People ringing in the new year on a much happier note. New zealand, australia and hong kong. Stephanie chuang is in bay area, it is clear behind you in the embarcadero, but we know that is all going to change. Reporter very soon. More than 100,000 people expected here, scott and kris. San Francisco Police say theyll be ready. They have more security this year than in years passed because of heightened security concerns. You can see that the barricades are out. The city has them out here already with preparations under way. This week crews have been getting ready for the fireworks show, setting up the hardware, loading up the shells ahead of tonights big display at midnight should last about 15 or 20 minutes. The barge will tow away around 11 00 to get into position. The show is electronically controlled. The entire time one to two technicians making sure everything goes smoothly on the barge. Were talking up to 6,000 devices exploding in a matter of minutes to help bring in 2016. You know, this show is not quite as much about beauty as it is just intensity. It is new years and people are celebrating. Thats what were just kind of giving them an extra bang and boom to ring in the new year. Reporter and with all the fun is also a lot of safety precaution. The u. S. Coast guard has set up a temporary safety zone 1,000 feet out into the waters off pier 14 around where that barge will be. San Francisco Police will have officers out in full force in uniform, under cover, patrolling on foot, bicycles and vehicles. Signs are up. The area around the ferry will be congested between 11 00 and 1 00 in the morning and thats even conservative. Watch out for the crowds and get here early. And i have a suggestion, do not drive. Uber also warning surge pricing is highest between 12 30 and 4 00 in the morning. Good alternative is public transportation. Ac transit all have extended hours until 5 00 tomorrow morning. B. A. R. T. Does not have free service but will extend service through 3 00 in the morning. And of course happy new year, scott and kris, to you in 2016. All right. Thank you very much, steph. I know youre working tomorrow. Were working tomorrow, so well have a nice big toast on the east coast. Well countdown to 7 00 p. M. Yeah. So the big question if youre going to stay up past 7 00, what about the weather. Will you be able to see the firework sns. Yeah. Scott and kris, it looks nice and clear, but it will be cold. Youll wear lots of layers to basically just try to enjoy the start of 2016. Now, looking at these temperatures now its 50 degrees in the east bay. The peninsula at 46 degrees. Were heading into the low 50s this afternoon, but then as we get closer to that clock counting down it will be all clear in San Francisco. The fireworks go up. And well start out at 47 degrees at 10 00. 11 00, 46 and then dropping down to 43 degrees. So, yes, it will be a cool one as we say happy new year, scott and kris. All right. Thank you much. There are options available to get you home safely. Dont get behind the wheel. B. A. R. T. Extending the hours until 3 00 a. M. New years day. There will be more trains as well. There you see caltrain is expanding service with free rides on some of its runs. And other transit agencies Offering Services free as well. Tipsy toe, aaa will offer that. Drivers can get a ride and have their cars towed up to ten miles for free. Also another warning for people who are selling or using fireworks in San Francisco today. If youre caught, its going to cost you big. Law enforcement Officials Say there is a notolerance policy in place for fireworks in the city. With fire crackers and sparklers which are known as safe and sane fireworks. Fireworks Officials Say more than 12,000 people are injured in the United States each year because theyre not using those fireworks properly. The penalty for being caught with illegal fireworks can run anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000. Well, if youre looking for something to do in the bay area, weve got you covered. Go to nbcbayarea. Com. See that box right there new years eve bay area party guide top of the page. Youll find interactive map. Theres 60 events with Transportation Options as well. A developing story in San Francisco where crews are trying to fix a sinkhole of muni tracks. This is on Church Street near 24th. The J Church Line is delayed because of this. Muni riders have to take shuttles to get around the mess. The sinkhole opened up this morning after an 18inch sewer main failed. Crews hope to have things back to normal some time today. Details on a last minute play by a south bay soccer league. Within the past hour the league asked a judge to block the city of santa clara from turning soccer fields into an nfl media center for the super bowl. Nbc bay areas Damian Trujillo is live outside the county courthouse in san jose. Damian, this comes just five weeks before the big game. Reporter and as the City Attorney for santa clara put it, hes disappointed that this is happening he says at the eleventh hour. In fact, the city is scheduled to hand over the keys to the nfl on monday. And theyll have control of those soccer fields contractually up until after