up across the sierra creating treacherous travel conditions and we'llic let you know how mu of course we can expect from that in just a few minutes. right now we do want to join monty francis up in the north bay and san rafael. we can see the water rushing by in that culvert. are drivers slowing down at all or are they just speeding by? >> reporter: well, they seem to be slowing down a little bit. jeff, it's been raining since very early this morning here. there is some minor street flooding here in san rafael. storm drains are being clogged with leaves and debris and the slick roads are making driving dangerous across the bay area. the chp says the rain contributed to an accident that took the life of a 45-year-old man from pittsburgh. the driver of the white van was killed when the vehicle skidded off the on ramp of willow pass road on 680 in concord this afternoon. the accident backed up traffic for hours. there are also dozens of other accidents across the bay area including this one on highway 101 in marin county. in san rafael the nonstop rain caused storm drains to overflow and turned some roads into small rivers. and strong gusts of wind prompted a high wind advisory on the richmond san rafael bridge. in san anselmo the creek is rising but nowhere near flood stage. people seem to realize after a mostly dry winter mother nature is making up for some lost time. >> well, i think that for us we are big skiers so we love the rain. no matter what. we love that we're finally getting some snow up in tahoe. >> reporter: at sfo the rain and low clouds caused delays of more than three hours for some arriving flights. a handful of departing flights were canceled and dozens of other departing flights were delayed. >> the flight coming in was delayed, which delayed my flight to cleveland which made me miss my flight and so the only viable option was to fly out red eye tonight with connections. >> reporter: and we're back here live in san rafael where you can see the results of all this rain. public works crews are trying to keep the debris clear from those storm drains to prevent flooding and they have their hands full with a lot more rain in the forecast. live in san rafael tonight, monty francis, nbc bay area news. thank you very much, monty. that's a look at the north bay. let's take another look at the east bay via radar. you can see a lot of green covering the entire east bay. looks like a strong cell right now moving through downtown oakland. you can find the latest on the weather on nbc bay area.com. jeff is back in less than 15 minutes with an update. it's another big night off the field for the 49ers. the santa clara city council and stadium authority are holding a special meeting this evening to consider taking important steps to move the stadium project forward. city leaders are being asked to approve the stadium lease between the city and the 49ers and also a final development budget and nd financing plan. once they sign off on the plan construction can begin. tonight's meeting begins at 7:00. speaking of stadiums if you're caught being violent at a sports event you can kiss the season good-bye. a southern california lawmaker wants rowdy fans banned from sports events statewide. nbc bay area's stephanie truong has the details. >> reporter: the 49ers' run to the super bowl mid season last year -- the fans, and out in the parking lot. before that was the tragic beating of brian stowe which kept local fans far away from dodger stadium. >> i don't want to -- i'll never bring my kids to dodger stadium you know what i mean? when we do a road trip we go to arizona or san diego because it's just too dangerous there. >> reporter: that kind of fear is what moved l.a. assemblyman mike goto to take action. he has proposed a law to keep rowdy fans out of california sports events period. in this case rowdy refers to serious felonies mostly related to physical violence. the attorney general's office would plaster the offenders' names and faces online and send the information to sports arenas, law enforcement, and ticket vendors but niners fans are split on the issue. daniel marino of santa rosa thinks the violence has become ingrained in nfl culture. >> you know? if they didn't want that they wouldn't sell beer. that's where they make their money. >> i think it's a good idea if you can police it. i have got kids and i want to make sure i'm safe and they're safe. >> i brng my kids to a football game. i don't want to protect them from people fighting. i think that's a brilliant idea. >> reporter: how professional sports teams will respond and how this will be enforced are still up in the air but if it passes offenders caught violating at games face up to a year behind bars and a $10,000 fine. the nbc bay area investigative unit dug into the fan violence at bay area sports venues long before the legislation started getting headlines. here is some of what we found. at candlestick park 17 battery reports, 201 fights, and 630 ejections. at the oakland coliseum last football season 87 citations, 144 arrests and 448 ejections. at at&t park police records show during last giants season three assaults24 1 fsan24 booked and 559 ejected. if you have what you think is a story the investigative unit should dig into, contact us by e-mail. the unit@nbc bay