several north by cities are offer free sandbags with a list lobbies to pick up the sandbags inia neighborhood. >> the past way to track the rain and flood is with the newsup which is free. use the push alerts to got latest information. >> we are tracking breaking news: an ohio police officer is dead. a woman called dispatch before midnight saying her ex-boyfriend had weapons and was looking to kill an officer. the officer was fond shot to delegate behind the danville municipal building northeast of columbus. his gun and cruiser were both missing. a suspect is in custody. authorities say up to 50 people will join the search for a young ski instructor who has been missing for three days. the search for 23-year-old carson may was suspended because of bad weather. he was seen skiing while off duty on thursday afternoon at sugar bowl ski resort near norton. despite the length of time he has been missing and the weather conditions, friends say he is skilled in survival techniques. >> another search continues today, the coast guard is expanding their sent for 12 manners still missing after a helicop

here's fresh sand ready to be filled into a sandbag. you get free sandbags here at station number 6, alameda. many businesses are working overtime because of this weather. the morning commute was filled with detours as the rain drove many to head to sandbag locations and even the hardware store. >> let's bring down that new shipment of umbrellas because we're going to need it. >> reporter: jim at ace hardware is restocking. >> not only have we sold out on rain gear but we're building a new area for rain gear. that's why we brought all the new inventory downstairs. >> reporter: el niÑo weather has many roofers working overtime. >> called out, said they had a leak in front of the window. >> reporter: they head off for another job in their fully booked day. >> now that the weather is here, our phones are just going crazy right now. >> reporter: it appears homeowners are heeding advice to prepare for flooding expected from el niÑo. fema says new data shows an increase of 20,000 new flood policies. >> insurance is a terrible thing to have to

it's also a good time to get your sandbags ready and to check out where sandbags, the locations are closest it's recommended that you go to your town's website. jackie ward, back to you. >>> we have delays backed up to the maze. here is your drive times -- some of the hot spots, nimitz freeway between 238 and highway 84 southbound also 680. we have reports of an accident south 680, two right lanes are blocked. also southbound 280, chp on the scene looking for an accident. slow and go conditions and the south bay also. roberta. >>> no accidents where the accidents are is where the heaviest rain is, over the peninsula. over an hour delay. at sfo on some arriving flights. look at brentwood getting pounded. antioch the same. we traverse to the north bay and see moderate rainfall anywhere from larkspur into el campo. we see the light rainfall in the san rafael area and we have the rain outside of the studios. we're confirming that with the live weather camera. it's raining. this is the first in the series of three storms. >> oh, here it comes. >> bye. >>> good morning to our viewers in the west.

taking any chances at the south san francisco public works building he filled up sandbag after sandbag, bracing for this week's rain. >> why did you have to sandbag? >> because of the rain in case there is emergency flooding. >> reporter: the city provides the sand bag station preof charge. only 10 per household. -- station free of charge. only 10 per household. >> he stacked them in front of his garage door, neatly in a row. >> you are smart. did your neighbors do the same? >> i have no idea. >> reporter: he lives at the bottom of this hill. in the past he says water backed up here the curb. >> drainage is near our house. >> he does not expect this storm to flood his home but just in case he is prepared. in south san francisco, mark kelly, kpix5. >> and the latest series of storms is expected to deliver another round of snow to the sierra. now, there is a downside to a strongel 19row. it increases the likelihood of el nino in the fall. cooler than normal and leading to dry weather. the other problem they are persistent and lingering for a long period of time. while they tend to be dri

some put out sandbags to get ready for the next round of storms. in marin county, drinking water comes from reservoirs, not snow runoff. but some folks are worried about too much of a good thing. >> reporter: it's a sight and sound that hasn't been witnessed in quite a while. the spillway is gushing. >> nice to have it back. >> reporter: the spillway started blasting water last week. >> i come up here often so i noticed it right away. and today it's really strong. >> reporter: the seven reservoirs interest serve the marin water agency are at 84% of capacity. unlike most water agencies that rely on sierra snowpack, central and southern marin customers rely mainly on rainfall. their water supply is now in plain view and visitors are enjoying the swollen creeks that vanished after the droughts. >> we have flood alerts on our cell phones. >> reporter: in san anselmo, they are glad for the storms but are keeping a wary eye on san anselmo creek. >> we're prepared. >> reporter: floodgates at the ready and sandbags. >> i would not be surprised. i thought w

