down. good morning, and thank you for joining us. from zero to panic in 60 seconds. people inside the airport, gather to look at the swirling clouds of a passing lightning storm only to scramble for cover seconds later when they realize that storm was most likely a tornado. as people huddled for cover, windows shattered around them. outside passengers on two planes were trapped on the tarmac, waiting for takeoff, when they felt that violent jolt, we spoke to one man who says the wind -- waiting for a chance to leave, when just out of nowhere, the wind just started slamming into the plane. it really started rocking violently and then kind of spinning around, i think it kind of moved us 20 feet. the airplane kind of rocking back and forth and then when it started spinning, it kind of moved a lot. it was just one of those things that everyone was really

shocked. and then everyone just started panicking because no one knew what was up. >> amazingly, only four people -- they haven't officially declared this a tornado yet, but you were able to identify some classic signs of the tornado from all that vid video. >> the video shows extreme damage to the roof there on the left side. you get debris that gets toss up in the air and some of that can go right through the windows in that concourse. so that's something we're looking at. going back to the radar, we're showing you a pretty severe cell right now that dropped a tornado there off to the north and west of st. louis moving at freeway speed, we're talking a cell moving at 50 miles an hour. so this hit the airport very quickly and moved on off to the east. we'll continue to watch the weather across the midwest. we have kind of an overcast sky

to start your morning. 51 right now in oakland, you can see some showers off to the north. this is going to be dipping a little bit further to the south as we head through the morning. your hour by hour. the name of family of a san jose toddler crushed by a tree says the city is partially to blame for that little boy's tragic death. the ten-ton tree came crashing down on top of the family's truck last january, trapping the mother, father and little boy inside. the weight rested on 2-year-old mateo ortiz making it impossible for him to breathe. the family says the tree had been suffering from extreme root rot for years with a number of neighbor complaints about this tree going back as far as 1996.

an attorney is seeking an injunction that would require the city to maintain its trees instead of homeowners. >> the family of ms. colon and mr. ortiz are of the opinion that no citizen should go through the sorrow and the grief they have had to undergo in these last two years because of the loss of their son. >> the injunction would reverse a 2008 ordinance that require people to maintain the trees in front of their home. a 34-year-old south bay mom is out of jail after allegedly gambling with her daughter's safety. maria sinzone left her 3-year-old daughter strapped in her car seat while she tried her luck at a gambling casino. when asked where her mom was, the girl pointed to the casino. security cameras show the mother

had been in the casino for an hour. she faces felony endangerment charges. the child is now in the custody of her father. this morning will lay its only son to rest as controversy and speculation surround his violent death. the body of 16-year-old andy zang was found shot and doused with gasoline in his home. the victim's family says they did not know the alleged shooter and they don't believe it was an accident. the principal at zang's school says they are looking for answers. >> we have taken down all the posters for andy and all of the family to go and deliver them just to give the students some kind of closure to move on. >> zang's classmates at thurgood marshall academic high school and other nearby schools have started a collection to raise money. so far they have raised about $3,000.

this morning family and friends of brian stow are holding on to hope despite some less than encouraging news about his condition. they are detecting seizures in his brain and are increasing his seizure control medicine. that will delay stow being brought out of his medically induced coma. he was attacked by two men outside of dodger stadium. coming up, a bay area man isn't letting his disease dictate his life, his inspirational story just ahead. plus getting to work on time the, could get tougher as bay area bus drivers get closer to calling a strike. here's a live look outside, san francisco, you can see a few breaks in the clouds, getting a kind of a nice start to your saturday morning, but don't pack away the umbrellas just yet. oming up, we'll have a full

airport is shut down this morning as crews clean up the storm damage. that means travellers throughout the country are facing flight delays and cancellations on this busy holiday weekend. we're looking at the security lines at sfo. many drivers are now one step closer to walking off the job after the union authorized a strike. after new video shows a mun a any -- muni train racing with the door wide open. this is the second time this has happened and has been caught on

video in the past month. the latest incident happened on april 1. muni is asking that people come forward to say which train had the door open. you may be hopping into your car to hit the road for the holiday weekend. you'll want to avoid. >> hi, folks, now drivers in the south bay, you're well aware of the improvement project on the 101. but over the weekend, it's going to be completely closed overnight. between 280 and 680 and capitol expressway. again it's going on overnight through the weekend. and it's scheduled to be completely cleared by your monday morning commute. your nbc bay area traffic.