the super bowl. Now at issue again is some first class soccer fields right next to levis stadium. The city says of course it still plans to hand over the keys to the nfl. That is where the nfl is scheduled to house its media compound for monday up until after the super bowl. But the santa clara youth tocker league is trying to get a judge to file an injunction, stopping the nfl from taking over the field. The group claims there are no adequate alternatives for those first class fields. We did speak with some of those soccer players right before the hearing this morning. We just want to play on the soccer field. Its just like i want to get better, you know, and if they get rid of the field, then we have no place to practice. Reporter the courtroom was packed with some of those soccer players and their parents. A judge went into chambers with attorneys on both sides and apparently told him he might make a ruling by noon today, but he was leading against that. He did schedule a hearing back here on wednesday at 1 30 at which point hell consider both sides in this case and see if in fact he will issue that temporary restraining order. And after that its a wait and see game to see what the nfl does. It does have a contract with the city of santa clara to take over those fields beginning on monday. Damian trujillo, nbc bay area. All right. Well wait to see what happens on wednesday. Thanks, damian. Happening today. A grandmother in fairfield will be arraigned on charges she murdered her 4yearold grandson by drowning him in the tub. Police say she has confessed. Dawn raineshewes is in Solano County jail. Neighbors saw her running out screaming tuesday morning, neighbors went inside and saw the 4yearold boy lying soaking wet and unmoving on the hallway floor. Police took her in for questioning. During the questioning of the grandmother she admitted to intentional act of drowning the child. Those who knew her say they know she is a loving and caring person. She is being held on 1 million bail. Police need help tracking down a suspect connected to an Armed Robbery at a gas station. Surveillance camera captured this photo of that man. He was wearing a ski mask. And police say he had a handgun when he robbed the valulejo gas station. Police think that man is also responsible for several other recent robberies in redwood city andleandro. Look at this surveillance video, a robber walks into a Mcdonalds Restaurant in the Outer Mission district last month. The man breaks through a door then makes his way into the back. And you can see him order all the employees to the ground with what appears to be a gun under a cloth. The robber forces one worker to open the safe and clear it out, but he didnt stop there. Police are still looking for that robber this morning. If you have any idea who that man is, contact san Francisco Police. Alameda county Sheriffs Office looking for a gang of burglars made up of two adults and two children. Police say the man seen in this surveillance picture distracted the homeowner in castro valley. A woman and two kids went inside and stole several items. Police say there have been several burglaries in the recent weeks with similar suspects. So if you know who these people are, youre asked to call the Alameda CountySheriffs Office. Up next at 11 00, sounds like a pretty cool job. White house photographer. Going to show you some of his favorite pictures from the past year. Plus, make way for history. The biggest ship to ever come into the San Francisco bay. Well have some nice quiet weather to end 2015, but it looks like 2016 gets off to a very wet start. Ill show you that coming up in the microclimate forecast. Got a tip for nbc bay areas Investigative Unit . Call 1888996tips, or email theunit nbc bay area. Com. Nbc bay area, we investigate. Welcome back. It is the last trading day of the year. The markets will be closed tomorrow. It looks like the s p 500 will trade negative for the year, apple too it looks like will trade negative for the year. Lower now than it was one year ago. Uber says its given its billionth ride. It was to a passenger in london. Uber in San Francisco is where the first ride took place in summer of 2010. And there have been, well, a billion since. The company says the top destination for uber riders in the bay area is the caltrain station. I was kind of hoping for something more exotic. Second place fishermans wharf, ferry building, b. A. R. T. And ucsf. Microsoft says this morning it will tell its email users if their emails are tapped by governments including our own. It sounds like a positive move letting you know if your emails at risk, but reuters reports it comes after the news service discovered microsoft hadnt been telling people for years including chinese dissidents that the company knew those users were being spied on but didnt do anything. Google started warning users about that in 2012 says thousands of its users are targeted by statesponsored hackers every single month. Looking ahead to next week, the Consumer Electronics show gets underway in las vegas. You think its quiet around Silicon Valley now, wearables once again in focus. And were pretty sure, kris, samsung is serious