area.com. or call 888-996-tips. >> san francisco district attorney george gascon is planning a news conference for monday the same day the city's sheriff will be sentenced. the sheriff pleaded guilty yesterday to false imprisonment. in exchange prosecutors dropped three charges connected to a new year's eve incident in which he allegedly committed domestic violence against his wife ileana lopez. the plea deal includes probation, parenting or family counseling, and public apology to the witness ivory madison. gascon did not attend yesterday's hearing because of a knee surgery but a spokesman said he was adamant that he be required to deliver the apology. she reported the incident to police. the family of the pay pal executive hit and killed by a train in menlo park says he suffered from bipolar disorder. the father of three from palo alto had recently taken a leave of absence from pay pal after he was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. >> these individuals have hypo manic episodes and milder ups and the significant downs. and most of the time that they're ill it's in the down phase rather than the up phase. >> the director of stanford's mood disorders program says 2 of every 100 americans suffer from bipolar disorder which can be treated with medication. he was hit by a train on the ravenswood avenue in menlo park friday. it could take months for cal train officials and investigators to officially determine whether the death was suicide or accident. get ready to dig a little deeper the first of every month. the cost of rent in the bay area is going up. nbc bay area's chris sanches is here now with the story. >> reporter: on the western property group site a handful of single family homes. but if you're in the market act fast because these and the rest of the property up for rent is going quick. >> tenants have to be first in line and there isn't a lot out there for them to find. >> as people are forced to sell their homes or banks taking them back the market is flood wed people wanting to rent. rental prices are up across the board. in santa clara county rents are up by 6.6% over last year. in san mateo county they are up by 6.3%. alameda county rents are up by 5.3%. in san francisco rents are down by 2% but the average is near $3,000. the chief economist at zilo says landlords will hold the purse strings for a while. >> we expect rent rates to continue to increase. again, fueled by the strong housing demand being fueled by the foreclosure epidemic. >> reporter: this property manager says she is not only seeing renters who can't buy she is seeing renters who don't want to. >> people actually have the money to buy a house and can afford the loan but they are waiting thinking the market will come down more as far as sales prices. >> reporter: sherry woods just sold her home in milpitas and doesn't want to buy right away but is renting in campbell. a place she knew she had to move on fast. >> when i was there there were other people looking at the property at the same time. >> reporter: but the folks at zilo caution people shouldn't wait too long to buy. >> it would be better to buy now with lower mortgage rates than wait for your home market to bottom and maybe you save yourself another 2% or 3% in terms of home value loss. >> reporter: i did talk with one property manager who says he had one property that lasted less than 24 hours on the market. it rented before it was listed, before the last tenants moved out. now the other property owner that i talked with today says that if you are a renter and you are looking for a new place make sure you are ready to act as soon as you see a home or apartment because there is hardly any inventory right now. back to you. >> thank you very much, chris. reports tonight, monty ellis the face of the warriors for years is part of a trade to the milwaukee bucks. partners at comcast sportsnet are working to confirm the story. we'll have more later in the show. also a creative resource or exploitation? >> we've all heard of the homeless selling newspapers to make money. there is a new plan circulating tonight. i'm jodi hernandez with reaction to an idea of turning people into roaming homeless hot spots. i'm scott budman. ya hoos trying but meanwhile we found an internet company that sued facebook over patents and won. the story is coming up. also, saved from a burning ship. two fishermen off the west coast are safe tonight thanks to some brave bay area airmen. the dramatic rescue coming up. today gop primary results are rolling in. we'll have a look but first our nbc bay area flash poll. are you satisfied with the current pool of gop candidates? call or text us at 408-300-9222. text or press one for yes or two for no. we'll have the results later in the newscast. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. a one day stunt turns into a nationwide firestorm and the controversy is far reaching. >> we're talking about paying homeless people to be roaming wireless hot spots. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez is live in berkeley with reaction. jodi? >> reporter: well, all over the bay area you can find homeless people trying to sell newspapers like this. in fact, you can see irene back there doing the very same thing, selling copies of this. tonight there is a new idea to help folks get back on their feet. an eastern company wants to turn the homeless into hot spots. >> because i've been homeless for a long time. >> reporter: janet brown may be homeless but thanks to the san francisco newspaper street sheet she has a source of income, selling papers for donations. >> that's my only way of surviving is giving some of these street sheets. >> hot spot, hot spot. >> reporter: now a new idea surfaced to help the homeless make a living. an east coast pr agency launched a test program in austin over the weekend. outfitting folks with 4 g devices to turn them into roving homeless hot spots. >> whatever you donated goes to me. >> reporter: the company says it models the program after street newspapers, people who run bay area street papers say there is no comparison at all. not only does the hot spot project not provide coverage of the homeless community, they say it dehumanizes people. >> i think it makes an object of the person. that individual is not a hot spot. that individual is a person. >> i love it. i love to be the hot spot. i'd be the first advocate. let's do it. >> reporter: but rodney spencer thinks it's a great idea. he sells street sheet papers and would be willing to sell wi-fi access, too. >> give me the t-shirt and let's do it. we can go all over san francisco. let me start first. >> reporter: janet brown says she's down, too. >> i'd rather do that than sell drugs or whatever. >> we are back here live. irene says she would be open to the idea of becoming a homeless hot spot. so far there are no plans to bring the project here to the bay area. reporting live in berkeley, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> thank you very much, jodi. big news for your bottom line tonight. >> wall street rallied to its best day so far this year. business and tech reporter scott budman shows you the money. >> show me the money ib deed. lots of it trading hands on wall street. big banks increasing dividends. in other words lots of reason for optimism. meanwhile with what is likely to be one of the biggest stock offerings on the horizon this year we have one of the biggest days of the year dow industrial up by more than 200 the nasdaq closing above 3,000 for the first time since the year 2000 and the s&p makes it 3 for 3 closing in on the milestone of 1400 itself. back to the soon-to-be public facebook it is being sued for patent infringement by yahoo. what you may not know is facebook was previously sued for the same thing. and the dot com company that sued them won the case, sort of. on the verge of its ipo facebook hit by a patent infringement lawsuit from yahoo who claims facebook stole some of its technology. as it turns out yahoo is not the first to sue facebook over its patents. >> the engine that is used when you logon to facebook is using our technology. >> reporter: that's michael mckibon founder of leader technologies. you may not have heard of them but they claimed successfully that facebook stole 11 of their social networking patents. >> i have a son who attended harvard at the same time as mr. zuckerberg and was living in the dorm adjacent to him. and had sent him a week before the now infamous hacking event. i sent him a white paper about our technology that was sitting in his inbox the night mr. zuckerberg hacked all the house sites at harvard. >> reporter: no financial reward though. leader is still seeking damages for what a court found was patent infringement. >> it's almost guaranteeing facebook is infringing someone's patent somewhere. >> eric goldman has a point. all those internet companies providing us with similar services, there is bound to be some high tech crossover. >> however, just because they're infringing it doesn't mean they ripped him off. it means the patents are on the book. they covered so much activity that people may not realize they are stepping over the line. >> leader says facebook stepped over the line and it wants to get paid. >> a big number would satisfy us. >> leader.com is working to prove and some day collect damages. the company was in a hearing just last week. we'll keep you posted. >> sounds like it's going to go on for quite sometime. what's in the water? stunning results from the study of drinking water in the central coast. 1 in 10 people living there risk exposure to harmful levels of nitric contamination in the water. the levels can cause the skin to turn blue particularly around the eyes and mouth and reduce the amount of oxygen going to vital organs such as the brain. infants and pregnant women are especially susceptible. nitrate comes from animal waste and fertilizers. close to 250,000 people living in the fresno, bakersfield, salinas and monterey areas are at risk of drinking nitrate contaminated water. >> this is really not just a problem in the southern central valley. it is not even a problem just in california. this is a global issue. >> the same researchers say one way to help ease the problem is to pass a nitrate tax or water use tax to help cover the high cost of nitrate removal. some brave airmen from the 129th air rescue wing are back home in mountain view tonight after a daring rescue. the pararescue jumpers based at moffet field rescued two fishermen yesterday 700 miles off the coast of mexico. the fishermen were badly burned in