if you're hitting the road this weekend. but scott budman has a look at the pain at the pump. >> this is what it sounds like when silicon valley ingenuity fights back against the rising price of gas. sirona fuels, an oakland company that takes cooking oil from restaurants and transforms it into biodiesel and transforms it into fuel that is cheaper than what you're using now. it's also happening at fremont based solaria, where a new solar manufacturing plant and solar array were kristcris christened. >> you don't know what the cost of oil or gas or natural gas is going to be next year, but you

know what the cost of sunlight is going to be, it's going to be free. and solar is the perfect way to stabilize your energy picture. >> this is literally going to double the manufacturing output of this country. you're going to double the number of jobs here in california. it's deployed and serviced here. >> as the price of gas forces commuters to bear down, new technology is creating new opportunities, both for employment and transportation. >> we're standing here at a manufacturing facility that will be making solar panels that cannot only power or homes and our businesses, but it could power our cars, right here in california. >> reporter: trying to take some of the economic load off the next generation of drivers. scott budman, "today in the bay." much more ahead on "today in the bay," coming up, a bay area

man battles his illness while battling t battling the -- we got a little bit of sunshine outside right now. but still a chance of a few showers around for your weekendp

to be a drizzly gray weekend, a little bit of sunshine peeking through. rob will have the details for your weekend. a bay area man is going the distance for his sister. >> good morning, a los gatos native is about to walk more than 3,000 miles from san diego to british columbia all for a cause that's very close to his heart. cody franks is here now, he joins us this morning, thank you for being here, and good

morning. >> so you have cystic fibrosis. >> that's right. >> and how long have you had this? >> i was born with it. >> and you are going to be walking this 3,000 mile journey, explain to us why? >> it's one of the most difficult trails that anyone can attempt in the united states. and growing one a terminal illness, where i was told a lot of times that i couldn't do things. two years ago i made a promise to my sister when she was dying that i would carry her ashes to british columbia and raise money for cystic fibrosis. >> and your sister passed away. >> yes, two years ago? >> and now this is all in her honor. >> it's kind of become a message of keeping her alive and how she risked her life and how to help other people in her flame as

well. >> and you said you're going to be carrying her cashes with you? >> i was telling her about this high water hike and i wanted her to do it as a fund-raiser. and she said she wished she could go. and she knew at that time that she was not coming out of the hospital again so i promised her that she still could go in a way and i said i'll carry your ashes with me, and she passed away two weeks later. >> how old was she when she passed? >> 27. >> and you just had your 27th birthday? >> yes. >> how did you get your clearance from the doctors? >> part of their apprehension was that no one with cystic fibrosis has ever tried something like this before and there's a lot of medical risks involve. >> so for the folks involve that don't know the symptoms or the set backs of cystic fibrosis that's going to hinder your walk.

>> cystic fibrosis attempts the liver, the heart, all your major organs. your liver is always working trying to fight infection. my body has adapted to cope with big sick all the time. so when other people are healthy, i don't really know what that's like, because i have always been sick in that degree. so that compounds the difficulty of this adventure i'm going to go on. >> so you're going to do with a compromised immune system? >> yes. >> and you're doing this alone? >> i have a couple of friends who are going to come. >> are you nervous? >> a little nervous burks that's part of the fun. >> cody, we thank you for your

