more from the sierra. >> stephanie tran and her friends came from the sierra all the way from san joseousands attempted to do. >> the best weather i've had so far. >> like all the others, the mountain resort was packed with those capitalizing on the 8 feet of snow our last storm dropped. >> absolutely came the perfect p time, right before the presidents' weekend, the crowds got up here. >> allowed late snowgoers to fill cash regioners at resorts and shops. >> caltrain did a wonderful job clearing i-80. now it's wide open. we got a good turnout. >> these stores aren't always about the resort and ski shops. sometimes not to find these hidden gems, you know, the free ones. >> where are your pants? oh! >> he has 'em. >> that guy over there. >> actually only one pair for the ride home but we got stuck overnight. >> i've never been around this much snow. i'm having a last. >> let's go on the lift again! >> even if the mini slopes aren't for everyone, everyone agrees this snow definitely is. >> it's like even sled but the snow is definitely great. >> we are getting some incredible weather pic

>>jacqueline: for a locally mean snow in the sierra.here's a live picture from our heavenly ski resort camera. a low visibility just looks all white because the snow is flying in the sierra at this hour. we are seeing heavy snow at that, you can see where the end of rains in the snow starts. the yellow indicates very heavy rainfall moving into a heavy snowfall is a pushes into the sierra. the north bay hasn't seen much, most of the rain has been in the south bay. we're same rate as far north as the golden gate and light sprinkles for the sellnorth bay. have the cells pushing into the south at this hour. zooming close are, the heavy rain is over milpitas and pushing up to the north towards the diablo range. a water view picture of what's going on, the storm pushed out of this of yester day and back in the bay area. it's moving back to the north and you could see the motion of that. it's not going to be a good time to drive to this here tonight i would wait till tomorrow. watch the heavy rain in the bay area this afternoon, we will see po

this is a live look at the sierras. you can see the snow-covered road ways in the tire chain laws in effect for this region with the workers know advisory/warning until 12:00 p.m. christine connolly gives us a look at the road conditions for the holiday weekend. if you're going to go to the mountains. >> blue canyon, it is blanketed him. if you're going to go lake tahoe? is going to take you a long time. let me show you the roads interstate-80 west. it is moving quickly but it is a different story on i e.d.- east. it is at a standstill. tire chain laws in effect interstate 80-east--and if you're going to lake tahoe please allow yourself some time with a full tank of gas. christine connolly, kron 4 news. >> the major part delay part-cash par the transit system known as bart. it was a busy commute to a screeching halt. >> i was stuck on my dream for 20 minutes and then they said i would not wish to be going away on my-trained. >> this tiny piece of metal was found on the oakland rails. >> it is unbelievable that that woul

reporting from highway 50 in the sierras, rob fladeboe. >>pam: continuing coverage www.kron4.com we will be right back. ñ [ female announcer ] for a limited time, get sizzler's 6oz, fresh cut, tri-tip steak plus our endless salad and dessert bar for just $10.99. sizzler. thinking fresh. everyday. >> >>pam: see >> the dow jones was up 30 points. see >> and with another up some >> and rob black is here. >>rob: with based on international news out there. and it just did not even surprise anybody. it started a lower, and it eventually got higher. an example with earnings per share was up $75 per share, now in his $95 per share on the s&p 500. with another 20% upside. if we continue with what we see publicly, around the world. see > >> and what would manufacturing impact? >>rob: that is having an entire impact on the economy. >> and what about jobless claims? >>rob: and first still, we will take these numbers. and slowly but surely we are getting better. >> the consumer pricing? >> yes, and what we are paying for air fare, and for cars. and gas

in the sierra and the bay area. there is highway 80 in the sierra, nice and clear going there. roads are clear, plenty of sunshine there. reports of up to 9 ft. of snow falling since tuesday. bringing it home to mount tam. a beautiful shot here. a light dusting of snow from a few days ago. let's check in with brian. >> reporter: nicer day for today, nicer than yesterday. clouds, rain, snow, that'that sm is is southern californians now. temperatures today still cool in upper 40's, then for tomorrow there's a weather system tracking down the coast, the forecast keeps the system off shore. if it tracks farther east, we could see the difference between a dry day and wet day. for now chance of rain in the forecast. that system goes by, out of here by tuesday, wednesday. dry conditions return along with mostly sunny skies, highs low-mid-50s. by thursday, friday, another cold system coming down out of british columbia, canada. bring and chance of rain, possibility of more snow over the higher elevations of the bay area. we will keep you posted on that. suchlike tahoe last night some w

it is snowing up in the sierra. now see this is kind of a deceptive. little low spinning there you get the cold air things calm down. once we start to warm up you will see the clouds bubble up. possible thundershowers in the north bay. a line of moisture is taking a an aim at the south bay. the rain is coming down out of the santa cruz mountains. i was just looking at the web camera at san jose state it shows foggy conditions and rain. some of the rain at lexington reservoir. orrin da had an inch and a half of rain. san jose and oakland picked up .87. look at the temps. 30s in the north. 40s in the south. there is a distinct dividing line and it makes it really tough. this will give us rain mainly to the south. snow up in the mountains. it will push south. the next system coming down right there it pumps it along. this is the one if it stays off the coast it will be fine. it's just too hard. you have to pick a model and go with it. low snow levels again. down around 2,000 feet. unbelievable reports coming out of lake county. sierra snow winter storm wa

