rod carter. it has been quite the day for a pirate invasion. they threw quite a large party. john rogers starts our coverage in the biggest celebration in the bay area. nice bead work there buddy. >> reporter: thank you sir. i guess by the looks of it, i had a very successful gasparilla run. i'm almost ashamed to admit this, but this is the first time i have actually come to gasparilla. i can see why it is widely popular. i had a blast.

public clamored for the beads. plenty of pirates came to port. and everyone was having a blast. the gasparilla pirate fest attracts hundreds of thousands to tampa. and you can see why. swash buckling pirates theired share booty with the pirates and some caught more than others. the festival attracts people from all over the country. wayne and denise came all the way from jersey. can you blame them? >> it is wonderful to dress up and have a lot of fun. >> reporter: pirate rob is visiting from virginia and he fits right in. >> how long have you been coming down here? >> first year. >> first year? >> not bad for a rookie right? >> reporter: it is a tampa tradition that has only gotten bigger and big crowds can attract big problems. >> when i was growing up it was

>> reporter: there was a heavy police presence to crack down on mischief. bartenders were checking ids. thanks to the police presence,the event went smoothly without a hitch. everyone is looking forward to next year. >> it is a lot of fun. it's a tampa tradition. and i think that we should be really promoting the fact that tampa does this. we should be as famous as mardi gras. >> reporter: and check it out guys. it has been two hours since the parade ended but people are still out here partying. officers are enforcing the open container laws. you could be fined up to $450 if you are caught with an open container. so folks, follow the law and drink responsibly. back to you. >> john, thank you very much.

beads because it could have been a lot worse buddy. >> reporter: i appreciate it. before this afternoon's parade, there was this morning's invasion. mary mcguire was hanging out with the pirates on davis islands and shows us how they prepared to take over the town. >> reporter: they say the early bird get it is worm and it rings true here on david island as pirates began their party as soon as the sun came up. richard cranell has been celebrating this special festival since 1957. >> grew up watching the parades during the day. and, chaseing the candy at that time. it was candy. >> reporter: after spending decades on the water, he has perfected the art of bead throwing and has a few tips for all the apertures out there. >> the best way to throw them is to hold them and then keep them loose. then sling them. >> sling them?

>> and then the bead will twist and it will go further. >> reporter: he wasn't the only one up early. >> argh! >> reporter: dozens of folks rang in gasparilla with a cold one and a costume all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the stunning floatilla and the revelry that followed. why this is a lot of fun, gasparilla means something more to cranell. the pirate fest is not just something that takes place in tampa, it is tampa. a tradition that is part of the city's identity. >> it is who we are. it is cool. >> i see you are getting a little emotional about it. this means a lot to you. >> i lived here a long time. i grew up here. >> reporter: now, cranell believes he will throw out close to 1,000 beads by the time it is over. i'm mary mcguire, newschannel8. >> and if you need more gasparilla fun, well, the party continues online.

hard all day today gathering photos from the event. you will find it on the home page and our breaking news app as well. now, 8 on your side's your vote coverage. the iowa caucuses with keith cate live from iowa. >> reporter: another big day of campaigning in iowa. keith cate joins us live. hey keith. >> reporter: hey, rod carter. we are coming to you live from clinton, iowa. you can hear the music behind me. this trump rally might have been able to compete with gasparilla today. a lot of enthusiasm from a lot of folks. keep in mind, donald trump, wherever he goes, he draws a huge crowd all across the country. we have seen it in tampa bay. here in clinton iowa, you have 25 and 27,000 people. i think 10% of them were in this middle school auditorium today. here is some of the video from donald trump on stage.

all the things that he normally talks about including marco rubio and jeb bush. but listen what he said on his points about immigration and the wall. listen to this. >> we are going to create borders and the borders are going to be real borders. and ... and ... and ... we are going to build a wall. righted? we are going to build a wall. mexico. everyone know that's. everyone. >> reporter: everyone but the united states of america is going to pay for the wall. these folks are leaving the trump rally enthused. i met some people here who say i'm still not sure. joining me now is newschannel8

