when the storm system will begin to approach, helping to pick up our rainfall totals. we're tracking how much you can get, how long this will linger in the forecast. if you're doing any traveling, a flash flood watch to the north and winter storm warning off to the east. we'll have more details on the sierra snow and also, of course, our bay area rain is coming up in about 15 minutes. >> okay, jeff. very active out there tonight. not just the rain, we're going to see potentially dangerous waves. this is a live look from the nbc bay area sky ranger in pacifica. it is beautiful but very powerful. this is the surf in pacifica earlier today. you can see the swells there at the pier. the coast guard is urging people t use caution along nbc bay area's christy smith has the high surf advisory. are they expecting any significant damage there? >> reporter: well, you know, we haven't heard anything about that. but, boy, late this afternoon, conditions really started to

change here in pacifica. you can see what the ocean is looking like right now. this is when people started to show up. they wanted to see the waves go over the rocks, over the wall, and onto the sidewalk, which we've seen it do several times now. all this without heavy winds and rain, and that's about to change. the pacifica pier closed this afternoon. waves pounded the shore at high tide. >> they put in the riff raf to protect the houses. >> reporter: paul wanted to see the surf. >> it's really nice to come over here and be next to the fresh air and the waves. >> reporter: before the pier closed, aaron lotto tried to catch crab but the waves were churning. >> it kind of moves the bay around a little too much and kind of lineseverything. >> reporter: he wanted a day at the shore before the storm. he kept a closed eye on the water. >> if they're breaking midway in the pier, that's pretty big waves. >> reporter: a high surf advisory is in effect through friday. waves from 12 to 25 feet are

expected along with dangerous rip currents. the coast guard is advising people to steer clear of breaking surf. >> on days like today, we check our gear and make sure it's ready to go because this is one of the first big storms. >> reporter: harbor patrol is monitoring. kerry smith is deputy harbor master at pillar point harbor. he says as conditions change, be prepared. >> today is not the best day to be in a small boat. and if you're on shore lines, that you're watching the ocean and staying away from where it's wet because it will get wet again. >> reporter: surfer rafael rod i go gez hit water early. >> i know it gets a lot bigger. >> reporter: back live we've seen people with cameras, keeping a safe distance and taking pictures of the waves. of course, the coast guard reminding people not to turn your backs on the ocean because it is so unpredictable. deputy harbor master that we spoke with said the difference with this storm, what he's seeing now to what he's seen in previous years, in his opinion, is that he would see large

swells like this. typically, he n sometimes even september, but now he says, of course, we're seeing them at the end of november. reporting live in pacifica, christy smith, nbc bay area news. >> okay, thank you, christy. as you might imagine, tree trimmers in the bay area busy today's as homeowners gear up to protect their houses from this upcoming storm and what could be a wet winter. nbc bay area anoushah rasta is with us. everyone waits until the last second then it's go time. >> reporter: it absolutely is go time and it's a lot of work, jessica. we called nearly a dozen bay area tree trimming businesses today and they all told us they've been quite busy preparing people's homes and businesses for the storm. >> allison rosarmando has clear dead limbs over the house. >> reporter: armando and other workers from h.c. tree service

cut trees on mary's property on the peninsula. >> we removed branches, closest to the roof or to the house. and trees that are leaning. >> reporter: it's what a number of bay area tree trimming service companies are doing today ahead of a storm that's supposed to hit the area tonight. important work to protect homes and businesses. the possibility of getting hit with that heavy rain and strong winds is making homeowners concerned about downed trees blocking driveways and roads, or even worse, smashing into their properties. >> they've pierced the roof. they've pierced the deck. they're very dangerous. >> reporter: meanwhile, pg&e said they had crews out yesterday trimming trees. but now the focus is on restoring power if anybody experiences an outage because of the storm. reporting live in san jose, anoushah rasta, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, anoushah. the storm is expected to bring a

lot of snow. winter storm warning in effect tonight through friday. this is what it kd like earlier today. travelers warned to keep those chains handy in case you're told to put them on. you can stay on top of what's happening with the rain and snow by downloading our free nbc bay area app. that will give you access to our radars including storm ranger scans so you know exactly when the storms will roll right through your neighborhood. you can also wake up early with our today in the bay team. we're going on early tomorrow morning starting at 4:00 in the morning to help you get ready for the day. and to help you ease through that com.ur other hdl beating a. we want to warn you, now, this video is disturbing. on november 17th, two men started a fight at stone's bar in napa. they punched woman repeatedly, leaving her with multiple injuries. help that woman.ht anyone who they eventually left before police arrived. now, one of the suspects turned himself in while the other, this man, jaymes falconbury, is on the run.

