they lasted only seconds, but more hail may be coming. the rainstorms and high winds also knocked down some trees and caused power outages. the worst of the storm has passed for now but the system that brought it is still churning up high waves on the coast. waves got as high as 20 feet along the san matano coast near half moon bay. there was a surf advisory this morning, scheduled until 2:00 tomorrow morning. as we mentioned, people all over the bay area are dealing with downed limbs, trees, power outages and flooding due to the latest storm. claudine wong is live in oakland with some examples. good afternoon, claudine. >> reporter: good afternoon! it's been a wild morning of weather, we got the sun out this morning but all it takes is one clogged drain and look at the mess it's created. there was cars here this morning, you can see some are still stuck in what is a pretty big puddle. these are problems we've seen across the bay area this morning, problems like this one

including a very crazy wake-up capitol for one oakland resident. this is what he saw when the sun came up this morning. the aftermath of a falling tree that came crashing down. >> i woke up at 3:00 in the morning to a very loud crash, and i saw some light out of my window. >> the tree hit his car, fortunately it did not hit his house. but it did make quite a mess. >> it took down multiple wires, the one that was the highest tower on top. the road in the middle of the street. >> while crews were trying to deal with intense heat in oakland, it was water that was plaguing drivers in san francisco. this is the road under doyle drive, flooded lanes took several drivers by surprise as he head from 19th avenue to the gold on gate bridge. caltrans cleared a drain on within side but the other side was a different story. >> what's the point here now? you just -- >> i'm going to poke around, see if i can find anything.

>> they never found a drain so the sun came up and drivers kept driving through the water. >> i have seen it worst than that. this is isn't that bad, no. >> drivers didn't have to deal with this flooding on the great highway because public works shut down traffic on this side of the road between slow and lincoln. most people we talked to just tried to enjoy the view, which did include a rainbow this morning. residents are used to it and just roll with it. as he prepared for a long day of clean-up, he was taking the same approach. >> a lot in the hills, so we just have to roll with the punches. >> obviously we lost that mic there. but she was telling bus the number of problems that the bay area is dealing with with the weather, including a massive tree that blocked a road in sonoma county. the highway patrol received a call about a falling tree around 3:30 a.m. and was a large oak that fell

across porter creek road and took down some power lines. traffic was affected for almost four hours, while the chp waited for a tree removal service to show up. lanes reopened shortly after 7 a.m. pg&e just gave us an update on power outages still in existence around the bay area. the largest outage is in san francisco, because of a broken pole. that knocked out power to 800 customers. on the peninsula, 250 customers are without power, mostly in millbrae. in the east bay, there are 350, with the largest outage in orinda. in the south bay, hundred. pg&e says crews are working as fast as they can to restore power to everyone. pg&e has a system to help predict where damage to power lines will be the worst because of high winds. the company has its own weather department to track storms. they do that by evaluating the storm's strength and path.

pg&e uses the information to position crews before trouble strikes. >> the idea is to have crews ready, and in the right position and the right place. in order to keep the outage duration time to a minimum, and that so the customers can have lights on and have minimal disruptions. >> pg&e says the speed of its response often depends on the number of outages and that the largest outages usually get top priority. the sierra is also getting slammed with snow which is great news ahead of a long holiday weekend. this is video from blue canyon this morning along interstate 80. forecasters are calling for one to two feet of the 5,000 foot level and the 4 feet at higher elevations. a winter storm warning is in effect for the sierra and schools in the school district up there are closed. travelers should of course bring chains and expect slowdowns due to snowy conditions.