the sierra is blanketed in snow. there is a winter storm warning in effect snow levels getting down to 4,000 ft.. they could get 2 ft. of snow. gusty winds up there as well. future cast 4, continuing to keep chance of rain through the day, 9:00 a.m. another cell is moving and bringing heavy downpours in. by about noontime and into the afternoon we will continue with spotty showers, pop-up showers in the evening hours and early morning hours for tomorrow. 7 day around the bay, wet whether for the rest of the work week, saturday, sunday less of a chance of rain. the overnight temperatures expected to drop down as well. >> george: we have been attracting high wind advisories, lame shutdownslean shutdowns asn no one end to 80 this connecting ramp onto the bid to 80 extension280 extension. you sees truck with men trying to repair this sign. yoli what have you been able to learn? >> reporter: they took them one of those signs that were really damage. it was dangling from one end. almost perpendicular to the highway. they'r

this note is all over the sierra. 3,000 ft.ight now but it will get down to a thousand feet later. chain requirements are required. you will need a chain saw and 80, highway 50, and then highway 88 you will need chains. right now is closed between silver lake and kirkwood. give yourself extra time. once you get up there it will be great. snow levels to thousand feet today, 1 ft. of snow today. tomorrow 4 in. on the ground, by sunday chance of snow here and there. snow levels risin300 rising 3,00 ft.. monday will be a carbon copy of sunday. 5:41 a.m., we will be back. >> louisa: welcome back to kron 4 morning news. storm tracker for a bit of a different story today. trying out the north bay but if you move to livermore in the south bay plenty of rainfall, and snow through the diablo range. also lexington hills appeare. as we why did itt weather still sitting offshore. we expect some of this depression to the bay later this morning. by 7:00 a.m., continuing to see the bulk of wet weather in the south bay. towards 11:00 a.m., the

also we have looked up in the sierra.t alpine meadows. 86 in., new snow over ft, 8 lifts open. home what base depth of 94 in., new snow 12 in., 6 lifts open. north star base depth of 55 in., 13 in. of fresh new powder, 16 lifts open. >> erica: we are still tracking is significant delay if you're headed up to the bay bridge this morning along westbound 580, and northbound direction of the nimitz freeway. conditions are improving but the mix of wet weather out there in the earlier accidents really tied up the ride. more stretches of yellow and your screen indicating 35 mi. an hour. we are seeing more shuffling headed into the city right now the meter lights are on. 880 may be your best approach. if you're coming the shore freeway those are problem free conditions. golden gate bridge southbound 1 01, it looks good weather wise and traffic wise. southbound 101 looks good, traffic forflowing freely. they're asking you keep both hands on your will as we do have a strong wind advisory. no problems for public transit. mark? >> ma

sierra. 52 yosemite. 55 san jose.till show of those low 60s for this time of year but, hey, we'll take it. it's a little bit of a warm-up. 53 san mateo. breezy here, low 50s. it's gonna take a while to get out of those 40s. 52 downtown, advertised 62 this time of year. 48 still throw in clear lake. 54 in san leandro and out over the hills more smell melt at mount diablo. 64 livermore and down by the monterey bay, chance to dry out for 54 in salinas today. the 7-day forecast, fewer clouds tomorrow. i think we'll stay dry though. tuesday, wednesday increasing clouds thursday and maybe another cold storm headed our way. but if it is really cold, it's not going to hold a lot of moisture. it's whether or not it's going to be so, so cold or a little milder. we'll stay tuned on that one. >> massive works from an ancient civilization in mexico are on display in a museum. what's fascinating is the millstry around the almac. no one knows where they came from or where they went. don sanchez offers up some clues. >> huge stones w

i'm also a life member of the sierra club, as this little pin commemorates. unfortunately, i'm here today to speak against the opposition letters submitted by the sierra club. i also served on the executive committee several years ago. the opposition letters, i believe, were ushered through these organizations by an on- again/off-again member of the sierra club, who i believe misled these groups to take recology positions take and the department of the environment -- take positions against recology and the department of the environment. as a base primarily on out of context. and not sound environmental grounds. an additional irony for me personally is that i'm here today defending recology's landfill proposal. i do not like landfills. to

sierra light snow today.y cloudy in los angeles but temperatures mainly in the 40s to the north with snow above 2,000 feet lake county and mount hamilton today. kristen? >> lisa, thanks a lot. 6:42. armed patrols and tanks are patrolling the streets of bahrain this morning, the latest center for political protest in the middle east. abc's reporting at least five people have been killed. jenelle wang is live in the news room with the latest developments. >> kristen, the military in bahrain has taken control of key parts of the capital and put them on lockdown. banks are closed, workers are staying home and the government urging bahrainians to stay off the streets, this after things turned violent in a predawn raid. at least five people were killed and many more critically wounded and missing after hundreds of police officers stormed the protestors' make shift encampment using tear gas and rubber bullets. demonstrators have been mostly peaceful. the people demanding greater political freedoms and more jobs. gov

