now at noon, we're tracking the weather across the bay area. we're hearing from oakland police as they search for a man luring a 6-year-old away from her school and sexually assaulting her. and a former school board president suspected with working with leland yee returns to a federal court today. a very brief break in the rain this morning as the bay

area received more scattered showers. this is a live look toward walnut creek. looks like mt. diablo there. quite a few gray clouds. afternoon. i'm tori campbell. we have team coverage of the storm with janine de la vega who has been out in the wet weather all morning. we begin with steve paulson tracking the rain and even more thunderstorms possible, hail on the way. >> absolute little. it's been a rather busy morning. it will continue to get busier here in the afternoon. a line is forming along the san mateo coast. i will get a closer look at it. half moon bay. let's take a trip around. it let up around hercules, crockett, pin noel, rodeo, thunder and lightning in benicia. and just coming over san pablo bay, maybe a little bit of hail. general rain out to the east bay, approaching. south san francisco heading to oakland and hayward, probably

on the san mateo ridge and near half moon bay. that's the biggest activity right now. looks like it's punching in at the half moon bay bay airport. it's kind of ban a pattern on the peninsula. over the santa cruz mountains, scotts valley, lexington hills. another line there. the system is approaching. it's cool out. just 50. finally in santa rosa. half moon bay with the rain at 45 degrees in most locations almost all stuck in the mid- 50s. not only do we have showers and possible showers but there is a good system there -- right there. that's called a coomb ma cloud. more on -- comma cloud. more on that. the sierra nevada is up to 29 3- rs. slow progress. >> slow but sure we'll take it. let's go to janine de la vega who has been out in the elements. and is live. >> reporter: we're here in the east foot hills. we have a great view of san

jose and santa clara. no rain right now, but it's very windy. if you look up towards the cloud, you can see there is a lot of clouds in the skies. darker in some areas. earlier this was wet. some people didn't mind. >> i'm very happy. yes, we need it desperately. yes. >> reporter: here's what it looked like in alameda county this morning. the raids starts coming down early in fremont creating a lot of puddles and parking lots and making the roads slick. 680 got hit with rain but it was sporadic during the commute. the storm hit parts of the peninsula overnight. now, there was heavy downpours in certain areas. it made for dangerous roads. that's something that this ambulance crew working in alameda county says slows them down when they respond to emergencies. these paramedics say they have to slow down to stay safe. >> the ambulances with really heavy. we have to slow down sooner than we normally would.

it's imperative. >> reporter: and this is what it looked like driving on 880 as the rain stopped and the sun was out. the california highway patrol did respond to numerous accidents. some in part due to the wet roads. they are continuing to caution people to slow down as soon as the rain starts coming down even though it may be light. the oils lift up on the road. it could still make for a precarious situation. janine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. despite the rain cleanup is underway in berkeley where a large sequoia was hit by lightning. we've been told a big crane is being used to remove a 3,000- pound chunk of the tree from the top of the house near holly street where it exploded. the home has been red tagged while the -- when the lightning struck the tree, chards of wood were sent flying up to three blocks away.

the impact from the strike damaged roofs and pleau out windows -- dash blew out windows from the area. >> i was sitting at my desk. i didn't see the lightning. i just felt this huge explosion. i heard it was thunder. i thought it was thunder. i thought my god. that's close. >> this is what the 80-foot tall tree looked like before the lightning strike and today, as you've seen, a lig part of it is -- a big part of it is gone. >> you can keep track of the storms. download the weather app. you can get it on your iphone, i'm pad or an -- ipad or android device. police are searching for a man who lured a 6-year-old away from her school and sexually assaulted her near bella vista elementary school. sals castanedo -- sal castanedo is live with more. >> reporter: good afternoon. oakland police say they are increasing patrols and just moments ago, oakland police

reiterated that they need the public's help in catching what could be a serial child predator. police say a sexual assault against a 6-year-old girl occurred friday afternoon about 3:15 when the child was lured away from bella vista school. the assault occurredded on east 28th at -- occurred on east 28th. after school, the girl alerted the adults on campus. >> there's no question that these types of incidents strike everybody especially at us. i mean, these are young innocent children. a lot of those are -- of us are parents ourselves. we have kids. we take this personal. we want to get predators out there. there's no question about that. >> reporter: the man police are looking for is described as a latino, 20, 25, tweeent tweeent 5'65"10 with an average -- 5'6"

and 5'10" with an average build. >> we're looking at those with a similar history, on probation and patrol. we have educate the community and we have to tell parents hey, you need to talk to your child. >> reporter: in 2014, there have been two other reported sexual assaults. one at oakland's world academy and the other at think college now. crimestoppers is offering a $7500 reward for information that leads to an arrest. live in oakland, sal castanedo, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. and in pleasant hill, parents and students are on alert after a 17-year-old girl was groped while heading to class yesterday morning. police say it happened on a trail used by many students to get to nearby prospect alternative high school and pleasant hill middle school. police say a man jumped out of the bushes grabbed the girl, then ran off. the school district now is

