This sign on highway 17 reminded motorists they have to contend with something rare on the roads, rain. A lot of people i know are scrambling to get their windshield pipers fixed. There were two major accident on the way to work pretty bad so it seems like its catching a lot of people off guard. The first rain after a break. Rain toppled trees and even caused a minor mud slide. It also created lots of new puddles, brought new life to the Swimming Hole in Boulder Creek and helped the San Lorenzo River move more swiftly. With even more rain headed our way this week, todays showers were also a very wet reminder to prepare. Im making sure that i have extra batteries for the flashlights and extra fuel for my generator and just staying home as much as i can and trying to keep warm. Despite having to dig out umbrellas, most people took the rain in stride. Or should we say stomp. It is really coming down right now. Chp officers tell me that the most common problem they see with motorists is that they are simply driving too fast, and in this kind of weather that can be very dangerous. Reporting live at the highway 17 summit, marianne favro, nbc bay area news. Thank you. Its 5 00 so the vush on, and working double duty tonight our morning traffic reporter mike inouye. Nice to have you with us. What are the trouble spots . Good to be here. Looking over towards fremont, what were looking at all over the bay. Earlier crash has started to clear from the roadway but still had that slow afternoon commute. Southbound side is where you illustrate the rain and water kicking up on the roadway and the flag on the bottom of the screen so theres wind. Thats an issue as well. As we take you over to the full screen i want you to see it at home and there we go, look around the bay. This is a typical pattern but a little slower than normal. So allow about 30 more for your travel time. Here are the typical slow spots. The map and the green and the blue, where our weather and Traffic Systems are tied together. Puddling and ponding and very slows approaching the bridge in both directions after an earlier crash as the rain came in at 3 00 and never quite recovered. 670 slow into sonoma. Not unusual. Slower than you usual have on a wednesday. South bay very wet and southbound sides of 101 and 280 jammed up. Flooding reported throughout the day. Right now we have one over here. 82 at fremont avenue and a smooth drive through the area and a little slower drive for 101 and 280. Again, the commute is slow so maybe put the dinner on the warmer. Not just the roads but the rain causing headaches for air travelers. Cheryl herd joins us with the umbrella from sfo. A lot of delays late this afternoon. Reporter raining hard enough for an umbrella but just gets in my way. Just got off the phone with the duty manager, and he tells me theres 127 cancellations and up to two hours worth of delays. The reason is rain, and believe it or not, a lot of people are smiling. Were excited regardless either way. Members of the school of urban missions of oakland are on their way to new orleans by way of dallas. Their dallas flight was rain delayed. Thats a minor delay, minor setback for a major comeback. Reporter folks i talked to were smiling when they told me im cancelled. Reporter Erica Plummer came to San Francisco to interview this job applicant, and now shes stuck. My phone buzzed. I got a call from Alaska Airlines with an automated message your flight has cancelled and it will now be departing from san jose. By 1 00 this afternoon there were 111 cancellations and countless delays. The duty manager expects things to get worse. Meanwhile, in palo alto, things could have been worse for this family. A huge waterlogged tree came crashing down in the street just missing their home. My wife was saying the tree has gone down, i said no, no way, but then when you walked out and you saw it and you said oh, my gosh, just thank goodness that it fell into the street and not into the house. Reporter im told there are not a lot of problems to speak of at Oakland International or san jose international, but if you have planned to fly out of sfo you should call ahead. Reporting live at San FranciscoInternational Airport im cheryl herd, nbc bay area news. Over to the east bay where the wind is a situation. Live look at 880 in fremont, you can see the flag whipping aron. The rain and the wind, add those together, you could have some issues. Nbc bay areas chase cane spent the day with homeowners battening down the hatches making sure they dont have a lot of stuff outside. Reporter they sure are. They are ready and know whats been coming but they have been spared most of the day. So far here in the east bay not a whole lot of weather issues to report, but within the last few minute the rain has started back. That wind has picked up and also the traffic is slowing down. This is interstate 580 heading north are and the traffic has been slow here for a couple of hours, and it seems to just be getting worse. A rainy morning in the Oakland Hills meant kay wanted to load up on sandbags now before its too lot. The trouble spot is my garage. I live in the hills and the water seems into. Reporter kay wasnt the only one taking action early. Agnes knows what will happen if she ignores the first drops of rain. It will flood in the lower room, you know, because