then layer the sandbags. seam of the bottom sandbag with the one on top, and, once you're done, you should wrap the plastic back on top of the bags. >> the time to get prepared is now. el niÑo's here. we're trying to get the word out to our residents that, if you wait till an actual rain event, that may be too late. >> well, joining me in the studio right now is "7 on your side's" michael finney, who is here to help us prepare for the fallout. and you've been talking about this and talking about this. >> [ chuckling ] i sure have. >> how do we help people? what do we do first? >> the first thing -- you ought to know where you can get sandbags in case you need them since he was just talk-- every single county does it their own way. for instance, here in san francisco, the department of public... >> works? >> works. thank you. they're the ones who handle it here, and they tend to have the bags already filled up, and they have people there to put them in the trunk of your car. you go out to contra costa county,

but not this time. >> pam:reinforcement arrived quickly enough in the form of monrovia sandbags.hey helped the family pile the bags along the back of their home. and luckly no water or mud. made its way through the familys back door and into the home. >> reporter: see shower activity moderate happening holding together it's starting to sneak off screen and show you a ferry to see one country here down martina's this is been moderate the heavy for most of the last hour or so heading further south and the east bay shoreline san leandro to iran holding their and then just recently here in this is been spreading out that another type side as you well and then this is all the trend is expected end as far as the issues to fall does not appear to be likely as and we go into tomorrow morning a spotty showers moderate rain in spots comes and goes like a lot of reporters talking to this evening seconds of the models and on the graphic here in the evening hours of the clock a little back along the peninsula on the south bay heavier rain there that breaks up tomorrow morning skies may actual

give away gaze and 15 thousand sandbags were given out we still have a large supply of sandbags and any residents feels their vulnerable to any kind of flooding through the garage or door or the back of their house come to our yard chavez a large number to supply people and in addition our crews are scheduled to work around the clock performing inspections of trees any potential tree hazard that the public seize they should let us know when we have storms we're vulnerable to branches and trees falling so call 311 number will allow us to get and work on that emergency preparation for the storm it is fall and with the fall we all see the leaves with a little bit of wind the wind leaves can clog our cap baselines so if you see any catch by an that has a number of leaves again call the 311 number the 311 comes through the system to us we'll have crews that will be out there to clean up the catch baselines with the rain like el nino can flowed pretty fast and if that catch by an is not clean quickly water raise and jumps the curbs and gets into homes the public can help us you know when

club the sandbags are up.they usually go up if the water comes up the storm drain. >> this is a storage unit. without the sandbags and the plastic and plywood everything inside is ruined, gets wet. >> reporter: the marin county office of emergency services encourages everyone in the county and in the bay area to register your cell phones with your local office of emergency services. you can get a reverse 911 call. terry mcsweeney, nbc bay area news. >>> some heavy rain and snow also to blame for this tour bus crash in yosemite, the bus slid off a road near highway 41 this morning. it was teetering on the edge of the hillside. all 54 people on board had to be extricated out of the bus. no one was seriously hurt. >>> a large tree toppled on highway 17. crews had to chop up the tree and remove it. >>> in the north bay, a downed tree took out a utility pole that left hundreds of people without power in mill valley. >>> in the sierra, snow is expected all day again. today the region was hammered with heavy rain and

sandbags are in demand for homeowners, too. you can see here in napa residents loading up trying to keep the water out. napa has historically seen severe flooding, but they hope the relatively new flood control project funnels it into a new basin and away from homes and businesses. >>> so, let's go out now to "today in the bay" bob redell. in the south bay monitoring the guadalupe water levels. >> we'll give bob a chance to turn his microphone on. that one river, there is that jogging trail through there and bone dry for so long and nice to see it. >> we'll see the cumulative effect from the week, though, causes it to flood. >> we'll get to bob in a little bit. >>> happening today, lots of events around the bay area for martin luther king jr. day. the biggest of which happens every year. the celebration train formally the freedom train. it departs cal trans's station this morning and stops all along the peninsula and into san francisco. by 11:00 this morning, those folks who are on the train will leave san francisco's cal train