about this. Its an electronic belt. They call it the welt. Really. It does what your fitbit does only you wear it around obviously your waist. And it does it more discreetly. Theyre thinking why not have technology thats builtin where it doesnt look like tech. Im in to that idea. I like that. Not Everybody Needs to know all of your business. Doesnt need lights and buttons, just needs to work. Thats right. And get you off your bottom. Netflix is helping parents put their kids to bed early this new years eve again, or scott and me. Los gatos company is launching six kid oriented specials today that will count down to midnight. Parents can set that countdown to run at any time even if its hours before actual midnight. Netflix did a survey and found that most parents want to tempt their kids into bed before midnight on new years eve or before the ball drops in new york, which is what we usually do. Word of warning to you, airbnb hopes this new years eve if your guests get out of hand, your insurance may not cover the damage. Airbnb covers 1 million liability to hosts but make sure youre completely covered Insurance Experts say the first is to be honest about the uses for your home or your rental. Well, lying to your Insurance Company is insurance fraud. Its essentially that you are honest with your insurer. You know, issues a i rise when your Insurance Company thinks youre using your home one way only to find out that the conditions have changed. Insurance experts say that in california, tahoe, San Francisco and los angeles will see the most airbnb guests this new years holiday. The largest shipping vessel container ever to enter the u. S. Its passing under the Golden Gate Bridge in this bit of video. Its the benjamin franklin. It left a shipyard last month and arrived at the port of oakland about an hour ago. It is 1,300 feet long, which is about the length of four football fields. Its filled with thousands of shipping containers. Port leaders say this could change the nature of trade between u. S. And asia. Ships this size had only previously run between asia and europe. Its really hard to tell how big it is. Isnt it amazing youre standing on the embarcadero and you see one go by. Even something much smaller how big they are. Thats where my package is. If a pictures worth a thousand words, then white house photographer pete suza turns out about a Million Words a day. He captures pivotal moments in history and important ones as well. Heres nbcs ron allen. Reporter unique behind the scenes closeup photos of a president. Serious matters inside the white house. A first daughter drops by the oval office to see her dad. The president with an aides twin sons, mom wiping away a tear. The year end gallery of white house photographer pete zusa there with mr. Obama day in and day out from the start giving nbc news an exclusive first look. I probably take between 500 and 2,000 a day. Probably about a quarter million a year, somewhere in that. Reporter over seven years. Over seven years. So, yeah, a lot of pictures. Reporter part of his mission, to document history. President obama and the first family greeting pope francis, a handshake with cubas castro, a big smile after the iran nuclear deal. Mr. Obama there for Vice President biden at his sons funeral. He is the president of the United States, but hes also a human being. I try to show his personality as best i can. Theres obviously a lot of pictures with little kids in my year end gallery. He loves babiebabies. Reporter thats Deputy National security adviser Ben Rhodes Ella before the new years eve party. Ever see a president lying on the floor in a suit. Definitely not. Wide open door policy for staff children. And a lot of them are children of working moms. And he knows what a sacrifice they make. In terms of being at work a lot. Reporter this years gallery has 111 pictures. Whats souzas favorite . My favorite picture will hopefully be the one i make later today or tomorrow. Thats what keeps you going. Youre trying to get a good picture tomorrow. Reporter ron allen, nbc news with the president in honolulu. Little later well show you clips of Jerry Seinfeld doing the president , comedian, coffee, cars. Oh, yeah. They get a car and drive around. Its pretty funny. Show it in a bit. Hope it doesnt look like he takes a bad picture. Wish hed follow me around. Lets check in with kari and find out about the weather. Lots of pictures will be taken of this beautiful weather today as we take a live look now at san rafael. This morning it was kind of a mess because we had some fog and freezing temperatures. A lot of spinouts, but as you can see now things are improving as our temperature makes it above freezing. But not by much though. Look at how cool it is in the north bay. Its only 40 degrees. Its 48 degrees in San Francisco and the peninsula. And the south bay now at 49 degrees. Feeling a little bit warmer in a few spots. Like willow glen its 50 degrees, 51 at alan rock park and morgan hill its 47. Hour by hour in the trivalley we will have more sunshine. A lot more than yesterday. And it will be 48 degrees at 4 00 as you sit down for dinner it will be 41 degrees. And then the temperature drops