we are on storm watch, as heavy early morning rain causes some headaches throughout the bay area. >> another morning of bad weather causes major problems at s.f.o. how some travelers had to alter their spring break plans. >> also a wet and windy reception for the first lady today in alameda. the significance of michelle obama's bay area visit. good evening, everyone. i'm heather homes.

>> and i'm eric rasmussen in for ken wayne tonight. we begin on storm watch with a wet and windy storm system that is causing problems all across the bay area from power outages to travel delays in the air and on the ground. these pictures are just in to the newsroom from marin county where crews cleared a mud slide and fallen try that blocked panoramic highway this afternoon. it happened near the junction of highway 1 and shut down the roadway until about 2:30. >> they're still worried about the hillside and they're going to sit on it as they said for the next few hours. there is a good chance because of the water still coming down from the hillside that more of that loose shale will fall. >> there was another slide in this same area on tuesday. in sonoma county, crews are working to clear a huge tree that fell on the road. they say 100 foot fir tree crashed down at 7:30 this morning knocking down power and

phone lines along that highway. a neighbor who lives 100 yards away said by the sound of it she worried the tree had landed on her house. >> it's a huge tree. it looks like another one is going to fall on top of it. so we're a little concerned about, you know, having power here over the next couple of days. >> crews say it will probably be mid night before the highway reopened and the power is back on for 91 customers. the rain came in heavy this morning and swept across most of the bay area. our storm watch continues now with meteorologist mark tamayo. he is in the weather center tracking where showers are developing. first we turn to john tasaki, live near san francisco airport with how today's wet weather has but a damper on spring break travel stands. >> reporter: eric, we're across from a busy runway at s.f.o. planes have been coming and going all of which happened much slower this morning, causing trouble that continues tonight. young marcus mcguffin and his

parents have been having a rough day. >> this is what i want to do right now is cry and pick my nose. >> reporter: they flew to san francisco from seattle on the way to cab bow san lucas. but bad weather caused them to miss their connection. >> a different flight instead of number 81. had to run all the way around and missed our flight by -- >> just a few minutes. >> reporter: with no other flights, they had to get a hotel here for the night. airport officials say this morning's rain and wind caused serious problems starting with more than 50 cancelled flights. >> the damage is done and we have delays up to, in some areas, up to two and a half hours. >> reporter: the airlines informed many passengers early on. >> it was raining cats and dogs and they started actually texting us and calling us about 7:52, to let us know that it was not going to be in. >> it's very frustrating. because you feel like you've had a busy week, and then like the last thing you want to do is get out of here, you know,

san francisco airport, and then in the rain just makes it worse. >> reporter: that's the key here. runways too close together combined with bad weather can mean air traffic is cut in half. despite delays, family reunions are still sweet. these parents came from wyoming to visit their son a student at humm bolt state. >> it was all worth it. we're glad to be here. >> reporter: airport officials tell me things should be back to normal tomorrow when there is no rain in the forecast. live near s.f.o. ktvu, channel 2 news. >> this is a live look at the runway at mineta san jose airport. there were no delays reported due to weather today. oakland international also reports operations were not affected by this storm. we turn now to mark tamayo with what areas are seeing showers now. >> heather, showers developing in the north bay, after a fairly active weather day of rainfall. this morning looking rainfall

tootles, the radar loop over the past 12 hours, santa rosa, .36. san francisco nearly half an inch and van loman the most, the santa cruz mountains at .92. the latest right now, and you can pick out some development, primarily in the north bay, up towards around bodega bay. we have an unstable weather pattern so some showers and thunderstorms could be developing within this and also more action developing off shore out to the west. this will be on the increase. i'll widen this out once again. you can see the bigger perspective with more showers developing and the key here, more of an unstable show. short term we'll have showers developing in this area moving south and east over the next few hours. coming up we'll track the showers, highlight thunderstorm potential and let you know if your umbrella gets a break into the second half of the weekend. >> for the latest on the weather including live radar where you are, be sure to visit our website, ktvu.com and click

on the storm watch tab. >>this morning, stormy weather threatened to spoil first lady michelle obama's visit to alameda but matt keller explains the rain did not stop her from honoring the first coast guard vessel named after a woman in more than 25 years. >> reporter: first lady michelle obama was protected from the rain for just a few steps before the wind made it a wet walk to the stage. mrs. obama was on the coast guard island in alameda for the commissions ceremony of the u.s. ghost card cutter stat economy. >> i place united states coast guard cutter stratton in commission. >> reporter: the coast guard is not afraid of the water but the 2500 people attending the event dealt with major downpours and destructive wind. the honor guard had to go indoors to play. even the cutter stratton took a hit when its string of flags was ripped off and fell into the water. >> oh, you all are troopers. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the first lady saved her biggest praise for