we have good conditions in the sierra.sierra over the past 24 hours. >> erica: if you're headed out the door there is rain bay area wide. fortunately only one hot spot to go the approach to the bay bridge toll plaza. not good news if you're headed here but look at the back up still stacked up along edt, reports this back up stretches toward the foot of the maze. --along the 880--in addition to the back up and rainy weather we have a strong windy advisory for the bay bridge. that camera is shaking around, strong wind advisory just past the toll plaza on 92. still looking at good drive times of 14 minutes across the span feared if you're coming out of th. chp is askinge with extra caution. sierra chain requirements this morning 80 , i wait 50, and highway 88. highway 58 and highway 88. >> james: you can follow eric got on twitter. follow very few would. winter storm warning for the sierra is in place until saturday. video that was recorded at 7:00 a.m. this morning. 80 at truckee, 50 admirers in the south lake area. >> repor

if you're planning on going to the sierras?ials are saying to please bring your blankets, food, water, tire chain laws are in effect and a full tank of gasoline. and checkpoints along highway-50 admire about driving conditions in the mountains and more people need to know. tire chain laws. >> is this your vehicle? >> good morning. >> for several hours on end, for export, or cars? as he is approaching a time looking at his tires, they are new. proper tread on a 4 x 4. that is all you need, or a 4 x 4. if it is a to will drive, tire chain laws are a requirement. if it is only two-wheel drive vehicle--keep yourself safe following distance. please just go slow. people cannot rely so treacherous it is. >>pam: the snow plows are trying sin full force. however, the snowfall is so heavy. rob fladeboe earlier was at echo summit. interstate-80 is still close to both directions. and it is not advised to be travelling right now to there. right now, redwood city conditions. christine connolly? >>reporter: right now, with a sedimentary break

citi can help you write it. >> mark: continuing to monitor the area in the sierra.ng us from sierra. >> caller: we have wind out here but we have 3 ft. of snow over 24-hour spiri power. we are gett snow here. >> darya: here's the thing, say the upper lips are closed. heavenly has some black diamond run in the front. normally i can't ski that. but when you have this much snow, it's almost like a controlled all it is fun. >> caller: even when you have wind it's a great mountain. we have so many different notes and crannies you can have a great time people were skiing all day yesterday. when you have this much snow like you said, it's the only thing you can ski. >> mark: we had a ton of snow in november, december then we had a few weeks break and now we get more is a superb winter? >> caller: we would like to see more consistent, once a week. we are glad to be reminding people in this winter. we still have 2 months left, the storm is great for that. >> darya: holiday weekend is coming up and i've been to another resort they have a new thing. it's this fast pass. it wil

there is snow on the go up in the sierra. winter storm warnings tonight. 50s or upper 40s. 48 to 52 should cover it. we will keep unsettled conditions in today. i'm wishing, pam, i'm wishing tomorrow is fine. sunday and monday look good. next system on tuesday. >> we are looking for saturday because of the chinese new years parade. >>> bay bridge commuters should expect another round of detours on the bridge this may. they are to make way for construction of the new eastern span. cal tran says some temporary eastbound and westbound lanes will be built near the section where the bridge touches down in oakland. if all goes well the project could be finished four to six months ahead of schedule in 2013. >>> sex in the park what one local city is doing to get people to get a room. >>> is she or isn't she? what sarah palin says about running for the white house. >>> and i can see san mateo from here. traffic is moving along pretty well. we'll be right back. >>> good morning, there are breaks in the clouds and cold temperatures nor

. >> and check out the sierra. the snowplows are out on i-80 at squaw valley. >> now a look at live doppler 7hd. >> and it is very active right now. the heaviest rain associated with the front is here. let's look at live doppler 7hd and we will show you where it is falling right now. we have seen reports of almost two inches of rain in santa rosa. the russian river area, three and a half inches of rain has fallen. we can see the rain has eased up a bit around american canyon and vallejo. we are still seeing heavy returns. san francisco, daily city toward the -- daly city and toward san bruno. you can see heading east toward oaknd la, alameda and and the 680 area was seeing heavy rainfall right new. as we pan down across the santa cruz mountains, there are heavy downpours. the wound advisory has been issued -- the wind advisory has been issued and it continues. southeast winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour. gusts anywhere from 60 to 65 miles an hour. we also have a high surf advisory. it goes into affect tomorrow m

another powder day in the sierra. i did a little skiing yesterday and the snow is incredible up there. with another foot coming in on top of it today, it's a powder alert. back to you guys. >> that's good. i was just going to ask you where did you ski? i know just about a month ago the last long weekend martin luther king, jr. weekend i heard from people it was spring skiing and slushy. is it nice now? >> reporter: i love spring skiing in the sierra, just not in january. we had a month of spring skiing now we're back in winter and it is full winter. sugar bowl yesterday and again two feet of snow up there. another foot on top of it today it's going to be incredible skiing. little heavy yesterday but this cold air coming in evident by the low snow the powder is going to be great. >> we know you love snow. that's evident when we talk to you. i was looking for signs of your snow office. the cave you build and cook out of. do you have that up there with you this time? >> reporter: that's up a blue canyon. it's not portabl

into the sierra there is a winter storm warning in affect for central sierra. and there is a chance of new snow at lake level. and there is also an avalanche advisory in effect until 8:00 in the morning. and danger is high and there is low temperatures dropping into mid-30s inland areas and there is quite a chilly night. tomorrow a cool day, highs upper 40s to low 50s. and there is the accu-weather forecast. a dry day sunday. a chance of showers monday, president's day. there is a couple mainly dry days and a chance of showers thursday and friday this, is our winter pattern. >> finally staying with us for a while. >> just ahead the end of the capitol freebies. the governor makes a painless cut in state spending. >> and what it takes to groom slopes for a big ski weekenenenn >>> now, breaking news, bart cut power to west oakland stations so workers with k.walk on the tracks and see what is smoking down there meaning no trains can go through west oakland for some time there. is a bus bridge no. word on when they can restore power, earlier bart held a grand openin