a diesel fire and because td boat was in such a remote location the rescue wing was called to action. four airmen parachuted into the ocean and reached the injured fishermen via an inflatable boat. >> the weather was perfect. the crew was very accommodating although they didn't speak any english. we were still able to perform the right care for the patients by using hand signals. >> reporter: the patients were ultimately flown to an air station near san diego and were taken to a nearby medical center. >> amazing work they do. fortunately conditions are clear enough for them to get to those fishermen. let's check our forecast now. rain all over the bay area. >> yes. much needed rainfall finally getting here. over the next four to five days we could pick up more rainfall than we've seen in the entire rainfall season for parts of the bay area. here is this very slow moving cold front now pushing rainfall across the peninsula. also the south bay. let's take you outside and get a look at your sky cam across the golden gate bridge, continually wet weather here. it's more of a light to moderate rainfall but you get on the highway and you go 40, 50, 60 miles per hour and it feels like heavy rainfall. it already turned deadly today with a driver in the east bay so take it slow. a lot of oil is being brought up on the roadways with this unusually dry winter that we've had so far. it has been cool to cold out here. get a little wind, 56 in fremont. felt like the 40s today. 56 in oakland. 54 high in san francisco and 59 in santa rosa. right now numbers moderating a little bit here in the downward direction. we have so much cloud cover in place we're not expecting an overly cold night. you need a jacket and keep that umbrella handy if you're headed anywhere. all of that rainfall that you've been stuck with in the north bay for a lot of today is now starting to slowly push to the south across san francisco, the peninsula, and san jose finally starting to get in on more consistent rain drops. back to the east bay it is more moderate to heavy from oakland to san leandro, including san ramon and alamo. half moon bay it's been consistent down to santa cruz where you've had from 2 to 3 inches of rainfall. you come over here to san jose and it's only been 0.25 inch. we'll pick up more in the south bay as we head through tonight. >> the storm door is open and is going to stay active not only for tomorrow but all the way into about saturday and sunday of this upcoming weekend. as you look at tonight numbers in the upper 40s to low 50s and for tomorrow we keep that chance of rain in the forecast. however, we'll look at gradual breaks here by the afternoon hours with temperatures in the 50s and more coming up on this winter storm warning for the sierra and also details on when thunderstorms could be coming back to the bay area. >> jeff, thank you very much. still ahead a shakeup at the top of cal berkeley. plus another teacher fired over the sexual abuse scandal at a los angeles elementary school. the changes coming by lawmakers that will affect every school in the state. and another tuesday, another set of elections. will mitt romney finally pull ahead of the pack tonight? we've got team coverage because it could make your vote that much more important. and make sure to vote in our nbc bay area flash poll. are you satisfied with the current pool of gop candidates? call or text us at 408-300-9222. text or press one for yes or two for no. we'll have the results coming up. 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(phone rings) that's a step forward. with chase quickpay, you can send money directly to anyone's checking account. i guess he's a kicker... again, again! oh, no you don't! take a step forward and chase what matters. the chancellor of uc-berkeley is stepping down at the end of the year. he announced today he is leaving his post after eight years on the job. he was appointed chancellor in 2004 and initially planned on staying seven years but then he stayed because of the california economic crisis. he plans to continue at uc-berkeley in a different role, teaching and conducting research. a slap on the wrist is what a local legislator thinks of the punishment a u c-berkeley administrator received for violating the university's sexual harassment policy. a campus investigation revealed the assistant vice chancellor was given a subordinate -- giving a subordinate pay raise while having a romantic relationship with him. diane lee was given a 7% pay cut and removed from her department and supervisory responsibilities but the senator from san francisco doesn't think it is enough. he says it isn't a deterrent to further sexual harassment. uc berkeley officials meanwhile called the discipline severe particularly for a 30-year employee. tougher laws and more transparency may be facing teachers in school districts in the wake of disturbing allegations of sexual misconduct. republican lawmakers gathered in sacramento today to announce details of new legislation assigned to protect children and move faster on offenders. the legislation would include the elimination of union contracts that slow disciplinary action and the process. it would remove the so-called four-year rule. right now evidence of any wrongdoing is pulled from a teacher's files every four