your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. cbs 5 on the stormwatch. you're looking at live doppler radar, rain already drenching the bay. snow is on the way. lawrence will tell us where and when those flurries will fly. and as you might imagine, a wet drive no matter where you're going this morning:a live look. we have team coverage on the trouble spots for your commute on this friday. and good morning, everyone. thanks so much for joining us. it is friday, february 25th. are you sure it isn't friday the 13th at least for me? i'm sydnie kohara. >> i'm frank mallicoat. it's 5:00 straight up. sydnie now joining me, of course, i was solo for the first half hour. she was coming over from the east bay. >> nothing like a flat tire in the pouring rain. but you know, you try to look at the glass half full. found a little gas station, they happened to have a pair of pliers, pulled out the nail, put a bunch of air and drove slowly so here i am. >> your car is sitting something like this downstairs. >> a flat in the garage right now but don't worry, we'll get it taken care of. i'm here. >> between glad to have you on

board for the next couple hours. well, snow, that's the big story. it's not just for the sierra nevada anymore. this morning, we are waiting for it to arrival in the bay area. we have team coverage this morning with lawrence karnow in the cbs 5 weather center, anne makovec checking out for snow down in the santa cruz mountains and joe vazquez in napa where people are preparing for a possible snowfall. let's kick it off with joe up in the north country. no snow yet, i guess, huh? >> reporter: yeah, you know what it's a steady rain right now. i got to tell sydnie that her glass is half full because it is warm right now comparatively. >> it was warm. i didn't worry about that. >> reporter: it happens, sydnie. had it happened a couple of hours from now you would have been freezing! that cold front is on its way in here. by tonight, they are talking about record lows or possibly near record lows and when it combines with this rain we are talking about snow in some lower elevations. the likes of which they have not seen in sometime here and that's pretty exciting for the folks here in napa county.

>> i usually keep my heater down at 64 at night just really low. it's been cold so i bumped it up even more and the heater has been kicking on. >> just another occurrence in the valley and you know, it makes living in the valley enjoyable. >> caltrans is standing by with the plows and, you know, the biggest thing they are concerned about is the black ice that's again going to come sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning. so they are asking folks to just if you don't have to don't get out on these roads and it's easy for me to say the glass is half full, of course, because i wasn't out there changing a tire but, you know, the fact is i'm not even in the snow right now but anne makovec, hey, how are things where you are up in the santa cruz mountains? >> very, very wet, joe. i was not prepared for all of this rain. check out my broken umbrella. i thought it was going to be snowing at this point in the morning but i guess we have to wait a few more hours for that. heavy rain here. i'm along highway 17 at the

summit of the santa cruz mountains. we saw a caltrans truck with a snowplow waiting for snow. this highway is one of the most dangerous in the state with sharp turns and some blind curves. so hopefully, the roadways won't end up too dangerous today. here's a look at some of the snow we saw last week, our last big winter storm, enough snow for snowballs and snowmen. and lawrence thinks weigh could get up to 9 "-- and lawrence thinks we could get up to 9" here in the santa cruz mountains by the time we reach tomorrow. again, just awfully wet here along the summit highway 1. back to you. >> we are going to get you a new umbrella! [ laughter ] >> try to stay dry. anne makovec in the santa cruz

mountain. and her poor sad umbrella. this morning, a winter storm washing is in effect in the sierra though if you are heading up there, and i saw a few cars heading that way. it's expected to continue through tomorrow morning. heavy snow expected today. the cold air could bring as much as two feet to the tahoe area. a storm warning is in effect for the northern sierra and western nevada for saturday morning so if you are braving the elements, don't forget your chains. >> i thought were you just taking asnow day, sydnie -- i thought you were just taking a snow day, sydnie. >> i listened to you and i thought should i come into work? no, i'll brave it. i get a flat fire. >> it could be a fascinating day weather-wise around the bay area. don't see this happen very afternoon. we are in warmer air right now before the cold front comes in. rain continuing down towards san jose. east bay has been seeing heavier amounts of rain in toward benicia and concord. a good cell headed in your