. >> a good amount of snow on the sierra mountains as -- as well. more on that late nert newscast. >>> antioch where pros prosecutors say a 2-month-old bay when his father allegedly punched his son in the face. he admitted to punching him tuesday to stop him from crying and that left the baby brain dead. he was removed from life support yesterday and the father is charged with murder and the 23-year-old is also charged with assaulting another son and his wife. >>> in east oakland, a couple headed to a party was shot and killed early this morning. police say a redwood city man and his girlfriend were sitting in a parked car on hilton street, when more than one gunman opened fire. and police have no suspects. the motive is unknown. it sparks oakland's 18th and 19 the homicides of the year, up from eight at this time last year. >>> and an arrest in a brutal murder last week in san francisco, 24-year-old wahed tassmatra is suspected of strangling and beating his roommate and it happened on bush street at the apartment february 11. is a motive is still u

this note is really coming down in the sierra.iis is the scene people were trained to deal with the forecast comes for snow to come down as fast as 3 in. or more prior.per our. another strong likely to hit this afternoon to tomorrow. expect more snow before the weekend. let's get the latest on the forecast. now, here is a look at the weather. >> louisa: rainfall totals, check it out in san francisco 46. novato 1.29, san rafael 1.67, not up 0.73, richmond 1.23. these are pretty impressive rainfall totals we have more on top of that. once again storm tracker 4 is all lit up, showing us that wet weather. the prepared to use those wiper's give yourself extra time this morning. the peninsula from san francisco that the san mateo getting wet weather. 30 reports of lightning and thunder storms. we will take a closer look show you rainfall rates coming down 0.2 in. per hour. heavier rain ran along 580, 680. and as you take it over to i- zer80 we had some rain coming through. we're also seeing some snowfall and the higher elevations. not j

the snow still coming down in the sierra. skiers loving it.s nick janes shows us, driving is treacherous, to say the least. >> reporter: cars spinning out, big rigs jack knifing, even a chain installer injured in a crash. we have seen a bit of everything, a far cry from the calm conditions here 24 hours ago. what a difference a day makes. here's blue canyon yesterday with very little snow on the ground and here's how it looks today. pummeled with fresh powder. another foot could fall here by tomorrow, several feet possible for the ski resorts. despite an army of plows making the rounds, interstate 80 is snow-covered and slick, wind is gusting more than 40 miles an hour, blowing snow all over the place. at times, creating near white- out conditions. caltrans stopped traffic after a big rig lost its chains just east of baxter spinning out and blocking i-80. a chain installer was hit near over land trail on eastbound 80. the crash resulted in major injuries. can't blame you if you would want to wait it out but if you're curious to look like what

so wait a bit if you are planning a trip to tahoe or the sierra. chairs are required on 80, 50 and 88. that's a check of traffic and your weather forecast. back to you. >> thank you. >>> snow levels are dropping fast in the sierra. drivers facing a pretty rough commute as you just heard from elizabeth. you are going to need chains through the mountains this morning. heavy snow expected today. the cold air could bring us as much as two feet to the tahoe area. a storm warning in effect for the northern sierra and much of western nevada through saturday morning. so if you are braving the elements, don't forget those chains. >>> of course you can track the storm yourself. just log on to cbssf.com, click on weather, and you can find our interactive hi-def doppler for your neighborhood. so check that out. >>> in other news now, the united nations human right council is holding an emergency session today to discuss the crisis in libya. members are trying to decide whether to condemn the north african country for its crackdown on anti-government protestors

high sierra. news for snowboarders. here at boreal, they couldn't be happier. others are taking refuge from cold temperatures and high winds on the slopes. boreal says they are thrilled about the snow-filled forecast this week. it's just in time for one of their busiest holiday weekends. >> going to freshen everything up and looks like it's going to clear up for the weekend which is going to be perfect for us. >> snowfall in the sierra is expected to be the heaviest tomorrow and continue into thursday morning. >>> were they playing beer pong? [ laughter ] >> i didn't catch that. >>> two spots in the bay area where you probably won't want to leave your car. according to the website neighborhoodscout.com, the peralta villa in oakland is the third worst neighborhood in the country for stolen cars. if you park there, there is a one in 7 chance it won't be there when you come back. also on the list, the area around cabrillo road in san jose, that neighborhood came in at number 8. >>> some stores in sou

