downpours in the bay area and you can expect a lot more to come. good afternoon. i'm tori campbell. as promised, the bay area is getting hit with a late winter storm. we are on storm watch with rain, heavy at times and strong winds battering the area. this is a live look at the san mateo bridge. if you look to the right, you can see part of a sign there on your screen, there is a sign -- a warning sign about how winds.

the highway patrol is also reporting a lot of accidents, all around the bay area. we start our team storm watch coverage lorraine blanco at the san francisco airport, where there's serious flight delays, right, lorraine? >> reporter: yeah, there are. people are bundled up out here because it's very cold and wet outside. you can see them standing under the awning over here. as cars arrive, you see people scurrying into them. but before they got here, many had to wait and that time went very slowly. if you are traveling in or out of sfo, you can expect delays up to three hours today. low visibility, high winds in the rain make a bad combination for flights. >> normally on a clear day, it's one set for take-off, one for landing. it's not gonna be that way

today. it's very slow. >> reporter: this man is trying to win a spot on the 49ers. while he hopes to play, he hopes to enjoy some sunshine. it was 65 degrees at 8:00. and my fiancee just called me and said it's 08 in ohio -- 80 in ohio. >> reporter: the public works department is offering free sandbags all week. thank goodness, this man's home wouldn't do too well without them. >> the economy doesn't always allow you to make the changes you want to make the way you want to make them. you make due. the city provides bags for us, so i will take advantage of it. >> reporter: you can see the roads out here in front of the airport. very slick right now. be careful as you are -- be careful as you are driving in and out. sfo recommends calling before

you come out here. reporting live from sfo, lorraine blanco, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, lorraine. we just received new video of an accident in downtown oakland that could have environment implications. this big rig hit a guard guardrail and diesel fuel is leaking into a channel that leads to lake merritt. we'll have more on this accident and many others today on our website and the evening newscast. good news for the ski resorts, which have seen a pretty mild winter so far. a winter storm watch is in effect today and tomorrow. the storm is expected to bring in high winds and dump a foot of snow in the region. and the rain continues to come down at this hour. will we get a break in the

rain? no, you are gonna need that umbrella all day long. take it easy. there's trouble out there. take a look at the stormtracker2. you can see any where we point out, we're pretty much looking at rain. if we head to the east bay, we're seeing breaks. maybe dry, maybe drizzle. the north bay started early this morning. actually, it was the overnight hours and really has continued to come down. we're looking at any where from an inch to three inches of rain before this storm pulls through. santa rosa has picked up an inch. .45 in nea. the farther south we go, the less there is -- dash the -- the less there is. this storm is gonna sit on us. i'm gonna take you through the future model and show you when we'll see a break but then we

have more on the way. we'll take a look at the winds and the rain. coming up. >> thank you, rosemary. oakland authorities are looking at a fire that displaced more than a dozen people and destroyed dozens of cars. it started at an apartment building. the fire was burning underneath where people were sleeping. >> i tried to call 911 from my home phone. it didn't work. i tried to call from my cell phone, it didn't work. i just stood in the courtyard and started to yell fire! >> firefighters believe the fire started from one of the parked cars. but they won't know for sure until they find the exact cause. 18 children and 18 adults were displaced. nobody was hurt. an investigation is underway in fairfield following another deadly shooting.

this one claimed the life of a 47-year-old man. police say the victim was gunned down last night in front of his home on hay street as he parked his car in the driveway. investigators say he was shot several times. he was airlifted to the hospital where he died from his injuries. before going to the hospital, the victim was able to tell the officials he did not know the gunman. but officials don't think it was a completely random crime. >> could it be a stranger? yeah. but we don't believe somebody is robbing people in the street at this hour in front of their homes. this gentleman just arrived home and something happened. >> police say there's no indication, the incident is gang-related or connected to a shooting last month that killed a 20-year-old man in the same area. the first protest is underway in afghanistan -- the first protest is underway in afghanistan following a deadly rampage on sunday allegedly by a u.s. soldier. hundreds of students are demonstrating in the east

demanding a public trial for the soldier and execution. this is raising another demonstrations like last month when the koran was being burned. the taliban has threatened to behead any american caught on their soil. president obama promised a thorough investigation. but he also said the u.s. will not speed up pulling american the the -- americans out of the country. >> the kills does not represent who we are os a country -- who we are as a country and it does not represent our military. today could mark the defining moment in the republican race for the presidential nomination. the stakes are very high, particularly for newt gingrich, whose candidacy largely rests

