at stormtracker 00:00am tonight. you can see san francisco south into the south bay and even parts of the east bay getting wet. the new year. also expected to bring some new weather. good evening. thanks for joining us for kron 4 news at 6. i'm ken wayne and i'm catherine heenan in for pam moore as the rain continues it is expected to clear up to the new year weekend. but not yet as you'll see. let's take a live look at some of the bay area bridges and. >> depending on where you are. you may be getting a pounded with rain roads still wet tonight kron 4 chiefmeteorologist lawrence karnow was here and lawrence, even some flood advisories right. yeah. rough all around the bay area right now. rough ride in the roadways. very dangerous toward the golden gate still some rain out there. but the heavy stuff is in the south bay right now. so flood advisories have been issued by the national weather service until 6.30 this evening. we'll check in on the guadalupe river. that's one of the main arteries there in the south bay that looks like that the little river will stay within its banks. >> but you could see a rapid

rise. lots of puddling and flooding on the roadways. very dangerous driving conditions along 8680 and also the 2.80 as well. so be careful. there. and also in the santa cruz mountains some very heavy rainfall making its way across that area too. and they also are under a flood advisory until 6.30 this evening. you see all that rain just coming through. you see the yellows, the oranges, the reds, very heavy rainfall in and around these are some of these rain rains seeing as much as 2 plus inches an hour. that is a whole lot of rain in a short amount of time that's going to give rise to some of possibility. some flooding out there, especially on the roadways, but not only there. le're seeing that around the other parts of bay area got some pockets of moderate amounts of rainfall making its way. just east of half moon bay right now along 2.80 headed towards san mateo and all around the bay area more showers out there. but the good news is things beginning to wind down we need a need a break from all that stormy weather. i think we're going to get it. we'll talk about that. the best weather coming up, the few minutes. another big story tonight. masks are required indoors again in san

francisco regardless of vaccination status. >> the city is also making changes to booster shot requirements amid the omicron surge. kron four's. rob nesbitt joins us now live from the city with more on the temporary changes that go into effect starting tomorrow. rob. >> can mask indoors and booster shots required for health care workers. san francisco is making several changes starting tomorrow to reduce the spread of covid. california has been requiring mask indoors for weeks. but starting thursday san francisco will get rid of their exemptions mask must be kept on when inside public places regardless of if you've been vaccinated or not. you think jensen aria, for example, a lot of aerobic activity. >> people expelling a lot of a virus in the air and it's indoors. it's going to be risk air infectious disease expert at ucsf doctor peter chin-hong says the temporary rules set to last through january, make sense starting february first

the city will also require health care workers and those in high-risk settings to get their booster shots. >> according to doctor chin-hong, a new study conducted in the uk shows that 2 doses of the vaccine gives 30% protection against omicron but a booster at up to 80% protection give you the best protection. >> getting into said is so different from just having 2 shots. and when you're in a feel like myself in health care. you want to have the best protection. mayor london breed will also require visitors of nursing homes to be tested on site for covid-19. >> she says the city will continue to take the necessary steps to deal with the latest surge in cases while also keeping businesses open and students in school. >> doctor chin-hong is optimistic going into the new year compared to this time last year when covid deaths were peaking. we were. >> running out of ventilators to alternate places for people to be taken care of. it were critically ill. we're in a very different place right now.

>> san francisco is also making changes to rules regarding mega events starting february and that a strike that very first, i should say event with 1000 people or more will have to require proof of vaccines as well as boosters live in san francisco. i'm rob nesbitt kron 4 news. >> thank you, rob and starting tomorrow. masks will also be required again in indoor public spaces for alameda, marin and sonoma counties. also the city of berkeley. and again, regardless of vaccination status contra, costa county, one of the places seeing a surge in covid cases and mask mandates. they're also expanded today. kron four's charles clifford has details. >> right now. contra, costa county is in the orange tier meaning that there is substantial spread of covid-19 since mid december. the number of coronavirus cases across the county has been rising. according to contra, costa county health services in the past week. infections have gone up by 149%.