jana katsuyama is live in the sierra and meteorologist has the latest forecast track, but start with patty lee. >> we've been covering damage here in the north bay all day, and required us to be in the pouring rain for the past 2 hours, but as miserable as this looks, it's the wind causing the most problem. >> the sound and site of sparksm wires alarmed residents off this drive. >> i saw the lights flickering d i better come out and check it, and then i saw the arc. >> the fire department monitorel pg&e crews could come by. >> right now gust of 30 miles an hour. >> as early as 2:00 in the afternoon, winds kept fire crews at the ready. >> we've had one call for a tree down on the road way. >> wind caused serious problems in santa rosa and, gusts up to 30 miles an hour sent this tree and the shut down turned the highway into a parking lot. >> it has the potential to be by because there's trees coming down, wires down, that's pretty much what we're looking at. the rain not so much a factor. >> but in forestville, cars wero drive through several inches of water. and that rain arrived in

both lanes are traffic are flowing freely the sierra. this is i-80 at truckee. skiers and snowboarders capitalized on the eight feet of snow. later the clouds visited allowing late visitors to fill the cash registers and rental shops. >> caltrans did a wonderful job clearing i-80, and people can get up here, and we have a good turnout. >> alan: thousands of people battled the storm to get to the snow but say the fresh powder is worth it. >> we're getting incredible weather pictures from our viewers. this is a snowy scene on skyline drive. a guy trying out his mountain back in the slush on mt. tam, courtesy of jordan. and a couple of e-mail 's, pictures of daughter posing with two snow people. this picture was taken in saratoga at highway 9. you can send us your photos and video by uploading them to you report abc7news.com, or e-mail them to kgo tv.com. >>> in oakland, a shooting left two people dead. it happened near the oakland airport. there are at least two victims, one in critical condition. officers tried to lock down the hotel but had trouble comiewp indic

more from the sierra. >> stephanie and her friend came to the sierra all the way from san jose to do what thousands of others did, or attempted to do that. >> this is the best time of-- best weather i've had so far. >> and like all the others, going up the mountain was packed with those capitalizing on eight feet of snow the last storm drop. >> absolutely came at the perfect time, before president's weekend and everybody was excited to get up here. >> the clouds left at the perfect time, too, allowing late snow goers to fill cash registers at resorts, restaurants and shops. >> we were going slow because of the chain controls, but cal-tran did a great job clearing i-80. it's open and we have a good turnout. >> the stores aren't always about the resorts and ski shops, sometimes it's finding hidden gems, you know, the pretty ones. >> woo! >> where are your pants? >> he has them. >> that guy over there. >> and ashley only brought one pair for the ride home, but stuck overnight. >> i've never been around this much snow, i'm having a blast. >> woo! >> and going again. >> and even if the mi

if headed to sierra for the holiday weekend. what you may not know is how much work is going on right now even as we speak to make sure skiing conditions are just as good as possible. >> late in the day. as you are taking your last rundown the slope. these modern day mountain men are just getting to work. this is the the snow grooming team at heavenly. one of lake tahoe biggest ski resort. it takes 16 snow cats running all night to keep the slopes in top condition. >> a lot of veteran operators here. we have about 250 years of combined person on the crew. >>reporter: this year they all want the same thing. >> yes everyone wants to run the beast. >>reporter: the beast. is a brand new grooming machine bigger and more efficient than ever before. and in the world of snow cats, it is considered the sporty model. >> 500 horsepower. designed on the inside by an italian company. work for ferrari. >>reporter: the fleet include 2 beasts. we rode along with keith and brian as they headed out to make their mark on the snow. >> show up here

expect to need chains early on in the sierra foothills.eaks' will get a dusting of snow. keep it tuned here much more on what they're in a few minutes. the debate over benefits for retirement has exploded nationwide including in our backyard and agency is calling on jerry brown and a legislature to freeze pension benefits for state workers and overhaul the existing system. the commission recommends the state move from of benefit plan to a model similar to of 401 k plan. jerry brown debate it with lawmakers yesterday over how to address california's $26 billion budget deficit. this is video of him trying to sell. it would allow voters to decide on a five-year extension on tax increases we will keep an eye on that. here is alive look aside. north bay ride a wet one as you can see. a detailed lookit forecasting two minutes. >> james: 5:45 a.m., talking about the weather. we were going to check with craig, but we have heavy selling of been through right now. here are having a hard time getting ahold of him. the rest of the bay area we will tal

perfect weather in the sierra. a look at the conditions there and how the slow drive there led to a little bit of a surprise for those who made it. >>> plus, the invitations are in the mail always the countdown to the wedding. year is on. hear what royal insiders are saying about who's getting one. >>> we're finally watching the rain and snow clear away from the bay area at this hour. look at the temperature there in san jose, 43 degrees. patchy fog could be a problem tomorrow morning. along with some icy roadways. we'll keep a track on both in your forecast coming up. >>> tens of thousands of protesters braved the cold in wisconsin today in the largest demonstration yet over a controversial budget bill. the measure would strip public employees and most of their collective bargaining rights. some tea party supporters showed up, most of the 55,000 people demonstrating today were students, teachers and other public service workers opposed to the plan. they say the bill will undo what labor leaders fought for decades