direction. along the peninsula, scattered showers on and off kind of catching a break in towards san francisco right now but this is where it gets fun and interesting. to the north that cold front is right up here and you can already see that cold front cold air encroaching in the bay area. we are now seeing a wintry mix of some sleet and snow north of the santa rosa area. this cold air going to slide down through the bay area as we head through the morning so you have to wait a little longer but it looks like it is on the way. that means we are going to see some snow to some low levels around the bay area and yes, you are going to see some dustings in places you just don't usually see it. better look at it from here. you can see the cold front moving by bringing the rain here. that snow tracking further and further to the south. and as we head through the day today, heck, we could see some snow down to sea level maybe a snowflake or two right in san francisco. out the door, yup, we have some rain and snow. it looks like as we head toward the afternoon, that will become more common and it looks like showers will continue very chilly around the bay area, highs only in the 40s.

let's check traffic with elizabeth. >> thank you, lawrence. let's go oat live towards the bay -- let's go out live towards the bay bridge toll plaza. pretty much wet all over the place for your morning commute. so far we have seen numerous spinouts across the bay area. most of them have cleared quickly so no big hot spots or delays so take it extra slow this morning. chp has been very busy and tow crews as well clearing numerous different incidents across the bay area. golden gate bridge, i mentioned an earlier accident up in san rafael and marin southbound 101 before lincoln. that accident was cleared. it was blocking two lanes but they got it cleared to the right shoulder before it ever caused any kind of backup. may have been injuries involved in the crash, as well. obviously, traffic very light across the span. we'll do a bridge check across the bay area. here's live look at the richmond/san rafael bridge. rain causing that kind of halo effect on our cameras on westbound 580 through marin. and we'll show you a look at the -- well, the san mateo bridge has one of those signs, slippery when wet signs,

warning drivers to use reduced speeds. also right before came on air, i was reading that critical mass bike ride is supposed to start tonight at 6:00. so could cause a messy commute home between the rain, possible snow that lawrence is talking about and bike riders, as well. so mass transit would be a great option today. and everything is on time right now for bart, ace, muni and caltrain. okay. we have one more live camera. the south bay, other photographer just set up this shot at 101 near alum rock. headlights northbound up towards santa clara. obviously, like i said, slick everywhere you go this morning. remember our radio partners, kcbs 740-am and 106.9-fm. that is your traffic. back to you. >> thank you. well, the last time we got any snow at seas level was more than 30 years ago. >> and we have been getting great vintage snow pictures from the viewers. bomb cyndi in san carlos.

19-76. send your snow to my pix at cbs 5 do com. this one from cindy in san carlos, 1976. nice snow-covered yard there. it would be interesting to see if we'll get that. >> i think we will. >> you think so. >> certainly got to cool down a little bit. >> you been drinking lawrence's kool-aid or something? >> everybody has been talking about. even on the east coast they are laughing because we're talking about a half inch, two inches. >> it's true. >> if you have some snow pictures, send them to mypix@cbs5.com. >> if you want to track the storm yourself, log on to cbssf.com, click on weather and you will find interactive hi-def doppler for your neighborhood. go check that out. the time now is 5:08. another bizarre twist in one of the bay area's most notorious murders coming up. >> first the suspect was gunned down by his brother and

now the disturbing evidence inside his home. >> drastic cuts in san jose to ground a key public safety tool when we come back on this friday morning. ,, ,,,,,,

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plenty of showers and your the bay area. getting closer and closer, when will the snow arrive? we'll talk about that coming up. it's 5:11 on your friday. the storm is causing problems for investigators. they are looking into a body buried into the backyard of a novato home because of the wet ground, though, novato police shoring up the hole where the body was found before they can remove it. that's expected to happen sometime this morning. the body has not been identified but official believe it may be 74-year-old dale smith, who hasn't been seen in months. smith's wife is a person of interest in the case.