bay area sandbag locations.they say they saw rush this morning, then things quieted down this afternoon. they expect to the pick up again as another round of rain comes through. in alameda county, cristina rendon, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> a lot of snow has fallen in the sierra. it's been a challenge for drivers. mitch brown runs a snow blower and says' already had to clear one parking lot about 20 times this year. >> and that compares to what last year? >> about 30. >> 30 total. >> 30 total. >> so you've already done two- thirds of last year's work. >> yep. >> at royal gorge, cross country skiers are enjoying fresh powder. they're hoping this will last all winter. stay with ktvu for the very latest. you can download the free ktvu weather app for updates on the go. >>> new at 6:00 the bay area police officer now facing felony charges after a child pornography investigation that started in texas led investigators to the north bay. ktvu's noel walk siren the news -- walker is in the newsroom to explain. >> reporter: cy

the city set up sandbag stations at the memorial stadium parking lot today. that was available to residents who were load them into their trucks. 2 to 4 inches of rain expected in the north bay hills through 3:00 this morning. now, we talked to jan. she was setting up her gates and everything as she saes setting up to leave for the day. i think she has a real good reminder right next to where she's working and that is the high water mark near the store she is working, of course from 2005. reporting live in san anselmo, christie smith. >> they are concerned about it now. >> thank you, christie. >> as we heard rob talk about earlier, there's a coastal flood warning in effect. for the latest on that, we turn to marianne favro who's live in pacifica. marian marianne. >> reporter: well, that high surf warning is in effect until 7:00 tomorrow morning. and you can see behind me exactly why. all afternoon, we have been seeing huge waves out here in pacifica at the pier. they're 15 to 18 feet tall and crashing over the wall. also, there's a high risk of sneaker waves

the sandbag station outside of memorial stadium was busy on sunday. one woman said she's trying to protect her home from a creek and ditch that flooded last winter. >> reporter: i already have sandbags out. but i'm getting extra to put around the house, the doors and things just in case. >> the sandbag station is self- service. you will need a shovel and your own bags. >>> in sonoma county, a rockslide blocked part of a major road on highway 116 west of guerneville. one lane was shut down for nearly three hours last night as crews removed a large pile of rocks and dirt. the closure caused major delays on the highway. it's now back open this morning. >>> all of this rain is causing flooding on some bay area highways. kiet do is in san jose with some of the trouble spots for drivers. kiet? >> reporter: yeah, i want to show you some breaking news happening out here in san jose. this is 280 northbound right at the 880 interchange and the exit off stevens creek. you are looking at -- what looks to be a serious injury crash. this happened right before we we

a man in the mission dragged the sandbags out because the sewers flood his shop. he has spent tens of thousands of dollars making property improvements while waiting for the city to enlarge nearby pipes. >> the word flooding is not correct. it's a sewer overflow. the pipes down here are too small. >>> people living in san francisco can pickup free sandbags at the public operations yard. it's open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. if you live outside of san francisco, check with the local county as bay area counties offer free sandbagging. >>> in sonoma county an 18-year- old suffered minor injuries and was trapped in a pickup truck that went off a road, overturned and ended up on its side in 2 feet of water. firefighters had to use air bags to lift the truck to pull her out. she kept her head above water but the rest of the body was submerged. the man driving the truck was able to get out on his own. >>> storms battered southern california. take a look at that. some areas received a half inch of rain per hour yesterday. people had to be rescued when they tried drivin

give away gaze and 15 thousand sandbags were given out we still have a large supply of sandbags and any residents feels their vulnerable to any kind of flooding through the garage or door or the back of their house come to our yard chavez a large number to supply people and in addition our crews are scheduled to work around the clock performing inspections of trees any potential tree hazard that the public seize they should let us know when we have storms we're vulnerable to branches and trees falling so call 311 number will allow us to get and work on that emergency preparation for the storm it is fall and with the fall we all see the leaves with a little bit of wind the wind leaves can clog our cap baselines so if you see any catch by an that has a number of leaves again call the 311 number the 311 comes through the system to us we'll have crews that will be out there to clean up the catch baselines with the rain like el nino can flowed pretty fast and if that catch by an is not clean quickly water raise and jumps the curbs and gets into homes the public can help us you know when