years. a picture is worth a thousand bucks or more? next at 6:00 the first lady makes a campaign stop at the bay area. just how much a picture with mrs. obama will cost. and more delegates on the line tonight. we'll have the latest on the gop primaries. we'll share the results of our flash poll next. are you satisfied with the current pool of gop candidates? call or text at 408-300-9222. text or press one for yes or two for no. there is new information tonight on the soldier who is accused of killing 16 afghanistan civilians. u.s. owe ffficiaofficials now st of the shooting a search party went out looking for the missing 38-year-old staff sergeant who still has not been identified by name. when they asked him about the shooting he said, i did it. the soldiers then took him into custody. whatever the cause afghanistan is now dealing with the consequences. today a few hundred students from an islamic university burned a cross and effigy of president obama. just moments ago we learned gunmen attacked the memorial service for the 16 victims. meanwhile president obama is calling for a swift investigation. >> the united states takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered. we're heart broken over the loss of innocent life. >> the u.s. soldier had reportedly been having marital problems and recently received a bad letter from his wife. the presidential hopefuls are hoping primaries in three states today will set them ahead of the pack. >> our political analyst is crunching the numbers in our newsroom and has a look at how tonight's results will affect us in california. but first brian mohr joins us with the very latest from washington, d.c. brian? >> reporter: nbc news is calling both alabama and mississippi three-way races too close to call at this point. it's going to be a nail biter and could be a long night for those watching the votes. mitt romney is really hoping to pull off a win in one or both of these states tonight and so are the others quite frankly. romney really has a lot to prove here. he is the northeast governor who hopes to make a big splash in dixie. rick santorum has to show that he is the conservative choice. as far as newt gingrich he has to show that he can survive. he has won south carolina and his home state of georgia but if he can't win in either alabama or south carolina it looks like his run to the white house has hit a dead end. romney has a lot in this race. even if he loses, though, he is hoping that this is going to be good news all about the delegates. >> this is all about getting delegates and hope to get more delegates tonight. if the polls are right we'll pick up some. >> reporter: he has the ability to seal the deal tonight with a win in either state but a loss means the race continues to move on. even if the race continues to go on there is bad news for president obama. the latest cbs/"new york times" poll shows all of the republicans are closing the gap in head-to-head contests with the president. live in washington, i'm brian mohr, nbc bay area news. back to you. >> thanks so much. well let's check in with our political analyst now who is also monitoring the primary results from our newsroom. it's neck and neck i guess. so any surprise to you? >> it's going to be a while for sure. i think it tells us something about newt gingrich's inability to deliver as solidly as he hoped. santorum's resilience in view of the fact that romney has done well the last couple weeks, and romney's inability to seal the deal. he may squeak out with a victory tonight but i tell you it's going to be close and not enough of a victory to keep the others from challenging further. >> okay. we asked our viewers actually in a flash poll but first we want to show you the delegate count right now they have racked up. mitt romney is ahead with 454 then rick santorum followed by newt gingrich and ron paul. we will also wanto check in with our flash pool tonight. we asked viewers if they are satisfied with the pool of republican candidates. let's take a look at the results. 84% who phoned in or texted in said they are not satisfied with the pool of gop candidates. at this point, larry, do you think there is somebody else who might come into the race and try for the republican nomination at this point? >> one thing. clearly, it's suggesting the bay area of course is not representative of the country as a whole and the state for that matter but you have high negatives with the entire pack and it's because of the high negatives for the entire pack across the country that people are waiting for somebody else to come in. who might come in late? maybe somebody like rob portland for example who is someone, a u.s. senator from ohio. maybe somebody like a mitch daniels, the governor of indiana. maybe somebody like a chris christie, the governor of new jersey. and of course the perennial favorite among many jeb bush the former governor of florida. but here is the deal. it's not as if these guys can wave a magic wand and say i'm here. vote for me. they have to register for these primaries. they've got to get people on the ground. it costs a lot of money and more than that it takes a lot of time and time is something they don't have. so the only hope for any of these saviors if you will, the only hope is the open convention and where