now four headlines at 4:00. number one, a rainy stormy day across the bay area. we'll show you some of the damage left behind. >> number two, a major snowstorm walloping a large part of the country. >> number three, they're not popular and now we're finding out red light cameras may not make roadways safer. >> reporter: international wheelchair rugby brings out the competitive side of athletes, coming up. good afternoon, i'm josh benson.

this is first at 4. >> storms roared through south tampa around noon today. a massive oak tree came home. a large tree branch went through the roof and you can home. >> i mean, it's nothing. it's like a jungle just grew in your living room. there's miles of pink insulation all over, just strewn everywhere, and holes. through the roof. >> they believe lightning may have hit that tree. no one was injured. let's check the forecast bennett. >> we were looking at a stormny afternoon and late morning. fortunately the damage was fairly confined, mainly that home in south tampa.

gusts to 40 to 50 miles an hour in pinellas county as the line of storms came through around 10:00 this morning. they did weaken as they moved inland. now most of the showers and storms have moved off. a few sprinkles and clearing now, and you can see maybe a light shower. otherwise partly cloudy skies as that continues to push on shore throughout the afternoon and evening. what to expect? the storms are history. sprinkles overnight and through tomorrow morning. as far as the wind is concerned, it's going to be windy overnight and through tomorrow. very rough surf tomorrow. we'll have all waves of 11 to 15 feet, not a good boating day. starting off around 50 degrees tomorrow morning and topping out about 55, so much cooler air is coming in.

system, a lot of snow on the white color here. obviously a lot of accumulation. we'll have looks like freezing rain and sleet in raleigh and fayetteville area and north, and big snow accumulations up into parts of virginia and new york. some of these could reach on the order of 2 to 3 feet of snow. coming up, temperature roller coaster at home and the gasparilla forecast as well. right now the snow is falling in washington, d.c. look at this, a live picture of the white house. point. they are expecting as much as 2 and a half feet of snow in d.c. before the storm is over. >> won't be long till many people on the east coast feel like this, trapped in the big block of snow.

are faced with this huge winter storm. >> reporter: for most of the east coast, roadways were nowhere to be today as a record- breaking storm threatened to make life miserable for more than 85 million americans. nashville got an early taste. the donuts in this stuck truck were less glazed than the roads. in charlotte, the panthers fought the elements to prepare for their nfc championship game sunday against the cardinals. fans may have trouble getting into town for the game because of thousands of cancellations. others escape to places with better weather. >> boston. >> reporter: washington, d.c. is the expected bullseye, more than 2 and a half feet could fall in the next 36 hours. residents are hunkering down.

we have already went grocery week. >> reporter: shore shelves were cleaned out before the first flakes fell. if the forecasts are true, this could rival the all-time record holder in the nation's capital, the knickerbocker storm of 1922 that dumped 28 inches of snow on the nation's capital. >> and blizzard conditions along the east coast are area. many flights in and out of tampa international are delayed or canceled altogether. peter bernard is live at tia good afternoon, peter. >> reporter: that major winter storm is throwing weekend plans into a tizzy. all morning and afternoon we found people waiting to get out of here or waiting for people

sleeping, reading or grabbing coffee. the marchs board was a sea of red indicating delays or cancellations. i spoke with one traveler heading to amsterdam but his connection is in the middle of the wintry mess. >> so now i'm stuck because my connection flight was in philly. that's it. >> you're stuck here? >> i'm stuck a little bit. >> not a bad place to be stuck, though? >> no, it could be worse. i could be at philly and going nowhere. >> reporter: major delays include charlotte, baltimore, new york city, philadelphia, boston, atlanta as well. it's a mess up there and you're best advised to find out when your flight is leaving before

>> thank you. hoverboards were a popular christmas gift but dozens have caught fire or exploded. coming up, how you can get a full refund. >> plus, do red light cameras actually make intersections safer? we'll look at the reasons many

welcome back. a new report casts doubt on the effectness of red light cameras in the state of florida. >> lauren's forecast is next are again lawmakers are pushing to eliminate the program. >> reporter: is 2016 the year of the red light camera repeal? some say yes.