new evidence in one of santa clara valley's longest running mysteries. the 2001 disappearance of janine harms is believed the los gatos woman was murdered, though no body has ever been found. relatives of the chief suspect maurice nasmeh gave police women's clothing, shoes and a small bag of hair from his home. he was shot by his brother who then took his own life. the san jose police department helicopter is headed for semi retirement because it's too costly to operate regularly as this city has a massive deficit and warns of officer layoffs. chief chris moore spoke to reporters yesterday on the day he was officially sworn in. >> it's only for emergencies. at the end of the day if we had

an earthquake or we needed it, we would put it in the air. >> you have to put that on a scale, i think it's more important to have officers on the street than a helicopter in the air. but we are certainly going to miss the value that the helicopter provided for us over the last decade or so. >> air 2 costs about $1.4 million a year to operate. they lost their son in a tragic rafting accident. now a double blow for a grieving family. the crime that happened in their home while they were at their son's funeral. >> plus, violent attacks on the rise on bart but passengers aren't the target. why station agents fear for their safety. all right. here's a live look at the san mateo bridge. caltrans as you can see on the right side of your screen putting up their warning signs this morning, "slippery when wet." we are off to a rough start to the morning commute. we'll have all the details coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

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could it be a snow day in the bay area? rain is falling around the bay area. snow across mount hamilton and the north peaks but otherwise so far just a lot of rain. but we are in the warm sector of the storm right now and that's what you get. the temperatures are up just a

bit mainly in the 40s around the bay area. you have pockets of moderate amounts of rainfall near the fremont area in towards hayward. east bay seeing good cells rotate through so you are going to see pockets of moderate to heavier amounts of rainfall. i think the main cold front just about to pass by and once it moves by we are going to see colder air, more showers now moving into san francisco. watch what happens as we look further north. it gets interesting. we have the cold front right here. now, that cold front is a natural boundary between warmer air ahead of it and colder air behind it. look what we have here. that is that cold air we have been talking about that arctic air starting to see snow towards clearlake and that is going to be pressing toward the bay area throughout the day today. so the chances. snow will be on the increase throughout the morning hours, starting off mainly in the north bay but moving further to the south as we head in through the afternoon. temperatures right now colder in towards santa rosa, 42 degrees. 39 -- 49 degrees in san jose. and we have colder temperatures into the 30s just north of santa rosa. so those colder temperatures

are on the way. all this arctic air finally putting itself together. the cold front latching on to cold air ahead of it bringing rain to the bay area but the front flies through chances of snow increase. snow possibly down to sea level late today into the evening hours. north bay mountains, winter weather advisory above 1,000 feet could see upwards 6" of snow above 2500 feet. the santa cruz mountains, i think they are going to see the most snow from the storm system overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning. you could see a foot of snow above 2500 feet and that means if you are traveling in that area some of those higher mountain passes it's going to be rough. through the day, here's our computer model picking up on some of the cold air and snow. watch what happens as we head toward the afternoon. we begin to see the cold air work across the bay area. snow begins to show up in many spots. the mountain peaks. we are going to see snowflakes

at sea level so be prepared, keep the cameras handy. doesn't necessarily mean it's going to stick but there is a good chance we could see snow in many place we just don't see it. a magical day and night tonight indeed. temperatures 50s and 40s. the numbers running right now -- we'll probably see cooler temperatures in toward the afternoon with that cold air beginning to mix in. as we head to saturday morning, freeze warnings up for the north bay as some temperatures will be down into the 20s and if you see any precip then it will be snow. sunday dry out, warm up, more storms on the way, but more normal storms as we head in toward next tuesday. ad in let's check traffic elizabeth. >> normal storms. yeah. all right. our photographer was just out in san jose and just fed in this video to our newsroom of a solo spinout southbound 880 near the brokaw off-ramp. this is what you don't want to happen to you. they had to close the off-ramp for a while. the car completely went off the roadway. no serious injuries with this crash but again, just a messy start to our morning commute.

chp, this is just one of many incidents like this in the bay area. this accident has been completely cleared so 880 is completely open right now in both directions there at brokaw road. let's show you more live traffic cameras. windy commute as well. here's a live look at 880 in oakland. our camera has been moving back and forth quite a bit this morning. slick conditions northbound 880 traffic, so far your drive time in the clear. but the san mateo bridge, they actually put up a warning sign. caltrans put up this warning sign, they are telling drivers to take it slow. it is slippery on the road. westbound 92, hard to make out this morning in the commute direction heading towards foster city and the peninsula. and we are actually -- we have photographers positioned across the bay area this morning and reporters too, as well. we are sending a photographer to the bay bridge toll plaza because you can see all that standing water in those middle lanes. this is where it tends to flood whenever the rains start coming down so cars making some big splashes this morning as they