like a rock. Look at how cold it will be tonight. And at midnight were only at 34 degrees in the trivalley. So if you will be going out tonight for a party, some of those festivities, make sure you put on some extra layers whatever you have to keep you warm. You will need that tonight. And now our temperatures for today will reach into the mid to low 50s for most of us. And we will only see 54 degrees in santa rosa. These temperatures are still cooler than average. And for those fireworks tonight in San Francisco were down to 43 degrees at midnight. Clear and cold conditions. And then into the next couple of days more weather like that. And taking a look at the sierra, this is a look at pinecrest. And weve had quite a bit of snow there recently, but a lot of people bringing in the new year in the sierra. And we just had those surveys made yesterday. And the percent of normal above normal, its at 136 across the entire sierra. The water content at 16. 3 inches and the snow depth on average at about 5 feet. So its really looking good. And we will have a couple more weather systems moving in early next week to give us more rain and sierra snow. The weekend forecast brings it up into the mid50s as we celebrate the start of the new year. Dry weather for the start of the weekend, but then by sunday thats when our first weather system will arrive. And we can see it on the satellite imagery a line of clouds and then a second one right behind that. So a couple of systems moving in to start next week will bring in quite a bit of some rain. And it starts on sunday early in the morning with some scattered showers and then a much more widespread heavy rain on tuesday. And it lingers into early wednesday. So looking like we will have a little bit of some busy conditions heading into next week. And of course well keep you uptodate on that, kris and scott. All right. Well be right back. Coming up after nbc bay area news at 11 00, access Hollywood Live followed by days of our lives at 1 00 p. M. Golfers will take their final hacks today at a popular long time bay area golf club. The Sunol Valley Golf Club golfers will take their final hacks today at a popular longtime bay area golf club. The Sunol Valley Golf Club is shutting down at the end of today after 47 years in business. Clubs director tells us theres a few reasons that factored into the closure including fewer golfers and higher water bills because of the drought. Making matters worse, 80 workers have lost their jobs. From golf to basketball, heres something warriors fans arent used to seeing, a loss. For only the second time this season the dubs came up short end of the score, but there is a good reason. The injury bug caught up with the team. The warriors lost to dallas missing four key players, which included mvp steph curry. They play again tonight in houston. No word yet on whether curry will return to the court tonight or when at all. You know, they dont lose much. When losing becomes news. In pasadena today thousands of volunteers probably tired of smelling the roses. And orchids and carnations and all the tulips, final push under way to finish the floats travel down colorado boulevard january 1st. Friday will mark the 127th tournament of the roses parade followed by the rose bowl game in which stanford will take on the iowa hawkeyes. You can watch the parade on nbc bay area. Weve got preparade coverage at 8 00. The nhl winter classic at 10 00. Doesnt mean kris and i have the day off, no news at 11 00, but a recap of all the days news at 5 00 p. M. What are we going to do with our extra two hours . I dont know. Up next at 11 00, keeping the holiday spirit in tact, the reason one bay area neighborhood is keeping their Christmas Lights on. And guess what, its not because theyre feeling festive. Many people clean their dentures with toothpaste or plain water. And even though their dentures look clean, in reality theyre not. If a denture were to be put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture, and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. Thats why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. Polidents unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99. 99 of odor causing bacteria. For a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture every day. Of accusations that he drugged bill cosby is facing rape charges or rather charges of sexual indecency for the first time after years of accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women. We brought you images live this time wednesday as cosby walked into court. The charges against him involve just one woman, but many women have made similar accusations. Nbc bay areas peggy bunker talked to one of those women. The next thing i remember is hes waking me up, roughly. Im sicker than ive ever been in my life. Im naked. And i said what happened. Reporter tiburons Patricia Leary one of 57 women that accused bill cosby of sexual misconduct. Bill cosby was being charged for sexually assaulting Temple University employee andrea c constrand was i never thought this day would happen. So im very glad this is the way things have lined up and that this has been made possible by the bravery and