it was cold. >> sandbag centers are open throughout the bay area and san francisco filling up sandbagsfree but there's a limit of 10 per household. >> you want to be careful on the roads. take your time out there gianna. >> absolutely. delays are starting to build on the bay bridge. we're seeing a bit of a backup. almost to the overpass. very slow conditions. no word if the metering lights have been turned on. that will probably happen within the next couple of minutes. we're dealing with slick surfaces. be careful as you hit the roads. if you want to skip the roads and use mass transit, between orinda and rockridge we're dealing with 10, 15-minute b.a.r.t. delays in both directions. that may slow you down a little bit. the recovery, should get back on track. as i train number 1 no delays -- -- ace train number no delays. we're seeing a backup. everything is to the right shoulder. once you get to 680 if you are making that connector, so far traffic is clear on 680. we have the warriors in town tonight hosting the hornets. of course with the rain makes it even busier than usual. so expe

we've done a lot with sandbags. we just approved over $1 million extra for sandbags. but the projects are taking longer and longer and more and more environmental challenges. >> down there on the summit affected the live shot with bob redell. we'll check back with him coming up. >>> we'll track the latest on the series of the storms and track conditions by downloading our free nbc bay area app. click on the weather tab. from there you can find the live doppler radar and extended forecast. you can download the app from the amapp store or google play. >>> looking at some other news this morning and happening today. two people accused of killing a palo alto man in las vegas will be in court today. those suspects charged with killing a bay area man. this happened a week ago. these the suspects. las vegas police say 42-year-old neil gandler was shot to death in his car outside of a gym. it appears the suspects shot and killed gandler while trying to rob him. he is a software engineer and was in las vegas ahead of this week's consumer electronics show. >>> new clue in the m

the sandbags station outside memorial stadium was busy. one woman says she's trying to protect her home from a creek and ditch that have flooded in the past. >> i already have sandbags out but i'm getting extra to put around the doors and things just in case. >> the sand bag station is self-service so you'll need to bring a surveillance and your own bag. >>> in marin county, the downpours are helping to replenish reservoirs. we'll have more on that story in just a few minutes. >>> in other news, freedom tonight for several americans including a bay area man once held hostage in iran. they were allowed to leave as part of a prisoner exchange with the u.s. cbs reporter wendy gillette shows us the start to their long awaited homecoming. >> reporter: a swiss air force plane carrying three americans who had been imprisoned in iran landed safely in geneva sunday. this picture posted on a presidential envoy twitter account is the first of washington post reporter jason rezaian as a free man. he and two others flew to a military hospital in german

we haven't seen a whole lot in terms of sandbags out here. apparently maybe people relying on the gates instead stead. but it's wet and people expecting this certainly to continue. that's the latest from here reporting live from san ansel mow. >> and there is a high surf warning along the coast. this is a live look at the beach in pacifica. coming up in a half hour, marianne favro will join us from the beach. >> you can stay informed about the weather and more even when we're not on the air. just download our app. get it from google play or apple store. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri shows us how it works. >> when we're in an nbc bay area make crow climate weather alert, we've made it easy to get the information on your smartphone. just click on the bar that says weather alerts and you'll get the information you need to know right when you need know it. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri, and that's how you stay informed with the nbc bay area a app. >>> this is a good day announced by president obama after the release of iran prisoners. h

. >> sandbags standing by. every house hoping to keep the rain away. >> definitely, for sure. >> her neighborhood has flooded before. this is what it looked like in years passed. storm drains overwhelmed. this time, there's better news. >> so far, so good. with the sandbags, they have been holding up. it hasn't been that bad. so we should be able to survive the last couple of days. >> more rain is on the way. in san fwran sis cole, abc 7 news. >> this morning's storm is believed to be responsible for knocking over a huge tree in san francisco's lafayette park. the tree hit and damaged three cars that were parked on washington street. thankfully, nobody was hurt. >> a top-heavy ficus free came down. mission street was closed for a couple hours. >> in sonoma county, today's storm turned it into a small river. cars had to slow down there as they went through the water. the nearby creek has risen so high that you can see the water has risen over on to the road. >> the coast guard is now looking into why this cabin

