thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> an easy morning, thom. thank you.hit your neighborhood? time to download our free nbc bay area app to get those alerts when the rain is coming or the changing weather conditions heading your way. >>> 6:36 right now. now to a live look at sfo where desperation is growing for many passengers as flight cancellations are piling up by the thousands. mostly to southwest airlines. nearly 5,000 flights nationwide have been canceled and over 2,500 are from southwest. the situation now catching the attention of the u.s. department of transportation. similar circumstances continue to play out at the oakland international airport and others across the country. one family tells us they were trying to spend christmas with their son in san diego but their flight transferred them to oakland on sunday and they've been stuck here ever since sleeping on benches. >> we had to sleep here. >> they don't give any accommodations for you to eat or where to stay because of the bad weather. >> the airline says while they recover they've decided

thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> so sad. k you, thom. >>> moving you forward on covid vaccine booster shots. the fda is allowing children under the age of 5 to receive the omicron specific covid booster, so that means the third shot for most children. regulators will review the data in january to see if a fourth booster may be necessary. >>> time to get a look at the forecast before we leave this morning. >>> starts out with a lot of fog and clouds and then we see some sunshine today but it's our day to prepare for the high winds and heavy rain that is set to move in early tomorrow morning. this will be raining off and on throughout the week and it looks like we get some pretty decent rainfall totals. we'll be tracking that with updates throughout the day. >>> we do have a b.a.r.t. delay. they lower the speeds to make sure they can brake okay. this morning delays because of track maintenance. that may be a factor. also electrification work continues for the caltrain system. reduced service continues for weekend service as wel

in redwood city, thom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> how many christmas they trees do you think he has on the property right now? they said weather permitting, so weather permitting, it was good tonight. >>> we had this rain coming down by inches but the wind is much calmer, cold outside, certainly feels like the holidays, and numbers in the 30s again at this hour, around the bay area let's take you out to christmas in the park speaking of holidays, 44 degrees and all san jose right now, not too cold, downtown san jose, probably on the upper 30s towards tomorrow morning, and a pretty view around san francisco, 47 degrees, dropping it close to 45 tomorrow morning in san raphael, already down to 44 degrees and towards dublin, similar temperatures in the mid- 30s and we will have to watch out for some patchy areas of fog is setting up for the morning, so you have numbers already in the 30s and you may see it out towards fairfield already you are going to get there with that temperature, 37 down and notice the trend, the visibility is mild and wanted to drop off towards the central valley

thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> thom, thank you. >>> this morning five bay area counties are entering's high community virus tier. those include alameda, contra costa, san francisco, santa clara and solano counties all moved up from the medium or yellow tier to the highest or worst tier designated as red. the cdc recommends indoor masking. marin, napa, san mateo and sonoma are rated in the yellow tier. >>> and new this morning the air we breathe is a big concern in the age of covid, flu and rsv. like restaurants that receive letter grades, buildings are now receiving a seal of approval for their indoor air quality. we have more from "today in the bay's" bob redell. >> reporter: a biotech company in pleasanton has developed a harmless dna aerosol that stimulates the release of an airborne pathogen like covid or flu. sensors track that mist and determine whether or not the ventilation and air conditioning is filtering out those particles. >> the settings they had precovid. >> reporter: or allowing them to hover. >> air is invisible so people don't know what is happening. we make that vi

thom jensen is outside with more on what is happening today. >> reporter: hi, kris. a 17-year-old was also injured in this crash and hospitalized and then later arrested and charged in juvenile court with second-degree murder and street racing charges. 23-year-old kyle harrison, also of redwood city, he was charged about two weeks later and arrested at his home with the second-degree murder and street racing charges. he's the one who will appear in court today for that plea hearing. prosecutors say harrison and the other suspect were racing on november 4th and reached speeds over 80 miles per hour when the teenager was unable to stop and slammed into the van belonging to grace spiridon and greg ammen as they made a left turn on el camino real. it happened at about 8:00 p.m. that night. the married couple was killed in the crash and their twin 7-year-old daughters were injured and hospitalized. harrison, who is from redwood city, is in jail with no bail and is set for the plea hearing at 1:30 today. people across the bay area continue to express sorrow for the loss of

