depths and team coverage, next at 11:00. we were only going about ten miles an hour and just went right off the road. >> blizzard-like conditions in the sierra tonight. right now snow falling by the foot. and in the bay area, this winter storm is soaking neighborhoods, and high wind warnings are delaying even more flights, just what travelers don't want to hear. good evening, everyone. i'm tom sinkovitz. we have live team coverage of

the storm tonight. richard sharp is in the sierra, elise kirchner and jean is at the airport. jean, wind is the biggest problem where you are. >> tom, we have had gusty winds here at the airport and the rain just won't let up. slight delays right now are averaging between an hour and two hours. this weather is also slowing things down out on the road. heavy rain in marin county makes for slow going as drivers navigate through downpours and ponding water. lots of them are heading to the hardware store for wet weather supplies. at jackson hardware in san rafael, the rain gear aisle is a popular stop. >> i'm shopping for rain gear and rain boots and straps to put tarps on my boat. >> reporter: everything that will help repel water. but in this storm f you're outside, you're going to get wet. >> the fresh water getting in, it just seeps in every crack.

it's really hard to deal with. so yeah, i'm worried about it. >> some people are worried about the creek. it's jumped its banks here before. with a flood watch for marin, selma and napa counties, some aren't taking any chances. even though the creek is far from flood stage, they already have sandbags in place. they are keeping an eye on the creek depth chart. >> it's probably better safe than sorry. i have a really large storm door that takes two people, though, so i don't want to have to go around finding people to open and close it with me if i don't have to. i haven't put it up today. i may change my mind. >> heavy downpours have people thinking about taking precautions. if you're heading to any of the bay area airports tonight, the manager says call ahead. he's expecting flight delays to continue just as long as this weather sticks around. reporting live, nbc bay area news. >> some people there, jean, i

understand have been told they're not going to get out before new year's day. it must be a mess at san francisco international tonight. >> a lot of upset people. >> let's get to elise kirchner, the storm bearing down on the south bay. what's happening where you are, elise? >> the rain coming down pretty steadily the last few hours. you can see some runoff into the street. all of these wet conditions are making it pretty tough for drivers on local roadways. >> pretty bad. it's raining pretty hard. >> reporter: heavy rain forcing bay area residents to run for cover on tuesday night. some kept warm inside this bar in los gatos. >> it's raining way too hard. >> it's an excuse to stay at the bar? >> maybe. >> reporter: others enjoying the soaking but the roadways above

los gatos and highway 117 is the most challenging. >> it's maybe 300 yards visibility because of all the water on the roads. >> water and wind gusts at au50 miles per hour, causing tough visibility. >> we just came down on 17 and you could hardly see in front of you. >> reporter: and with all this wind and wet weather, there could be even more debris on local roadways tomorrow morning, so if you're going to be taking a commute in the morning when it's still dark outside, definitely gi yourseve yourself of time and take it slow. elise kirch ner, n brks krrks b news. >> is it getting better where you are or getting worse? >> it got better and then it picked up about five minutes after we stepped outside our warm truck to do these live

shots. >> thank you, elise. now you can get back inside as we show you live pictures of the san mateo bridge and you can see the camera bouncing around just a little bit there. it's heavy winds and lots and lots of rain on that bridge. meteorologist rob mietta tracking the storm all night long. what else is coming now? >> we are in the middle of this rain event coming pretty fast and furious over the bay area right now. rain coming in sideways. 56 degrees currently. san jose very soggy. right around downtown, we're at 51 degrs. we have scattered downpours pushing into the santa collar a valley. here are wind speeds anywhere from 15-mile-per-hour sustained winds. we've seen some gusts up to 50 miles per hour in some of the hill tops in the south bay. the golden gate already going above an inch of rain, same story around the santa cruz mountains.