hospitalizations are up by 31% during a new surge in covid cases fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant mask-wearing will become mandatory for all indoor public places across the county starting december 29th. >> and we're worried about so many people getting this omicron variant of the same time that it would overwhelm our healthcare system. so really this is about protecting the work force protecting the health care system. new infections are being found in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. but health officials say. >> being vaccinated with a booster shot is still the best defense against hospitalization and serious illness we're seeing that the beast and people i really ending up in the hospitals in the same numbers that that i'm vaccinated or partially vaccinated are so. >> i'm getting that being big being up to date is certain like adding more fuel in the tank of your immune system. state can fight infection and can be ready when it's exposed and there's just so much covid

out there right that you want that full protection in order for the mask mandate to the east. the county must be in the yellow tier moderate spread for 3 consecutive weeks. 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated currently 78% have all their shots and there must be fewer than 75 people hospitalized with covid-19. >> at last check. only 60 people were in hospitals, but that number is expected to go up in contra, costa county. charles clifford kron 4 news. >> zuni cafe in san francisco is requiring its customers to show proof of a covid booster shot upon entry. this comes as covid cases in the city reached the highest number in a single day. the new requirement started today zinni cafe posted signs on the doors as well as on its website. >> back to the numbers being really high. it's really important that we do what we can to keep those numbers low there are people that are less protected in our community and for various reasons and and and, you know, those of us who are actually protected. i'm really need to do our best to

keep at spreading. the virus. >> san francisco only requires people to be fully vaccinated to dine indoors. but zuni cafe is one of at least 2 restaurants taking it a step further. the other is cassava in the outer richmond neighborhood which ended up temporarily closing for the holidays due to a major rise in cases as we continue to monitor the uptick in cases across the city will also see if more restaurants take matters into their own hands by requiring a booster shot to inter in the north bay. sonoma county is suggesting employers of any business require their employees to have their booster shot or get tested twice a week. the county's health officer says employers should consider requiring their employees where fda cleared surgical masks or respirators inside work settings that recommendation applies to unvaccinated employees or those who have not received a booster shot right now. the suggestions are voluntary but strongly encouraged in the south bay.

santa clara county is requiring first responders who work in high-risk environments to get their booster shots. the deadline for that is january. 24th. the county is also urging businesses to put in similar requirements for their employees and asked customers to show proof of vaccination if they don't wear masks indoors. santa clara county has seen its number of covid-19 cases, triple in the past 3 weeks. >> the fda is now saying that at-home coronavirus test kits might not detect the omicron variant. that's because the tests could be affected by virus mutations. the biden administration recently announced it intends to buy 500 million at-home tests and begin distributing them next month. it's not clear yet if those tests might be redesigned to better detect omicron. as covid cases surge in the bay area and across the state. more people are trying to get tested. and for some, that's been difficult. but as

reporter jamie, when reports from sacramento, there's not necessarily a shortage of tests. >> for the past month allen shoe has been on the hunt for a covid-19 test. a lot of base. they brought out really quickly. >> and even say i just heard about it and i inslee rushed year and i'm the last person in line for them now. so today at the la familia counseling center. >> he finally found what he was looking for. i'm really surprised because as soon as i heard our i got my keys and i. drove here i was expecting to super long line. and i got here that low. there is an ally in a matter of 2 hours, 360 tests were given out and all that's left now. >> are these empty boxes. when i got here, the south last one. i got really surprised because. the word spreads fastened. it's all gone even with an increased demand in tests. officials with sacramento county public health want to be clear, there's not a shortage of tests. the county says even

though it may feel like tests are hard to come by. >> the holiday season comes with more people wanting to get tested before gathering with family pictured a psychologist certainly seen an increase folks coming to get tested. our community have certainly seen an increase in young people coming to get tested as we close off the holiday season. doctor beatrice tennis as the demand for testing will continue as the new omicron variant makes people feel symptoms sooner than usual. she encourages everyone to practice patients being patient. we've been most of the testing sites have been doing this over a year. >> and so we have our practices down for half. maybe the most efficient it's a message to can agree with use proper social distancing, if you can and just don't give that was jimmy wynn reporting. county officials say the best way to track down a test is too check their websites. a link has been posted on our website at kron 4 dot com. >> we're following some breaking news in san francisco

where the san francisco fire department is reporting a collision between a caltrain vehicle and another vehicle. this is happening at 16th and owens in the city that is in the ucsf mission bay area near the 18 t ballpark oracle ballpark. this message was tweeted by san francisco fire just before we went on the air 6 o'clock. one person we're told is being evaluated. the scene caltrain is also on the scene. checking the tracks there and delays are expected to gain from cow train in the city heading down toward the peninsula. >> coming up, another day another storm leaving people in the sierra blasted with a lot of new snow. lawrence karnow tracking the latest round of wet and snowy weather. plus, california scientists keeping a very close eye on the record. breaking snow. what's needed to help get us out of the drought. >> and the football world continuing to mark the death of hall of famer john madden how his legacy.