he has several tattoos on his neck. police say if you see him, do not approach him because he is considered dangerous. >> a grizzly discovery inside a donation box in petaluma. a woman's body, an early warning delivery man noticed a woman's legs coming out of the box. police say it's likely theom got stuck while trying to retrieve some items. however, it's still unclear exactly how she died. well, a bay area team has been arrested for threatening high school students here in the bay area. 19-year-old tristan amir curl from oakley was taken into custody last week in austin, texas. police say he threaten today shoot students and killed the principal at freedom high in oakley. he allegedly threatened to rape female students at that bay area school. investigators say curl made the threats via social media, but they're not sure why he targeted that particular school. curl now faces eight felony charges. >> a notable move in washington, d.c. san francisco representative nancy pelosi is one step closer to retaking the speaker's gavel.

house democrats today chose pelosi as their leader. there were no other nominees. that makes pelosi the party's nominee to be the next speaker of the house. >> let us just take a moment to consider the fact that we are in the majority. >> more than 200 democrats voted for pelosi. there were only 32 no votes. the entire congress will hold a floor vote on january 3rd. another bay area representative, barbara lee of oakland, lost her race for a different leadership position. lee was hoping to be the first black woman to lead the house democratic caucus. she was defeated today by four-term congressman hakeem jeffries of new yo the democratic house. after the vote, lee tweeted, i hope my candidacy will inspire other women of color to run for office and seek leadership positions. we need your voices. >> temporary housing could be on the way to butte county to help

survivors of the camp fire. fema says around 2000 trailers could be in the bay area by the end of the week. swift moving fire wiped out more than 90% of the town of paradise, destroying some 14,000 homes and businesses and displacing 26,000 people. officials say the road to rebuilding is off to a rock i start, though, with limited road space and difficult terrain. >> butte county is going to pose some long-term challenges, not for lack of trying and all the people here that are working and on scene, but just the logistics of moving debris in and out. >> 88 people died in the camp fire, and 158 are still unaccounted for. now we have to sincerely thank our viewers for stepping up to help the victims of california wildfires. yesterday nbc bay area and telemundo hosted a wildfire fund-raiser from 6:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening and we asked you to call and donate to help us. well, we are overwhelmed by the response. thanks to you, believe it or not, we were able to raise

$130,000. and we are still counting up donations. if you missed yesterday's fund-raiser but you still want to help out, we have you covered. you can go online to nbc bay area/donate. you can also text butte fire to 91999, and you can give to the camp fire victims or text uwvc to 41444. that goes to the united way of ventura county. that will help the fire victims in southern california. >> well, the raiders are living town and so are the warriors. that will leave the a's as the bay area's only professional sports team. the plans are in the beginning stages but it is generated excitement from the fans when you also skept snl as the a's continue to strike out with their various ballpark plans over the years. nbc bay area's jody hernandez joins us at the howard terminal, the proposed site for the new ballpark. jody.

>> reporter: raj, here at the howard terminal at the waterfront, it's bustling with trucking and shipping activity tonight. but if all goes as planned in 2023, it will be bustling with baseball. >> we are rooted in oakland. we're committed to the city. we're celebrating our 50th year here. >> reporter: a's president unveiled the team's vision for a new waterfront stadium that will keep the team in oakland for generations to come. the a's plan to build a privately-financed urban ballpark at oakland's howard terminal. they say, unlike anything major ever seen. >> when you add this green loop on top, you have something that really has never been built. this is as visionary and as bold an idea for baseball stadium that's ever existed. >> reporter: the 34,000-seat stadium includes an elevated game park that will be open on game days and non-game days alike. while the team will be playing downtown, the a's aren't

abandoning the coliseum. they plan to revitalize it into a community park that includes the original baseball diamond surrounded by affordable new housing and restaurants. >> it is really important to me as a native oaklander that what happens at that land is for the residents of east oakland, respects the african-american heritage of that part of our city. >> it's a win/win situation, simply put. if you build it, we will come. >> reporter: and we are back here live at howard terminal. now, there are some skeptics to the plan, but the a's say they've gotten a lot of community input leading up to today's announcement. they plan to hold some open house sessions tomorrow evening, starting at 4:30 at the a's headquarters in downtown oakland. they'll be answering questions from the public, and also from the media. reporting live at the waterfront in oakland, i'm jody hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, jody. still to come, a south bay

