that developing story is the weather. a stormy night for the bay area. that storm has already moved to shore. >> it has. we're seeing very heavy rainfall right now in the north bay and south bay. let's look at what's going on right now. you can see a lot of yellow on your screen which indicates the heavier rainfall. let's zoom in. something bad at the radar at the south is it's at the top of a mountain so it isn't as accurate. that radar continues to paint more yellow on your screen.

especially up near walnut creek and pinol. about half an inch of rain an hour. now, the entire california coastline is now seeing heavy rain. you can see up and down the coast we've got rain. look at all that yellow on your screen. we've got heavy rain. you can see specks of yellow here. also and especially over los angeles where they have been pounded the past few days. they're already at 70% of the seasonal average. a lot of rainfall down there. we're going to see more overnight. here's a look at what we'll see tomorrow. actually mostly dry in the 7:00 hour. pam is surprised it will clear out this quickly. it's a fast-moving storm. potential for a few light

showers. we'll see decreasing cloud cover throughout the day. at the 3:00 hour mostly sunny skies at a number of locations out there. first time we've seen sun in quite some some. but how long will it stick around? new at 11:00: six california counties are under a state of emergency tonight because of the extreme storm conditions. governor schwarzenegger took the damage effecting counties. here's a look at the scene down there. severe weather in southern california has led to evacuations, flooding, and mud slides. you see a truck trapped there in water. this is particularly happening in areas ravaged by wild fires. the stormy weather and rainmaking it challenging to shop in the bay area. people are out in the bay area nonetheless trying to finish

their holiday rounds. for here's the latest on that. >> reporter: it's been a very steady rain in union square. you definitely need your umbrella here. you see a lot of folks with umbrellas. you look at the streets, you don't see flooding in this area. shoppers i've talked to said regardless, they need to come out and do their shopping because they've got to get it done for the holidays. >> you know, it's crunch time. so regardless of the weather you've got to et it done. >> reporter: the good news for these shoppers, when caught in bad weather, you can use the packaging from your purchases. people caught offguard by the rain did window shopping while they waited it out.

for most, it was a hassle. you see crowds packing into macy's. it was a similar scene around the square. >> it was a mob scene in there. >> expensive an the lines are too long. >> are you coming back? >> i am. going to try to come early in the morning to beat the crowds. >> reporter: for many, this is the start of many long shopping days ahead. >> a few gifts left. i'm a quarter of the way there i think. >> reporter: others came out for a few stocking stuffers. >> i learned my lesson from last year and got most of it done already. >> reporter: it didn't matter if your list was long or short, no one had enough time to let the wet weather slow them down. >> doesn't matter if it's pouring or hailing, we're here. got to get it done. >> reporter: even at this late hour, you can still see folks going into macy's. a lot of stores open late trying to finish the shopping. and be advised if you come out

here tomorrow, you'll deal with big crowds tomorrow and possibly wet weather. kron 4 news. >> the storms are continuing also to create problems for people who are flying into and out of the bay area. tonight flights were still delayed and some canceled for international travelers. we begin with jonathan bloom. >> reporter: 'tis the season for delayed flights at the oakland airport. and the reason for those delays have nothing to do with okay. delayed into the terminal meaning those are taking off 0- 90 minutes behind schedule. delays are anowing but the passengers have come to expect them in weather like this. >> they used to not be late. but now as they've expanded i notice i have more delays. >> i've been waiting about a half an hour and expect to wait another hour. >> how does that feel? >> it's a little dull but i've

got a good book. >> it's annoying and i wasn't expecting it. i should have been tracking the flight a bit. i brought my son out here, he's three and has a short attention span. so yeah. i'm not really sure what to do. >> they had about an hour or so delay in las vegas. my granddaughter thought it would be fun but she's just ten. >> we thought sending through las vegas would avoid the bad weather in chicago and we outsmarted ourselves. >> our bags should be here in oakland. they're not here. we hope they'll be coming in about ten minutes. if not, we don't know where they're at. that's what you get this time of year. we're trying to have a merry christmas. i hope our presents get here. >> reporter: ticketing agents said there were more than normal confusion. while some of the final arrivals came in two hours