cameras around florida showed an increase in crashes at those intersections. >> we are not seeing a safety benefit that's reported for red light cameras. i believe they are about revenue, that they are misused by cities to increase revenue. increase. >> a house bill passed its first committee on thursday. * the gasparilla festivities begin. >> coming up, we'll get you ready for tomorrow afternoon.

amazon is offering full refunds for customers who

this comes after dozens caught fire and some exploded due to the batteries inside. despite the risks, sales have not slowed for those hoverboards. and we have a bike recall because of overinflated tires that can cause the rims to crack and damage. >> and joining us for another look at the weather, what a

i don't think it will be the same here. today not a good day to take that hoverboard out. stay indoors because we had stormy weather earlier today. the rain came down hard in south tampa this morning. didn't take long for certain roadways to flood, lots of rain earlier today. fortunately most of that's moved out. mostly cloudy skies and sprinkles, a little breezy this evening, temperatures around 63 degrees. not bad temperature wise this evening. tomorrow afternoon, the high temperature only 55 degrees, about 15 degrees cooler than we should be this time of year. partly cloudy skies, a few morning sprinkles and otherwise windy throughout the day tomorrow. sunday will be beautiful, cool

not as windy on sunday either. right now mid-60s for just about everybody. the winds are picking up, winds out of the west 15 to 20 miles an hour. they will turn north northwesterly and continue to pick up throughout the nighttime hours and tomorrow. satellite and radar picture, big storms are history and now we're just looking at a few sprinkles still moving in. maybe a shower, partly cloudy skies throughout the evening and overnight hours. the big storms are gone. looking to our north, lots of snow still falling from basically birmingham, alabama, through kentucky and west virginia. several inches per hour in west virginia and it's starting to move into new jersey, eventually moving into new york. that will continue to dart northeast. tomorrow morning a few clouds

cool wind coming out of the north. that storm is history by sunday, blue skies for almost the entire east coast. that will allow folks to start shoveling out all that snow. overnight tonight, partly cloudy skies and sprinkles, windy and 50 sounds cool but that's about where we should be. tomorrow afternoon, partly cloudy skies, very windy and about 15 degrees cooler than it should be. keep that in mind if you're heading out to the gasparilla children's extravaganza. be sure the kids have the jackets on because that wind will cut right through, but again temperatures in the 50s and windy. for the most part, pirate ships should be the only boats only gulf waters tomorrow because

25 knots, seas 11 to 14 feet, very rough. there is a gail warning in effect as well. if you're planning on going to the coast tomorrow, it's going waters. chilly tomorrow, sunny skies and chilly sunday morning. warmer and looking good on monday. the next rain chance is wednesday and thursday. back to you. if you're wondering what's happening in the bay area this weekend, we have the answers with the weekend buzz. we have a big one. the piano man himself is in found. >> 8:00 tonight and tickets are still available. they start at $90 but it's worth it. >> he is great. >> i saw him last year and you saw him in miami? >> yeah, still tickets available.

>> this starts at 3:30. there's pirate crews and marching bands and dance videos and school organizations, and a good time for the kids and family. >> lion king this weekend? >> yes, tonight, tomorrow seasoned sunday for the musical. tickets start around $65. >> and the carnival? >> i was looking at this. it's sunday 1:00 to 4:00 and adults are $40 and kids are $20. you can have photo ops and carnival games. >> that's going to be cool. if you're a wrestling fan, wwe smackdown. >> you a wrestling fan? >> used to be a long time ago. >> it's just a good time. tuesday they have your favorite