warning their students to be vigilant. >> the stranger approaches you, to get away as quickly as you -- as you can. if a stranger approaches, you tell an adult immediately. >> so far police only have a vague description of the attacker. a white man about 30 years old, with a thin build and light- colored hair. sheriff's deputies from contra costa county are expected to release more information today about a homicide investigation underway in pinole. deputies say they discovered a dead body yesterday in a garage at a home near cornelius. now investigators are questioning two possible suspects. there's still no information about the victim or what led up to the homicide. new details today on the deadly washington state landslide where crews are slogging through muddy debris in the search for bodies. the official death toll is 27 with 19 victims positively

identified and nearly two dozen still missing. workers are trying to improve the flow of the river through the landslide area to reduce the flooding. the latest victim identified was 58-year-old brandy ward killed by blunt force injuries. as the search intensifies for a missing jet, freaus grows between -- frustration grows between relatives of the victims and the malaysian government. chinese increased the number of vessels participanting in the hunt and japan sent the coast guard to the indian ocean. a ping detector is on the way as well as concern is growing that the black box batteries may day. they last for 30 days. the plane has been missing for 25 days. >> in a world where our every move seems to be tracked. there's disbelief that the

aircraft could simply disappear and the black box is so difficult to recover. >> meanwhile, relatives of missing passengers continue to pray as they criticize the malaysian government for a lack of transparency. just yesterday, officials say the pilot's last words were good night, malaysian 370 and not the previously reported, all right, good night. we're learning more about the man accused of working with suspended senator leland yee in a corruption case allegedly bribery and gun trafficking as the former school board president makes another president in federal court. even though we're getting soaked. the dramatic water rationing that takes effect in bay area cities.

former san francisco school board president keith jackson returned to federal court today. he's accused of working with suspended state senator leland yee by taking bribes for campaign donations to support yee's run for secretary of state. jackson is also accused of trafficking guns and drugs and participating in a murder for hire scheme. ktvu's tara moriarty was there as jackson rushed to court. >> reporter: good afternoon.

two completely different pictures being portrayed in the courtroom regarding keith jackson. he walked out. he was wearing his alameda county jail clothes. he looked somber, slightly agitated but this hearing was a bond hearing. the judge decided that he is leaning toward letting him out on bail but he wants jackson to show that he can put up assurety, properties, et cetera that would let him out on $250,000 bond. prosecutors portrayed him as a flight risk. they worried that he would flee. they described him as a man ege gauging in constant criminal activity for three years involving leland yee and raymond chow. trafficking weapons, drugs and also involved in a murder-for- hire plot. now, jackson's attorney parented his client as an outstanding client, a former school wood president who

volunteered for seniors and the boys and girls club. he said there's no murder-for- hire plot and called the charges unreal. his lawyer also said that the undercover fbi agents involved in this case had nothing better to do than troll around the city, testing people, in essence tempting them as honest businessman. he will be back in court on thursday. if he can show he has the collateral, he will be let out on bail. tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. more details as the fbi confirms that agents are back searching a fifth floor office near the state capitol used by aides of leland yee. the office is locate aid cross the street from the -- across the steet from the capitol -- across the street from the capitol. darrell steinberg said the office was rarely used and contained a desk, computer and some boxes of materials. no word yet on what, if anything, was taken. a former san francisco

firefighter has surrendered to police after being indicted on drunk driving charges in a crash that injured a motorcyclist. a surveillance camera captured the incident at fifth and howard last june. you can see the motorcyclist sliding across the road and slamming into a pole. 43-year-old michael quinn has been indicted on three felony charges, including drunk driving and causing a serious injury. he is free on $100,000 bail. all of the rain we're getting is not enough to stop water restrictions in some bay area communities. this is the first day of water rationing in fremont, newark and union city. people who live in the cities can only water one day a week or face fines. there is a ban on refilling swimming pools, hosing off driveways and sidewalks and using sprayheads without an automatic shutoff. the alameda county district

says the restrictions are necessary because of the low water levels in local and straight reservoirses. >> we don't have any water. you can can go to the lakes and see the water is very low. that hurts us a lot. that's huge. >> the water district says workers will be watching for people not conserving and fines will be issued. customers with multiple warnings can have their water shut off. today state surveyors are set to conduct the final snowpack survey of the season. the department of resources says expectations are low for today. the sierra is expected to get a foot of new snow by tomorrow. but forecasters say this will not end the drought. the department says today's survey is critical because it marks the peak of the snow pack. in the sierra, the search is underway for a missing 25- year-old snowboarder from the bay area last seen yesterday afternoon. abraham finkelstein was last

seen in the castle peak area across interstate 80 near boreal resort. deputies say he and his father were hiking when the two became separated. the son told his dad he was going to snowboard to the bottom but never made it off the mountain. his dad says his son was physically fit and carrying the necessary equipment to survive the cold. according to his father, he knows this area and has been in it a lot. he also knows the location of the sierra grove hut. that's one of the first places we'll check. >> deputies say they are bringing in more resources because of the limited visibility due to the latest storm. two snowmobilers were also missing in the same area but were found safe shortly after midnight. well, here we go again. all sorts of reports of hail, in alameda, hoek mont, highway 12. had -- oakmont, highway 12. had reports of san francisco and thunder and lightning in novato in the last 20 minutes.