so that is clearly the concern tonight here in the sierra. as far as travel, if you are heading any where up toward the foothills or sierra, have those chains and be ready to chain up far sooner than you normally would. this snow continues to fall in elevation. live just outside the town of nevado city, now back to you. >> it looks miserable down there. we're talking about snow in the sierra, we're also talking about snow here. you relevantly think we can get -- you really think we can get snow in san francisco? >> yeah, i think some where between friday night and saturday morning. snow on market street, that's a whole other story. but this air mass, we haven't seen this like in 30 years. it's very cold. one of the big stories will be the bay communities. snow is going to close a lot of schools tomorrow as we go into another rainy period or another precipitation period. let's go outside. live storm tracker 2. we have the weather maps going. we have rain throughout the entire bay area. now of course that is impacting your afternoon commute. is

and the sierra gets slammed. federal spending plan but the possibility of a government shutdown still looms. >> californians among the americans on a yacht hijacked by somali pirates. >> we begin with the weather and the dangerous driving conditions. let's start with the sierra. if you have plans to drive there this morning, you might want to reconsider. as you can see right there, this is a live picture of i-80 at truckee scales. lots of snow on the side of the roads. there's not much of a backup right now anywhere. it's clear in most spots but chains are required on 80 from baxter to the nevada state line and 50 at meyers. there's snow at lower elevations. grizzly peak at the hills last night. a rare sight. the elevation here under

the bulk pushing into the sierra valley. we have live video for you now from blue canyon in the sierra. take a look at the white-out conditions here. very heavy snowfall coming down. we could pick up to another foot of snow before the morning is over in some places in the sierra nevada. snowboarders, i had a lot of angry e-mails over the past few weeks. that's all changing so let's talk about what's to come. for us in the bay area, the heaviest of the rain is done. we'll continue to see light scattered showers, then the cold air moves in. that's an indication of a cold air mass that follow this is cold front. that could bring our temperatures to the freezing mark as early as tonight. even better chance as we head toward this weekend. if you have agricultural interests pay attention to the forecast as we head through the next few days. right now you can see most of the heavy rain is pushing to the east of san jose. we have light pockets here and pockets of yellow pushing to the south bay. that's where the heaviest rain is com

looks more like the sierra than the bay area. there's snow on mount tamalpais, mount diablo and down at the saratoga gap. for more on the snow and rain conditions, let's check in with meteorologist lisa argen. >> good morning, everyone. we still have showers popping up around the bay area. notice the spotty nature of the activity. another weather system in the north bay heading towards inverness, novato, also towards san rafael. on the peninsula, burlingame, monetary ra looking at rain as well as woodside into redwood city and over on into the east bay. san leandro and castro valley, 680 and 880 getting wet. some of these showers will be coming down pretty heavy for a short time. a shower moving out of milpitas down on los gatos, watsonville and the santa cruz mountains is where we're looking at the heaviest activity. that will be the focus today. the cold air's in place. we still could see a rain/snow mix in the higher elevations. i'll have a look at the rest of your weekend which looks a lot drier coming up. >> thanks, lisa. ea

southern sierra. 59 los angeles. san diego. temperatures beginning to moderate tomorrow and back to the 60s for next week, although the rain will be coming back as well as far south as the central coast by the middle of the week. the numbers today in the mid-50s. still shy of our averages. 56 campbell and san jose. 52 pacifica. san francisco coming in a couple degrees warmer than yesterday. 53. north bay numbers ranging from the low 50s and bodega bay, 62 there and 55 napa. look for 55 in fremont today at about 3:00 this afternoon. berkeley 54 and over the hills, nice afternoon. definitely a chilly start. a ways to go, afternoon high of 56 in danville and today you'll see numbers, oh, a good 7 degrees warmer than yesterday's high. 57 in gilroy. the accu-weather 7-day forecast, a milder afternoon, still on the cool side though. not as cold tonight. slight chance of showers in our north bay tomorrow. tuesday not looking bad. more rain comes in late tuesday into wednesday and then we'll look for still a chance of rain o

. >>> and in the sierra in the past week they've gotten eight to 10 feet of new snow. and we're looking at the jam pack holiday and the max exdouse on the way. >> reporter: it's like the pipe piper, that snow brought a lot of people up here. this is a look at interstate 80 heading out of the hill, caltranss just moments ago confirming for me that this past hour, 2,150 cars an hour were passing over donor summit heading out of the sierra. there were so many cars, so many people out here today that the highway patrol had to crack down on an overflow problem. the crowds, the lines, the parking lots and the waits -- >> this is nuts. >> reporter: this is a look at how crowded in spots it was in the sierra on this long holiday weekend. >> crowded, it's definitely crowded. you would be lucky to find a parking spot. you better get here an hour ago. >> reporter: there are so many people flocking up to some of these onramps and off ramps, with all these cars there's no place to park. in some of these off lamps they actually wrote the words, no parking. two chp officers were issu

interstate 80 through the sierra was closed for most of the day because of heavy snowfall. and people who live up there are preparing for the worst. >> we have food to pack up and batteries for the lanterns and we got the regular gas lanterns at home too so we are getting ready for the power to go out. >> another foot of snow expected at the higher elevations by tonight. the forest service raised the avalanche threat, by the way to high. it says that unstable snow in the backcountry makes large destructive avalanches likely through tomorrow morning. >>> all right. back here in the bay area, this is in san mateo county. highway 84 just reaped a few minutes ago. -- just re-opened a few minutes ago. it had been closed in both direction for 7 hours because of what you see going on here. there was a tree that fell across that road took down some power lines, as well. pg&e was also in that area trying to trim some other trees that were near the power lines. so be aware of that in san mateo county. >>> all right. let's get back to roberta. she made promises. >> i made promises? an