>> he hit all the high points. everything to push these people's buttons. the cheers for for the things you hear about. immigration, military. get isis. get rid of the politicians. and most of all, he begged at the end, critically, please, please, please, if you want to make america great again, you have to go to the caucus. point right there. we are going to wrap it up there and put a report together for you at 11:00. we are in clinton iowa, a town of 25,000. all of these people are motivated people who say they will caucus, but will they caucus for donald trump on the republican side? marco rubio? will it be someone else? ted cruz? he brought up ted cruz today as well as marco rubio. so, rod carter, that's it for here. for now, you caught us just in the nick of time. this thing just literally ended when you came to us. >> thank you both for that great report. we will see you a little later on. thank you guys.

iowa including this stop in sioux city. he says his first act as president would be to undo president barack obama's executive orders. ted cruz did not comment on his competition during an event at iowa state university. however, he did joke that the way things are going in his words, in four years lady gaga might be running. cruz had three more events running in iowa. one after this one. and hillary clinton had a trail. former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords with her. she and her husband declared clinton as the only one tough enough to stand up to the gun lobby. bernie sanders revved up the crowds in manchester iowa. he admitted the caucus is a tossup and his success depends on the working class and younger voters turning out to support him. keith cate will continue to bring us reports from iowa all the way through the weekend. so it has probably been a while since you paid less than

one station in the bay area was

>> the price of gas isn't exactly breaking the bank these days but for a couple of hours, some drivers at pinellas park got a real bargain. praise cathedral church rolled back the price at this race station. their lead pastor said it made a huge difference in a short time. >> the stories we got to hear were amazing. health issues, finance issues, i just lost my job. this is really a blessing. it brings tears to your eyes if you think about it.

good enough deal, drivers enjoyed the full service treatment. the teens there washed all the pumping. 200 cars. well, you can feel the beat at osceola middle school this week. enforcement. anyone wanting to take a stand against bullying spent the day playing the drums. this event is going to run for tonight. the school's resource officer, the deputy came up with this idea to send a powerful message about standing up for yourself. >> you don't get tired when you are doing something that you got passion for, when you care about kids and want to help them understand you don't have to sit back and let people bully you. coming up, storm team 8 chief meteorologist steve jerve

give you the forecast. it was quite a task to get here. and after iowa, new hampshire

>> 8 on your side your vote coverage continues tonight. once the caucuses are history in iowa, focus moving from iowa to new hampshire. candace mccowan has a preview of what we can expect. >> reporter: right after the decision is made in iowa, we will be jumping on a plane headed toward new hampshire and we are not the only ones headed there. if you are studying politics l

no better place than the campaign trail. these saint pete students will be headed to new hampshire sunday. >> they are going to be getting out the votes activities. going door to door in the snow. >> reporter: these students were able to pick a candidate they support. like chris rallying for marco rubio. >> you knock on my door and i'm a die hard donald trump man. what would you tell me? >> that there are other candidates with the natural ability to lead. not just in business, but also, you know, on a conversational basis. >> reporter: you can catch our coverage in new hampshire for the nation's first primary starting next friday on newschannel8. candace mccowan, newschannel8. >> if you want to make a

favorite candidate, you can get a tattoo. a shop in seabrook, massachusetts is offering free tattoos of donald trump. the key to a good trump face is getting the hair just right, says the artist. well, you can see the sunset here ate frenchies looks mighty eyes here. we have seen some pure blue skies. temperatures in the upper 60s locations. it was overall a pretty day. beach. the lakewood ranch, 63 degrees. most locations now. we will see that throughout the day for tomorrow too. beautiful, 64 degrees with a hour. calm at the moment. and there are some clearer patches but there are certainly a lot of high clouds. clouds. this doesn't seem that likely