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>> a developing story in the sierra. the search has been suspended tonight for a missing skier in truckee. they will resume tomorrow morning at first light 43 year-old rory and a lot of was reported missing on christmas. stay after he didn't show up for dinner with friends. he was last seen heading up to the north star, a ski resort. one

of the spots, of course, which has had a lot of snow. searchers have been using extra resources, including a specially fitted helicopter. >> interstate 80 has reopened for passenger cars and essential truck traffic only and chains are required. you're looking live at westbound. interstate 80 at king pale. look at that. lot of snow. a towering over the sides of the freeway. there. the show said only essential travel is advised and they're warning drivers at they could still become stranded if they try to travel over the mountains, especially because emergency responders are having a lot of trouble getting through a lot of traffic and snow to get to emergency calls. >> 10's of thousands of people still without power in the foothills and the sierra heavy snow making really tough for pg and e crews to restore electricity to more than 50,000 customers power has been out and colfax since early monday and the cold facts a market has been using

a generator trying to stay open for people who need food and water, heavy snow and ice, of course, of lead to downed power lines and trees since christmas morning crews have restored power to about 179,000 customers. for more on the snow in the high country. let's send it over to chief meteorologist lawrence karnow. yeah, tough going getting up there tonight. here's a look at the i 80 donner summit. the cars just kind of working their way over the summit right now in this way, it's been. >> for the last couple of hours at least. but it's just a tough over the high country right now. the snow continues to come down across the high country. the roadways, of course, very slick. your chain up going over the mountain tops as well. and you know, that's going anywhere. it's not not expecting the heat wave. so it's going to be there if you can wait a little bit longer. i think those roadways going to open up a bit. but tonight winter storm warnings remain in effect until 10 o'clock tonight as that snow will likely come down several more inches likely to come down overnight tonight and then by tomorrow

looks like finally going to catch a little bit of a break. so here's the good news in the tahoe area. yeah. just a ton of snow up there. in fact, since the beginning, this december some of the higher peaks or 16 feet of snow that is amazing. and you're looking temperatures tomorrow. yeah. 30's in thursday friday. you're holding a freezing there so that snow not going to melt as we get into saturday, 35 degrees for a high and sunny skies model showing you this storm system kind of winding down our get on the backside of it in parts of the bay area. still lots of snow over the sierra nevada by tomorrow we'll start to clear out your skies. the one thing you will have to about over the next couple days, maybe some to leave fog in the central valley. if you're traveling across from san francisco. the bay area headed up toward the high country. watch out for that. but they for the most part, i think things are going to dry out a bit friday. the last day of the year. into the new year. we're looking dry too. but if you're planning on sticking around in the high country. yeah. be prepared. looks like we've got a return of some wet weather. the meantime, though, we've seen some very heavy

rain this afternoon in parts of the bay area. the santa cruz mountains under a flood advisory. much of the santa clara valley. that includes los gatos campbell jose sunnyvale. you're looking at some heavy rain rates coming down in those areas right now. lots of snow for the sierra nevada that continues to move across the high country. 50 and 80 there in the bay area. just kind of get pounded this afternoon as we have wave of moisture coming along from the pacific and bringing that heavier amounts of rain in towards san jose and still seeing some very impressive rain rates in parts of the santa clara valley. that's why we're worried about some a possible trump huddling in some flooding out there on local roadways still showing some rain rates of over an inch and a 3rd of our that's certainly enough to a cause some problems in much of the south bay. thank you, lawrence. >> the first of the winter season's first snow survey is set for tomorrow morning and it is happening during december's record snowfall. kron four's haaziq madyun talk to a local scientist about the potential impact on california's drought.