time this morning. we have no doubt that you're going to make it those 3,000 miles. will you check in when you get back? >> for more information, and for more on how you can donate, check out frank's walk,.com. what a tremendous story, frank's walk.com. about 30,000 people it says here in the united states have cystic fibrosis and about 10 million more carry that disease. that's quite an achievement there. >> how's the weather going to be for cody frank's walk? >> as we're watching it, normally the temperatures start to come up. and we look for drier weather coming up. but there's a little bit of an exception. show you right now the temperatures that you're waking up to, 40s to 50s outside. rite around oakland, we're in the low 50s right now. mainly gray conditions, as you

can see there for the east bay for you this morning. from san bruno mountains, you've got a little bit of a wind at six miles an hour. southeast wind at close to six-mile-per-hour. you did see a few breaks in the clouds. from san bruno mountains down to the south. and you can see a little gap here in the cloud cover, allowing for sunny breaks in the morning. just off to the north, you could see a ridge of high pressure to the north. and there is snow flying around lake tahoe this morning. pretty close to 6,500 feet, we'll see on and off snow showers this weekend. you're going to have to watch out for a little bit of snow. back to the bay area, mainly drizzle out there that the newt cast is picking up, a few occasional breaks in the clouds, but overall kind of a cool day today, highs in the upper 50s to

low 60s. here you can see -- you can see the clouds may look like they will break up some, but then here comes more rain dropping in on sunday night into your monday morning commute, and high pressure should build in skies clearing, as we head into sunday afternoon and evening. snows near 6,500 feet. your travel plans include the high country, you're going to need those snow cables and chains. you can see those very changeable conditions across the sierra for the afternoon. we're going to see temperatures in the 40s and 50s, at least through probably 8:00 or 9:00 this morning, then as we head towards lunchtime, we'll call for maybe a few more sunny breaks, but cool today. south bay san jose may make a run up to the mid 60s. especially for areas north of san francisco. higher odds for your easter weekend will be north of the golden gate and you can see we'll be in and out of the

clouds at least through monday. probably the wettest point of your seven-day forecast, then as high pressure builds in, we should finally get some 70s back in as we head through the middle part of the week. i guess the pastel easter southern umbrellas might be needed in a few spots tomorrow. but at least our temperatures are rebounding nicely for the weekend. >> and maybe some long sleeves under your sharks jersey. it is sharks territory at nbc bay area as well. we'll be cheering right along with you, as the men in teal, take on the l.a. kings tonight. they'll be try their best to wrap up the certain game series. tonight the tank will be rocking, if you don't have tickets to the game, you can see it right on csn, california. meantime, here are your box

scores for bay area, baseball. giants pitcher madison bum gardner lasted two innings and the mariners shot the a's 4-0 at safeco field. much more coming up on "today in the bay," just ahead, the royal wedding is just days away and many americans have one question. what's up with all those frilly hats? we talked with a hat maker to the stars and get the scoop on g

live at some clouds coloring the sky this easter weekend. in just six days, kate middleton will walk into westminster abby a commoner and walk out a princess. michelle kaczynski is across the

bay. >> well, hey, this scene kind of says it all, right? the explosion of colorful springtime flowers, if this was just one small part of what spectators may enjoy on the big day, only one week away now, not bad. this is just one scene for the tourists and other people walking around here, the warm sunshine, the gentle breeze, the bright british flags flying and the smell of flowers is actually heavy in the air. >> well, there are people even here, there are cameras being set up all over the place. >> when we say no stone has been left unturned for preparations for this wedding, there is a literal aspect to that. the last couple of days we have seen workers cleaning with little tiny brushes all of the sculptures inside westminster abby, we have seen the musician

being rehearsed, we have seen the choir boys being told not to eat chocolate so it doesn't interfere with their voice. the weather that everyone has been enjoying so much caused a all of these flowers to bloom early and now there is a concern that there could be some droopy blooms for the big day. well, we can have none of that. gardners have been told to go out flower by flower and make sure that any of the flowers that are not up to par be trimmed away. sometimes the most obscure, minute preparations are the most interesting to hear about. >> no wilted wisteria for the princess and prince. between the royal wedding and easter sunday, hat makers are certainly staying busy in