behind schedule, most were only 15 minutes late. >> those flying internationally are still encountering delays and cancellations due to bad weather in places like frankfort and london. >> my flight was canceled last night. i'm trying to get home christmas day. >> i was supposed to leave sunday. got canceled. then i had to -- i got asked to come back on monday, sit in a long line. got another flight to las vegas so i can get transferred to the vegas flight leaving to gatwick. while i was on the plane to vegas, my gatwick flight got canceled so i was stuck in vegas. flew back yesterday from las vegas. and here i am again in line trying to figure out the status

of when to get out of here. >> many of these people have been at the international terminal three days trying to get any flight available so they can be with family for the holidays. >> we got two children who are with their grandma. we hope we can get home to see our children for christmas. that's the plan. >> all of the family is over there. it'd be great to spend christmas over there. >> we are on stand by for whoever will take us. we've purchased two tickets and don't seem to get anywhere. >> how's it looking now? >> we'll see. as long as we get there as soon as possible and spend as much time as possible. >> reporter: it's unclear if any of these people will get a stand by flight on the evening flight. there are also flights tomorrow. with storms coming in, it's unclear whether that will be helpful or not. kron 4 news. and don't forget, you can check airport delays and track the storm anytime you want on

our website. that web address is kron4.com. a pivotal day in the richmond high school home coming rape case. a judge dropped all of the cases against one of the seven suspects and reduced charges against another. we have a reaction from today and a look at where it is heading now. ding dong ding, dong ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, ♪ ♪ throw care away, christmas is here, bringing good cheer, ♪ ♪ to young and old, meek and the bold, ding dong ding, dong, ♪ ♪ that is their song, with joyful ring, all caroling, ♪ ♪ one seems to hear, words of good cheer, from everywhere, ♪ ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, raising the sound, ♪ ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪

♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here, ♪ ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas, ♪

oakland police are working to identify a body that was found floating in the bay today. the body of a female was found on rocks here in the oakland estuary. the coroner and homicide detectives were called to the scene about 4:30 this afternoon. the victim had knife wounds on her arms and apparently tried to fight off her attacker. the body's condition indicated it had not been there more than

24 hours. rain out there. not the only time this week. will it impact your christmas? details in minutes. ben usually has red curly hair, just like me.

and we both love boarding. unfortunately, ben has a rare tumor. he was referred to st. jude children's research hospital where our ground-breaking research helps save kids across america, just like ben. i'm cancer free, now. dude, how can you beat that. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. and give to those who are not.

go to stjude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. wait a minute... wait a minute. hold on... hold on. it's raining right now. let's look at totals we've already received from the storm. 3/4 of an inch in the mountains. santa rosa about 1/4-inch of rain. here's a look outside of storm tracker 4 radar. lots of areas of heavier rain through the north bay and down through the santa cruz mountains. one of the radar loops is covering it but you can see the yellow underneath. it's all over richmond and vallejo. heavier rain also to the south. you can see along the coastline, look at this yellow

and orange on the screen. and possibly embedded rainfall. let's look at a wider view. a lot of yellow up and down the coastline. a lot of instability end of this system as pushing through. and even potential hail and lightning strikes a this pushes through overnight. let's look at futurecast because it's going to get intense. 10:00 we're seeing the rain in the north bay. i want to show you this. look at that deep red offshore at midnight. that's going to be pushing in toe north bay. you can see by 2:00 in the morning, moderate rain through the north bay. and the deeing shading here offshore indicating the areas we could see small hail plus gusty winds. sitting over san fransisco, san bruno, all the way down the san ma mateo coast.

we'll see more rain than what it originally showed. so we have a couple pockets left plus showers over most of the bay area. into the morning commute, things should clear out. things will continue to get drier into the rest of the morning especially into the afternoon where we'll see clearing in the north bay into the afternoon. could stay cloudy on to the south bay. a look another the rainfall totals again. we're right on track to an inch and a half in the north bay pap lot of the rain will be concentrated there. you can see how it's up to 3/4 of an inch there. those are certainly ramping up through the night. depending on where those pockets fall. as for the seeair a, there is a winter weather advisory in effect. snowfall totals are not as exfencive as what we saw this weekend but we'll see some.