. >> reporter: in napa, neighbors who needed them picked up sandbags. >> i already have sandbags out. but i'm getting extra to put around the house. around the doors and things, just in case. >> reporter: in mill valley, shops had the sandbags and last stick lined up outside to keep the water out. >> i put them out a couple of days ago. >> reporter: at posh design in san andreas sean anselmo. just getting prepared. we have a gate that will go across in case the floods do come. a little preventative. >> reporter: we've been parked in this same spot for a couple of hours. the rain at times has been heavy and has been light. but from our advantage point, it hasn't stopped. reporting live in marin county, christie smith, nbc bay area news. >> all right, christie, thanks a lot. >>> and there is now a high surf warning along the coast until tomorrow morning. and that is why. look at that. that's why there is a warning. this is from pacifica, where crews spent the day repairing damage caused by these pounding waves. and that's where nbc bay area's marianne favro is right now. she joins us li

easier. >> many fire stations have sandbags available for

here in marin county, you can fill up ten sandbags. up to ten sandbags for free. county emergency leaders a warning service that will update you with any issues that may come up. one thing chp always warns about is not just the standing water. watch out for any loosened up from the rain that came down from hillsides. that can also cause some hazards on the roadway. live here in marin county, stephanie chuang. >>> from the north bay to the south bay and everywhere in between, as well. everyone feeling the brunt of all these storms. >> bob redell live in the santa cruz mountains. what have you got now? >> well, good morning, scott and laura. looks like we've got a lull in the rain which is good timing considering we're starting to hit the peak of the morning commute. your headlights heading southbound over summit on highway 17 into los gatos and slow and go because the roads are still wet. even though we don't have the rain coming down right now. hopefully this rain will stay with us as we get longer into the morning commute. now, no forecasts for serious flooding d

for details on sandbag and preparations where you live head to abc7 news.com . authorities are trying to figure out what causing a ship to sink in san rafael harbor. amy hollyfield? >> yes, reggie, a dive team is headed into the wart right now. you can see all of the rescue response vehicles checking to make sure no one is inside the boat. it just sunk. they are working under the assumption no one is there. they have to check. people are then to live on these boats. we are at san rafael yacht harbor at pier 3. officials do not know why this boat sunk they got the call at 4:45 an old vintage pleasure boat sink in the water at 10' deep and you can see a tip of it sticking out of water. they are keeping us away from the dock because they are working to get to see if there is anyone there and want us to stay here. we will have a briefing when they know more. we are told there is a sheen of diesel from the boat so the coast guard will be here and it is an active scene in marin county and we will be here to find out what is going on and bring you the latest developmen

many people put sandbags outside their homes and businesses hoping to divert any flood waters. the owner of a san francisco auto shop says when it rains hard like yesterday. the sewers tend to back up and flood his business. and he says he spent tens of thousands of dollars making property improvements while waiting for city to enlarge nearby sewer pipes. >> the word flooding is not correct. it's a sewer overflow because the pipes down here that collect all the water from twin peaks are too small. >> reporter: and yesterday's storm also kept the highway patrol busy on the freeways and roadways. there were a ton of crashes because of the slick conditions. the chp posted a video of a patrol car that had to push a stalled car out of the way. it was blocking two southbound lanes of i 101 near 280 in san francisco. and that car apparently hydroplaned and then stalled outs. that's a big concern when we get these storms coming in. and near the golden gate bridge we have choppy waters out there on the bay. and looking towards the pacific and that's because of the high surf warning that

see it but in 2014 - we had some high watete, and weweut these cone sections up and we put these sandbags around them,." them,."davis says they want these pumps and walls will be more efficient than having people out stacking sandbags the day before high waters are expected.covering the corridor in cedar rapids, steffi lee, cbs 2 news, live at five. new tonight at five, mexican drug lord el chapo has been caught. armed forces in mexico had been searching for the cartel kingpin for the lastix months - ever since he escaped maximum security prison. authorities say he was taken after a shootout with mexican marines. five people died in police custody.he was not hurt. an ambush on a philadelphia police officer is being investigated as a hit. the officer was shot several times last night and officials now y it was an attempted execution. officer jessie hartnett was patroling a neighborhood when the suspect began firing into the driverside window at close range.officer hartnett survived the shooting and returned fire, hitting the attacker. sources tell cbs news the suspect admitted to opening f