london this week. hat makers to the stars are working overtime. >> hats are about spectacle and about tradition and about making the woman look attractive and festive occasion and there's no bigger festive occasions is a royal wedding. >> one of the biggest consumers of hats is the queen herself. bookmakers are already betting the queen will wear yellow to the wedding. there's also bets being made on which designer headpiece will be worn by kate middleton. a security guard accused of sexual assaulting a woman at a major bay area company. and the victim scared into silence. plus the chaos inside the st. louis airport as a tornado tears through the roof. we get a firsthand look and

winds whip through the terminal. and social net working for kids. a new website designed for tweens, but will it lead to kids sharing too much too soon?

we get new video from inside that storm. but first we're going to go to rob and talk about the weather here. >> here the weather, much more calm around the bay area, you can see gray skies around the shoulder. 50 right now in san francisco,

and i can show you the reason why you're seeing a little bit of sun for saturday morning. a few breaks in the clouds. but notice to the north side towards mendecino county. typically the warmest time of day 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. mid 60s around san jose, cooling towards --. a slight chance of talking more about your easter sunday forecast. the weather much tamer than what we have been seeing overnight around st. louis, for sure. when you've grown when a tornado

tears through a section of the internation international -- crews clean up the damage as today in the bay's chris leclaire reports that there's traffic for stranded passengers. >> me and the gentleman behind the counter tried to pull the door closed. it was pushing so hard, i said we got to get out of here. we let the door slam open and dove behind the counter as the windows blew out. >> this woman was sitting on a flight to the beach with her family when the storm struck. >> the plane started to shake like it was turbulence and so they evacuated us off the plane

and into the bathroom in the terminal. >> when we started hearing different booming sounds, and all the alarms start going off and people of course are getting a little spooked and then tsa members come running down saying get in the -- >> there was this huge gust of wind and then it came up into the checkpoint and it was just windows were cracking and breaking and glass went everywhere and debris and we went to our designated areas. >> reporter: airport officials say they're very thankful it wasn't worst. >> we're very happy that the passengers are safe. >> reporter: now they're trying to figure out the quickest way to get traffic moving again. >> we have crew that are mobilized and i think it's going to be a few days as opposed to a few hours. a security guard is facing charges of sexual assaulting a cleaning woman at the offices of

a major bay area company. the mercury news reports the security guard was a contract employee at electronic arts in redwood city. the prosecutors say the man sexual assaulted the woman at work on three separate sundays and then threatened to have her fired. the security guard is pleading not guilty to those charges. this morning new and chilling details about accused serial killers joseph naso and the way his alleged attacks were carried out. police tell the bay area news police think he strangeled women and dumped them into -- he is accused of killing four northern california women in the '70s and '90s. if convicted he could be sentenced to death. there is a mystery in redwood city after the discovery of two dozen dead and distressed leopard sharks.

the research foundation will begin to work and identify the problem and relocate any distressed animals. katherine greer is the one who's scouting for a fishing location and he saw that many more were dead along the shoreline. >> i don't know why they're dying. makes me, you know, gives you pause and makes you wonder, is there something in the firemen or maybe it's just something physical. >> leopard sharks seen here at the aquarium of the bay are very common in this area. they do swim in groups and according to marine biologists they are susceptible to water destruction. a social network for those who are too young for other sites. the sharks will be home

tonight look to end the series. sharks are leading 3-1. as you know, social net working sites all the rage among 30 somethings, 40 somethings, you get the idea. now a new site is targeting t e tween boys and girls. the ceo of the company is here to tell us more about the site. every loop catering to kids who are too young for facebook or myspace. what's the argument that these tweens need to be online. >> in today's social media world, kids are being asked to grow up too fast. you can't just drop them into a media like facebook which is not appropriate for 8 to 13-year-olds. you have to make sure that

