. we don't know that. again, it could be a medical reason, it could be another type of reason, or a mechanical failure, we just don't know right now. >> of course an autopsy will help determine a cause of death. >>> you're looking at a live picture of the bay bridge. traffic moving steadily tonight. we are learning it has another pro

flashlights, batteries, tarps and sandbags. within seconds, shovels were scraping residents on the move. >> i'm going home. anything to that gets through that. >> she's at work. >> this is rags that people put down their toilet. >> they they are prepping for the storm. ragging the bar screens. >> they don't decompose or break down and cause havoc. >> when the pumps are not working the systems and rain can back up. >> we get the gases out. we test run them and make sure they are pumping. >> across the bay in alameda boots and tarps are hot. >> he was wanting one of these attach to a garden hose. >> no hose needed tonight. we found a stream on the streets. hold on, the bay area is in for a wet ride. i wish it would rain for seven days and seven nights straight. >> that's the attitude we had a lot. a has toll prep but it word -- worth it as long as we get the rain. >> we have continuing coverage. bill is dialing in the weekend forecast and he will tell us when the heaviest rain will hit. and mark will join us with perspective how