nbc bay area's thom jensen is live in san mateo county. this is where they're already preparing to see more beds for the holidays. >> reporter: they are, marcus, they already have an issue here in san mateo county where they have 68 icu beds in all, but four of them are filled at this point right now. fortunately, we saw 30 fewer hospitalized covid patients across the bay area last week, even as the daily average number of cases climbed to more than 1,400 daily here in santa matt county, the daily caseload averaged about 128 each day last week and there are 42 people hospitalized with covid. the county has set aside 67 beds at hospitals in san mateo county as surge beds and those are all available right now. if there is a big jump in serious covid cases, some u.s. hospitals are already dealing with a surge issue since thanksgiving. a houston hospital saw patient numbers double since mid-november and one of the top doctors said it's the same old story, many gather for the holidays, many don't take precautions and hospitals fill up with pati

thom jensen, what is it looking like now? i know it's calmed down compared to the rainfall. >> reporter: it did. we saw wind damage here, but most people are concerned about the rainfall and all the water. there are several sandbag locations like this around marin county and we've seen a lot of people coming and grabbing these bags. they're filled up and a lot of people are saying, wow, they filled them up this year. they're really appreciating what public works did for them this morning. this morning the water level went from less than 2 feet to over 6 1/2 feet in just a few hours. it's dropped a lot since then as the rain has dropped off, down to about 4 1/2 feet. but it can go back up just as fast, even faster when you get heavier rain later on this week. once it gets over 13 feet, that's when we start to see minor flooding, then major flooding at 17 feet, like we saw in 2005. with a few days of rain like we experienced this morning, we could easily reach that level. i ran into a man who was out here this morning who was g

live in san anselmo, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> allow a little extra time. it will be so wet. >>> if you want to keep track of what's going on with the rain, because a lot of it is coming down including some fog out there, when it will hit your neighborhood or how long it will stick around, download our free nbc bay area app. you will get those alerts when the showers or even a change are heading your way. you can track that rain using our interactive radar. >> now to a live look at sfo where desperation is growing for many passengers. this is flight cancellation pileups by the thousands mostly through southwest airlines. nearly 5,000 flights have been canceled nationwide and 2,500 are with southwest. the situation now catching the attention of the u.s. department of transportation. one family tells us they were just trying to spend christmas with their son in san diego but their flight transferred them to oakland on sunday and they've been stuck here ever since sleeping on benches. >> they don't give any accommodations to eat or where to stay because they s

thom jensen is live. e they're preparing to see more and more beds fill up after the holidays, thom. >> reporter: they are. good morning, laura and marcus. we are seeing about 30 fewer hospitalized covid cases across the bay area since last week. here in san mateo county right now 64 of the 68 icu beds in the county are taken. only four are available, not all with covid patients. there are 42 covid patients hospitalized in the county right now. covid cases are up 128 on the average daily over the past week. surge beds and those are all available right now. one example how private and public health care officials are working together while we have the possibility of holiday pictures. having enough beds available as people got together indoors. >> hugging and everything going on. people are getting sick and infections. >> reporter: covid hospitalizations doubled since mid-november. hospitals seeing similar increases. health officials say whether you're traveling by air, bus or train as you go home or to othe

. >> "today in the bay's" thom jensen live outside the courthouse. this is just one of the two suspects now in custody tied to that tragedy. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, marcus and kris. kyle harrison, a 23-year-old, he is one of two suspects that were arrested in connection with this crash that killed this couple. prosecutors say harrison and a 17-year-old suspect were racing through redwood city at speeds near 80-mile-an-hour when the teenager lost control of his car and slammed into the car the married couple was in, injuring their two 7-year-old daughters and killing them. harrison was arrested a couple of days later after the deadly collision. the teen was found at the scene of the crash near el camino real. harrison is in jail right now with no bail, and he will appear here in a few hours charged with second-degree murder. live in redwood city, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> thom, thank you. >>> more details this morning on the latest deadly traffic crash in san jose. the victim is being remembered as a fierce leader who fought