they're ready for that and it's illegal for kids to be on facebook until they're 13. our solution get them on a private group where they get peppered with educational content on what they should and shouldn't do online. >> president and mrs. obama made headlines when they famously made their daughters not joint facebook. what do you think about this closed loop and how it works? >> in regards to the president, obviously those are two kids that would be heavily targeted online. but for, you know, a normal person that's living in this world, you have to make sure that you get your kids online soon and you don't wait until they're 13, it's almost like why do we have classes in school for drivers ed? why do we have them learning things before they go do them? we have to make sure that they're red yay for the environment that they're going to be hit with when they're 13. you got 20 get them online soon

at an early age so they know what to do and so they don't make mistakes. >> i hear that you require credit cards so you have some built in features to protect the privacy and know who is on there. how do you know it really is an 8 to 13-year-old and not a pedophile? >> you either have a choice to use your last four digits of the social. the last four digits is free. when we get the people on, we have a stringent authentication process in order to get on. our biggest goal, our number one goal is to make sure these kids are safe because one in five kids is inappropriately approached online today. there were some tips on every loop that helped parents help kids figure out what they should

be talking about online. thank you for joining us this morning. preerkts it. stay with us, much more ahead coming up on "today in the bay." so hip, so cool, so incredibly unhealthy, we'll take you in depth, the dangerous appeal of bay area hooka bars, why some people are smoking the equivalent of ten packs of cigarettes a night. >> there's lots going on today in the bay. regardless of the forecast, i guarantee a hot time in the city tonight, so bring a chair and head out to union square in san francisco. for the sixth annual fire dancing show, just one of the ways we celebrate the diversity of dance. the label inflammable means it does burn. and from those fire zarns across the cool bay area, the fiery electrifying fiddler tom rigby will be lighting it up at

culture working on the island of alame alameda. y how about so some squid printing at the earth day extravel gangz a in san francisco. along with sustainable -- you could ink up one of the big beautiful donated pacific humboldt squids and make an imprint of its body. that's yours to keep and it's quite an arm's full, i'm sure. that's

have you heard of a hook pipe? they're hip. but as hookah lounges become more popular in the bay area,

experts warn the pipes do more damage than cigarettes and cigars combined. >> for laura and her circle of friends, it's not unusual for a night out to end around one of these. whether it's in a hookah lounge or at home. >> everyone tries it. >> a hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cooled water. the appeal comes from three things, the taste of flavored tobacco, the smell of smoke and a social atmosphere. >> people can go out and hang around and it's not like going out to the bar and getting drinks or partying. >> 40% of college students reported they had tried a hookah, of that less than half say they have never smoked a

cigarette. it's alarming news to dr. tom daily. >> the lung specialist and board member of breathe california says it's a double whammy coupling the toxins from the tar and nicotine from the tobacco with the chemicals from the filter. >> it's an astounding exposure to a greater concentration of toxins by people who are holding their breath longer and inhaling deeper. virtually all of this lung, these big black holes, that emphysema. >> aside from the cancer's heart and lung diseases associated with smoking there,'s a germ factor with sharing the pipe too. >> there's virus transmissions and other dangers. >> hookah is becoming more

popular. almost all are within walking distance of a college campus. >> i have been smoking for three years and i'm fine so i don't have any health issues so far. >> while cigarette smoking among young people is down overall, the message about hookah seem to be lost in smoke. >> it doesn't have all the lobbyist behind it. a lot of kids get duped in a sense about thinking that this is not going to be bad for you. >> there are actually more than 20 hookah bars and lounges in san francisco. the only city where you won't find one is oakland, a city wide ordinance on smoking means no hookahs indoors. we are going to want to bring out the umbrellas? >> it's enough that may mess up

the dye on some of those easter eggs, we're not talking about heavy rain. we're getting a little bit of sun at times. maybe some misty skies in a few spot. in oakland, we're at 52 degrees. we have a breeze around 6 miles an hour an currently. 50 degrees, and the humidity there close to 83% so we have got some clouds around the bay area, notice the few sunny breaks we're seeing, you can see some gaps and clouds around the bay area right now. we have still got moisture spilling in around the pacific. we're seeing a little bit of light rain north of san francisco mixed in with a built of sunshine. variable clouds at times, we'll