neither romney nor any of the others can be able to solve the majority. it is possible an open convention can turn up anybody into a candidate. >> could this be the rare instance where california could determine the gop nomination? >> you asked me that a month ago, six weeks ago, i'd say nah, nah. the fact is we're still 12 weeks away from the california primary and which of course has the largest pot of delegates. a few minutes ago you showed us those numbers of delegates. guess what? that means as of tonight only about a third will have been decided one way or the other. as we run through the remaining weeks if romney can't seal the deal by mid may yes, california, with the biggest bunch of delegates, about 8%, will become enormously important. stay tuned. because every week this thing goes on, every week it happens like this where nobody could really seal it, the nomination remains in doubt. >> always nice to have you inhouse and listen to your perspective. the presidential re-election campaign will make the bay area stop this month. first lady michelle obama is coming to san francisco march 30th. tickets to the fundraiser at the california academy of science will cost a thousand dollars. now if you want a picture with mrs. obama you ready to lay out five grand? the first lady was last in the bay area last june. pg&e is on the move announcing today it will move most of its gas operations to a central office in san ramon. the relocation is the company's latest push to improve its gas operation in response to the deadly san bruno blast back in 2010. pg&e leased a 250,000 square foot facility in the bishop ranch business community near interstate 680. about 800 workers will move to the new location which will include a state-of-the-art gas control center responsible for monitoring and adjusting gas pressures in the utility pipelines. 24 hours a day. as of now, the company has workers in walnut creek, concord, san francisco, and fresno. most employees will make this move by this october. next at 6:00 your next trip to the rock could cost you a little more. plus a deadly start to the winter season. why better sporting equipment may be partly to blame for a rise in avalanche deaths. good evening. i'm jeff ranieri in the weather center tracking this latest storm moving in and throughout the north bay, now finally starting to push rain into the south bay. we'll have more on rainfall totals and also three storms this week and how much rain we could pick up in just a few minutes. the next time you visit alcatraz it will cost you a little more. the national park service is bumping up the rate for ferry tickets to the island next month. the price for an adult ticket from san francisco to the island will go up from 26 bucks to 28. the price of children will be $17. park service says the increase is to cover the rising costs of running the ferries. the increase takes effect on april 18th. with less than three weeks to call the annual mavericks surf competition organizers say a new festival will take place this year even if the surf contest doesn't. organizers say the festival will celebrate the end of the season and the sport of big wave surfing. it'll be on march 31st if no surf contest is held. if waves are big enough for a contest the festival will coincide with the competition. >> there are some big waves right now with all the storms brewing up the coast over the bay area. >> you have to be careful whether you're in the car or you had any kind of plans to head on a boat we have a small craft advisory in effect. take a look right now through oakland and you can see overcast skies. we're tracking the strongest rain. i'll let you know where that is and also details on two more storms coming our way in a few minutes. we have breaking news. the warriors have traded their star player monty ellis. find out where he is headed and do the warriors get enough in return? plus randy moss is in but there is another red and gold receiver on his way out. we have the details next from the xfinity sports desk.th [ male announcer ] can't get to sleep? can't stay asleep? clinically proven unisom helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep so you wake rested. unisom. fall asleep faster. sleep longer. this year is on track to be one of the deadliest avalanche seasons on record here in the u.s. 27 people have died in oinl avalanches this winter. the average per winter over the past decade is 25. experts say this year's odd snow patterns may have increased avalanche dangers and a lot more snow is expected to fall this week. better sporting equipment may also have played a role in the rise in deaths as they now explore the back country but do not have the proper avalanche training. >> the story is on the roads where all the snow is causing travel trouble today. >> our sister station in sacramento has been in the sierra all day and has seen it all. >> reporter: hello from the sierra near donner's summit. the snow is continuing to fall. add in the wind and we have quite the conditions. how much snow? well, look at this. this is one of those snow plow burms. it's almost like climbing a mountain. a knife edge ridge. look at all of this snow. and, yes. even though this snow did create some headaches today, there is a clear good news angle to this story. from