courage of andrea constand. Reporter she told me about the last time she saw bill cosby, in the late 70s in atlantic city. He invited me to come see a taping of the dinosaur show he was performing on the show. Reporter that night she says cosby gave her two pills and insisted she take them. The next thing she knew it was morning. I was waking up the next morning, my hair was a mess, my makeup was a mess, i was sick again. And i had been penetrated. I could feel that. I confronted him. He called me ungrateful. And he threw me out of his suite. Reporter dozens of women have surfaced with similar stories of assault. And while many people just couldnt believe her story about cosby, her husband always did. My husband is my rock. I met him about three months after the second assault. He was one of the first people i told about what happened to me. And he did the best he could to help me move on. Put it behind me and move on, because nobody would believe me. Reporter peggy bunker, nbc bay area news. To decision 2016 now. And it is actually almost 2016. Candidates wanting to be president are not stopping for the holidays. Strong language from donald trump and some Fourth Quarter fund raising winners. Today in the bays Edward Lawrence has more from washington. Reporter senator ted cruz toured the damage tornadoes caused in texas. Hes the first candidate to do so. Also before president obama. We heard stories of people in their homes that were just standing in the one spot that didnt collapse. Reporter at the same time he raised a whopping 20 million in the Fourth Quarter, far surpassing his totals for the previous quarter. Only ben carson beat that amount for the Fourth Quarter. Senator marco rubio brought in 6 million. This as donald trump amps up his attacks on the democratic frontrunner for president , hillary clinton. The husband wants to come, and she wants to accuse me of things, and the husband is one of the great abusers of the world. Give me a break. Give me a break. Reporter the other republican establishment candidates duke it out for third place behind trump and cruz. If they think this is tough now, were nowhere close to tough yet. Reporter in a drastic move jeb bush cleared out his Campaign Staff in miami and shipped them to early primary states to get his supporters out to vote. Edward lawrence, nbc news, washington. Lets take you live now to times square. Boy, look at all the people already. This is going to be the site of course of the ball dropping. More than 1 Million People will be in times square at the new year. After a year thafgs marred by terrorist attacks both here and abroad, security promises to be extremely heavy. Nbc bay areas chris thorn has the latest from times square. Three, two, one. Reporter the worlds most famous crystal ball tested and ready to go. It will welcome in 2016 at the stroke of midnight tonight. This couple plan to take it all in in their first trip to new york. Doesnt seem real. No. Hasnt sunk in yet. Reporter they say theyre not worried about security. And the nypd says they shouldnt be. People should feel safe this new years eve because were there. Youre going to have one of the most wellpoliced, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world given all the assets that we deploy there. Reporter times square will be protected by 6,000 officers on foot and horseback. Theyll have radiation detectors, metal detectors and bomb sniffing dogs. A Counterterrorism Team will guard entry points with long guns. 1,000 security cameras will help keep an eye on it all. New york is ready. Again, were the best prepared city in the country. We know how to do big events. Weve shown it time and time again. Reporter Security Fears didnt stop crowds from packing the crossroads of the world wednesday. Im pretty sure [ inaudible ] i love times square. All the lights and stuff like that. I just come in and its just like you dont know where to look first. And its just like everythings going on. Theres so much to do here. Happy new year. Happy new year. Reporter a Party Atmosphere with thousands looking out for anyone who might want to ruin it. Nbc news, new york. The Christmas Spirit will last well into the new year in one bay area community. San bruno is asking homeowners to keep their holiday lights up and on. Nbc bay areas Chuck Coppola shows us why one neighborhood has been left in the dark. Reporter each pool of light shows you where a homeowners been willing to help out. On this block of crestmore, not a lot of help. Maybe its invasive. They have to worry about something being plugged in to their house. You would see Something Like that maybe in alaska, not in san bruno. Reporter the yellow extension cord from the street light to an electrical outlet in a garage tells you in san bruno the people have the power. Aging wiring below ground has confounded city crews trying to fix dozens of street lights that fizzled out before halloween. Weve had some incidence of breakins in this area in the past. We havent had anything recently, but its kind of scary to be so dark. Reporter about two weeks ago the city began running these tempora temporary street lights at nine different locations around san