>> record. breaking snow level in december 2021 210 inches and we still have a few days to go in the previous record was held in 1970 and that was a 179 inches. so we've blown that out of the water. andrew schwartz is the station manager and lead scientist a uc berkeley central sierra snow laboratory. the lab has been tracking snow variables in the sierra from year to year for the past 51 years. he says december is not the only record breaking month for 2021. we are also now officially the snowiest october, november and december on record going back to 1970 he talked about the role of climate change plays and how snow levels could differ. widely from year to year. so we're used to breaking records and with climate change continuing. we're expecting to see this larger year to year variability and even must to much variability. so it's

something that we do expect to see to a certain extent, but it is still a little bit surprising when it does happen. >> after several years of drought and the state of california. even with the record breaking snowfall. only 70% of the seasonal average has been accumulated. we're looking for about another 11000, 20 inches before we can get to an average season which went for months. >> it's possible and probably and then anything past that will help go towards current release of the drop the way the california department of water resources for a snow pack. survey of the season will be a key indicator of where things stand. it's an exciting time because we can start to compare the broader sierra nevada region and the snow with those snow course readings throughout the past and see where we're actually in terms of our snow pack and how far above average we actually are has it. but you on for news. >> good news. commercial crab

season officially open in the bay area and was delayed, of course, for weeks in order to protect wildlife, the california apartment fish and wildlife said sea turtles and humpback whales were in the fishing zones and they could have been tangled in the crab traps in the net. so now the department says it's ok to fish because those animals are moving on and because of a new pilot program. you can actually buy dungeness crabs and some fish directly from the fisherman right off of their boats. the program only applies to commercial fishing boats at fisherman's wharf in san francisco. >> it has been confirmed that saturday's rose parade will proceed as planned. there had been some concern about rising covid cases. but organizers are saying that they are confident that they can keep everybody safe. and you can watch the 100 33rd rose parade on kron 4 and on kron-on live on new year's day. our coverage begins at 06:00am the parade begins commercial free at 8. >> we have the tsa caught a

teddy bear clearly on the dark side. what was inside this small stuffed animal. >> also the new laws taking effect in 2022 for california schools and join us on kron four's. we ring in the new year are grant lotus i'm justine waldman will be counting astound of 2022. we'll celebrate with a live fireworks show from las vegas. the party starts at 1130 on new year's eve. only on kron 4.

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california's minimum wage will go up for the state's lowest paid workers. >> businesses with 26 or more employees will have to pay salaries of at least $15 an hour, which is a dollar more than the current minimum employers with 25 or fewer workers will have to raise pay to at least $14 an hour and that will go up to $15 and 2023. a lot of new state laws will take effect january 1st capitol bureau reporter ashley zavala explains the changes that will be affecting schools. >> new year, new rules for california, education systems across the state starting in 2022 middle and high schools that offer at least one course in health education must also start incorporating mental health into those courses pushed amid concerns of the youth mental health crisis in the pandemic. lawmakers hope the curriculum will help students identify the signs and symptoms of mental illness

and empower them to ask for help on that note, a separate new state law allows mental and behavioral health to be considered excused, absence reasons from school for children between 6.18 years old. another new law taking effect this year. requires community colleges this upcoming school year to offer ethnic studies courses at each of its campuses. the course will be a requirement starting in the 2020 for 2025 school year. the new year also starts the clock for high schools across california requiring them to provide ethnic studies starting in the 2025 2026 academic year and make it a graduation requirement for high school students graduating in 2029, 2030. another new law requires all california public schools to stock free menstrual products for students in 6th grade and up this rule also applies for california state university schools and all community college districts for their students as well in sacramento, ashley zavala kron 4 news. sports world still in mourning tonight. coming up, bay area coaches among many remembering the legendary john madden are also learning more

about. >> monday's deadly plane crash near san diego that killed 4 people. we'll tell you about that. and for so many of their homes remain their workplaces, which means will be hard to establish work life balance. we're going to see how to d

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>> today. kron four's, phillipe djegal talk to another local football legend, former dallas l football coach bob ladouceur shares his memories of coach, matt and. >> he was a friendly person just a good guy yet. a good heart. you know, it's it's a real, real. loss for for the football world. bob latta sewer took over as head football coach at de la salle high school in concord a year after john madden retired from coaching in the nfl. >> the 2 met at a banquet several years later and maintained a friendship that lasted 35 years coach matt and took an interest in summer's teams that would go on to win the most high school football games in state history kind of followed us all the way through in. >> it was it was really a neat you know, when you have john madden as you're advocating on your side.