Remote Surveillance Trailer in San Francisco, CA

A powerful typhoon that made a close approach to Japan is poised to energize the storm track across the Pacific Ocean and potentially bring heavy rain and snow to California next week.

Typhoon Halong took a quick turn out to sea Wednesday, sparing Tokyo from the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. While Halong isn’t forecast to make landfall in North America, it won’t completely dissipate. The fast-moving winds of the jet stream are expected to absorb the typhoon’s energy, intensifying storms across the Pacific Ocean in the coming days — this phenomenon is caused by what are called “recurving typhoons.”

Halong's remnants are predicted to generate hurricane-force winds in Alaska’s Bering Sea this weekend. But it won’t end there. The amplified jet stream will nudge a massive high-pressure system into Canada and displace subarctic air toward Washington state, Oregon and California on Monday. A storm moving down the coast with this cold air could drop heavy rain in the Bay Area and feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada from Monday through Wednesday.

Though confidence is increasing that Northern California will be impacted by turbulent weather, determining exactly where and when depends on the position of the dip in the storm track. If the storm drops toward the coast, the biggest rainstorm since last winter is possible in the Bay Area starting Monday. If it stays to the east, the Bay Area will be drier, but Lake Tahoe could end up snowier.

Recurving typhoons tend to degrade the precision of weather models. Forecasts will waffle in the coming days as models resolve the interaction between Typhoon Halong and the jet stream.

Remnants of West Pacific typhoons have influenced weather along the U.S. West Coast several times in the past decade. In September 2020, a massive wildfire outbreak ensued from Washington state to California amid powerful dry winds caused by a recurving typhoon. Just last year, a rare August storm dropped snow in the Sierra due to one.

Regardless of exact impacts next week, the effects of Halong’s energy could amplify an already active weather pattern in place across the West.

Northern California rain before Halong impacts

Bay Area residents could wake up to drizzle Thursday as a deep marine layer makes for a cloudy, damp and cool day. There is a chance of rain in the North Bay on Friday and Saturday as a low-pressure system stalls more than 100 miles off the Oregon coast, too far away for widespread precipitation south of the Golden Gate.

Rain showers will be more widespread from Ukiah to Eureka and around Mount Shasta. Sunday should be drier across Northern California, with clearing skies setting the stage for a brief warmup and tranquil weather for Fleet Week festivities in San Francisco.

Former hurricane brings rain to Desert Southwest

Former Hurricane Priscilla is forecast to make landfall as a tropical depression in Baja California this weekend. While Priscilla’s hurricane-force winds won’t cross the border into the U.S., its moisture will extend toward the Desert Southwest, raising the chance of flooding rain Thursday through Saturday.

The National Weather Service warns of up to 4 inches of rain in the mountains of Arizona. Phoenix may even receive up to 2 inches of rain. The flood risk extends toward Palm Springs and Las Vegas, where strong thunderstorms are possible Thursday and Friday. Downpours should stay mainly east of San Diego and Los Angeles, but thunderstorms are possible, particularly Thursday.

This Halloween 2025, the charming city of Carmel, California will celebrate its 109th birthday in style with a lively community Halloween parade and trick-or-treating!

This is a great opportunity to celebrate one of California’s most iconic small towns at its very best and make the most of the fall season.

109th City Birthday Party and Halloween Parade

Carmel’s 109th City Birthday Party and Halloween Parade will take place at 4pm on Halloween, October 31st, 2025. All are welcome to participate or spectate at the spooky celebration, which features city dignitaries, VIPs, costumed dogs, elaborate floats, and epic Halloween costumes.

Following the parade, guests can go trick-or-treating at Carmel’s charming shops and boutiques, or join the birthday bash in Davendorf Park from 5-7pm. The celebration will include live music from Shannon and the Night Divers as well as free food and drinks.

More about Carmel, California

The city of Carmel-by-the-Sea was incorporated in California on October 31st, 1916, meaning that Halloween is its official city birthday.