are approaching the pay gates. so far no incidents at the bay bridge though. and again we have not seen any big hot spots. so nothing causing huge delays for right now but again, it is still early. it is only 5:20 in the morning. if you are heading out towards the sierra, here's a live look 80 at applegate where they are holding traffic now in those eastbound lanes. chains are obviously required on interstate 80, highway 50 and highway 88. and again, eastbound traffic not even being allowed through right now. so likely closures going to be hang on and off throughout the day as this storm moves through. mass transit is all on time though, good option today for bart, ace, muni and caltrain. another good option, remember our radio partners, kcbs 740-am and 106.9-fm. back to you. >> thank you. let's check some of the morning's top stories. a ferry with evacuated americans on board has left libya for maltta . it was delayed for days because of bad weather. more mass protests are planned

today in tripoli a new push to oust leader moammar qaddafi. at the u.n. human rights council holding an emergency session to discuss the crisis. lawmakers in wisconsin facing a deadline today to balance the state budget. overnight they passed a bill that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights. the controversial measure now goes to the senate. tens of thousands of protestors have been gathered at the state capital for days to protest the measure. and women will be offered whistles tonight as a safety walk in oakland. they are gathering near lake merritt, connected to recent attacks on women in the area. police are trying to identify that possible suspect who was recorded on surveillance video near one of the attacks. more heartbreak for that walnut creek family whose son was killed in a rafting accident. their home ransacked while they were at the funeral. the mother of matt miller says the burglary happened sometime between 10:30 and noon yesterday. the family came home to find their front door forced open

and things missing inside. miller and his best friend, gavin powell, drowned last saturday during a rafting trip on walnut creek. and a union leader is pleading to the bart board of directors for protection for station agents. bart's police chief agrees they do have a problem. 34 employees were attacked last year. most of them were station agents. ah the "chronicle" reports bart -- agents. the "chronicle" reports bart is take steps including an ad campaign to let people know they will be punished if they attack an employee. charlie sheen takes down 2.5 "two and a half men" >> more coming up. ,, ,,

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[ female announcer ] new gold bond deep moisture, with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. the body wash that moisturizes like a lotion. the 3 point 4 quake was centered 18 miles southwest of did you feel it? a small earthquake hit san mateo county overnight. 3.4 quake was near half moon bay. no reports of damage. several dozen people reported they felt it from south san francisco to burlingame to half moon bay. san mateo county may be going express. assemblyman rich gordon has introduced a bill that would allow the county to set up express lanes. they would be open to carpools as well as solo drivers who pay a fee. a similar lane is now open on

interstate 680. in san mateo county, the initial express lane would stretch from the santa clara county line to whipple avenue in redwood city. so could it be the end of the read for "two and a half men"? the popular and profitable sitcom won't finish out the season after the show's star, charlie sheen, went on the radio to rant yesterday morning and at one point, he targeted the show's producer, chuck lori. >> i have spent i think close to the last decade i don't know effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold. look what i'm dealing with man, fools and trolls, you know? dealing with soft targets. >> production of the top rated sitcom was suspended in january to allow sheen to get some rehab treatment. his publicist said he expected the show to start taping next week, but that was before the call to the radio station.

cbs confirms the show is on hold but didn't address its future. >> he needs a vacation. has one now whether he likes it or not. are we going to see snow in this neck of the woods? we have complete team coverage of the storm that's on its way. joe vazquez here in downtown napa where the rain is coming down starting to feel some wind but when is the snow coming? and a lot of rain coming down in the santa cruz mountains. we are waiting as is caltrans for several inches here in the next 24 hours. we'll have the report coming up next. ,, ,,,,,,