bruno. Theyre noisy and expensive. They cost about 28,000 a month to run all nine. So until new wiring is strung underground, maybe by april, homeowners are being asked to plug in a very tall night light for the city. And are paid for doing so 50 a month, far more than the 3 month it costs to run an l. E. D. Street light. Its totally voluntary. Were asking people to do it. I think we have probably six or seven people that have agreed to do it so far, four more are on track and a few have declined. Reporter homeowners wlo agreed signed a waiver of liability. Just in case something within their home happened to occur that the city has no control over, someone trips in their garage or something, or maybe they have some defective wiring that were not aware of, that protects the city. Reporter this month holiday lights have served more than a decorative purpose for this man and his 5yearold daughter. We have some christmas lighting. Reporter new years lighting and christmas lighting has helped. Big time. Reporter just before christmas San Bruno City Council approved finding a firm to rewire the underground portion of the street lights, work to begin after the new year and cost as much as 350,000. But the mayor says local taxes wont go up as a result. Chuck coppola, nbc bay area news. This year for the first time we bought more christmas presents online than in physical stores. And that led to some delivery delays. Its true. Some people still havent gotten all of their gifts, but theres a silver lining. Heres nbc bay areas scott budman. Reporter things are still busy at the post office. Amazon came to us asking us to deliver their sunday packages. Reporter and bay area delivery startups like curbside are also still making runs to pick up and bring you your packages. But for the most part almost all christmas presents have, at last, arrived. So far our ontime numbers for the holiday and thats talking from thanksgiving through this current date is 99 . Sending the things that the kids couldnt fit in their suitcases. Reporter well, unless they havent been sent yet. Not enough time to get things done. Unfortunately. So im doing it today before the new year so theyll get it at least before then. Reporter those that were sent were more than ever ordered online. Everything is driven by customer demand. And more and more people are taking the more convenient route. And the more convenient route of course is go online. They dont have to leave home. Reporter although more deliveries has also led to more packages being stolen, leading to a new successful holiday metric. Nobody steal my gift from my door. Reporter thats how you know every present has been delivered. Scott budman, nbc bay area news. So its new years eve. We do all kinds of lists this time of year. About the biggest breakup. We could do that. Mike wilbur looks at the celebrity who is called it quits in 2015 sfwl weve been together for a long time. I love ben. Its always 2015 has come to an end and so have many celebrity relationships. Like his big so most of what he says is bs. Blake shelton and Miranda Lambert shocked many when they were announcing they were divorcing in july. They got hitched in 2011. I cant believe i got Miranda Lambert, hell yeah i want to talk about that. Reporter and another surprise move blake moved onto dating his costar on the voice, gwen stefani who also just split from her spouse after three kids and 13 years of marriage. We both want to be married and we both want to be good parents. And so in order to do that theres a price to pay. A lot of work. Reporter ben affleck and Jennifer Garner split after ten years of marriage and three kids. Unfortunately a nanny scandal is another thing that ben and jen and gwen and gavin splits have in common. Halle berry and Oliver Martinez filed for divorce citing ir reck sirable differences. Two years, thats big for me. Reporter john hamm and jennifer stuck together for 18 years before their split announcement in september. In any long relationship they better be your best friend. And he is my best friend. Reporter and for one of the most devastating splits of the year, muppet stars after 40 years of onscreen squabbling their romance was over. Mike wilbur, nbc news. That made me really mad. Why do you have to mess with the pickup trucks . Up next at 11 00, snow pack measurement is in. Good news and stern warning from water leaders to go with it. And is california ready for el nino . Prepare for the possibility of a storm. Its all clear and dry now across the bay area as temperatures slowly warm up. Ill give you an idea of what to wear as you head out to celebrate tonight for the start of 2016. El nino is coming, but in what form . Steady rain or torrents. Leading to floods . All right. So we know el ninos coming, but what form . Steady rains or maybe torrents. And that would lead to floods. Nbc bay area is showing us now that el nino has not been kind to the sacramento delta, and folks have the photos to prove it. Reporter these stand of Contra Costa County is considered river country. Its the intersection where the san joaquin and sacramento rivers meet in the winding delta. Along a network of tiny islands, long stretches