today's one of those deals where you might see some bright sunshine, and all of a sudden the clouds thicken up and you run into a heavy downpour. it's a possibility of hail. right now the maps still quite a bit of activity here. there's the live sweep showing you the current pattern. as we come in closer to the north of antioch to the north of pittsburg you can enhancement here with yellows and orange showing up reflecting heavier rainfall possibly some thunderstorm activity embedded as well. in the southern half of the region, there you go, in the south bay. some darker shades of green moving across the bay on the way pretty much there closer to hayward and also into fremont some still some rainshowers, a big part of the forecast right now and also over the next few hours. we'll widen on the the perspective again. there's the activity up in the north bay. also for san francisco, ocean beach, the coverage has been on the increase and not extreme but still you will encounter

moderate downpours and the possibility with that unsettled nature for today with the overall weather pattern we could have some scattered thunderstorms develop. so with that today we'll hold on for the possibility of some thunderstorms at least for today. there's another batch of some rain approaching the bay area coastline. i'll have the timing coming up in just a few minutes. >> thank you, mark. the storm caused a delay in resulting a traffic related problem in san francisco. a box truck apparently hit an overhead sign on a connector between northbound 101 and northbound 280. and debris from the sign fell on to the windshield of a passing car. there's no word on the condition of the driver but closer the roads after midnight and couldn't remove the sign until about 4 this morning. the road was back open shortly after 7 a.m. you can track the storms by going to our channel 2 website, ktvu.com. just click on the stormwatch tab. you can also fine the latest traffic conditions. the state supreme court is meeting behind closed doors today to deal with the legal

battle over same-sex marriage. the high court is reviewing an appeals court request to determine whether sponsors. proposition 8 are which bans gay marriage, can legally defend the measure. a federal judge struck down the measure last august and protect marriage.com is challenging that decision. depending on the state court ruling, the appeals court could dismiss the case affecting just california or rule on u.s. constitutional questions that affect gay merge across the country. a critical hearing is set for today in oakland's controversial to crack down on violent street gangs. a judge will begin hearing evidence on the plan to impose restrictions on dozens of suspected gang members in the city's fruitvale neighborhood. the city attorney says the existing injunction in the northern part of oakland has been a tremendous success in fighting violent crime and drug dealing. last year a judge barred suspected gang members from

hanging out together and imposed a 10 p.m. curfew. however, critics say the city should focus on creating education and job programs that steer young people away from gangs. layoff notices could soon go out to hundreds of teachers and staff in the oakland unified school district. a letter posted on the district website says the district may be short as much as $12.6 million in next year's budget. some principals and other managers might be reassigned to a new position in the fall because of the deficit. state law requires school districts to warn employees of the possibility of a layoff by march 15th. the fbi expects to have results back today after conducting tests on that suspicious letter that was mailed to an office building near the va hospitalized in palo alto. a va spokeswoman says a clerk became ill after opening an envelope containing a gritty substance. no patients were affected.

but employees from the first floor of the va hospital business office were evacuated. the first floor of the building will remain closed until the fbi identifies the substance. united airlines boeing fleet is slowly returning to service today. this after 757 jets were voluntarily grounded yesterday to perform maintenance checks on air data computers. one of the planes was at sfo. we checked and there are no delays right now. united says the computers are fully functional, but they recently discovered that the airline had not complied with some faa requirements. ahead we'll tell you what happened when berkly ace controversial resolution dealing with guantanamo bay detainees. the desire for freedom continues to spread in the middle east, we'll tell you where protests are breaking out today. meteorologist mark will be back in a few minutes, getting ready for more rain. we'll tell you how much. also. >> we try to work to teach both

beautiful and enchanting and make sure it does everything it's supposed to do. >> san francisco -- and this morning we checked on final touches for some of the floats. [audio not understandable]

anti-government protests in the middle east are spreading to the persian gulf. this is video by amnesty international on youtube, a protest in bahrain. it's the third day of pro- democracy demonstrations and security forces have pulled back after violent clashes that left two dead yesterday. with thousands of u.s. military personnel stationed in that country, the u.s. is expressing concern about the unrest. in the meantime, demonstrations are also growing in yemen and libya. today egypt's health ministry reported that at least 365 people were killed during the 18-day anti-government uprising that began january 25th. minister farred said it was only a preliminary count of civilians who died and did not include police officers or prisoners. this is the first comprehensive death toll provided by the government for the uprising that ousted egyptian president hosni mubarak. they said no in berkeley last night.