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your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. good morning, i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm sydnie kohara. thanks so much for joining us, your time is 5:31. the bay area hoping for a white weekend. a storm could bring snow even to san francisco. >> got to wait a little bit, though. we have team coverage this morning. lawrence karnow, joe vazquez and anne makovec. anne makovec is in the santa cruz mountains and decided to get rid of the umbrella and just brave the elementshuh? >> reporter: the umbrella was ridiculous. it is coming off of its wires. i was not prepared for rain and there is a lot of it coming down now. we are waiting for the rain to turn to snow in the santa cruz

mountains. [ signal breakup ] >> reporter: highway 17 behind me, which is a major thoroughfare between the santa cruz area and san jose. so that could cause some treacherous driving conditions. right now we are at 1800 feet and it is expected to snow within the next few hours later on this morning. and it could snow up to -- [ signal breakup ] >> reporter: by tomorrow. so it could be really crazy similar to what we saw last weekend. check out this video. that was when we saw [ signal breakup ] inches here on the western side of the santa clara valley. skyline boulevard. that rarely sees snow. you do see it a lot more often on the eastern side of the santa clara valley. so they are not used to it here but it does happen. caltrans is standing by right now. we were driving up here in the rain and we saw caltrans truck pulled over on the side of the road ready to plow whatever may come. but in the meantime, all we have out here are a few commuters and as you can see

over here, people are waiting for snow. how's everything in napa, joe vazquez? >> reporter: beautiful as always. it's what we do, stand out here in the rain to show you how wet it can get, and it is coming down. right now a steady rain, but it is still comparatively warm in the 40s. but that cold front is on the way here. sometime perhaps after the sunrises, and then late tonight is when they think or maybe even into tomorrow morning, they think it might start to see snow. just the prospect of it has some people around here excited. >> i even keep my heater down at 64 degrees at night, you know, just really low. it's cold. so i bumped it up even more so the heater has been kicking on. >> just another occurrence in the valley here. and, you know, it's what makes

living in the valley enjoyable. >> reporter: there are of course some high points here that are used to snow. angwin, for example, you know, the threat of snow today, just caused them to go ahead and cancel the public elementary school. but for the most part, life goes on here. they have those caltrans crews ready just in case, the roads will be horrible. tonight and tomorrow morning they are talking about the possibility of black ice. i have to tell you, it was our assignment, bob horn and i, driving around. we did the 11:00 last night. this is as close as we came to the white stuff. [ laughter ] >> a chardonnay. perhaps this would help ease sydnie's issues with the flat tire. >> i have been out with both of you and i know, you're not looking for whit stuff. you're looking for breakfast and a good cup of coffee, smart this morning. [ laughter ] >> reporter: exactly what we were looking for. >> joe, bob, stay safe out

there. try to stay dry and we'll talk to you later on. >> and enjoy the vino, huh? [ laughter ] >> they have been work hard. they are having too much fun. >> it's weather. it's always fun. big question is, when is it going to happen? how much, all those good questions. let's check in with lawrence and see what's seeing on the big radar picture. >> i hope they can hang out there a little longer. it's taking a while for the cold air to get here. we have seen a lot of rainfall overnight. this is the warm part of the storm. scattered showers down in toward the san jose area. snow in the mount hamilton area but still waiting for the cold arctic air to move in. scattered to moderate amounts of heavy rain in the east bay. messy commute out there, mill valley seeing good cells. but this is where it gets fun. we are now seeing that cold air on our doppler and you can pick it up here. it's starting to slide in toward the bay area. this is going to be coming note next couple of hours -- this is going to be coming in over the next couple of hours when snow will show up in parts of the

north bay so if joe can hang out there a little longer you may see some of that toward the middle of the morning and the noontime hours. still, we are looking at this cold front finally making its way on down and that will usher in colder air on the back side of it. so yeah, folks if you are headed out there, rain and snow a possibility in the north bay at about 1,000 feet this morning. cold rain continuing into the afternoon. and i think a chance of snowflakes really throughout the bay area. maybe even down to sea level toward the latter part of the day. let's get a check of traffic right now with elizabeth. >> hopefully you can stay home today. it is not going to be a good morning to be out on the roads. check out the bay bridge toll plaza, already really slick out there. look at that big puddling there in the middle lanes. some cars making some huge splashes as they drive by. we are sending a photographer to the scene. they also just issued a high wind advisory for the bay bridge. it's our only one issued so far but yeah, watch out for that on the san mateo bridge, they also have warning signs warning of slippery when wet conditions really urging drivers to take it extra slow. all right. we have seen a number of