its an old house, and it has cement down, but, you know, its water still comes in, and you have to protect your house. The lower room, basement like. Reporter signs of preparation could be seen ais kro the east bay. Crews performing routine chores today to prevent worse situations later like tree branches knocking out power and for ron cardin, and arborist in haden, falling trees will mean business because this impending storm sure looks like it means business. We hate to think that people are going to be having trees fall on their projects but we anticipate that its going to be busy over the weekend, yeah, unfortunately. Reporter back live in alameda county. As the rain picks up, it seems the speed on 580 is slowing down. It will be a long commute home for many people. We spoke to pg e officials and they said their crews have been doing routine maintenance on trees and branches to clear things out before the winds pick up over the weekend pause thats when they are fearing some problems here in the east bay. Nbc bay area face. Thanks, chase. We invite to you stay with us for continuing coverage of the bay area storms, both on air and online, nbcbayarea. Com. We have all the information that you need. Were following some breaking news now out of arizona. This is a decision thats Getting National attention. Arizona governor jan brewer just vetoed a bill that would have allowed companies and individuals to refuse service to gays and lesbians based on religious reasons. The bill backed by republican lawmakers set off a National Debate over gay rights, religion and discrimination. Supporters say it was designed to give added protection from lawsuits to people who assert their religious beliefs in refusing service to gays but opponents called it an open attack on the lbgt community. Governor brewer in arizona has vetoed that bill. Still to come here at 5 00, Governor Brown in the bay area talking drought and why he hasnt order any mandatory water restrictions. Also and as those mandatory water restrictions are looming a lot of folks jumping ahead trying to figure out how they can serve this rain now that weve finally got some. Stuck in the muck. What it took to free this boat that got trapped in marshlands on the peninsula. And then at 6 00, why the uc system is pushing to pass a law that would let underage students use alcohol. Definitely something that we think is necessary. Thats new at 6 00. Take a good look at these pictures taken from the nbc bay area chopper. Yes, that is a boat. Rescues started with a distress call about it this afternoon. Redwood city fire sent its air boat crew to the scene. Not really clear how the boat or that crew ended up stuck in the marshlands of redwood city. Fire crews picked up the stranded crew. 30 minutes later no one no word yet. Todays ceremony to honor toussant cruz Police Officers killed in the line of duty. Lined up to switch their Old Police Badges for new once. It was a year ago that the officers today. The Memorial Garden is located outside the Police Station and its intended as a lasting tribute. The problems in oakland are complex, but theres a new proposal regarding gun control that could reduce violence in oakland. Getting support from city leader but state leader worry about a negative Ripple Effect in other bay area community. Investigative reporter vicky edgein joins us. Reporter when Governor Brown vetoed the bill he shot down attempts to develop its own licensing and registration programs to keep track of guns in the city but we wanted to know if a program like this would actually mick a difference in reducing crime. Tonight a look at the number of Crimes Involving guns. Police in oakland ceased more than 3,700 guns in that time period, 37 more than taken by police in San Francisco, a city with twice the population. City leaders say when oakland had a more robust tracing system with the atf it helped reduce gun trafficking but opponents, including Governor Brown, said adding new laws would only cause confusion. What bill could city leaders there put on your desk that would you sign that would give oakland more local controls. This isnt a matter of bills. This is a matter of a Community Coming together. Reporter how often did you see gun trafficing . Almost every day of the week. Reporter hear more from former gang members who exposed the oakland gun culture and what city leaders say they will bring back to the governor. Thats tonight. We investigate at 11 00. Raj. Vicky, well see you at 11 00. A tip for vicky edge enor anyone else, give our Investigative Unit a call 888996tips. We have breaking news to tell you about. This is in San Francisco. This is what we know. This has been a police chase and seriously impacting b. A. R. T. Service. Lets get to our traffic reporter mike inouye. What have you figured out . Got word from the chief spokesperson for b. A. R. T. , and she says that service is currently stopped right now. B. A. R. T. s official word, 15th street and mission and 24th street and mission due to the Police Activity you were talking about. We heard that theres a robbery above ground and then they caught one of the suspects. Another one fled on to the b. A. R. T. Property and went down and no service between 16th mission and 24th miss. Thats in addition to delays that were already in place because the wet tracks were