>> i like the days of andre the giant. so much going on. check it out this weekend. thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> back to you. odyssey marine is opening a new exhibit of treasures and artifacts, and we got a sneak peek of items on display at the st. petersburg museum of history. some are from actual pirate ships, just in time for gasparilla. visitors will see gold, silver and some of the modern technology used to recover it from the sea. >> the interesting thing about ship wrecks is they're time capsules. they tell a story of the time they sunk. so you can get a sense of history. >> some of the items featured

it opens this sunday at the st. petersburg museum of history. it's awards season in hollywood and three notable women are being honored in various ways. >> reporter: daisy ridley isn't classified anymore. the breakout star of star force is set to be honored a few days before the oscars at the 11th and july oscar wilde awards alliance. she has irish ancestry and director j.j. abrams will host the event. zendaya is now the cover girl. she's looking forward to

celebrate their individuality. and the powerful message of till it happens to you will be heard by the producers guild of america. lady gaga, who cowrote the song from the hunting ground, will perform it at the pga awards on saturday, as the film is honored for highlighting social issues. it's up for a grammy and an oscar. time now to check the first at 4 sports. >> paul ryan is joining us from one buc place, where the team just made a big announcement. >> reporter: big honor for the man honored here today. the buccaneers ring of honor has one of the most feared hitters in the history of the nfl, john lynch, nine-time probowler, the ninth inductee into the bucs ring of honor. he spent 11 seasons with the

teamer who many didn't believe he could play. he was a second round pick of the florida marlins. he said things weren't working out but i'm sure he's glad at this point. hall of fame finalist put up 13 sacks, 26 interceptions and 16 forced fumbles. despite all he achieved on the field, including winning a super bowl with the bucs. this was a special honor for him. he said it didn't settle in until he was driving today. >> this is a fun day. it's one of those days it's all good. there don't have to be tears like last time i was standing here at retirement. there's a few things that stand out, winning the championship.

championship and i would imagine however you do it, it's sweet. but knowing where we came from i think made it even more sweet. >> much more later here on newschannel 8. last night was a measuring stick for the lightning and they are standing tall today. tampa bay and chicago, snapping the blackhawks franchise winning streak at 12. the lightning have won seven in a row, one point behind the panthers. >> i would trade what happened tonight for what they took from us last year. saying that, that was last year and this is this year. >> you can feel things are starting to roll again. i don't know if we would a month ago but it was better than it was a month ago. >> two more games before the

we've got to focus on the first one saturday against florida, another division opponent and they're still ahead of us. our goal is to catch them. >> reporter: back at one buc place, we asked john lynch what his favorite hit was that he ever laid out in his career, he said it was on barry sanders. hear him talk about that tonight at 6:00 here on newschannel 8. >> barry sanders not easy to tackle. >> love john lynch. thank you.

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now four headline at 4:30. number one, it's turning into a winter wonderland as a storm

roughly a quarter of the country's population is in the path of the storm. >> number two, crews are still hard at work making repairs after sunday's tornadoes struck sarasota an manatee counties. a boat. >> and number three, trump's new campaign ad goes after his biggest rival, ted cruz. he accuses cruz of being proamnesty with a video of cruz stammering his way through an interview about his role in a 2013 immigration bill. the iowa caucus just ten days away now, february 1st. and number four, the new time magazine cover showcases flint, michigan, showing a

now let's check the first at 4 weather with meteorologist brian bennett. >> the storms we had earlier are history and now we'll focus on windy weather here. you can see the winds are picking up. the waters are only going to become more rough as they move in through the day tomorrow. keep that in mind if you're planning on doing any boating through the evening hours tomorrow. currently mid-60s for just about everybody. by 8:00 p.m., not cooling off quickly with temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s. overnight temperatures down to 50 degrees, which is where we should be for mid-january. tomorrow afternoon we only warm up to around 50 degrees and

53, and tampa with 57. so a cool afternoon tomorrow with temperatures really not going anywhere. the big storms are history out in the gulf of mexico, just a few sprinkles, light shower that will move through this evening. maybe just enough to turn on the windshield wipers for a second but for the most part the rain is history. to our north, the big storm is still going. snow has come down heavy from nashville to birmingham, through virginia and west virginia. that ice storm occurring now on the border of south carolina and north carolina. snow is starting to move in on new york. don't forget you can get the weather app for the latest radar and forecast. tomorrow we'll have sprinkles in the morning and cool temperatures by the afternoon with a high of only 55.