spinouts across the bay area. they have been quickly cleared to the right shoulder so nothing causing any huge delays. this is the latest one just coming in right now. northbound 680 right before mckie road, no huge delay to traffic northbound. be careful at mckee, other direction northbound traffic on 280 approaching 880, so far, so good. the silicon valley ride also a wet one pretty much wet where you're going right now. this is westbound 237 traffic so far six minutes from 880 towards 101 in san jose. that is your traffic. back to you guys. >> thank you. we have been getting a lot of great photos from the last time it snowed at sea level here in the bay area. look at this one. if you have snow photos.. old or new.. send them to my pix at cbs 5 dot com. and you can stay on top of the

st sf.com. click on send your photos to mypix@cbs5.com. good stuff. you can stay on top of the storm at cbssf.com. just click on weather and you will find interactive hi-def doppler for your neighborhood. well, it's 5:38. all this rain is causing delays for investigators trying to dig up a body found buried in a backyard in novato. now, because of the wet ground, novato police need to shore up the hole where the body was found before they can remove it. that's expected to happen this morning. the body has yet to be identified but officials believe that it could be 74- year-old dale smith who hasn't been seen in months. smith's wife evelyn is a person of interest in that case. and some more information will be released next week about the san bruno pipeline explosion. the documents include interview transcripts, technical reports and other materials. public hearings into the deadly blast begin tuesday in washington, d.c. top gas line

execs are scheduled to testify there. ntsb hopes to issue the final report on the explosion september 9 the anniversary of the blast. new evidence now in one of silicon valley's longest running mysteries. the 2001 disappearance of jeanine harms. it's believed the los gatos woman was murdered though nobody has ever been found. relatives of chief suspect maurice nasmeh gave police items found in his home, including shoes, bag, hair. it's not clear whether they are connected to harms. nasmeh was shot to death by harms' brother who then took his own life. a safety walk tonight near lake merritt. police have been combing the area trying to find someone who can identify this man caught on surveillance video. they have had no success so they have released the video. it was recorded outside a store just minutes after a woman was attacked february 7.

>> according to the opd, they say this footage helped them a lot. this is the only footage available to them right now. >> tonight's safety walk to hand out whistles is scheduled to start at 6:00 at east 18th street and park boulevard. muni promising to fix problems highlighted in a new report that state regulators accuse the agency of safety violations and being unresponsive to investigators' findings. the puc planning to start the process of considering potential penalties against muni. muni's chief said he is disappointed by the move. no options ruled out. the pressure intensifies against libya. today's action that could bring down moammar qaddafi. four bucks for gas? who wants to pay that? three ways to start saving when you fill up. coming up. 3q looking to add a l to your chil

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checking weather around the bay area, scattered showers in towards the san jose area. we have had some snowflakes over mount hamilton, rain at sunnyvale and fremont. it's been raining overnight and early morning. it's pretty good heading to parts of walnut creek, heavier showers there. i think the cold front, though, still located in the north bay are getting good cells through mill valley and san rafael but this is where it gets real interesting as we are seeing some of that snow working its way -- that cold air sliding down and we just had some reports of some snow in calistoga. we are going to get you some pictures here as soon as we can! all right. so we have that cold air sliding into the bay area right now. we could see some very unusually low snow levels outside. and you get the idea that arctic air finally making its way in behind the back side of

this cold front so really it's going to be a fascinating day outside. temperatures currently now in the 40s and 50s. these are going to be close to the maximum for today. many of these temperatures going down from here. so yes, finally seeing that cold air slide okay by. we have been talking about it all week long. this low bringing with it that cold speckled clouds and the snow beginning to show up now at least in parts of the north bay. that will be coming lower across the bay area, north bay mountains we have a winter weather advisory there at 1,000 feet where we see a couple of inches up across the higher elevations. also the santa cruz mountains will get hit hard but we have to wait a little longer for the cold air to get there. in the late afternoon and evening, a foot of snow possibly above 2500 feet towards tomorrow morning. the computer models picking up on the cold air and snow. toward the afternoon we begin to see the cold snow popping up in the north bay, east bay, south bay, folks we have a chance we could see some snowflakes all the way down to