>> we have noticed there are already quite a few business owners who have their sandbag filled and ready next to their doors in case these storms do cause some had fluing. cause some flooding. >> by late evening there were light sprinkles throughout the marin county community, but this is a storm that is expected to deliver a sustained soaking of the region and clearly quite a few business owners have heeded calls to be prepared. we saw plenty of places with sandbags set up or they were packed and ready to put in place. >> preparation is key. you don't want to do this when the rain comes. you need to do it before. we have seen a lot of people preparing just in case. >> at the san rafael fire station residents can help themselves to sand and sandbags. the battalion chief says they haven't had to deal with any major floods so far this season, but they are ready. >> generally it happens when we get back to back to back storms. the rain causes us some flames, but so far that hasn't been the case. maybe this week. >> they are warning residents to prepare for the coming storms. the police depa

sandbags and barricades are in place in neighborhoods. fences were added after past mudslides to collect big debris coming down. meterologists at the national weather service say the series of storms set to move in will bring rain, snow, wind and an increased risk of flooding. president obama is finalizing a set of new executive actions tightening the nation's gun laws. the president has made gun control his first order of business in 2016... his final year in office. and one month after being attacked by domestic terrorists... workers in dan bernardino return to work. announcer: "for news while you're on the move, listen to our news here in vineland, home of ogresso, lovovall l nds s chihien soups... but just one kind of chicken. white breast meat chicken every time. so if you're not going to make your own chicken soup tonight, do what we do...make it progresso. this moment is perfect in every way just like my kid gooey...flaky...happy. toaster strudel. president barack obama used his weekly address to announce a major new initiative. he

some picks up free sandbags today to protect their property. christie smith is live near mill valley to give us a look at the storp preps. >> we're just experiencing a light rain right now, but it was coming down much heavier earlier. we're standing in one of those areas that's subject to flooding, especially with the high tide. people seem to be preparing for this wet weather to stick around for a while. the rain that was promised did deliver this evening in marin county after a slow start. low lying curbs are places known to flood had help. freeways and streets were slick and wet. >> not so much their lack of experience, driving in the rain, because each year we do have some rain. it's because many people drive badly. >> 2 to 4 inches of rain expected in the north bay hills throughout overnight. earlier, a flood wautch for urbn and small streams. in napa, residents showed up at memorial stadium parking lot for sandbags. >> i have them out, but i'm getting extra to put around the house, the doors and things just in case. >> sandbags and plasti

("what about just getting sandbags?") "i guess that's my other option." flash-flood watches are in effect until early thursday. a winter storm warning has been issued for the mountains in los angeles county and ventura county. 3 3 3 3 3 here is a look at what you can expect for the next three days. 3 3 3 the time is now 5:xx. some new gadgets. the plan to 3 buncombe county schools roll out a plan to put digital devices in the hands of students. all kids in grades four, five, and six, will receive those gadgets this school year. it is part of a three year plan that eventually provides touchscreen devices with keyboards to grades four through twelve. 3 "the kids have had a lot of experience with laptops in our computer lab, but to actually have their own computer on their own desk and to be learning with that computer instead of pencil and paper, they're just really excited." the north carolina general assembly plans to transition funding for textbooks, to funding for digital learning 3 3 3 here is a look at current conditions.. in our next half hour we'll

give away gaze and 15 thousand sandbags were given out we still have a large supply of sandbags and any residents feels their vulnerable to any kind of flooding through the garage or door or the back of their house come to our yard chavez a large number to supply people and in addition our crews are scheduled to work around the clock performing inspections of trees any potential tree hazard that the public seize they should let us know when we have storms we're vulnerable to branches and trees falling so call 311 number will allow us to get and work on that emergency preparation for the storm it is fall and with the fall we all see the leaves with a little bit of wind the wind leaves can clog our cap baselines so if you see any catch by an that has a number of leaves again call the 311 number the 311 comes through the system to us we'll have crews that will be out there to clean up the catch baselines with the rain like el nino can flowed pretty fast and if that catch by an is not clean quickly water raise and jumps the curbs and gets into homes the public can help us you know when