we're live in san francisco, thom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> thom, thank you. >>> new for you this morning, six people are in custody. they're accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of gas in the south bay. this happened at a valero gas station south of highway 101. police are telling us those suspects used a computer to take control of the fuel pump, so over time they siphoned $30,000 gallons of gas, putting most of it into plastic-lined garbage cans. they're also accused of causing $20,000 in damage to that equipment and investigators say surveillance footage helped crack down on this case. >>> let's take a live look at sfo where winter weather elsewhere is having a ripple effect for flights into and out of sfo. according to flightaware, more than 4,000 flights around the country have been canceled today and at sfo it's already more than 60 canceled flights before noon today. the problems are leaving lots of frustrated travelers. we spoke with one man from denver who is now in a holding pattern after his plane to the south pacific never arrived. >> we were aware some of the we

thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> thanks a lot, thom. >>> five bay area counties are entering the cdc'smmunity virus tier. alameda, contra costa, san francisco, santa clara and solano, all of them moved up from the medium or yellow tier to the highest or yellow tier designated as red. the cdc recommends masking in indoor masking. >>> the air we breathe is a big concern in the age of covid, flu and rsv. just like restaurants that receive letter grades, buildings are now receiving a seal of approval for indoor air quality. that thanks to a company in the east bay. here is "today in the bay's" bob redell. >> reporter: a biotech company in pleasanton has developed a harmless dna aerosol that simulates the release of a pathogen like covid or flu. it determines whether or not the ventilation is filtering out the particles -- >> this would be the settings pre-covid. >> reporter: or allowing them to hover. >> people don't know what is actually happening and so we make that visible to them on how systems are performing. >> reporter: they advise clients on how to better improve to earn the first

we're live in redwood city, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> be mindful of what's going on. bay a tiktok video showing a customer making bigoted, racist comments towards other customers at an in-n-out burger has gone viral. the incident happened around 10:00 p.m. on christmas eve at the in-n-out in san ramon. arine kim and her friend elliot ha were filming a tiktok about their order and that's when they say another customer came up to them making homophoic and anti-asian comments. eventually the other customer asked them to meet him outside. ultimately they walked away unharmed. we spoke with the college students about the incident. >> i think a lot of people don't take these kinds of situations very seriously. yeah, i think a lot of people don't end up taking these situations seriously. >> the video has been viewed more than 1 million times online. kim says she's been in contact with police as officers are trying to track down the man. we reached out to in-n-out about the incident but have not heard back. >>> three buses coming from texas dropped off a large group of migrant

. >> reporter: i'm thom jensen. sandbagging for the flood threat is under way. people coming here this morning picking up sandbags. this creek went from a trickle to a roaring waterway after sheets dumped on the area for hours this morning. it reached halfway to the flood stage at 6 1/2 feet and dropped to just over 4 feet. once it gets over 13 feet that's when we see minor flooding and major flooding at 17 feet. with heavy rains forecasted late they are week, people getting sandbag. some stacking for elderly neighbors and others told us they're seeing signs of water creeking in garages and homes. if you have to do the sandbagging yourself at your house, it might be start to come it and get the bags sooner rather than later. otherwise you got to grab a shovel and fill your own. >> great tip, john. thank you. it's great to be able to prepare, because it looks like the rain is going to be sticking around. meteorologist vianey has more on what you can expect. >> we are under a microclimate weather alert at least for the first half of your tuesday because of the atm