of levees protect low lying farmlands and homes built with flooding in mind. Most years the rivers stay within their banks, but it shows the water breaking over the top of the levee. Reporter in the el nino years of 1997, 98 and 2006, heavy storms pounded the houses here on tiny sherman. Winds blowing 50 plus miles an hour. Reporter joe mcelroy of California WaterDepartment Resources has overseen the levees for two decades. He was here when the storm fueled river crawled over its banks threatening the farmland. The water is breaking from the water side over the top of the levee structure. And we were bringing rock in by the truckload to try to keep the island afloat. Reporter following the 2006 storm, the state reinforced these levees with a cap of rocks. Were hoping this is a big help to us, but with the weather you just never know. Reporter this year heavy el nino rains are again expected to belt california. Theyre among the many risks facing the states 1,600 miles of levees. The fact is a lot of our flood system is over 100 years old. Reporter among the threats are rodents, beavers and owls which burro into the banks making them unstable. In some cases environmental restrictions prevent the state from taking action against protected animals like those owls. We have a need for public doctrine to make sure were taking care of the environment, at the same time we have an obligation to provide for public safe safety. Reporter state engineer says california has recently devoted extensive resources towards updating its aging flood system. If this levee were to fail, then this land there would be millions of dollars of Agricultural Land that would potentially be damaged. Reporter but he says Climate Change and rising king tides make ittin kre increasingly dif to plan for whats to come. High tide and storm event could bring significant damage. This could all happen again . It could. It very well could. Reporter even with extensive el nino rains predicted for later this winter, mcelroy believes the newly fortified levees will do their job. Were ready. Reporter and if things go south i just hope its after im retired. Reporter joe resato jr. , nbc bay area news. Well, the sierra snow pack looks promises for 2016. Yesterday the state held its first snow survey of the season. And results were good, but that does not mean an end to this drought. Nbc bay areas janelle wang explains. Reporter from the sierra to santa clara valley, its the message of the day. The snow survey is encouraging, but still a long way from ending the drought. This is better than a sharp stick in the eye, but its really just the start. Reporter gary, chair of the Santa Clara County water district, says there are four things needed to bust the drought, above average rainfall, above average snow, full reservoirs and recharged groundwater. He says it will take two and a half years of serious rain and snow to do this. Then we would be back. But hopefully that will happen, but i think we have to prepare for the worst. Reporter he says el nino can make it harder to convince people to keep conserving. The challenge is sometimes people slack off, they see some rain, its cold, oh, the droughts over. That is not true at all. Yeah, i think well probably go back to the way we were before. Reporter nancy wright has a view of lexington reservoir in los gatos from her deck. She finds it hard to believe with recent rains that experts say were still so far off. I dont really believe them. I guess in a way i dont understand why if we get so much rain and the snow packs so high now, why that shouldnt be enough to get us out of it. Reporter still, shes going to continue to save water. Wright says if the conservation message or incentives that motivate her. Were grandparents want the world to be a better place for our children or grandchildren and i think if we were taking away their well being that would be a huge motivator. Reporter janelle wang, nbc bay area news. We consulted when we first heard about it with kari. She said, nope, droughts not over. We figured as much. Yeah, but we do still have a lot more winter to go. And we know were already in the habit of conserving so might as well continue that. As we take a live look at mt. Tam, no rain drops coming from the sky today. But in a couple of days well start to see some changes there. A look at all the microclimates. It is cool. And we were so cold this morning we did set a new daily low temperature record in napa. And now as we drop in on the east bay, its starting to feel a little bit better. At least its 50 degrees in pleasanton. And in alameda its 59 degrees. Its 48 degrees in San Francisco and the peninsula, the south bay at 49 degrees. As we take you hour by hour in san jose, mostly sunny skies. And during the the ride home if you have to work today it will be about 52 degrees. And shortly after the sunset temperatures will be dropping. For those evening festivities you will need a heavy coat on, maybe even a couple of pairs of socks if you will be outside for a long period of time. No open toe sandals tonight. 