today's wind and rain through a wrench in the plans for cleanup crews in sarasota, still working to clean up debris. >> and we have an update on one of the hardest hit areas. here. over the past few days, they have worked hard, putting up this temporary roof and this exposed 200-foot area of roof that was removed here. they have plywood and tarp to protect the building from rain and strong winds we're expecting this weekend. >> it's all about perspective. we just have to work around the situations that we run into and make changes and adapt. >> reporter: this is a massive project going on for six to

they are focused on getting that temporary roof up for this weekend's weather. the majority of florida's 67 counties charge a fee when someone is cremated but there's no such charge for burials. >> and one lawmaker wants to end the practice that's costing billions a year. >> reporter: this is a story of two certainties in life, and families of the dead are taxed if they are cremated. when your loved ones is lowered to rest for eternity, the state doesn't impose a charge other than for the death certificate. nowadays, two of three families are opting for cremation and the majority of counties impose a fee of up to $50. >> we're talking about a billion dollar tax break for businesses.

the pocket of the city. >> once a body is cremated, there is no going back to look at evidence lost on that body. >> reporter: the legislation has already passed two committees and has another hearing next week. >> right now counties are receiving about $4 million a year statewide for the fee on cremations. coming up, a love bug and whether it means we're in for a long season of the pests: >> reporter: last year we exposed traveling driveway pavers, scamming their way through tampa bay. today was the end of the road when they were arrested. >> reporter: the man behind a

people in six counties is going to prison. >> reporter: wheelchair athletes come from all over the world to complete in the international rugby tournament in tampa. coming up, we'll meet some of

welcome back. kevin hart and leonardo dicaprio will have to make room in theaters this weekend. we have a look at new movies in theaters. >> you know, one in three of these girls has herpes, even if you can't see it. >> reporter: it's spring break

ride along 2 and the revenant were strong this weekend. >> the others have the ability to inhabit human hosts. they could be anywhere. >> we can't trust anyone anymore. >> the others took my brother and i'm going to go get him back. >> reporter: it's alien invasion on the fifth wave, based on the young adult novel. the boy stars the walking dead's lauren cohen who discovers her charge is a doll who is actually alive. in hollywood, i'm david daniel. >> that was terrifying. may not want to see that one.

today we start with this from kelly. and monica says checkers doesn't like water either. and this is rue if you see, on 24-hour patrol. this is a gorgeous shot of apollo beach. hope you enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead and take some pictures at the gasparilla parade. >> good opportunity there.

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it is a rough go for many across the country, even snowplows struggling in places. >> reporter: good afternoon. it is white here in the nation's capital and it's getting dicey on the roads. behind me is the capitol building and lots of media. cars. roads. the city already said, we know this is going to be ugly out there and people are going to slide around, don't even get out till sunday or monday. it's being called a life or death situation. a lot of cars here, they won't

we are looking at 18 to 30 inches here in the nation's capital. tonight the metro trains will stop rolling and this will be up and down the eastern seaboard that everyone is affected. before you criticize meteorologists again, we got it right this time. right on time. >> and dressed appropriately for it. >> brian, we luckily don't have to deal with that. we have had our own issues with the storms. >> we had some rain. compared to the feet of snow they're going to get, that's why a lot of folks are here. today was a rainy one, this video along gandy bridge.

you could because hydroplaning is not fun. fortunately the roads were empty at that time, good news there. of course as you know, we don't record this vie while we are driving. current temperatures right now, mid-60s across the bay area. looking north where the snow is, where it's cold enough, we have temperatures at the freezing mark or just below from wichita to d.c. it's plenty cold enough. snow will not be a problem with chilly temperatures. any of the cold air going to make its way down to the tampa area? it is, today 71 and tomorrow 55 for the high, 58 on sunday then back up to 72 on tuesday and wednesday. then we're back down into the 60s. so up and down, bit of a roller coster ride through the next

satellite and radar, the big storms are history. rest easy knowing we're only going to have a few sprinkles moving through and even a few to break the clear skies from here and there. this is a live view from st. pete beach and we could see a few breaks as we head toward sunset later this evening. looking out in the gulf of mexico, a few sprinkles and breaks in the clouds. this will move our direction throughout the everything. not a big deal, just a few clouds and sprinkles at best. what to expect now that the cold front passed through. the big storms are history. now sprinkles overnight through tomorrow morning. it's going to be windy overnight and tomorrow, very rough surf. the gulf of mexico is going to have waves 11 to 14 feet tomorrow, very rough surf. we'll start at 50 and only warm