darts stratton and the who served with her in world war ii. >> these women are heroes. they served this country so bravely and broke so many barriers. >> reporter: 44 former spars were at the event. >> something to be a spar! [ laughter ] >> reporter: including betty reed. but women didn't serve on boats during world war ii, freeing up men to go instead. >> a couple of coast guardsmen tell me thank you. you sent me to sea. >> reporter: women are no longer left behind. commander laura colins is second in charge on the cutter stratton. >> special for everyone and the ladies in particular. especially named after captain stratton who was really the first woman in the coast guard. >> reporter: the first operational patrol for the cutter from the on the will take place in the pacific for three months. crew members take part in drug operations, search and rescue, and training missions. in alameda, matt keller, ktvu channel 2 news. new at 6, it was one year ago that giants fan brian stowe

suffered that attack at dodgers stadium. nearly 400 people turned out today in san jose for a benefit of that for the brain injury of california. the fifth annual walk for thought raised $35,000 for the association. two teens participated in support of ryan stowe including members of his family. supporters say more research needs to be done on trauma dick brain injuries. >> it's the number two disability in the united states and it is people need to know about it. >> brian stowe is undergoing rehabilitation at an unnamed facility in northern california. his family says he remains wheelchair bound and needs 24 hour assistance. oakland owes oracle arena is hosting the pop 2012 rave. the large party is being closely watched after a similar event resulted in drug related deaths two years ago. katie is live outside the arena. >> reporter: heather, there's safety precautions that are

different this year than last time. the parking lot is filling up and behind us they're waiting to get tickets at the ticket window. 10,000 tickets sold for the return of pop 2012. we talked to a few people as they were going into this venue. the doors opened a half hour ago. they told us they plan to party smart, drink lots of water, and that they weren't too concerned about their safety. this is the same event that was held they palace two years ago that led to the deaths of two people from drug overdoses from the drug ecstasy. sickened eight people, and caused police to make 70 drug- related arrests. one of the medical supervisors told me this year they are using a text emergency system, so anyone needing help can get help without having to try to make a phone call in a loud venue for r. no one can hear you. now oakland city officials seem confident that this event is safe. >> last year, was no incident in that event. the police have to approve any of these events. the police department approved

this event, because they believe that it's -- that it's all the safety precautions are taken care of. >> reporter: now the cal palace has since banned rave events from the cal palace. again this year, organizers tell me they are confident that this event will go off without a hitch. i spoke to someone who is in charge of the medical services here, and he says they have precautions set up, lots of water. and stations all around the venue inside and out, as well as three ambulances. this event goes on until 2:00 this morning. reporting live in oakland, know well walker, ktvu. two of three suspects involved in a botched a.t.f. operation near richmond's hilltop mall this week have been charged with assault according to the san francisco chronicle. kosar mobley was charged in federal course on thursday for assaulting an federal officer and otis mobley was charged with aiding and abetting. a third suspect who hasn't been identified was critically wounded when he was shot by an undercover agent. turning to the election

2012, the republican presidential hopefuls rallied voters in wisconsin ahead of tuesday's primaries. congressman paul ryan joined mitt romney on the campaign trail this morning. they spoke to the faith and freedom coalition. there is talk romney will pick ryan at his running mate. romney blasted what he called president obama's failed policies and empty promises. rick santorum and newt gingrich also appeared at the forum. santorum told the gathering of evangelical christians that he is the candidate who can best make the case to conservative voters. but romney holds a comfortable lead over his competition in polling in wisconsin, maryland, and the descrict of columbia, where vote -- district of columbia where voters will go to the polls on tuesday. we've learn three winners will split that record breaking mega millions lottery but none of the tickets were sold in california. lottery officials say one ticket was sold at this maryland 7-eleven in milford mill. two other winners in illinois, and kansas, will also divide that t. big jackpot. it rose to 656 million dollars

before it was all said and done last night. each ticket is worth about $105 million after taxes. so far, none of the new millionaires has come forward. 29 people in california matched five of the six numbers to win nearly 230,000 a piece. five of those tickets were sold at bay area convenience stores. those stores are al's food and liquor in san rafael, fox liquors in san francisco, fast and easy mart in fremont, liquor, toe bako and more in sunny veil and the 7-eleven in san jose. hundreds march in a florida town where a teenager was shot. where the group ended up and what it is demanding. >> volunteers fanned out despite the wet weather looking for sierra lamar. why their efforts will soon be scaled back. >> and coming to a crawl in the sierra. we're back on storm watch tonight as winter like weather takes aim throughout the state.