on the primaries today in alabama and mississippi. gingrich is spending the day in burlingham, hoping to battle it out with the gop's conservative base. if mitt romney wins it will show he has the broad base of support needed to win. but rick santorum says it's not over yet, he says he will be the one to triumph voters in the southern conference. the labor department says employers posted 3.4 million job opens in january-- openings in january. that's down from the previous month which hit a 3 1/2 high. job openings help describe the demand for labor. job seekers could see hiring

continue at a healthy pace. and some of those job hunters are in fremont. jukeky speier is hosting a free job hunters' boot camp. tara moriarty is live there with more. any chance people could see a job opening? >> reporter: well, jackie speers is here and people signed up to get a crack at brushing up their interview skills. about 40 companies, including home depot, comcast and target have set up booths here and are actively hiring. >> there's so many people still unem.ed -- unemployed. you can hear it from the people who have gotten the education who want the jobs. >> reporter: the majority of job seekers are over the age of 45. some older workers who, perhaps, should be retiring but say they don't have anything to

retire on. so they are looking for a job. >> i was a restaurant manager. i had been a chef for 15 years. but i've worked in both the front of the house, the back of the house, and i'm open to change. i will start at the bottom and work my way up again. [ laughter ] >> reporter: speers says the job market is improving. many job seekers we spoke to say the high cost of gas has made their job search even tougher. for a complete list of those companies hiring, go to ktvu.com. we do have a link to the information. live from the san mateo county fairgrounds, i'm tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, tara. during the past hour, the federal reserve said the economy is getting better. officials talked about strong job gains. the fed also plans to leave short-term interest rates near zero until at least late 2014. a foreign ambassador is in

the bay area. we just got the video. we'll have that story for you in seven minutes. and u.s. chancellor announced he will give up his post bite end of the year. he plans to remain at uc berkeley to teach and conduct research. hesays he will continue in that regard. you will see and hear more about this very unusual fight at a u.s. airport. it happened this morning. rosemary is back in a few minutes. she's looking at what you can expect from the weather during the afternoon commute. give a voice to those who don't have one. >> animal lovers are speaking up about our four-legged friends. what they are asking from state legislators. what do you think of this one?

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a delta airlines jet was damaged when it rolled off a taxiway in atlanta at the world's busiest airport. authorities say mechanics were testing the boeing 737 early this morning when they had a problem with the braking system and the joet rolled down an embankment. no passengers were on board. mechanics were not hurt. traffic at the airport is not

being affected. police want muni riders to be smart when it comes to handling their smartphones and computers. muni says it's seeing an increase in mobile devices being ripped off the hands of passengers. a new safety campaign mr. two hours from now will be announced. riders will be reminded to stay alert and be aware of their surroundings. we will learn more tonight about high-speed rails in the peninsula and the south bay. a hear something planned in mountain view to go over the state's final business plan for the bullet system that will run -- that will run from san francisco to los angeles. the board is set to make a presentation. you can voice your concern or support at the mountain view center for the performing arts at 7:00 p.m. pet owners came together in oakland this morning in an effort to save an animal adoption mandate. a rally was held in front of

the alameda county administration building ahead of the of their meeting. governor jerry brown wants to repeal the safe haven law. the law requires state animal shelters to keep strays for up to six days before ucket mizeing them and -- euthanizing them and also to provide veterinary care. >> support the cause and give a voice to those who don't have one. so we're here to help friends that are out and need some shelter. >> today's rally was orked by two alameda county supervisors -- organized by two alameda county supervisors. council is expected to sign off on the final budget and funding plan for the 49 stadium budget. the cost has jumped to 1.2 billion for the stadium. but the big project is on the fast track with construction set to begin in a few months.