in redwood city thom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> i love that. >> looks so cute. >> yeah.e now to check in with cynthia for a look at our micro climate forecast. how will the weather be for people who want to go out and enjoy the holiday decor? >> well, remember last weekend we were all locked up inside. this weekend is much better to get out there and enjoy all of the festivities, last-minute holiday shopping. of course, it's much drier today. we will stay that way through today and tomorrow. live look right now over christmas in the park in san jose. last weekend it was very, very stormy out there. today a better chance to get out there. but just bundle up. it's going to be cold. and there's no official freeze warning in place right now from the national weather service, but these numbers are running very, very cold. 28 in santa rosa and over on in dublin. 30 for right now in palo alto and 37 degrees in san jose. so just make sure you bundle up and another thing i want you to be careful about is the fog and the reduced visibility. i mentioned at the top of the hour. ther

nbc bay area's thom jensen reports from san mateo county, where they're planning to see more and moreill up after the holidays. >> reporter: health officials across the bay area are preparing for postholiday covid surging at hospitals. hospitals are reporting that beds are filling up. there were more than 1,400 new daily cases on average this past week in the bay area, and 42 people died from covid. already a lot of pressure on hospitals with flu and rsv, and covid cases now confirm new surges after the chrhristmas a new year's holidays. health officials are reminding people to take precautions. if they are traveling by air or ground, assume other passengers are infected around you and wear masks. social distance when possible, and remember to keep those test kits around. and especially test after the holidays before heading back to school or work. back to you. >> tom, thanks very much. >>> here's another story we want to share. a man in santa cruz lands behind bars, accused of giving out fake parking tickets. the 19-year-old targeted cars near the beach on wednesday. fraudulent ticke

. >> reporter: good morning i'm thom jensen where 23-year-old kyle harrison is scheduled to appear inkilled a couple and injured the couple's twin daughters, two 7-year-olds, who are now left without parents. harrison is scheduled to appear in court on a second-degree murder charge and enter a plea. >> reporter: i'm ginger conejero saab in mill valley where there is a break from the rain right now but not for too long. so use that time wisely. here are some tips to prepare for this weekend's upcoming storm. clearing your gutters. if you haven't done so already, secure outdoor furniture and tie down outdoor holiday decorations. there is a bay area wide wind advisory that starts at midnight tonight and runs until tomorrow afternoon with some gusts 30-50 miles an hour. >>> time to get a look at the forecast for you. meteorologist kari hall checking that fog. >> it is very dense fog. visibility is zero. it is going to be mainly dry up until this evening when the rain moves in from north to south and spreads across the bay area. this comes along with heavy rain and gusty winds that will co

"today in the bay's" thom jensen is live in san anselmo monitoring the river up there.eporter: good morning, laura. the creek has come down, starting to rain heavy right now. when we got a break, san anselmo creek dropped a foot and a half. the fire department creek camera, their latest readings shows it's at 5 1/2 feet. looks like it's dropped down closer to 4 feet now. the creek will have to come up another 9 feet before we reach the flood level and then another 4 feet to get to major flooding like in 2005 on new year's eve when the downtown was completely flooded. we did see heavy downpours in santa rosa overnight that could cause mud slides and a rock slide in guerneville on highway 116 causing major problems for drivers, laura. >> all right, thanks for the latest there. >>> what's really concerning this is the first in a series of storms vianey is watching. >> it is and this packed a punch because it was the atmospheric river, subtropical moisture plume that brought in a lot of rain. san francisco catching a break. you can see the scattered showers here but a lot o

. >> reporter: good morning, i'm thom jensen.ay area are preparing for post-holiday covid surges at hospitals. they're reminding people to stay safe and help take the stress off hospitals at the same time. remember to wear your mask especially when traveling by air, by ground, bus or train, and big holiday get-togethers indoors especially, and social distance when possible and also remember to test before you go back to work or back to school after the holidays. >>> let's get a look at that forecast with vianey. >> we'll see a calm weather pattern right now, but then into tonight it's going to pick up with a lot of rain and wind. so daytime highs will be in the upper 50s, low 60s and then the rain starts to move in initially to the north bay first. we'll see the winds gusting up to 40-plus miles per hour for most areas around the coastline, even stronger for the mountains. 3 to 7 inches in total for the week. also sierra snow. laura? >>> we'll be back with another local news update in half an hour. it's o official, a america. xfi