those numbers may double by tomorrow morning.de 1.5 irchlz of rain, and as they transfer to the radar view, some of that heavy rain spilling out of the north bay, so still on schedule with this storm, moving quickly enough, limiting the widespread flood potential. spotty we're seeing areas of roadway flooding. you're seeg some of that now in san francisco, and look at the east bay to st. mary's, heading to walnut creek. san sng an retting a steady soaking at this hour. you can see pockets of downpours mainly off to the east of san jose. but here's the bull's eye from now to 1:00 this morning. heavy rain, gusty winds, reduced visibility at times. and we really have to watch for mudslides and rock slides in those areas of the santa cruz mountains before sunrise tomorrow, so you want to tune in today at the bay, and tomorrow morning keeping track of all these changing conditions we're seeing in the mountains. i'd say we just passed the midway point in the rain. n see the cold front

draped over most of california. behind it much cooler air aloft, so as inches of rainfall in the bay area, by the time it hits the sierra, we're talking several feet ofyonow between now and probably tomorrow afternoon, so the big punch also being felt off the east and for the bay area, as that cold air drops in, we could see snow in the higher peaks around the bay area tomorrow. we'll talk about some of those chillier changes in the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> and given what we've seen already tonight, is it any wonder that a winter storm warning is posted for the sierra? this is a caltrans camera from highway 267 at north star. right now heavy snow, high winds, slick roads. they're all making the trek up the mountain extremely treacherous. nbc bay area's richard sharp braved the winter conditions. he's lie in nyack right now, and we can see the action you're getting there, richard. >> action is the right word.

rain is just pounding the mountain. they are taking this snow back to the sacramento area for a bunch of kids to play in tomorrow. not very loaning to shovel all this for these guys because there is so much snow up here. it's been hardest on the traffic. the caltrans say all those christmas vacationers going home to the bay area and sacramento area on interstate 80 and all of those coming up for new year's evacuees, they say tonight was just a bad night to travel. you can hear from the sound of the snow, conditions were heavy. you're one of many tonight. what happened is th? >> we were only going about 10 miles an hour and just went right off the road. >> there were many spinouts on interstate 80. caltrans had their hands full. >> very icy and lots of snow on the road and heavy traffic. >> the conditions just got worse and worse with this howling wind.

the snow was just going sideways and several people had to be towed to safety tonight. >> we don't know what else to do. >> did you guys slide off the road? >> we skidded up a little bit. >> reporter: now, this is a good visual for how much snow has been falling. this car has been here basically since the start of the snowstorm. you can see it's a good foot or so of snow. this car is basically buried in here. this is at the 5,000-foot elevation level. it's much deeper the higher you go. cal trachtrans and chb warning drivers, if you're coming from the bay area, please be aware. bring your chains and expect much longer travel tichlsz. i'm richard sharp, nbc bay area news. >> and we haven't reached january yet. and the sno is not the only thing people in lake tahoe are talking about tonight.re theeologicale survey web site shows a quake hit on the

california side not far from where richard was. there are no reports of damage or injuries. if you are what you eat, then no wonder kids are flunking out of school. next at 11:00, we investigate what's really going into cafeteria food and why it could be a total waste of money. and the bottom line, why it's causing kids to fail when it comes to grades and their weight. and then word leaking out about the next ipad, and there might not be just one version. and i'm tracking the worst of the storm right now arriving in the south bay where it's a one-two punch. there you see the heavy rain, plus we're tracking some very gusty winds outside as we watch those wind gusts close to 50 in some of the foothills. wee look at how long these winds are going to stick around in the forecast when we come back. >> i was scared the whole chair was just going to fall. >> a chairlift accident. skiers plunged 30 sl .opes ee'l

slopes. we'll have the rest of the story right after the break.

terrifying moments when a

ski lift derald at a popular resort in maine, sending five chairs crashing 30 feet to the snow-covered ground. eight people, including three children, suffered only minor injuries in the fall at the sugarloaf ski resort. the rest of the lift riders jumped or sat frightened in cold, harsh winds for more than an hour before they were rescued. >> there were workers everywhere at the chair asking people if they were okay, making sure that we were -- making sure we knew we would make it down safely. >> the chair will be shut down for the rest of the season, partly because of the high winds and icnstability. we'll be joined in a few minutes for the latest on our weather conditions. a target store has the final approval tonight. mayor gavin newsom announced all permits have been granted for the city's first target store.

now that the red bull's eye has the green light, construction will begin next month at the corner of fourth and mission streets. the store is set to open in 2012. tonight there is something of a food fight at local schools. one in three kids in the u.s. is overweight or obese thanks, in many cases, to high sodium, high fat and high sugar diets. and plenty of that junk food comes from where you would least expect it: school. vickie nguyen takes us to a school that is revamp iing thei food. >> it's a no resolution zone, but it's even more yeses. >> we do tacos and burritos.