guantanamo bay detainees will not be offered invitations to resettle in berkeley once they're released from prison. at 11:30 last night, the berkeley city council rejected a resolution to welcome detainees who had been cleared of wrongdoing to come live in berkeley. it's an issue that once again put berkeley in the national spotlight, with strong opinions on both sides. >> i want to know if the peace and justice commission really did their homework on these detainees. just because they haven't been charged and convicted of a crime doesn't mean they're innocent. >> we don't have decision coming out of berkeley, but i think the most amazing thing we've achieved is raising the issue to the public, bringing america's attention back to the problems of guantanamo. >> some councilmembers say they cannot support the resolution now because federal law prohibits detainees from coming to the u.s., but if the federal law changes, they may reconsider the issue in the

future. a bay area mortuary director is due in court today to face felony grand theft charges. investigators seder ic washington cheated several families who came to his funeral home in san francisco's bayview district. they say he pre-sold funerals, then spent the money. investigators say washington swindled his customers out of at least $30,000. his funeral parlor closed two years ago. vallejo police say the disappearance of a man who has been missing for a week is suspicious. 45-year-old robert mass took his dog for a walk 11 days ago and has not been seen or heard from since. his dog came back home that night, alone. mast's family says it's highly unusual for him to not be in contact. we have a sneak peek at some of the floats you'll be able to see at saturday's chinese new year's parade in san francisco. organizers took our photographer on a tour this

morning on the float at pier 27. float builders say they got a late start this year because of rain that kept the paint from drying quickly. but they were working night and day to catch up. >> my feeling is the people come to the parade deserve a private show and every single person deserves that show. so we really try to work to make each float just beautiful and enchanting and make sure that it does everything it's supposed to do for every person. >> this year's parade marks the year of the rabbit. it will feature dozens of floats as well as chinese dancers and miss chinatown. it's this saturday, and if you don't want to see it live, you can watch it live right here on channel 2, our coverage begins at 6 p.m. the south bay's valley transportation authority will begin phasing in clipper cards today. the agency is the last major bay area transit system to accept the cards as a form of

payment. while many riders have been happy with the card, there are also some complaints that they don't always work. a very active weather day across the end taipei area with the rainshowers and also the thunderstorms. outside route now it's cold enough that we're tracking some snow. this is out towards mount hamilton. current temperature of 32 degrees, snow levels coming down. mount hamilton around 4200 feet, snow down to 3,000 feet later today at friday morning. closer to the surface, in antioch we're been tracking stormy cells as well. you can see the cloud cover and the maniacs has moved out to the north and to the east of antioch. right now in the maps on live storm tracker 2, there's the coverage. no bright red indicating severe weather but we still have impressive cells, moderate downpours closer to fremont and union city. the maps across the bay, you can pick out near the coastline, it's been a change within the past few minutes

with the rainshowers basically covering san francisco and right now moving across the bay and on track to reach emeryville and oak rand in the next few minutes and up in the north bay. you can pick up the coverage as well, especially moving into the western parts of sonoma county and portions of marin county as well. as far as rainfall totals very up pressive up in santa rosa over the past 24 hours, over two inches. concord .76. san francisco .63. and san jose .41. we picked up most of the activity within a faw hours late yesterday evening and early this morning. for today, showers the possibility still scattered thunderstorms, for tomorrow more rain, possibly in fact the forecast models bumping up rainfall rates first thick tomorrow morning. the extended forecast at least for your weekend, sun-cloud mix and breezy conditions out there. here's the satellite. you can see all the activity moved across the northern half the state and the snow up in the sierra with the white showing up there. at least for today we'll hold on to gusty winds, clouds and sun, and still the possibility