causing them to slow down the trains so this is a bigger issue over in the city. Right now b. A. R. T. Service through that mission area is halted. Well track that as well as your slow commute. Back to you. Check in with you a little bit later. Turning now to our micro climate weather alert. On the left is a live look over palo alto and on the right is sunolofwell take every precious raindrop we can get after 36 month of drought and below average conditions. Wont be enough to make up the deficit so conservation is a serious conversation. More now from santa clara. Reporter hi there, jess camp folks have been wondering what can we do with all of this now that weve finally gotten it . Heard our friends and neighbors say its raining but still wont be enough. A lot of folks are turning to a method that goes back to the cave man days of collecting the water for use at a later time. As the rain falls in the saratoga, brad daniels collects it in storage barrels, a way of life and his business. He founded rain savers about five years ago but when the serious drought talks started about five month ago the phones started ringing off the hook. I am getting calls saying, hi, can you get here before the rain starts . So im trying. Daniel can install a simple barrel in about an hour at a cost of about 200. Light blocking barrels where algae cannot grow and with screens to filter out debris and to keep mosquitoes from breeding, but he can also put in larger storage tanks, underground cisterns with pumps and commercial units as well. Maybe not enough to supply all of the nondrinking water a household would need but daniel says certainly enough to result in a lower water bill for consumers less water flowing into the bay picking up pollution along the way and even reduced pressure on the power grid. The whole state of california, 20 electricity, moving water here to there. I could not believe that fact when i heard it. Reporter talking conservation all across the state is getting very serious. You heard earlier Governor Brown is considering mandatory restrictions stayed wyatt but even before that theres conservation tactics you can use. Gathering your rain water just one of them and its one that could get you a rebate depending on where you live so check with your Water Company or municipality. In santa clara, chris sanchez, nbc bay area news. Governor brown said today the state is not ready for mandatory water reduction. Cities and counties across the state currently have the authority to begin mandatory restrictions, if they choose. When it becomes necessary for the state to take over and orders communities to do things they should be doing, well, ill certainly consider that. Essentially hes keeping it on a local level and not the state level. The governor made his comments following a meeting in San Francisco with portugals president. Governor brown says he and the president of portugal spoke about how the two countries can Work Together to prepare for climate change. Now lets hand things over to chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. Right now the winds are pretty gusty around here. Sustained 10 to 20 miles per hour. Gusting into the mid20s down along the santa clara valley. Anywhere from 20 to 5 miles per hour. Heading to the coast line, it will get nasty. Not only the wind but also the rain that continues to move in. The cold frontage is just offshore so that continues to step across tonight. Well continue to see this rain on a quick clip. Lets take you to San Francisco. Thats where the rain is the heaviest. 61 100 of an inch and also to the north, mill valley, getting half an inch per hour so likely, again, some ponding on these roadways on 10 a 1 and then also down here on 101 from san martin to gilroy. Visibility cut down to half a mile in some cases. Throughout tonight well likely see again more waves of wet weather continue to come in, so while we have a period of clearing in the south bay, again, heavier weather is on the way. You can see in the Sky Camera Network temperatures in the upper 50s and rain on all the quadrants. For more details on impacts well see tonight im joined by my colleague anthony slaughter. Could get rough in the next couple of hours. Here on the live shot location, a couple trees have actually fallen, one in the Guadalupe River in downtown san jose and the other branch just to my left, really about ten feet away from where im standing. The impacts tonight will not only be the gusty winds but the quick rising creeks and rivers. If you do live near one of those, definitely make sure that you clean out the storm gutters before you go to bed and make sure theres no debris or leaves that will clog that. Thats really going to be the main culprit of saving your life here, especially if you do live near one of the quick rising creeks. The other thing to keep in mind is power could go out overnight. Plan now and get your flashlights ready and make sure your battery life is full and if you dont have flashlights, candles are a good idea. The other thing, leave you with this, if you still use the alarm clock and plug it into an outlet, may want a backup plan for tomorrow, just because if power goes out you dont want to be late to work. Well continue to track this ominous weather as it continues to develop throughout the evening. For now ill send it