>> an expansive menu for students throughout the bay area, with an emphasis on healthy food for kids who receive free or reduced lunches. >> my goal is that every kid going into the lunch room is excited about the meal, excited about the food they're about to eat and feel good after they eat if. >> they're investigating a new recipe, bok choy and salad. >> the salads are pretty good. the chef's salad, seafood salad. >> did you eat that before? >> no. >> kids do like healthy food, but you have to make the food fun. >> after the food switched from traditional food to revolutionary food, teachers said they saw a difference. >> the kids had more energy, their grades were going up, they were more focused in class after lunchtime. >> and over a three-year period, students' star test scores shot

up 73%. the school lunch reimbursement rate is just under $3, and that includes the cost of labor and transportation to get the food here to the cafeteria. school sources tell us that's the dirty secret. schools can spend as little as $1 on frozen, processed meals. they say the food saifgvings ar then used somewhere else in the budget, even though that's not how the system should work. but at her school, the investment is paying off academically and physically. >> i noticed that when i ate the food here, my body changed. like, i've gone in lighter, i've gone in taller. >> revolution foods co-founder says the company has weathered a few food flochps. >> we tried serving a wrap in the first year of business, and we got back, why are you serving me a cold tortilla? >> but people who serve fruits

and veggies are eating their words. it doesn't cost schools more to serve these meals, meals that are transforming the way kids evaluate, learn and grow. >> parents should ask what their schools are spending per student on the meal and what they're serving, and if they don't like what they hear, they should lobby school leaders for healthier choices. an oakland teen who has been paying forward his good for tune is ready to meet his donor family for the first time. 13-year-old michael caraway and his mother spend time feeding the homeless once a weekend. tomorrow the teenager will travel to southern california to meet the family of donor johnny hernandez, whose death made mikey's life possible. >> well, i'm going to give his mom a real big hug and tell her i love her for giving me life and donating his organs.

>> mikey is also set to appear on the 2011 donate life rose parade float on new year's day. in new york when hands aren't busy putting a shovel to snow tonight, they're pointing fingers at city officials for what they consider the slow response to the sunday blizzard. many are trying to free their cars or trucks from piles of snow on street curbs in all the boroughs while others wait on mass transit that's slow going at best. meanwhile, michael bloomberg is saying city workers are doing the best they can considering the conditions. >> if your street was plowed, the response was adequate. if your street was not plowed, the response was inadequate. we cannot do everything all the time. and we are doing the best we can. >> well, it's more of the same in new jersey where roads and highways look more like graveyards to abandoned vehicles buried in a thick field of white. in the sierra, the results of the first snow survey of the

season are in and they are being described as phenomenal. state water watchers say water levels in the northern sierra are well above 100% of normal. meanwhile, in the southern sierra, the water content is a remarkable 267% of normal. that is good -- actually, it's great news for the state after three dry years. even the last year seemed wet, but boy, are we off to a start this year. >> it's amazing, because january is typically the snowiest month for the sierra, so maybe two or three more feet of snow coming down tonight. around the bay area, very soggy outside. it doesn't get much more soggy than this. 20% humidity and heavy rain coming in at an angle. not too chilly right now, but the numbers you're seeing there in terms of our temperatures may be close to tomorrow's highs. as much cool air starts to spill in, san jose looking very wet.