. >>> the rain and wind here, of course, means lots of snow for the sierra. this is video along interstate 80 leer lake tahoe. traffic moving slowly but it came to a stand still earlier because of the snow. it quasi-actually shut down in both directions for three hours tonight. chains are still required. and still, the snowy roads are not enough to stop people from hitting the roads. kron 4's rob fladeboe shows us what they are finding. >> reporter: getting there is half the fun, right? a ski trip following a snow fall like the one now may be the exception to the rule. once you arrive it's all down here. highway 50, near 7,000-foot summit. the closest large resort to sacramento. 12 miles west of south take tahoe and they have a lot of new snow here. 38-inches of snow since tuesday. 21 in the past 24 hours. it's still coming down as you can see. it's that powder. it was wet yesterday but cooler today so much better conditions. visibility not that great. still, just great conditions here. keep in mind, there are chain restrictions on highway 50. two wheel vehic

>>pam: 5:30, incredible snowfall 2 the sierras. traffic is at a standstill.ate-80 closed in both directions. caltran is trying to clear this but it is coming down so fast jacqueline? some spots of rainfall are easing up but that snowfall is really coming down! >>jacqueline: exactly. they are getting what we have all buhad earlier put in their case is in the form of snowfall. >>pam: getting there is difficult? >>jacqueline: exactly. i would wait until saturday to get there. otherwise, you are just going to have to be waiting to of the snow and one big headache. and with south lake tahoe, plenty of snowfall blowing. the is take a look what is 1 0 1. regionally. the rainfall, with mostly dry conditions in the bay area. most of that moisture is going right into the redwood city area. the heavier weather cell let me tric fact trace the botto of that. and the heavy rain w

going into the holiday weekend it's a huge deal for the sierra economy. and you can bet they're going to do everything they can to keep the roadways open. >> that's interesting. i didn't know they camped out up there. thank you for joining us live there colfax off of 80. so as people head to tahoe we're going to be updating the weather and roads throughout the morning and tomorrow ahead of that big weekend. our coverage also continues on the channel 2 website where you can check storm tracker 2 any time. you can get the very latest ski conditions. click on the storm watch tab on our website at ktvu.com. >>> well, on capitol hill congress is going through president obama's spending plan line by line looking for places to cut. house republicans are looking to cut $61 billion for the remaining seven months of the federal fiscal year that ends to be the 1st. so far the only thing democrats and republicans have been able to agree on canceling $450 million for a back up engine for a fighter jet. >>> massachusetts senator scott brown is speaking out about the ye

a live look at i-80 this morning, where the sierra definitely catching some snow, but even sierra foothills! >>> the stormy weather on the east coast caused frightening moments in air travel. officials at logan airport say two boston bound jetblue flights were struck by lightning last night. both jets managed to land safely but the smell of smoke was reported on one of the planes. no one was injured. >>> the largest low budget airline is getting more expensive. southwest is raising its fares by $10 for a round-trip ticket. the company says it needs the money to offset higher fuel costs. jet fuel prices have realize on by 50% in the past year. southwest spend more than $3 billion on fuel last year and this move is the latest in a series of price increases from major u.s. airlines. >>> this morning finance chiefs are pressure china to except a deal on tracking economic imbalance. the group of 20 has been asked to come up with a list of indicators to measure the imbalance, but officials say china is resisting any possible solutions and has emerged as a country to convince. despite the oppositi

and they're going to head home particularly from the sierras. c h p tony is on the phone. how were the conditions? thank you for joining us. >> pam, everything is running pretty smoothly. it is heavy by our standards by every means interstate 80- west. however, i am finding that a lot of people are here. and even have on this team. perhaps i don't know if they're going to be staying this evening because they're still-skiing with conditions are predominantly dry roads. no changes in effect but if your coming up? there are no tire chain laws in effect. the weather could change quite rapidly. within 15 minutes, he could the tireto beat-raining. and bring all of your items in case you are delayed. we're not able to foresee accidents. however, we have had some standouts. this weekend primarily. with-spin out sick. with non-injury related or no-interest with spin out's. so snow conditions but we're going to be clearing the snow for the rest of the week. >>pam: a number of live cameras through c h p and it looks pretty clear. there is the black ice issue. >> yes. it has been cold

>>pam: we continue tracking the storm in the sierra. we're joined on the phone by christine conley just drove up to tahoe this afternoon. what's it like? >>christine: started singing snow on the ground near colfax. just 15 minutes later you could actually see it snow blanketing the ground and trees. that started to change around 4,000 ft. when we saw snow plows on the road against the snow came down fast. you could see how fast the wind chill wipers are going. we saw our first spin out of pickup truck. this is where traffic went to a crawl. it truck drivers put on the change. once we went to blue canyon that's when everyone had to put chains on from there to trucking. you can expect the drive to be quite long. with those changes expected to double or triple the time. a lot of snow at a lower elevation as people are just not used to seeing. back to pam. >>pam: they christine. our internet reporter carefully sakamoto has a look at your pictures coming in. -- kimberly. our first pictures. >>kimberlee: you could see the street completely do