freeway flashing a message for other drivers to call 911. we find out what's behind it. >> also a major no-no. how the bay area woman may have put other animals in danger while trying to rescue fish. >> storm ranger, mobile doppler radar is tracking this next storm system. we'll let you know how it changes your morning commute and where we could see over 1 inch of rain tomorrow. that's coming up in about 7 minutes. it )s fish rescue missi

that )s "catching" a lot of attention. a bay area woman bou well, it is a fish rescue mission that is catching a lot of attention. a bay area woman bought live fish from the market and then released them in an east bay lake. problem is those fish she released, they're actually a threat. nbc bay area's robert honda joins us from lake chabot park to tell us what's being done. now they have to get those fish out? >> reporter: well, that's right. it's definitely an unusual situation. we are here at the top of lake chabot park where officials say animals are released all the time by pet owners. but talapia, that is quite a unique fish story. catching fish is unique at lake chabot, but not talapia bought in a market and released here. on monday a woman described as an asia adult was spotted dumping them in this dock. an ee base police officer caught her and it turns out the woman who has not been identified matches the description of

something doing the same thing november 13g9. >> she's obviously done it here before. >> did she say why? >> according to the sergeant who talked to her, she just felt like she was saving the fish, saving live fish and allowing them to enjoy their life. >> reporter: sources say the nine live talapia came from this market where we saw many fish on display. it appears they have been removed. the dumping is being taken seriously because they can take over an eco system. >> if they are able to reproduce and the population grows they are definitely a threat to lake chabot and downstream in san leandr voitors we talked to had mixed feelings. >> in their mind they thought it was right so it's nothing bad. but they didn't realize what bad they caused by doing that. >> reporter: well, it will ultimately be up to the district attorney to decide if this fishing game violation warrants a misdemeanor charge. the park is monitoring the situation and say they hope the warm water talapia will not be able to survive the winter cold.

live in castro valley, robert honda, nbc bay area news. >> robert, thank you. this time he's going to be there. google ceo will testify before congress next week. three months ago, google ceo sun der pichai declined to testify at a hearing. an empty chair was put out by congressional aides to draw attention to his absence. but late last month he met with lawmakers and promised to testify. many republican leaders believe google silences right wing news and views. well, 48 hours after it started, a boycott of the giants has been called off by civil rights activists. that's because the team's principal owner took action. on monday, attorney john burruss urged fans to boycott the giants after it became known that team owner charles johnson, the primary owner, donatedo the campaign of mississippi senator cindy hyde-smith. smith, who won reelection last night, recently made comments in support of public hangings. following the backlash, johnson condemned racism and asked for his campaign contribution to be

returned. >> an alarming sight on the south bay freeway, a sign on the back of the a bus asking for help and urging motorist s to call 91 # 1. it shows that message flashing on the back of the vta bus as it moves along highway 85 near the dee anza exit. vta confirms the bus driver accidentally activated the message. the bus was headed to west valley college, but nobody was on board except the driver. vta also tells us two people called in to dispatchers about that message. and they say that even though it was a false alarm, they really appreciate that the community remains vigilant. >> let's get back to our microclimate weather coverage. a significant step to keep people safe along our coast, a 12-mile stretch of highway 1 near big sur is now closed. here's that section on the map here. everything between mud in respot land slide that we had in may of 2017 that wiped away part of

highway 1. jeff ranieri back with us. you were saying we have a series of storms this week. this could be the big e. does it feel that way? >> it could be the strongest of the four storms we have had moving in this week. the latest time change we've seen is it's speeding up a little bit. that's why we anticipate things to pick up this evening. let's give you that overall perspective. we've had a lot of things happening this week. i like to show this to give you an idea what is to come s tha a about the weather. we had the storm system tonight lasting into thursday. not only the rain but also some wind. and another possibility here, 11:00 p.m. friday into your saturday forecast. let's take you into what's happening right now on storm range ir. our mobile doppler radar, we have a few spotty showers across the bay area. nothing consistent. little activity in downtown san jose also approaching the peninsula. wider view and you can see the moisture we're tracking out here in the pacific. it's all of this moving in that will increase our rain chances

tonight. so, you'll see in the futurecast, i expect wet weather to move in through tonight. likely that storm system approaching once we hit 11:30 this evening to bring in some heavier pockets of rain especially right near the coast line. as we head into the overnight hours, what you'll see is at 2:00 in the morning still looks heavy. right around 6:00 in the morning, may think we're getting a bit of a break as some of you may be dry with heavier pockets. but there will be a stronger round coming once we hit 8:00 in the morning as the storm sys continues to progress across the bay area. we'll likely see areas of rain through about 11:00 in the morning and that's where we get into these high totals with that rainfall tonight, lasting likely into 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. then we'll get a break here once we hit the afternoon on thursday's forecast. rainfall totals, it's been pretty consistent. what we think, find your city on the map, take a look at the key. there's going to be a lot of colors coming up here. the general rule for most of the bay area is a half to three quarters of an inch, okay. down here in the south bay it's