and right on highway 395. if you are heading to the sierra, you'll want to put it off until thursday or friday. ing to thursday morning. dry conditions into friday but increasing cloud cover because another storm is set to hit us on christmas day. that will last all through christmas. at the same magnitude of what we're seeing here with potential lingering showers into sunday and monday. rain here means more snow in the sierra. and that means dangerous driving conditions. a winter weather advisory is in effect above 5000 feet for the lake tahoe region. while the roads will be slick, the snowfall would cap off what would be a record december for the ski resorts. all of this snow came just in time for the busy holiday season and some forecasters say more than 10-15 feet of snow could cover sections of the eastern sierra. there are new details

tonight about the richmond home coming gang rape case. today a judge dropped charges against the youngest of the seven suspects. that suspect is cody smith. you see his picture in the top left of these photographs. the judge also reduced charges against elvis torentis. the remaining five suspects are being charged for rape in concert which carries a life in prison sentence. >> reporter: the judge ordered that all charges will be dropped against cody smith in the richmond home coming gang rape case. smith is the youngest of the seven defendants in the case. he was 16 years old when the crime occurred in october 2009. when the judge made the announcement in the courtroom, i was sitting in front of the family. i heard the man say congratulations to another family member and there was a sigh of relief.

>> that's wrong of them to hold him 12 months. >> what do you think should happen? >> i think he should be compensated for the time that he's been locked up for nothing. >> reporter: at the contra costa courthouse, kron 4 news. up next find out why mike singletary calls the 49ers 5-9 season a blessing. and the warriors battle from 16 down in the 4th quarter to overtime. next.

nba up top and wow. warriors tenth win of the season was a thriller. up high paul westphal and the kings. tyreke evans, jump up kiss the glass. defending rookie of the year. 15 points in the game.

warriors need a three and a prayer. and they get it. a catch and three. it was tied at 102. here's the replay. man. right at the buzzer as time ran out. now we're in overtime. keith smart sweating it out. coach, you got monta ellis. back to the basket. somehow lets it go. unbelievable shot. 36 points nor ellis and the warriors win in overtime. they lost 14 of their last 16 but boy, they got off the schnide so to speak. warriors back christmas night 7:30 game with portland. college basketball for you. johnny dawkins. that's the catch and shoot that

beat half-time buzzer. keaton page, josh with stanford got into it. kept them close in the 2nd. it was all oklahoma state. page, 20 points in the 2nd half. oklahoma state wins final of 79- 68. carter now drops to 6-4 for the year. on the women side geno's huskies, this was a big one. mya moore on the loose. 41 points, ten rebounds, and uconn wins its record 89th straight win. topped in all of college basketball. 93-62. uconn. the kings and queens of college basketball. real quick, the usf men drop a decision to university of san diego. stanford women at usf tomorrow on the hill top.

nhl the sharks in charge at home three straight wins now. todd mcclellan. jb, i know the penguins are your boys but logan cannot be ignored. 1 goal -- 18 goals to lead the team. dan boyle on a wrister. franchise record 17th goal for him on power plays by a defenseman. sharks win 2-0 to host the coyotes coming up thursday. mike singletary not showing his hand about the starting quarterback sunday. coach still likes being in the playoff discussion. >> feeling fortunate is not the word to truly describe what we field as the team for the opportunity that we're in right now. it is truly a blessing to be in this situation.

>> all right. louisville defeats -- who do they play? louisville and southern mississippi. so, we book a flight to hawaii using our points from chase sapphire. last minute... on christmas. and sitting next to us, chevy chase. and we really hit it off. we play golf, and then the luau. he's like da vinci with ice. and after, we help hang christmas decorations. wait, wait, wait. you flew last minute... on christmas... with points from chase sapphire? yeah. amazing.

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