probably have a few sprinkles inside the clouds. overcast skies, heading into tomorrow morning. looks like we will see some light rain or drizzle. especially around the -- we could get a little bit of sun for the second half or your easter sunday. but watch what happens by sunday morning. i think this will probably be enough to wet the roads for most of the bay area come monday morning. right now the wettest part of your forecast heading into monday afternoon. look out for some snow showers near 6,500 feet. so the air's still cold enough that we're seeing snow up there close to the summit and obviously cool temperatures around the sierra has we wrap up the weekend. temperatures around the bay area for your day today, we'll see 40s and 50s outside, for the rest of your morning. cooler temperatures by lunchtime. i think a few mid 60s and maybe some upper 60s in the afternoon.

yes, still that chance of seeing a few showers, so a little bit of a mixed bag for the weekend, not a washout, but as times some pockets of light rain or drizzle in a few areas monday morning. then we'll see some 70s come back to the map. we will see the jet stream move off to the north and see some warmer weather on the way. >> it will be nice to get some of the moisture back to help with the reservoirs. >> when you get that light rain, it does give you a little bit of allergy relief. >> coming up, surf is up on "today in the bay," the president's top economic advisor trades

the surf trailer is always packed with open ocean surf lessons. a man named tim called david alexander and set up a session for his son and daughter. six people showed up. >> he is the daughter and the son, and then his other two guys or three guys are in the car. and i didn't think much of that either, they're just business associates. >> the search for waves took hours. tim and his son paddled out. their friends just stood on the cold bluff. alexander suggested they weight at the nearby restaurant. >> he said, no, i got a watch. in the water, tim's daughter revealed his client was tim geithner, the u.s. treasury secretary. >> at first i thought it was laughable, and the guys up there

on the bluff are the secret service guys of course. this happens every day. >> alexander says it was a relief to figure out it was the secret service hanging out here at the state beach. he said for once he didn't have to worry about his car getting broke into. >> alexander says geithner was down to earth and a good surfer. who could probably use some time in the water. >> he probably just unloads all the economy out of this. that's a lot of unloading. oh, my god, you need at least a few good surf sessions about that. >> this small business owner is wishing he had asked about stimulus. >> a tax break would have been good. although mine would have been very little. >> alexander is now riding a wave of excitement after a one of a kind surf lesson. don't leave "today in the

bay," coming up our pet of the week is here. meet davey, we'll tell you how you can give him a loving home

good morning, this morning we have some special guests from pets in need here, volunteer lisa simmons has brought along a little pal davey, and we were talking during the break, does he not look like a corgie trapped in a chihuahua's body? >> here's a better shot. >> he's a really cute guy. tell us about davey. >> he's a 9-month-old puppy and we think he's probably a long haired chi-corgie mix. he's a little bit on the shy side right now, but he's blossomed since we have had him. he just got fixed so he'll be available on thursday. >> i think he will go very quickly. a little bit on the shy side. how do you think he's going to do around children? sometimes the smaller breeds don't fare so well in a

rambunctious house. >> i think he will be okay as long as the children are respectful. sometimes we do ask for these smaller, shyer dogs that they have prior dog experience. but we are always there to offer help and assistance. >> what about cats and other dogs? >> he seems -- he loves other dogs, just absolutely loves them. he's very curious about cats. i don't think he know what is they quite are yet. >> okay, and we were talking also about the fact that chihuahuas happen to be the breeds that we see time and time again in the shelters, why is that? >> i think a lot of times it's an educational thing and people just aren't spaying and neutering like they should b and i think people are surprised at how big a litter a chihuahua can have. we rescued one who just gave birth to six puppies. >> davey will be available on thursday. if you are looking for davey,

now, straight ahead, we're going to tell you more about some seals and we will also watch more local news for you tonight. at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00, on nbc bay area.com.