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>> drivers in oakland navigated through a big wet mess this afternoon after a car struck a fire hydrant on fifth and mad sob streets. the water shot up so high it even reaches highway 880. firefighters shut off the water in minutes. it appears the car hit the hydrant simply drove away. hundreds joined civil rights leaders today marching for slain florida teenager trayvon martin. jesse jackson and al sharpton joined leaders from the n.a.a.c.p. and other groups marching to the police station in sanford, florida. marchers say george zimmerman the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed 17-year-old last month should face murder charges. zimmerman reportedly said he felt threatened by the teen. under florida's 2005 stand your ground law a person can use deadly force if necessary to prevent quote death or great

bodily harm. closer to the home, mayor jean quann said the death of trayvon martin should serve as a wake up call for everyone about how we perceive each other. >> we all have to reflect, as the president said, on how we see each other and the stereotypes and fear. >> there have been several protests here in the bay area surrounding the shooting of trayvon martin in recent weeks including one organized by the n.a.a.c.p. this week in front of oakland city hall. volunteers were out again today searching for a missing teenager sierra lamar. but organizers say the searches will soon be scaled back. friends and family, even strangers walk through muddy fields near sierra's home in morgan hill today looking for any clue to the teenager's disappearance. but the daily searches will end after tomorrow. >> i think we'll probably move more towards a weekend search kind of a dynamic. there's a lot of factors that have to be taken into consideration, not the least of which is the burn out factor. we want people to stay fresh

and we want them to stay enthusiastic. >> sierra vanished two weeks ago on her way to school. police believe the 15-year-old was kidnapped, possibly by someone she knew. today's search for sierra lamar drew a high profile volunteer. 49ers quarterback alex smith showed up to lend a hand today. hedo nateed food, supplies and his time for today's search effort. antioc police are looking for a gunman who killed a man in a bar fight this morning. investigators say a group of men have been kicked out of cruisers salon on a street when they returned with baseball bats and just -- and started a fight just after 1:30 a.m. police say one of the men pulled out a gun and fired a shot inside the bar, killing a 38-year-old man. the victim has not yet been identified. >> employees were back to work today at a vallejo food processing plant following an apparent carbon dioxide leak. more than 70 workers were sent to hospitals yesterday afternoon, with nausea, headaches and breathing trouble. it's a story we followed live on k.t.v.u. throughout the day.

officials are looking into a possible malfunction of food processing equipment. we return now to storm watch, and a wet weather system is whipping through the bay area. this morning we saw very wet weather in downtown oakland, as well as in china town, but folks weren't letting the rain stop them from taking care of their weekend errands. the storm brought wind, strong surf and the possibility of snow on bay area peaks. the storm was bringing heavy snow to lake tahoe. this is a look from the cal trans camera at dutch flat on interstate 80 at 2:30 this afternoon. the eastbound lanes were at a crawl all afternoon, and as you might expect, chain restrictions are in effect tonight. >> got to watch out. not only rainy here in the bay area, it was also cold. >> it was very cold. mark tamayo with what's next. >> a break in the action earlier today but already rain showers developing, pushing back into the bay area. those rain bands could produce some more thunderstorms in the short term. right now on live storm

tracker, this is the loop over the past couple of hours. you can see what's happening with rain developing into the pacific. moving into the north bay and lining up just off shore. a closer inspection of the radar, you can see the action on the increase up in parts of the north bay, up in sonoma county for santa rosa and petaluma. that yellow cell is an unstable air mass. we could have thunderstorms developing in these cells and you will notice more rain just off shore. we'll put a distance measureer are from ocean beach. that is closing in with nine to 10 miles off shore, and as we continue to back them out to the south, still more action approaching the santa cruz county coastline as well. a look outside looking out towards the bay, low clouds definitely on the increase and gusty winds out there earlier today. we had a wind gust of over 50 miles an hour across the golden gate bridge and angel island between 7 and 9:00 this morning. tonight, showers and gusty winds. tomorrow clearing skies, this

is a big change for the second half of the weekend and we could be tracking a few light showers back to the bay area forecast. waves have been building. the swell has been building, a high surf warning typically we say a high surf advisory but when they're up above 20 feet they call it a warning. you can see into sunday, ve heights could be over 20 to 25 feet. that will be a big concern over the next 24 hours. overnight lows tomorrow morning on the cool side. upper 30s to the 40s. san francisco 47. san jose right around 44 degrees. here is the cold front that produced the heavy rain earlier this morning. now heading out of town as you can see here, but this area of low pressure still producing the showers and the chance of a few thunderstorms for this evening. and with that, we could have some small hail out there as will. that's just in the short term over the next 3:to five hours. -- three to five hours. tomorrow high pressure returns and with that partly sunny skies and winds pick up a bit approaching 20 miles an hour. winter storm warning still in place for the sierra until 7:00 tomorrow morning. and snow levels there are