strong winds happening right now as the cold front finally approaches the coast. you can see winds of 30 miles per hour. still, we'll see some gusts up to 50. the heaviest rain is actually finally starting to move out of the north bay. we still have rain out there from santa rosa down toward stinson beach, but the heaviest rain focusing in south of the golden gate. moderate rain. downpours continue in berkeley where we've had reports of some roadway flooding on interstate 80 along the bay bridge toll plaza. toward the east bridge, seeing downpours in the san ramon valley as well into the south bay. for the next hour or two, especially along the highway 17 summit where the heaviest rain is really going to focus in between now and about 2:00 in the morning. probably see another irchl nch o of rain around ben loman.

you'll see this front approaching the bay coastline, and all the heavy rain will move south with it. in fact, this aligns pretty much with the forecast. a somewhat steady air mass will start seeping in. we'll see less rain monday through thursday, but the snowmass could get pretty low. we'll go from the super soaker, mainly dry, but reporting snow levels maybe as low as 3,000 feet tomorrow, and again on thursday as more moisture spills on in, we could see some higher hilltop snow showers in a few spots, especially out toward the north bay on thursday afternoon. the worst of the weather coming through ligright now in the bay area. we'll eventually see some 40s, the rain heaviest right now for the south bay, should start to clear out for the morning commute, but after all this rain starts falling overnight, i think it's a safe bet we'll have

some pounding on the roads tomorrow afternoon, so stay tuned tomorrow morning to get your latest traffic and updates as we see the heavy rain still falling around the bay area right now, but again, this is the main event happening this hour. should start getting out of here tomorrow morning, and then a very chilly finish to the week with some snow levels. >> all right, thank you very much. up ipad ne,ru ipad mors ru tonight, and there could be three different versions. salsa? ♪ [ female announcer ] the cleaner the counter, the smoother the counter.

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techies are abuzz tonight with speculation that the ipad could be in three separate versions. each version would offer a separate internet connection including wi-fi and the 3-g wireless standards. mean titime meantime, a report out today has speculation that, ipad may go into production as early as next month. we're already hearing about the real 49ers candidates and those who aren't. >> the vacancy for the head coach job is there, and we'll introduce you to the first crop of caid re nd aatalha tgi it e gid. andma we're back in moments.

good evening, the talk of the bay area sport scene before the new year, just what direction the 49ers are planning to take. they say they'll first hire a general manager who will then look for a head coach. they may first look for a coach, though. today york explained his process for filling the first spot. tony softley interviewed here in the bay area. it also takes care of the rooney rule stating the 49ers have to interview at least one minority candidate. the chronicle reporting that

they will interview suddkwis. king says gruden is not a candidate for head coach, but he is hearing the niners are, in fact, interested in stafford head coach jim harbaugh. this we expected, and king said it's going to start a trend of young, hungry, first-time nfl-hungry coaches joining a variety of franchises. but the niners saying they're talking gm first, reporting that the new gm is already in the building and trent balkey will be transitioned into the position. an eagles team already clinched their division getting undressed at home in a tough night with michael vick. it's going the other way for 6.

the game was tied at the half with minnesota. joe webb takes control and the vikings shock the heavily arm orred eagles 24-14. next up is stanford at naples this coming sunday. their final non-conference game as well hosting yale. second half josh owens getting a little bit lucky there. stanford taking a one-point lead before pulling away. jeremy green with the free ball. stanford wins 60-44. stanford routed xavier today for a game they've got coming up on thursday. you'll remember the last team to beat the yukon ladies huskies, stanford. >> right, that's coming up again. thank you, lawrence. and your forecast is coming up next.

a fast-moving winter storm bringing even more snow tonight to an already snowy sierra. in fact, our diane dwyer just called and said it's lovely up there, and i'm sure it is if

you're up there already. rain in the bay, lots of it.. rob mietta here with one more look at what's happening. >> there you see the san mateo bridge headed over t hayward. between now and 1:00 this morning, snow falling in santa cruz. this is wher teehe heaviest sno is going to fall. you can see the back of the cold front already approaching the sa no -- sonoma coastline, and we'll still probably see some pounding on the roads from the rain overnight. z sdp >> we won't be in swimwear for a while. thanks, everyone, for watching. have a good night.