At the time, Carmel was a popular arts hub with only 450 residents, among them numerous literary luminaries such as Sinclair Lewis, Mary Austin, George Sterling, Jack London, and Robinson Jeffers. Much like its first founders, Carmel’s residents continue to embrace an old-world feel, rejecting modern-day furnishings such as traffic lights and parking meters.

Builder and designer Hugh Comstock began constructing Carmel’s characteristic fairytale cottages in the 1920s, and twenty-one of them remain dotted around the community to this day. While these quaint cottages are a treat to see all year long, they are especially charming with some extra Halloween and holiday decor.

Actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood is Carmel’s most notable resident, having served as mayor of the city from 1986 to 1988. He continues to own the historic Mission Ranch hotel and restaurant, located a short distance south of Carmel’s downtown area.

If you haven’t made the trip down the coast to see Carmel for yourself, consider planning an outing for Halloween this year — or otherwise, save your trip for the holiday season when the town is decked out in glittering lights and Christmas decor.

Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses and health professionals across Northern California are preparing to strike on Tuesday in what union leaders say will be the largest work stoppage in the company’s history.

The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents 31,000 workers, issued a 10-day strike notice to Kaiser executives Friday.

The five-day strike is expected to affect more than two dozen hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii, including major Bay Area facilities in Oakland, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and San Jose.

Members of the Alliance of Health Care Unions will also join picket lines in California, Hawaii and Oregon.

“This strike is about protecting patients as much as it is about protecting caregivers,” Charmaine S. Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said in a statement. “Kaiser executives cannot keep expanding while ignoring the crisis inside their hospitals. Our message is clear: invest in the people who provide care, or face the consequences of a workforce that refuses to stay silent.”

Last month, more than 1,300 health care workers across Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California hospitals hit the picket line, citing unsafe staffing levels, burnout and risks to patient care.

Union leaders say the upcoming strike follows six months of stalled contract talks. The union’s previous five-year agreement expired Sept. 30. They cite stagnant wages, unsafe staffing levels and limited retirement benefits as key issues.

“Our patients are waiting longer, and our caregivers are stretched to the breaking point,” Joe Guzynski, the union’s executive director, said in a statement.

Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, said in a statement that it has been “negotiating in good faith” with the alliance and hopes to avoid a strike.

“A strike notice doesn’t mean a strike will actually happen,” the company said, adding that hospitals and medical offices would remain open but that some non-urgent appointments could be rescheduled.

The de Young museum recently opened a new exhibition, the first major manga exhibition in the United States. The exhibit is impressively expansive, featuring over 600 drawings and bringing works from multiple publishing houses together in one exhibition. Art of Manga focuses on the creation process behind manga, with sketches and tools from artists.

Manga is a type of Japanese comic book and graphic novel that has become popular around the world. The word manga dates back to the 18th century, translating to “pictures run riot,” and the first key developmental phase of manga started in the 1890s. Today, many popular works have been translated into numerous languages, and some of the most successful stories, such as One Piece, have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide.

“Captivating millions around the world with dynamic graphic narratives, manga is one of the most significant visual media of our time,” said Thomas P.Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.“San Francisco has long been a gateway for Japanese cultural exchange in the United States, and we are delighted to honor this legacy by showcasing the artistry and power of contemporary Japanese narrative art in Art of Manga.

While the exhibit promises to be particularly interesting to devoted manga readers, it also welcomes manga novices, with the first gallery acting as a brief introduction to the graphic novels. The room illustrates how to read manga (right to left), and the walls define standard manga terms. The expansive exhibition includes some of the genre’s most iconic works, including One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. After exploring the galleries covered in beautiful artworks displayed on the museum’s walls, visitors are invited to interact with the works as originally intended, hold them in their hands, and read. The de Young has included a manga reading room, stocked with all the works in the exhibition, and comfortable seating for reading.