the high tomorrow afternoon. so the cold front passed us by. to our north, lots of snow falling in kentucky. atlanta seeing freezing rain and sleet. messy on the border of north carolina and south carolina, freezing rain and sleet. little farther north into kentucky and west virginia, southeast ohio, pennsylvania, delaware and now southern new jersey, looking at very heavy snow falling at several inches per hour. it's going to accumulate quickly in that location. tennessee could get an additional 2 to 4 inches according to the legend here. parts of central north carolina and north we're looking at the possibility for up to 30 inches

parts of west virginia and western virginia. even new jersey and parts of new york city are going to see quite a bit of snow, all the overnight tonight, partly cloudy skies and low of 50 degrees. tomorrow high only 55 degrees, 15 degrees below our average temperatures. heading out to the gasparilla children's extravaganza, know that it will be cool tomorrow and windy as well. keep that in mind. if you're taking the boat out, please be careful. keep the small boats docked tomorrow. better weather on sunday, then good looking by monday and tuesday. back to you. thank you. you may have noticed love bugs are in the air and a lot earlier than normal. >> reporter: several of you even sent us pictures of these love bugs you spotted in your yard.

>> have something crawling and flying on you and doing other things they do. go do that somewhere. get a room. >> reporter: tina was not pleased to see them showing up in her yard much earlier this year. this is file video of high season and scott tells us it wasn't quite this bad. >> all of a sudden these things are landing all over me. i'm like, isn't it a little early for you guys? you're not due till may. >> reporter: she sent these in, asking about the up tick of insects. one expert is blaming the weather. the warm winter makes it perfect for these guys. with the recent cold snaps, they will likely not be bothering us again for a couple months. >> go ahead and smash

and maybe they'll die out and won't be so many in may. >> reporter: i learned a lot about love bugs while doing this story and i have a list of interesting facts at wfla.com. the city of tampa played host to a number of major different. >> and this weekend the city will host its 24th annual international wheelchair rugby tournament. >> reporter: fearless and reckless are just a couple of ways to describe tampa's 2016 international wheelchair rugby tournament. >> we practice two or three times a week. it's not something, you know, we just take casually. it's a passion and almost a way of life.

the player with the ball has to breakthrough the cones. steven learned to play wheelchair rugby after a rare bacteria forced doctors to remove both hands and his legs to save his life. steven tells me this helped him get back to being himself. >> figure out how to walk again, how to drive again, then got back in college. it was such a great thing to distract me as i was trying to figure everything out. >> reporter: his mom tries to make it to all his games. >> i pace the entire game on the sidelines. >> reporter: it's a very physical game. but his mom worries more about him having a good time than about him getting hurt. >> first time he flipped out of

said, i forgot to put on my seat belt. but he's having fun. >> reporter: this tournament runs through sunday, so if you want to watch world class athletes complete, this is the place to be. coming up, our first sneak peek at this year's super bowl ads. >> see what budweiser has up

bud light is releasing its super bowl ads, starring amy shumer and seth rogan. >> really gotta get the elbows. will you get the middle of my back? >> there is no middle. >> you ready? >> you know it! >> this will be the 28th year that anheuser-bush advertises during the super bowl. nuggets mascot rocky had a little silly string with fans. look at this! a deluge of silly string dumped on this grizzlies fan by rocky and is the nuggets fans.

not even the nachose were safe. the fan threw a cup of water on rocky. don't mess with mountain lion, which you should already know, and nasty storms can pop up anywhere. wow. [ laughter ] and one of the most exciting shots from an nba game last night came fray baseball player! the same game, colorado rockies outfielder charlie blackmon with the no-look over the head heave for 3 points! how about it. i think it's better than a home run! >> head to our website to see what's trending. winter blast! millions hunkering down as the snow starts to fall. >> flights canceled, travellers frustrated. how the blizzard is affecting