the howling to the spinning, crunched cars to clumps of snow, umbrellas in the snow, and more spinning out. >> ooh ya. >> reporter: these are all pictures of the sierra today. wet, heavy snow from the 5,000-foot elevation level on up has at times made for slick conditions. >> yeah. definitely getting slicker. sliding around a bit. >> in this accident a tow truck was actually towing another spun out car when this car lost control and hit that one. we also saw this big rig stuck on an uphill stretch of eastbound i-80. this suv also stuck along side the road. >> it's bad. you can't go faster than 30 miles per hour. >> reporter: and then there is the wind. wind gusts of 25 to 30 miles per hour near the ridge tops at times made visibility on side roads difficult but as difficult as the conditions may look the clear positive is that today's storm is bringing with it a lot of water. >> this is where the water is right here. powder just blows away. there is no water content. so it's pretty nice though. i'll take this. take ten feet if it's out there. would be nice. >> reporter: and again if you are thinking of coming up here into the sierra any time this week, be prepared. chain controls have been on all day long because of all of this snow. how much? well, this lot was plowed not too long ago and as you can see it's already been covered by several more inches of fresh new snow. it's that heavy stuff. plent plenty of water content in this snow. near donner's summit. now back to you. >> he gives it all in his reporting. >> if you haven't seen that snow in so long. he was so excited. >> jeff ranieri is here with more on the snow and an actual look at the conditions as we speak up to the moment. >> it is going good. hopefully mike is by a nice toasty fire about now like a lot of people probably should at this hour because it is still very treacherous out here as we heard from mike in his report not only on interstate 80 but also highway 50 with very consistent and heavy snow at times where we could see from 1 to 3 feet as we head into about noon for tomorrow. snow level down to about 4,000 feet right now but the high totals up at the summit near 6500 feet. rainfall totals impressive. the worst of it at least so far happening at the coast line and also in the santa cruz mountains. ben lomond 3.5 inches. san jose the story of the have and have nots just over 0.25 inch. we had a dry spot across san jose for a good portion of today but we have rainfall still on the way. gustiest winds up into the north bay from about 10 to 25 miles per hour. radar scanning around right now finding some of the heaviest rainfall now moving from downtown san francisco right over near oakland. if you're headed that way some moderate to heavy rainfall will make driving very treacherous here on interstate 580, also 980, even on the 80 corridor reducing visibility to hundreds of feet in some cases. a lot of oil being brought up on these roadways, too. even here in south san jose we've only had a few showers but more coming from the coast line and also back here from the east. we do expect that to fill in and get more rainfall down near san jose tonight. numbers in the upper 40s. in the low 50s you need the layers if you're headed out. we expect a chance this consistent rainfall is tomorrow morning and throughout wednesday we'll see a little bit of a break as we head into the evening hours. let's get a look at this week. we have the storm system we're currently dealing with right now across northern california then a second storm system back out here as we head into wednesday and thursday and then a third system as you look ahead toward this weekend. the storm door is fully open and we do anticipate active weather to continue right up until about saturday and sunday. as we put a time line on this, fine by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. areas of moderate rainfall still continuing and then by 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning starting to see some breaks. maybe even a few pockets of sunshine. then by 6:00 p.m. just a few lingering showers. so for tomorrow, the worst of it will be in the morning hours and then that gradual break. then the second storm system looks to arrive as we head into early friday morning. overall snow totals as we have been mentioning from 1 to 2 feet up near the summit levels. 47 in santa rosa. 52 oakland. 53 fremont. also 53 in the valley. let's bring you into our numbers for wednesday. we'll top out near 60 in san jose. 60 in sunnyvale. upper 50s near danville, dublin. pacifica 56. santa rosa at 60. chance of rain for thursday also into friday but really the big thing many of you should hone in on right now is the possibility of some severe weather as we head into saturday and sunday with isolated thunderstorms that could even produce some hail so that is still in the cards for us and we'll be of course monitoring it here with the entire nbc bay area weather team. while it's been dangerous out here it is much needed and this is great news. >> thank you very much. let's check in with sports. it looks like we've lost a warrior. >> that's right. but we've gained. >> that is the big question. many people trying to calculate what they gained. monty ellis can score but it appears his days of scoring in oakland are