you can see it showing up graphicically in the thunderstorms. then another system, rain picks up as this area of low pressure swings in and that generates more rain into tomorrow morning. here we go, rainfall forecast models showing still scattered rainshowers across the bay. 8:00, still the chance and look what happens into tomorrow morning, rain fall on the increase. this would be locally heavily ever heavy 7 or 8:00 it and into thursday. this afternoon cool side, only in the 50s. once again from gusty winds out there, some high surf offshore. san jose forecast high 56. and here's a look ahead. your 5-day forecast, heavier rain scheduled for the first half of thursday. friday some cool showers out there, off and on. we'll have to hold on to the  chance of a shower into saturday. although the forecast models pulling back on the probability it just some breezy conditions sunday. but told hold on to the

umbrella and glasses at the same time. you'll kneeled them. >> all right. thank you, mark. a follow-up now on a story we first brought you yesterday at noon. a stranded barge is docked in oakland right now. that's following an emergency clean-up operation that may have prevented a disaster. the barge ran aground early yesterday morning near the st. francis yacht club in san francisco. we were there last night when the barge was finally removed at high tide and moved across the bay. it was carrying thousands of gallons of fuel and hydraulic fluid. but the barge's fuel tanks held tight and only a gallon of oil leaked into the bay. a san francisco supervisor is calling for a hearing on a proposal to reduce off-leash areas for dog on the gold on gate recreation area. the park service issued the proposal last month to drastically reduce off-leash locations like ocean beach and fort mason. yesterday supervisor scott weiner asked the board to hold a public hearing for input from

residents, businesses and public agencies within the next month or two. ahead, a well-known bookstore chain makes it official, and files for bankruptcy. and it's time to say good-bye to the big statue in the civic center. where it's going.

get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud.

taking a live look at the big board on wall street. stocks are up today, thanks to

another round of some good news about some corporations. dell, comcast, deer and company and abercrombie & fitch all up today after some good earnings reports and good indications about the future. the dow is currently up 61. and nasdaq up 21. s&p up 7. weeks after the first talk of filing for bankruptcy, the borders group filed the papers this morning. the company which owns borders bookstores and walden books says it will close about 30% of its stores. borders has struggled to keep up with digital competitors, including amazon.com and apple. and san francisco's civic center plaza a short time ago crews started dismantling a 27- foot statue of buddha. the statue entitled three heads, six arms has been on loan from china and has spent

the last nine months at civic center plaza. crews are using huge cranes to take apart the 15-ton statue, which came to the bay area to commemorate the 30th anniversary of shanghai's sister-city relationship with san francisco. it's expected to take three days to dismantle the statue. coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 5, when an east palo alto veterans home went up in flames this week, responding fire crews carried a new high- tech tool with them. it's an experimental camera the first of its kind in the bay area. see the flames from the firefighters' point of view and how it could help on the scene of a fire. that and more coming up at 5. thank you for watching. have a great day!

♪ teacher, teacher, now we're back in school ♪ ♪ are you smarter than you used to be? ♪ [ cheers and applause ] foxworthy: hi, everybody, i'm jeff foxworthy, and welcome to a special delivery edition of "are you smarter than a 5th grader?" all right, kids, are you ready to meet your new classmate? danielle: yeah! foxworthy: she is a 40-year-old national pizza sales manager who attended sheridan elementary. please welcome bridget baskin! bridget: yeah! yeah! hey! foxworthy: bridget, how are you? bridget: hi. good. nice to see you. foxworthy: great to see you. look at that. you are so cute. bridget: thank you. foxworthy: now, are those your real glasses, or is this like a costume day? bridget: no, those are my glasses. foxworthy: those are the real glasses. you look so great. you're just, like, normal-sized with a little basketball there. -bridget: thank you. thank you. -foxworthy: you are. and i learned a long time ago as a comedian, do not ask a woman if she's pregnant. because one night, i was onstage, and there was a woman in the front, and i said, "when's your baby due?" and she said, "i'm not pregnant." and i thought, "i'm never asking that again."