there it goes. take another look. it's all quiet now. but right there, one cell went through and we're seeing all shorts of activity -- sorts of activity. the next front is beginning to come in. that's beginning to lift things and that's starting to destabilize the atmosphere plenty to go around. the evening commute will be wet. more rain is on the way. some will be moderate to heavy. it might be more of a general rain than the scattered thunderstorm activity of the forestville, 1.25. oak montwith hail 1.22. el cerrito, .8 3. san anselmo, .75. santa cruz mountains, also up towards northern napa county, and also up in the sonoma county, over an inch. ben lomond, boulder creek, over an inch of rain. napa, this is in town over an inch of rain. san rafael .75. mount tam had 1.50 oakland almost an inch and officially in san francisco i've seen .95. right over american canyon, a

good cell by hidden brook. crockett martinez, napa, sonoma. and then just rainers, nothing too heavy. a criminal parking itself over concord or buchanan and then we start to get interesting as it starts light back up over oakland, alameda, san leandro, there's been hail impeded in that -- embedded in that system. there's another line coming in at half moon bay. between half moon bay and san gregorio there's been a series of them moving across woodside, portola valley, palo alto, menlo park, fremont and newark. also just south of san jose, coming out of the santa cruz mountains, there's been a couple of cells that have isolated as well. it's cold out there. 50s. it will stay rather chilly here. we'll go from scattered showers to more rain. some will be moderate to heavy. this is beginning to move in right along the sonoma and marin coast. you can see the line forming there. this has to go by. it will give us a very, very

heavy amount of amount of -- of rain. i would think another .3 to an inch is possible. 30 in tahoe. snowing in blue canyon, truckee, tahoe. we will keep the theme going. off-and-on rain. some of it will be heavy. it's very chilly. possibility of more thunderstorms today. they don't last very long. but they are fast movers. highs in the 50s. right about at 60. if you touch 60 you probably won't last very long. we have a lot going on. the evening will be very busy as that next part of the system swings in. one more round of possible thunderstorms. sun, clouds on thursday. we'll get light rain and then it is out of here. the weekend, by sunday, mid- 70s. all of this will be gone but today and tomorrow cold. >> not as cold as it has been all winter. i know it's spring now -- >> the last day of march was 56

in san francisco. every day in january except one was warmer. >> wow. >> things have flipped a little bit. >> yes. heartbroken families are demanding answers from general motors about a deadly default related to the car's tion initial. we'll hear from the -- car's ignition. we're hear from the ceo of gm about why it took so long to acknowledge the problem.

stocks moving higher for a third day in a row as investors

are encouraged the u.s. manufacturing sethor is perking up following a deep freeze this winter and the congress department hayes construction spending edged higher in february despite the rough winter weather and ford rose 4% after a pickup in sales. the dow is currently up 66. the nasdaq up 58 and the s&p is up 10. moments ago, general motors' new ceo issued an apology regarding the handling a recall linked to the deaths of 13-year-old. right now, ceo mary barra is testifying in front of a committee on capitol hill. congress is investigating why it took almost a decade for general molters to recall millions of small cars with an effective ignition switch. she took over gn three months ago and told congress she will need time to determine why the automaker did not recall chevy cobalts and other models

sooner. >> my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall, especially the families and friends who lost their lives or were injured. i'm deeply sorry. >> barra met with some of the families who lost loved ones. a new caltrain station opened up in san bruno. it was a three-year project that cost $157 million to elevate tracks over three street crossings. commuters will wait on a raised platform. the san bruno station was considered one of the state's most dangerous for people crossing the tracks. this will greatly enhance safety for pedestrians and drivers, an elevator will be added in the coming weeks. we'll continue to cover the storm as it develops tonight. we'll have crews fanned across the bay area to show you the conditions outside as they change and the continued

cleanup of the damage we already have. we'll be monitoring the traffic also for what we expect to be wet and messy roadways for the evening commute and tracking the storm throughout the tower -- tonight at 5:00 -- throughout the hour -- tonight at 5:00. thank you for joining us. we're always here for you at ktvu.com and you can always follow us on twitter and facebook. have a great day.

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