back to you. Jeff. Great information because if we do get a thunderstorm coming through with some lightning its those kind of thunderstorms that can bring that power out quickly and were not used to that kind of weather across the bay area. Well keep our eyes to the sky as well. Always available at nbcbayarea. Com. Areas of scattered rain from 11 00 p. M. And then by tomorrow morning well see scattered showers through 6 00 a. M. And then by thursday evening well start to get some sun moving back into the forecast, but then our next storm system starts to line up in the overnight hours of friday through 2 00, 3 00 and 4 00 for another round of some heavier rainfall that will likely continue until about 8 00 in the morning. Then eventually as we head throughout saturdays forecast well begin to get some clearing back into the bay area. Its going to take a little while though. Lets go ahead and get some look. Well have live reports tomorrow morning from nbc bay area bob rid dell. Thinking of heading this way interstate 80, also highway 50 is going to get quite nasty again. Icy roads and temperatures below 30 degrees, and its not the kind of thing you want to be stuck n. Micro climate forecast for thursday. A little bit of sun breaking out in the forecast once we get over the initial showers that could linger in the morning hours. 63 in san jose and palo alto 64. San francisco also at 61. Youll find the micro climates across the north bay, east bay and trivalley look very similar. When you get a storm system moving across, helps to level everyone out. 63 in napa and fremont and trivalley, 63 expected in livermore. Do want to underscore the point, lightning strikes offshore, and as we continue throughout the evening, guys, a slight risk for some severe weather. Were going to track that lightning, and also it might not be too uncommon the next couple of days for maybe a funnel cloud reported or two across california. Thank you, jeff. Youre welcome. Coming up, a new game plan to help get bay area fans to the new hopes of the San Francisco 49ers. And target takes a hit to its bottom line after that holiday security breach. Were back in a moment. A team of engineers gathered in oakland today to discuss those faulty bolts on the new span of the bay bridge. Todays meeting included some engineers who have been critical of caltrans response to the problem. Now engineers are debating the safety of 2,600 similar bolt that remain on that bridge. Caltrans is currently running tests to determine if those bolts are okay. When the stadium six month away from opening time for a game plan for game day. Transit and city leaders are mapping out how they will get fans to and from the stadium in the easiest and quickest way. Thats for the new Transit Committee program tackled today. It included a group of officials from the peninsula to the south bay. They will be looking at all kinds of things, service plan, transit demand, wait finding and bike policies and parking policies, everything that has to do with the best service. August 2nd is the first game at the stadium. Its a soccer game between the San Jose Earthquakes and seattle sounders. The massive data breach that affected millions of target customers over the holidays is costing the company hundred of millions of dollars. Target said today that sales fell more than 5 over the previous quarter. Analysts had expected a profit. Target also said it expects the damage isnt over and that next quarters numbers will also be down. When we come back, an update on the wet and windy weather. Well be back in 30 minutes. Heres what were working on for 6 00. Discovery thats literally out of the word. Hundreds of new planets discovered and turns out theres a bay area connection. Another check of the rain and to what to expect as we go into the night. A live look over san jose and on the right San Francisco, and in both cases it is wet. Jeff ranieri from the latest. Heavy pockets of rain. Two strongest zones of rainfall on the Doppler Radar right now. Our biggest alert if youre heading out this evening is in downtown San Francisco. Rain at nearly a clip of 1 inch per hour will slow you down. Possibly isolated flooding out there on the roadways. Can you see from the live sky camera, wind out of the southeast at 28 miles per hour. That is sustained. Gusting to 33. It is wet and it is windy. Not only there but also in oakland. Take a look at the radar here. West oakland with some heavy rain coming down also at one inch per hour. Well track this coming up with the full weather team at the 6 00 p. M. Show. Also want to let you know that b. A. R. T. Service has removed at all San Francisco stations so the trains are now back up and running. Thanks for joining us. See you in 30 minutes at 6 00. Until then, Brian Williams joins us next. On our broadcast tonight, breaking news on the fight in arizona. Tonight the governor weighs in. War games, a show of force from putin, dispatching the russian army on the border with ukraine as the u. S. Sends a strong message in respon. The age factor, the medical news out today about older fathers and the potential risks of having children near middle age. And high times in colorado where it is all perfect legal and the people lighting up and chowing down may surprise you. Tonight a look at the epicenter of a sweeping change. Nightly news