. >>> let's go up to the sierra, higher elevations there. we want to show you a live look right now outside of trucky. you're looking at the trucky scales on i-80. more snow falling along with ice on the trees and on the streets as well. that could be a dangerous combination for people making their way up to the sierra for the weekend. emergency crews say nevada county was hit hardest by the storm system. many streets are closed due to downed trees and power lines, they have lost electricity to 23,000 customers up there. at last count 270 different outages were reported in the sierra. this much snow at 2500 feet causing some long-time residents to be even a little bit nostalgic. >> i was born and raised here, but i would say this goes back 15, 20 years since we had a storm like this. >> in grass valley street flooding and storm drains blocked by snow were all over the place. we, of course, ask you to stay with us. we'll have continuing storm coverage at the latest tonight at 11:00 with the flurries and what's happens in the sierra. >>> all t

we will see strong winds in the sierra. gusts up to 110 mi. an hour and the dumping of snow over night tonight into tomorrow morning. when 2 3 ft. at likable and his flashy at high levels here is a look at your 7 day around the bay, tomorrow scattered showers. it thursday, lighter showers expected but cold temperatures will start the day. bush will be blessed ring cooler out there tomorrow and thursday. heavier rain on friday expectant in the weekend things will be expected to come down and try out. >>pam: jonathan blum was traveling near the san rafael bridge where a wind advisory is in effect. >>jonathan: the rain is storm to come down here, the raid actually falling and the windshield looks like a horizontal dashes. that is how quickly the wind is blowing and very fiercely across the bridge. you could see traffic is a little bit slow, people of been made aware of this high wind advisory of signs leading up to the bridge telling people to look out for win. when is slowing from right to let the sec on the tv. is coming in us. you can see, tre

you can see the bulk is situated over the sierra.re headed to the sierra carry chains and drive the four will drive. snow will continue today. they will drostill levelw 1,000 ft. tomorrow. winter weather advisory from 4:00 p.m. friday until 4:00 p.m. saturday. snow levels look like they will get down to 500 ft., the potential for snow is there and you could actually get 1 in. of snow falls. we also have a freeze warning in effect in the north bay belly. temperatures expected to get into the 20s, on your sunday your colder spot could get to 23 degrees. your www.showbomb.com ski report with all the latest. alpine meadows base that's 125 ft., piles of snow. new snow 13 in., 12 lifts are open, home wha14 sugar bowle depth 128 in., 9 lifts are open. much more snow expected. george? >> george: 101 northbound, we had an accident out here that started to back up the ride out here. even now one lane is blocked. that is the last stretch of heavy traffic 41 01. for 101. slow in both directions approaching san antonio road in mountain view. toll

with feet of snow expected by wednesday the sierra economy is looking for a return of crowds just in time to cash in on the traditionally lucrative president's day holiday weekend. >> with the return of winter things people look at their skis and boards again and think, let's get back out there. >> here live, the snow is still falling up here. to give you a sense of how dry january was, sugar bowl said they had 300" of snow in november and december. in january, 21. with as much as three feet of new snow, on the way this week, they will be able to re-invigorate the season and last through until easter. live at soto springs, back to you. >> definitely looking to get a lot more people. you going to be up there tomorrow? >> we'll see. roads couldn't have been better given that there was snow. so hopefully, we can get up here nice and easy before the big snow hits later on in the day. >> we look forward to your reporting and as mike said, what a flip in conditions. they went from all-time record-setting snow in november and december to this dry stretch due to this la nia neea nina pa >>>

this is the sierras.a live report on what you can expect if you are headed that way. >>> air force one on the tarmac at sfo. when we expect the president to arrive to leave for oregon. >>> there's no snow foughting in the sierra foothills. caltrans moved the checkpoint on i-80. we'll have an update coming up. >>> it's been an incredible workweek. we're sunny and warm. we've had rain, storm, hail and will this continue into the weekend. it's time now for the second hour of "mornings on 2." >>> good morning. welcome back to "mornings on 2." i'm tori campbell. >> i'm dave clark. >> it's friday, february 18th. well, president obama's brief visit here to the bay area is just about to come to an end. in fact, air force one is due to leave sfo later this hour. kraig debro is out there right now. he's in the midst of everything surrounding the president's trip. good morning. >> good morning, dave. i'm on a media platform here at sfo. i want to show you a couple of things. this is -- we're kind of tight out here.

>> yes, sir. >> for areas around lake tahoe, truckee and other parts of the sierra.required on all the major highways but won't get any better. >> it's scary. how many hours you may wanna wait before testing it? >> the heaviest is until 10:00 this morning. whatever falls will freeze at a lower level tonight. tomorrow afternoon probably the best time to go but even then we're going to get more snow. not a great time. >> for driving. >> for driving. if you're there, great. i'd love to tell you a perfect time to drive up there, probably tomorrow afternoon honestly. let's look back here at home where we can see. nice, nice picture! we look at the clouds that are not nearly as thick as they were last night but they are moving rather fast and that will create the showers this afternoon. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd. that's where you see the steadier rain where the cold front is. in its wake we have strong surf. some big-time waves until 2:00 tomorrow morning. these are the scattered showers that are coming our way, the flash flooding, snow, hail, thunder, lightni