the current goal, ready for the 2014 season. rowdy fans could soon be ban from attending prosports events anywhere in california. a fight during the raiders/49ers game last august, you may recall that. now a babb lift has been proposed. that and that would prohibit anyone convicted for a misdemeanor for fighting from attending a prosports event. san francisco mayor ed lee today announced a new partnership between the city and canada. >> all right. it's open! >> open! [ applause ] >> the mayor and canadian ambassador cut the ribbon today on a new canadian tech acaccelerateer. mayor -- accelerator. mayor lee says this represents

something more. >> we're nost just creating a mission bay for the bay area the we want this to be reflective of what our city is good at which is international collaboration. >> four canadian companies will be setting up shop at the center. the cost of a visit to alcatraz island is about to go up. the national park service says it is raising the price of tickets to $2 -- $2 starting april 18th. the new adult fare, $28. prices for children, senior and special night tours are also going up. officials say the increase was due to the rising cost of ferry service to the island which is provided by an outside company. outside your doors on this tuesday, it is wet and in some cases, it is windy. it's going to be with us all day long. giving you a view outside where

we have great sky, visibility down in some cases, at the top of the hour, we talked about delays at sfo, if you are gonna be flying out and know somebody somebody flying be aware of that. and we're all getting wet. the breeze out at sfo, 24 miles an hour and the gusts near 30 in some its cases. areas around livermore, san jose here to the southeast, it looks like perhaps a little bit of drizzle, maybe a few breaks in the rain. it's not going to last. this system has moved over us and it's just going to sit with us for the next 24 hours or so. the winds picking up at 24 miles and hour. napa reporting gusts at 20 and 22 miles an hour. 13 miles an hour reported in santa rosa. we watched these storms move through. they typically sweep through and we get a break after a few or several hours. not the case. let me show you what's gog that

happen the next 24 hours or so. the rain has arrived. it will be with us for the evening drive at 6:00. it looks like parts of the south bay, maybe the santa cruz mountains getting a little bit of drizzle. it's just gonna hang over us. it's not moving. tomorrow morning we wake up. the rain is still falling. it looks like it finally begins to hit southeast. as it marches along we will begin to see a break. that time stamp says wednesday, 10:00. so wednesday night is when when we wecht to get a bit of a break. the next storm is going to arrive sometime on thursday. it looks like thursday afternoon into the evening hours. the winter storm warning remains in effect until wednesday as well. heavy snowfall. winds are blowing, meaning blowing snowfall. the lefts around 5 -- levels around 50 miles an hour. some of these temperatures here, about as warm as where we started out this morning. they've really not budged.

in the afternoon, perhaps a few degrees of higher. your extended forecast for your weekend is always in view. took care of that rain for today. the next storm arrives thursday afternoon into the evening hours. it will be with us all day on friday. that storm looks warmer. so snow levels will come up a little bit. but in time for the weekend, the possibility of thunderstorms is really gonna drop, perhaps dune to 2,000 feet. you can get updates on weather and traffic any time by going to ktvu.com. you will also find flight information. just click on the tab on the front page. today, president obama is meeting with 40 teenaged scientists at the white house including three from the bay area. >> diabetes is the only major disease that's getting worse. so i thought it's really something that could use more work on. >> elissa jake is a 17-year-old

teenager. her project is a diabetes detection device that would not require a needle prick or the drawing of blood. the other finalists are jim pan and this man from the prep school in san jose. the winner of the intel science search will be announced tonight. the first prize $100,000. investors are having a good day on wall street. the reasons when we come back and -- when we come back. and a warning about jewelry that's popular with a lot of children.

strong february retail sales helping drive u.s. stocks to new highs and the federal reserve noting unemployment rates have decline and should keep falling. taking a live look at the big board, dow up 186. nasdaq up 43. s&p up 21. president obama issued a warning to china today that it cannot be allowed to skirt the rules in world trade. he said the u.s., the european n underand japan are asking the -- the european union are asking for the manufacturing of high-tech goods. california air guardsmen who

deployed over mexico, this arrived at a marine base and the fishermen they rescued were burned in a diesel fire a few weeks ago. a study released says toxic chemicals are in low-cost jewelry. researchers tested 99 piece pieces of -- piece esof jewelry say -- pieces of jewelry say this can link to diseases, especially in young children. the jewelry tested was all under $10. the retailers listed was walmart, and kohl's. we'll be live streeling the 33rd hall of fame induction --

streaming the 33rd hall of fame induction tonight. thank you for joining us. be sure to join us at 5:00 with more on the weather. also we're always here for you on ktvu.com and mobile ktvu.com. thanks for watching. have a great day!