over. according to yahoo sports golden sports has traded monty ellis and kwame brown to the milwaukee bucks for center andrew bogut and steven jackson. the trade happened about an hour ago. the warriors face the kings tonight. ellis and hugo are in sacramento but will not play. monty met with reporters moments ago. we have the only tv camera in the locker room. monty said he had a great time playing for the warriors. >> i have great news here. you know, thankfully i had the opportunity to do what i did for the seven years i was here. i started my career here. just going in another direction. i feel good. >> much more on the story tonight at 11:00. nfl owners have a checkbook in one hand and a pen in the other. it's time to write some checks. nfl free agents signing period kicked off at 1:00 today. washington redskins didn't waste any time to sign one of the niners' free agents. say good-bye to josh morgan. the wide receiver has agreed to a two-year $12 million deal with the redskins. $7.5 million is guaranteed. last season morgan tallied 15 catches for 220 yards in a campaign cut short due to a broken leg he suffered during the niners' week five victory over tampa bay. jason campbell's days as a raider are history. the quarterback signed a one-year deal with the chicago bears where he is expected to back up jay cutler. the raiders released kevin boss today. to baseball giants hosting the cubs. madison baumgartner making his third spring start, an up-and-down day. the 22-year-old known as mad bum threw four innings allowing three runs and seven hits but he did strike out four batters including former a, david dejesus. in the batters box pablo spanball. 1 for 3. single to shallow right. now batting .250 this spring. brandon crawford was 1 for 2 on the day. fly single to left. raising his batting average to .389. the most promising highlights of the day belong to the new fielder angel pagon. take a look. flashing the leather out in center. and then in the bottom of the fifth, keep it running a round those baseies. the giants get the first run of the day. they fall however 5-4 their first home loss of the spring. >> a lot of balls up and over the plate and made some good pitches too but there was a lot of balls left there in the middle of the plate and like i was saying kind of got behind early a lot of times and instead of sticking with my stuff and making a pitch, maybe give in a little bit and leave one over the middle. >> more baseball news for you. tough news for the as today as they played left-handed pitcher bret anderson on the 60-day dl as he continues to recover from tommy john surgery. the move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for infielder brandon hicks claimed off waivers today by oakland. also sharks and flames are playing right now. sharks have the lead 1-0. complete highlights at 11:00. by the way, the milwaukee bucks play the warriors at oracle this friday so monty ellis and f.a. will get a chance to face their former team if this trade which is expected goes through without any problem. >> no need to give directions to the arena. they'll lead the rest of the game. >> not at all. hard to say good-bye to those guys though. for a full half hour of bay area sports coverage you can watch sportsnet otral n asmcco central on co basret aniaytoata t ghmc 10:30. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. tonight at 11:00 a pet health warning. big names in dog food that are tied to hundreds of cases of dog illnesses across the country. that is tonight after the premiere of "fashion star." finally tonight, rewriting history one tweak at atime. the titanic is now on twitter. this is a fascinating story. experience the epic journey with minute by minute tweets as if onboard the ship itself. the history press, a u k history publisher is live tweeting a irrelevant chul reen -- virtual re-enactment of the final voyage at titanic real time, the history says the tweets are historically accurate. the titanic sank april 13th, 1912, in the north atlantic ocean. i am following them as we speak. >> you are very media savvy. tell us what's coming up. >> we got folks from italy joining us already. tonight we'll talk about the bay area executive killed on the train tracks, recently diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder. we'll talk to a couple experts about what that is and help us understand that condition and of course we're talking the big game. >> good night. i'm suzanne shaw editorial director. throughout california thousands of public school teachers are once again anxiously waiting to see if they'll get pink slips on march 15th. that's the deadline for districts to notify staff if there is a chance they'll lose their jobs. imagine what that does for morale. it's not the teachers' fault. it's our state government. unable to plan a balanced budget. what other industry threatens its work force with layoffs year after year? yet we expect teachers to soldier on and keep mentoring and nurturing our kids? last march 20,000 california teachers and staffers were given layoff slips even though 8,000 jobs were later saved. the emotional damage was done. nbc bay area believes this has to stop. districts should only notify those employees they truly have to layoff. tell us what you think at nbc editorial.com.