39 degrees at midnight in san jose. And look at all of the microclimates. Our highs topping out in the mid50s. And then its back down to freezing again tonight for many spots like fremont. A low of 28 degrees, san rafael a low of 32. In San Francisco all clear skies, no fog to worry about. And by 10 00 were at 47 degrees. Still clear at 11 00. And when we say happy new year it will be 43 degrees. Some chilly temperatures for tonight not only there but all across the bay area. The first day of 2016 looks pretty much the same as we end the year. In the low 50s, mid50s in the peninsula and south bay. Into the upper 50s for the south bay on saturday. We still stay dry there, but some showers most likely moving in to the forecast on sunday. And its because of this. Theres a couple of storm systems out in the pacific. Heres round one. You can see that long line of clouds. And then we have a swirl of clouds here with the large storm system that continues to gain in strength into the next few days. So that a bigger concern. This first line looks like this is the way it plays out on computer models. A line of showers moving in by early sunday morning. And much of that fizzles out as it moves inland. And then right behind that the next storm system moves in early on tuesday. And then well start to see the scattered showers and then that rain wrapping up on wednesday. The early rainfall estimates at this point give us at least about a half of an inch, up to an inch and a half for most ot bay area. Where the rain has been lacking the most in the north bay we could have a little bit more of a heavy rain there. Looking promising as we get ready to start out the new year. And also the weather systems even farther down the like look more active as we head deeper into winter. Keep in mind were only a week into winter at this point and we are in for some dry weather for a little while longer. But its been so cool, much cooler than where we should be for this time of year, kris and scott. Sure has. Id say. Well be right back. Were getting a look at the new digs of the pregnant elephant seal whoed welcome back. Were getting a new look at the digs, the new digs for that pregnant elephant seal that tried to cross the road this week. The 900 pound mammal now nesting at Point Reyes National seashore where she belongs. Crews had captured her, moved her on tuesday. Remember she kept trying to cross highway 37 in Sonoma County on monday and again on tuesday. Also at point reyes folks surprised to see this turtle swimming in the water. These sea turtles usually in warmer waters much farther along the pacific coast. Officials believe warm water and el nino conditions brought them up. Thats lovely. The animals have gone mad. Yes, they have. Well, michigans Lake SuperiorState University doesnt get in the news very often, or ever really, but students and faculty there have come up with a list of words and phrases that under no circumstances should be used ever again. All right. Because theyre tired of people misusing or overusing things like, starting an answer with so, that seems reasonable. Other words they would like to banish include problematic and our favorite presser. We use that all the time. Its jargon for press conference. Theres also break the internet and join the conversation, which you dont have to do. But if youd like to you can go to nbcbayarea. Com. Also i saw on that list was man spreading. Oh, when you sit yeah, like that. Man splaning. Man splaning is when a man explains things to you in sort of this sort of way. Well be right back. Four out of five people may not agree on carne asada or carnitas. But four out of five who got their Health Insurance through covered california got help paying for it. Find out if you could be one of them at coveredca. Com enroll by january 31st to avoid the irs tax penalty. Now and then we all appreciate a little help. Through covered california, Health Insurance could cost less than you think. And most uninsured californians could get help paying for it. To find free, local, inperson help visit coveredca. Com hes trying out a new skill comedy. As president obama enters his last year of his presidency, hes trying out a new skill, comedy. Every person you talk to is putting on an act. A total show. Its a problem. Dont you think youve heard mr. Obama and Jerry Seinfeld web series comedian and cars. Seinfeld asked about the minutia of being president and even underwear preferences and eventually make it back to the white house for coffee and a pitch on obamacare. Have a great rest of the year. Be safe. Just be careful. Well see you tomorrow morning. Why let someone else have all the fun . The sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. The why cant it smell like this all the time fun. The learning the virtue of sharing fun. Why let someone else have all the fun . Thats no fun. Unleash the power of dough. Give it a pop. The golden globe nominations are out. Its always the biggest party. There is a lot of alcohol. Burping question, what will lady gaga wear on the red carpet . She is nominated. Its wild looking at the golden globe nominations today. No rhyme or reason. How did johnny depp get kicked out and will smith is in and amy schumer is there. Sylvester stallone is there. Rocky balboa will be there. What do