trying to push a half inch. i think our realistic totals a quarter to a half inch. that's still good for the south bay. take a look at the bright colors across the santa cruz mountains. parts of the north bay, that's where totals could reach anywhere from 1 to maybe over 2 inches. definitely a bull's-eye for the santa cruz mountains. wind also a problem. gusts tomorrow morning anywhere from 15 to about 27 miles per hour. so, my extended forecast has that storm system tomorrow. we get a breakthrough most of friday. we'll see rain return by 11:00 p.m. friday into saturday. a break on sunday and maybe, yes, more rainfall by next tuesday and wednesday. check this out. we're still looking at colder morning lows by next monday. down close to the freezing mark. speaking of cold, if you're heading up to the sierra, please be careful. you'll see in my forecast, you go at 7,000 feet and above, we are talking about 1 to 2 feet of snow. so it's going to be slick,

slippery, and very dangerous up there the next 72 hours. >> good for skiing and boarding, but dangerous to get up there. >> yes, got to get up there. >> thanks, jeff. >> coming up, the christmas display being targeted by thieves and this isn't the first time. we'll tell you coming up.

we )re following breaking news n

a shooting near the lake merritt bart station. well we're following some breaking news in oakland. this is a shooting near the lake merritt bart station. you can see the heavy police presence down below. this is at 9th and jackson. our sky ranger is overhead. we are told one person has been shot within the past hour. we do not know their condition. police have two possible suspects in custody nearby. again, this is near oakland lake merritt bart station. we're going to continue to follow the story and give you any more information as we get

it into our newsroom. >> san jose's christmas in the park has again been the target of thieves second year in a row. decorations on the satanic christmas tree has been stolen. after the tree was on display a few days, it had to be redecorated because people took their ornaments. the group is asking would-be thieves to refrain from taking them in the future. last year a chapter of the satanic temple had a goat mask stolen from the top of their tree. christmas in the park said sadly ornament thefts are common for every tree. >> from christmas trees to citrus trees, marin county is fighting a pest called the they are a threat because they can carry a disease deadly to citrus trees. only a single acp has been found so far. so traps have been set to confirm whether there are any more out there. >> okay, she's got a cat she named but now she needs a new home. details of an animal found wandering in the bay area that you might not expect. [ phone rings ] what?!

ready for christmas? no, it's way too early to be annoyed by christmas. you just need some holiday spirit! that's it! this feud just went mobile. with xfinity xfi you get the best wifi experience at home. and with xfinity mobile, you get the best wireless coverage for your phone. ...you're about to find out! you don't even know where i live... hello! see the grinch in theaters into your xfinity x1 voice remote. a guy just dropped this off. he-he-he-he.

♪thisi'm gonna let it shine. ♪ it's energy saving time, ♪ i'm gonna reduce mine. ♪ californians all align ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ let it shine, ♪ the power's ours to let it shine! ♪

coming up tonight at 6:00, does facebook have a diversity issue? accusations from the former manager of the silicon valley company, and the social network's response. we'll have that story and more coming up in our 6:00 newscast. >> finally at 5:00, not your average stray.

a pig. >> that's what she is. >> haven't seen that in a while. a pig was found wandering east palo alto earlier this month. the peninsula humane society took her in and named her piggy smalls. >> like biggie smalls. >> like biggie smalls. no one has come to claim her being so piggy smalls is now up for adoption. volunteers say she'll make a great pet and is apparently quite fond of apples. >> she doesn't sing big papa, but sings big she can be the st pet. >> in the newsroom? that would be something. >> we wouldn't commissary. all the apples would be gone. >> that's going to do it for us at 5:00. lester holt is next at rockefeller center for the lighting of the christmas tree. >> yay! we'll be back at 6:00. we'll see you then. breaking news tonight, nbc news has learned what president trump told mueller inside the president's answers about the infamous trump tower meeting

with his son and the russians. also, what he told mueller about wikileaks. also breaking, stunning new claims from stormy daniels about her embattled attorney michael avenatti. what she says he did. growing outrage as a growing nfl team signs a player days after he was arrested for alleged domestic violence. high school hazing officials say is so horrific the teens are being charged as adults. a massive explosion obliterating a home. the blast so powerful, it was felt across several towns. a mom expecting twins due to give birth in days and her emotional plea for a life-saving donor.