sea level. probably not going to stick in those spots but still, it's interesting as we are going to see that cold air continuing to move by. it looks like a freeze warning in the north bay toward tomorrow morning, as well. skies then clear out. overnight lows tomorrow morning into the 20s. so as we head through the day today, hey, we have a real interesting one. keep that camera handy, folks. at any time you could see a couple of snowflakes in your neighborhood. showers continuing into saturday, drying out and warming up on sunday. let get some traffic with elizabeth. >> i think this weather is a good excuse to take the day off. stay off the roads. it is a mess out there right now. i'm trying to think of another word for wet, messy, you name it, it's out there. live traffic at 101 in san jose, our photographer is probably getting drench, coming down in the south bay. here's a look at 101 near alum rock. you can see the headlights moving northbound towards santa clara. drivers just taking it extra slow. lots of reports of standing water. let's go to video taken a short time ago. this was in san jose.

this is what can happen if you don't take it slow enough. this is a solo spinout. the driver lost control of the vehicle spun off the roadway, this happened near the brokaw exit. they had to shut down the off- ramp for a while. no serious injuries. seeing numerous spinout like this across the bay area. standing water collects when the rain comes down. high wind advisory in the span this morning heading into san francisco. with the possibilitof snow and rain, critical mass bike ride is supposed to kick off this month the last friday of the month starting at justin herman plaza at 6:00 tonight. this is your best option, mass transit everything on time for bart, ace, muni and caltrain. remember our radio partners, kcbs 740-am and 106.9-fm.

back to you. >> thank you. good luck to the bikers, huh? in the headlines, bart's police chief says the transit agency is taking steps to prevent violence against bart workers. there were 34 such attacks last year. bart workers union says attacks have increased in the past several months. and more heartbreak for the walnut creek family whose son died in a rafting accident. this morning, police are looking for suspects who broke into their home. it happened while the family was at their son's funeral yesterday. matt miller and a friend drowned last saturday during a rafting trip. and the san jose police department grounding a very important crime-fighting tool. it's a helicopter known as air 2. it's just too expensive to operate on a regular lace basis these days. the city is dealing with a budget deficit and potential police layoffs. today rebel forces calling for a new push to oust long- time libyan leader moammar

qaddafi by staging more demonstrations. a day of fierce fighting yesterday brought the rebels new gains and advanced them closer to his stronghold in tripoli. pro-government forces attacked two nearby cities in battles that killed at least 17 people. international momentum is building to punish qaddafi. president obama discussed it with leaders from europe. the white house is considering several actions now. >> there are no options we're taking off the table but we are focusing on the options we can take to affect the situation in the near term. >> both u.n. and nato panels meeting today. hundreds of americans have finally left libya heading for malta. a college student from saudi arabia is due in federal court in texas today. 20-year-old khalid ali aldawsari is accused of planning a terror plot with explosive chemicals he bought

online. authorities say his potential targets included nuclear plants and even the dallas home of former president george w. bush. now, according to court documents, he wrote in his personal journal that he had been planning an attack in the u.s. for years. lawmakers in wisconsin facing a deadline today to balance the state budget. last night they passed a bill that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights. this measure now goes to the senate. tens of thousands of protestors have gathered at the state capital for days to protest. it is 5:49. we'll continue to monitor the storm out there as we wait and wait for all that snow that's on its way. plus, rising gas prices everyone's worst enemy. this morning how to save a few dollars the next time you fill up. and the academy awards this weekend on sunday. the one promise producers are making about the show coming up. for my dry skin, ordinary body washes just aren't moisturizing enough. [ female announcer ] new gold bond deep moisture, with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins.

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every. welcome back. it is 5:52. gas prices keep going up and up and this morning to help ease the pain at the pump, experts recommend not driving past of 0 miles an hour. if you exceed that limit even by 5 miles an hour expect to pay 24 cents more for each gallon of gas above 60 miles an hour. next, leave anything extra at home you don't need because an additional 100 pounds in your car reduces your gas mileage up to 2%. and use cruise control when appropriate. you can save about 43 cents per gallon. good ideas there. the astronauts on the space shuttle discovery woke up in space this morning. today they will check the ship for signs of launch damage. several pieces of foam insulation broke off the fuel tank during liftoff.