coming down to 3000 feet. here is that rain band that we have been watching but notice the quick maneuver by 8:00 and by 10:00 tonight that is heading to the south and east. and then tomorrow is that dry forecast we have been advertising with partly to mostly sunny skies. temperatures for tomorrow. a bit warmer than today. warmest locations approaching the low to mid 60s. san jose right around 64. half moon bay at 60. and a look ahead, your five-day forecast, we'll warm things up by monday. warmest locations right around 70 degrees. by tuesday we could be tracking a few showers by the evening hours and a slight chance by wednesday. in the short term, over the next few hours we could have a increase with thunderstorm chances. >> thanks, mark. the window closed today for the annual mavericks surf contest. the contest draws the best surfers from all around the world to ride the waves off pillar point. along with san mateo county coast. this year those monitor waves just did not materialize. instead fans gathered for a

festival to mark the end of the maverick's window and look towards next year. two hours from now some bay area landmarks will dim their lights as part of earth hour. this is what it looked like in war saw, poland. it began in sidney, australia as a way to drawing attention to climate change. organizers with the world wildlife fund say 147 countries are taking part along with a number of bay area cities. march madness heats up. two teams from the blue grass state face off in new orleans. >> and a grueling climb. the good cause behind today's trek up the second largest tbhlg san francisco. fangled? no, we watched march madness in the living room... that's where the tv outlet was. what is he talking about? and if mom was hosting her book club that day, guess what...you missed it! we couldn't just move the tv

all willy-nilly all over the house. ohh! ohh! kids today have it so good. ok. [ male announcer ] the new wireless receiver only from at&t. get u-verse tv for $25 a month with free hd for six months. at&t.

>> people were lining up this morning to make a grueling climb up 52 flights of stairs all to raise money for the american lung association. about 1200 people of all ages made the trek to the top of the former bank of america building on california street in san francisco. firefighters in full gear were among those to tackle the 1197 stairs. i am out of breath just saying it. organizers say the fastest climber made it all the way to the top in just seven minutes.

>> wow. time to talk basketball. joe joins us with details of that cross-state rivalry. >> it was a good one. the n.c.a.a. basketball's final four is continuing as we speak. the most intriguing match up was today the's early game between kentucky and louisville. iconic coaches, as well. the wildcats took control in the 1st half. marquis teague to anthony davis on the lob. davis led the wildcats with 18. a seven point lead at the half. the cardinals stays in it when peyton hit this 3. they battled all the way back. gain game tied at 49. then the wildcats answer with a surge of their own. darius miller from beyond the arc to put kentucky back in front by 7 with 5 minutes left. 1 minute and change. cardinals need a stop. instead michael kid goes to davis for a spectacular jam. kentucky moves on to the national championship game with a 69-61 win. the wildcats meet the winner of kansas and ohio state playing

right now. the women's final 4 is in denver withstanded for in the final 4 for the fifth straight year. for the cardinal to break through into the championship game it will take a win over the number one overall seed, undefeated baylor. tomorrow you play baylor, that means you play the 6' 8 inch brittany grinner. she has made the slam dunk a staple of her game and presents a problem the cardinal hasn't seen all year in building a 37- 1 record. but the stanford players aren't obsession of greiner's ability to dunk. >> i am not trying to get into a dunking contest with her here. i can dunk, however, that's -- that's -- no. >> really that's on the back burner. the new york knicks currently hold the eighth playoff spot in the n.b.a.'s eastern conference but this year's version of linsanity has run its course. an m.r.i. exam this week revealed an meniscus tear in jeremy lin's

knee. he will have surgery to repair that tear and will be out for six months. in other words the rest of the season. lin's playing time hadn't diminished since he took the knicks on that seven game winning streak back in february. the margin for error just about gone for the sharks, who tonight host dallas. san hoe say right now the number 9 spot and out of the playoffs with four games left to play. see you again tonight at 10 on sports wrap and tell you all about it. >> thanks, joe. coming up tonight at 10, we remain on storm watch. we've already seen trees down and a mud slide blocking a roadway. the surf is expected to pick up as well with an advisory now in effect for the coast. >> and thank you for trusting k.t.v.u. channel 2 news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. >> our coverage continues at 10:00, right here on ktvu channel 2 and online at ktvu.com and mobile ktvu. see you back here tonight at 10.