housers have sandbagged their home one sandbag at a time for now the water is holding but. >> think you dodged to bullet? >> i can't answer that yet. >>> the bowl games turned out to be bowl busts. 332 yards as clemson remains perfect. and in the cotton bowl it was a sweet blow out from top to bottom as alabama rolled michigan state 38-0. and how are we looking weatherwise? >> we are looking cold in many parts of the country but we're also looking hopeful to the west. the past couple of years the drought has gotten worse. some improvements this year as you can see from 2014 to now. for texas. but that is about it. our hope? el nino. and it is beginning now. we're starting to see a series of storms come into the west. and this is the first one coming in sunday night. another monday into tuesday. both will bring ben official rain to california. not a lot but we'll take what we can get. we still have flood warnings up and down the mississippi. watching this very closely at the river in st. louis already crested but still so high and something to watch in the coming days and weeks. for toda

six sandbag stations are open in santa clara county. more than a dozen in contra costa. go to our website for more. >> this is storm number 3 of what i guess is now five. >> five systems are rolling into the bay area. yesterday's low pressure produced up to 4.5" of rain in 24 hours to the north. in the boulder creek area we saw 3.5" of rain. what concerns me at this hour as we look at our hi-def doppler radar, right off the santa cruz and monterey coast we are picking up dozens and dozens of lightning strikes and several have been confirmed to be cloud-to-ground lightning. heavy rain across the southern portion of the bay area lifting north. we saw 3.5" of rain over the santa cruz mountains yesterday. so there will be some areas of flooding. there will be some isolated mud slides. and as we look at our hi-def doppler radar over the peninsula, you can see the heavy rain showers from belmont through redwood city into palo alto there. will be airport delays at sfo. now we have the moderate rainfall lifting up to san francisco. to give you a little timeline of this, this jus

sandbags are standing by. every house hoping the keep the rain away. a nervous night though, for sure. >> her neighborhood has flooded before. this is what it looked like ten years ago when storm drains got overwhelmed. this time, there's better news. >> so far, so good. with the sandbags, they have been holding up. it hasn't been that bad. >> more rain is on the way. in san francisco, cornel cornell bernard, abc 7 news. >> san francisco tweeted this video today saying sometimes we have to use our push bumpers to clear traffic. from 12:00 this morning to 2:30 this afternoon, the highway patrol received 348 traffic collision calls. >> that's something. a car was creamed by a falling tree in alameda. check out the completely smashed windshield. >> and share your video and pictures on social media using the hash tag abc 7 now. that way we can use them on air or online at abc 7 news. >> special needs student is in the spotlight this evening and not in a good way. a disturbing video showing the teacher's aid hitting a young student. it happened yesterday in

all the areas where you can get sandbags on kron 4 kron4news-dot-com these two specific cases or lot of so it's taking advantage of that on its way. turnout breaking news officials confirming now that some of the american prisoners one of four americans released a prisoner exchange. spero that news yesterday at three here on newsweek and. >> marty: businessman not much is known about and also fifth person will that was recently detained was also released in freed americans are heading the u.s. military bases in germany. last night kate spoke of the family of jason in marin county. and a very relieved but in one go on camera during the interviews until they were sure. >> reporter: after 18 months jason was denied iranian prison. all started in july 2014 the authorities raided the home where he lived with his wife. nine months later he was indicted on espionage charges and then october last year jason was convicted and that secret trial sentenced to an unknown amount of time in prison. six weeks before he was arrested jason spoke the cnn about life and chevron. they and his colleagues

. >> reservoirs are three-quarters full and sandbags are available at several mill valley locations. we made it easy to find the closest location by heading to abc7news.com for complete list. >> pg&e crews worked to repair damaged power lines after a tree top polled in oakland hills. a neighbor said that tree was lean to one side for a while before it finally came down. >> high sin along the coast as the last of the storm moves law and this was the scene in pacifica, you can see why the national weather service issued a high subwarning yesterday afternoon and it expired an hour ago. all the snow is come down in the sierra and this is a look at the i-80 last night with highway patrol urging you to be careful if you are headed out for martin luther king jr. day. you can track the rain and flood watches by downloading our news app and enabling push alerts for the instant notification. >> the mother of a man killed by san francisco police and the attorney are requesting a department of justice investigation into the police department. 26-year-old mario woods died after officers shot him.