nasa says there is no safety concern. the discovery is headed to the international space station with supplies and the first humanoid robot to fly in space. this of course the shuttle's 39th and its final mission. 5:53. the season is over for "two and a half men." cbs canceling that show after charlie sheen went on a rant. at one point, he targeted the show's producer. >> if you check, i have spent i think close to the last decade, i don't know, effortlessly and imaginely converting your tin cans into pure gold. i'm dealing with fools and trolls, soft targets. >> production of the top rated sitcom was suspended in january to allow sheen to enter rehab. cbs confirms the show is on hold but didn't address its future. this weekend belongs to hollywood's biggest stars. >> that's right. the academy awards will be presented on sunday. and producers are calling it the most interactive oscar

night ever. it will have accounts with facebook, twitter and myspace. get updates on winners and losers plus behind the scenes peeks throughout the ceremony. ann hathaway and james franco are hosting, two of the youngest host ever. >> it's in the afternoon, so we should be able to stay up that late. >> speak for yourself. i go to bet at 7:00. [ laughter ] 5:54. we have been talking about a possible snowstorm and we just heard from chris up in kelseyville, he is in lake county, guess what, he woke up with some snow. so it's coming! >> yeah. check it out. a solid dusting on chris' truck. again, this is kelseyville. so there it is. >> and on the grill. so when are we going to see snow here? lawrence karnow tracking the storm. looks like a great chance of

snow in the bay area folks. a cold front hasn't gone by. scattered showers continuing in san jose further to the north more scattered showers into the east bay a very slick commute out there, as well. so yeah, keep that in mind heading out. and pretty good cell making its way into the san francisco area but the cold front now looks like it's lagging through. once it moves by, guess what, we get to that cold air. and this what we are seeing right now. that wintry mix up in toward clearlake. you're seeing snow in that direction. this is all sliding in toward the bay area. we are going to see unsettled weather in our direction a chance of snow all the way down to sea level. winter weather advisories up across the mountain peaks, as well. all right. i think we should get a check of traffic with elizabeth. >> yeah. we are just getting a new accident coming in now in sunnyvale, northbound 101 before matilda. chp and ambulances heading to the scene just one of numerous accidents right now out there that chp is working to clear.

this is the reason why. check out this camera of 880 through oakland. this camera best demonstrates how windy it is out there. it has been rocking and rolling this morning. new york traffic up the nimitz freeway so far delay-free -- northbound traffic up the nimitz freeway so far delay- free. this is a two hands on the steering wheel kind of day, windy and slick. caltrans posting warning signs across the bay area, those slippery when wet signs warning drivers to reduce speeds. so far, so good across the san mateo bridge. 13 minutes from hayward to foster city and the peninsula. i want to show you this traffic shot near applegate. if you have a trip up to the sierra, all eastbound traffic halted at applegate. westbound getting by okay. pack your chains on 50, 80 and 88. back to you. >> thank you. >> better yet stay in the bay. got to love the snow. >> i saw some cars full of young people heading that way.

i think they are ready for a little snowboarding. >> getting a jump on it. it's 5:56. in the next half hour we have team coverage as we wait for the snow to fall. we have crews all over the bay area. here they are. >> it's raining now. but bring on the snow! we'll tell you how napa and the rest of the north bay is preparing. traffic starting to pick up here along highway 17 as is the rain and the wind. what about the snow? we'll have a report coming up. i'm sam chernin, owner of sammy's fish box. i opened the first sammy's back in 1966. my employees are like family, and i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. how can the gold card help serve your business? booming is taking care of your business

how people in the north bay getting ready for the storm. plenty of rain and wind in the bay area. we have some snow headed our way. we'll talk about that coming up. how people in the north bay are getting ready for the storm. >> whether you're in the north

bay or south bay it is raining a lot of it out there. hour it's going to affect your commute on this friday. good morning, everybody. it is february 25. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm sydnie kohara. thanks for joining us. maybe just maybe we'll see that snowfall today. at least up in kelseyville we saw a picture of snow up there. many people hope it comes to san francisco. we have lawrence, joe vazquez and anne makovec. ladies first and she pulled out the umbrella again so it must be really raining out there , huh? >> reporter: yeah, i have my broken umbrella here along highway 17. i'm in the santa cruz mountains. i was prepared for snow this morning