In a separate section of the museum, you can explore a part of the exhibition showing the print-making process for manga. The room is just off the Wilsey Court, and visitors do not need a separate Art of Manga Ticket to enter.

You can reserve tickets for at the de Young museum here.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Parking can be tough all over San Francisco. But one couple received a hefty fine for parking in what looked like a reasonable spot: their own driveway.

After ABC San Fransisco affiliate KGO got involved, the couple was allowed to keep parking in front of their own home, and the $1,500 fine was waived. Now, three years later, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is taking further action to make parking less of a headache.

The story of Ed and Judy went viral back in 2022: They parked their car on the concrete pad immediately in front of their Diamond Heights home, just like they had for the past 36 years. But one day they got a notice saying -- it was illegal.

"Unbelievable!" said Ed. "It was deemed illegal because of the beautification desire for the neighborhood."

Yet, ironically the result wasn't pretty. Judy says the rule just exacerbated a parking eyesore on their steep street.

Not long after that, they got a ticket... for $1,542!

The San Francisco Planning Department issued the ticket for violating a code enacted to "ensure that front yards don't turn into parking lots," noting the house did not have a garage or cover. They threatened an additional fine of $250 per day if the car remained parked in front of their house.

"Absurd! It's absurd! It's like somebody just made up a rule..." Ed said. "And didn't care if it made any sense!"

Well, it gets worse.

If you walk over to their next-door neighbors...

"They could park in their driveway and not get a ticket -- because they had a garage," Ed said, as he questioned how simply having a garage met the 'beauty' requirements.

However, the Planning Department did give them an out. The couple had to prove the concrete pad in front of their house had historically been used for parking. Then, they might get a waiver.

After KGO aired their story, viewers all over the world offered to help. One viewer, a manager of an aerial photography collection, found a photo from 1958 that showed a car on the concrete pad in front of the house.

The city waived their fines and grandfathered in the couple's "new" parking space.

Mayor Daniel Lurie now wants to cut through the red tape of outdated rules dictating how residents can use their own property.

Elizabeth Watty is the city's Director of Current Planning. She says this started as a part of Mayor Lurie's PermitSF initiative -- and became his first directive as mayor.

"The directive was -- how can we do better? How can we create some improvements around common-sense governance?" said Watty. "It felt a bit embarrassing that this was a regulation that we still had on the books."

In other words...

"The city is modernizing its rules to amend the planning code so that homeowners can park in their driveway and no longer receive violations under the planning code," said Watty.

So, this means... Ed and Judy can park peacefully in their driveway, without any carport or expensive fence.

"Hallelujah!" Ed said.

But the city is still enforcing some rules.

"You still cannot park on the sidewalk," Watty said.

The city does not allow any car to cross over the property line; they want all sidewalks to be clear and accessible.

Plus, the city says only up to two vehicles can be parked in the driveway.

Those in violation won't get off easy. You're looking at a fine of $1,725.

"It's nice to see city government actually listening and responding," said Ed.

Even if it took three years.

"Why did it take so long?" asked KGO's Stephanie Sierra.

"Good question.... it shouldn't have taken this long... but I would say under Mayor Lurie's administration the pressure has really been on to think about these pragmatic common-sense improvements," Watty said.

For Ed and Judy... it's better late than never!

"Because to me, it's the quality of life... and one of those things includes being able to park!" laughed Ed.

Right now enforcement for this is complaint-based, which the city says has led to some unfair treatment on who gets cited and who doesn't. Now, Mayor Lurie's directive will waive all existing complaint violations--relieving more than 100 residents from having to go through what Ed and Judy did.

The amendment will be introduced after Labor Day.Note: The city says PermitSF is working to reform the current permitting process to make it easier and customer-focused. If you have an issue you're struggling with in your neighborhood, you can share your experience with the city at www.sf.gov/permitsf or email them at permitSF@sfgov.org.