there are no sandbags even though broward is under of flood watch. the worst area is in delray beach . despite the sunny outlook at the beach it has been a steady drumbeat of rain in broward county. they were under a flood watch until late evening on thursday as the skies opened again tourists and beachgoers ran for cover. the good news is to spinal the rain, areas that vocationally fled stayed relatively flat free. the worst occurred to our north and delray beach. the surveillance camera at st. mary's anglican church captioner tornado blowing across the campus. check out this video of a delivery man standing outside the courtyard with his close whipping in the wind. they told me to check the strength of two people to shut the door. sucked out. >> reporter: the national weather service confirmed that a tornado with wind between 65 and 85 miles per hour hit the beach uprooting trees and causing other minor damage. it follows a tornado with wendy nearly 100 miles per hour that hit coconut creek and pompano on wednesday. they are lucky that the damage w

. >> if the sandbags don't work, people here will lose their main way in and out of the village. >> we used to have slush out there in the ocean to break the waves before they come in but we don't have any cold weather for our fall storm right now. >> ice used to protect the shore, but it's forming later every year. and as temperatures rise, the layer of frozen soil underground permafrost is melting, and it's becoming easier for the waves to erode the land. >> i'm still looking at water, i'm still looking at rain. >> for rep, the receding ice has also meant challenges in his other job as a whaling captain. >> every spring time, we prepare to go out on the ice, try to get the bowhead whale. and the past maybe 5 years, the ice has been receding so bad that we've been only out there for a week or two. twenty years ago we were out there at least a month, month and a half. >> this is one of our daily lifestyles - frozen fish, uncooked, untouched. >> remeber you guys, pray. >> jesus...bless my food, amen. >> we've always lived on the land, the sea and the air. it's what we grew up on. >> do

there are no sandbags even though broward is under of flood watch. the worst area is in delray beach . despite the sunny outlook at the beach it has been a steady drumbeat of rain in broward county. they were under a flood watch until late evening on thursday as the skies opened again tourists and good news is to spinal the rain, areas that vocationally fled stayed relatively flat free. the worst occurred to our north and delray beach. the surveillance camera at st. mary's anglican church captioner tornado blowing across the campus. check out this video of a delivery man standing outside the courtyard with his close whipping in the wind. they told me to check the strength of two people to shut the door. >> i felt like i was being sucked out. >> reporter: the national weather service confirmed that a tornado with wind between 65 and 85 miles per hour hit the beach uprooting trees and causing other minor damage. it follows a tornado with wendy nearly 100 miles per hour that hit coconut creek and pompano on wednesday. they are lucky that the damage was

. >>> reporter: neighbors are taking advantage of this sandbag station. >> they are taking care of us, that was awesome. >> just here to help. we will do anything to help people have their house knock it flooded. >>> reporter: in downtown napa rain is flooding into drains while drivers pass through cautiously with headlights on and windshield wipers fanning. out-of-towners are taking cover to avoid a drenching. >> we wanted to do some activities and now we are waiting to go back to the hotel. >>> reporter: others are not so down, instead of enjoying the rain. >> it was always sunny, and sometimes you know, you get tired of that. so rainy is good for us. the umbrella is in the car [ laughter ] we were going to go get it. >>> reporter: there was not much flooding by the time we left but the flash flood watch is still in effect and will be throughout the night if the rain continues to fall like it is. it may be a different story tomorrow. kron4 news. >>> an amber alert has been issued after a child was abducted. a one-year-old little boy was taken from an antioch home and officers are pr

these sandbag stations are encouraging people to take advantage of the calm before the storm. >> it isetter to be prepared than not. >> reporter: every grain of sand here is worth gold. >> when it rains hard, we have these bags. we are just preparing ourselves. >> reporter: this county typically gets hit with the worst of it. these neighbors are trying to stay ahead of the curb. >> we had some free time so i thought we could be on the safe side. >> reporter: two years ago this station ran out of sand at the worst time so the lesson has been learned.>> we are monitoring the dispense of sandbags a lot better this year. we stockpile to a point where we don't really need to worry about supplies. >> reporter: the sand comes from all over the bay area including the office of emergency services who balances the budget every year to account for things like this. >> this is what the evening commute is looking like. the wet roads are making for slow conditions on bay area freeways. we have another update on the storm in 10 minutes. >>> the 49ers today kicked off their search for a new head coach