into early february for at least another week or so. five planets before sunrise. mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn. this one was taken this morning before they left for the gasparilla invasion. great shot at sunrise. 60 degrees at 9:00 p.m. 68 at 11:00 p.m. temperatures will cool. no matter what you are doing this evening be sure to bring a jacket. i didn't leave any rain chance here into the forecast. a slight possibility tomorrow. maybe less than 10% of seeing a sprinkle. tampa international airport. dew points reasonable. the winds are calm. winds have been nice. a lot of boating going on today obviously. largo 64. 61 clear water beach. seminole, 62. pinellas park, 63. sun city center, 65 degrees. you can see mostly 60s at the

a little warmer here in sebring. this indicates some moisture in the atmosphere, but mostly high clouds. this is mexico, this is the pacific. this trail of mostly high moisture. ice crystal clouds, a little thicker cloudiness, mid level clouds in there too. not producing precipitation, but we saw a little bit on the radar back to the west just a tiny bit. so it is not impossible tomorrow you could see a drop or two on the windshield. this area of high pressure is over us with more of a southeast flow. this is a milder flow for us. we tend to pick up a little more moisture making it feel just a little warmer and it will feel that way tomorrow with low 70s and inland mid 70s . high clouds streaking across the area. the trend will continue. thicker cloudiness here in the afternoon so we may mention the slight possibility of rain as i mention less than 10%. as we get into monday, clouds and sunshine with a slight rain chance.

just a bit warmer. probably upper 70s before too long. that could happen on tuesday. so it is definitely getting warmer here in the forecast. next three days, 73 degrees sunday. a few clouds around with a little bit of sun. rain chance at 10%. after that, monday, tuesday. and we up the rain chances later into thursday. shower, possible thunderstorm chances for those days as we get into thursday. high temperatures will cool down a bit after that cold front for friday and also for saturday. kind of a routine of getting warmer, cooling off. and overcoming out of the cooler phase. >> it was cooler than i expected. i realized five hours later i turned on the fan. why is it getting colder in here? [ laughter ] >> thank you very much sir. i appreciate it. the bucks said aloha in hawaii. you will hear from the pro

>> the pro bowl is sunday and five buccaneers are in hawaii. light practices ran with the all-star game kicking off at aloha stadium on sunday. they are suiting up for jerry rice's team. joe buck's fan had a chance to check in with a few of those pro bowl bucks. >> the conversation i can have with veteran guys, guys who have been here more times than me,ly talk to them and try to get some wisdom from them.

but you have to take some time off, see the family and friends. that is a good time. good time to relax. >> this is a great moment and i'm just embracing it. >> the nfl college all-star circuit continued today with the senior bowl. one player from the bay area catching the attention of the scouts. wide receiver jeronimo allison. he nearly blew the entire thing in high school. dan lucas has the story. >> reporter: a football player with an nfl dream. wide receiver jeronimo allison is no different than many of these college all-stars. >> i always loved the game. i always wanted to pursue a career in football. just continuing to impress. going out here, going hard each and every rep for the scouts. >> reporter: but his career

in river view, allison was a stand-out athlete who did not play football until his senior year. >> he struggled from an academic perspective. not athletic. >> reporter: the football coach dale caparoso took a special interest in him and changed his path. >> once he put the emphasis on the academics, he was okay. >> you can't play this game without academics. that is something i really had to focus on. >> reporter: the reward was the tough road, allison's collegiate career became at iowa western. a junior college. in 2014, he found a home at illinois. but for all the touchdown catches, allison's biggest accomplishment? a college degree in three years. in saturday's east west

touchdown grabs and those scouts did open their eyes. now, his goal draws near. the desire to thank a family for caring. and a mother who begged heifer son to try harder in school. >> i wish mom could be here, but she doesn't have a car right now. that will be the first thing i do for her. then i will get them out of our neighborhood. >> thank you. all right, we'll be right back

>> final look at the forecast. >> i didn't grab any on my way in. took you a couple of hours. >> i was trying to get through traffic. didn't get any beads. high clouds, rain free. if you will be out later and many folks are, temperatures will drop into the 50s so dress warmly and we will get some clouds, a little bit of sunshine tomorrow. a similar day, but a warmer feel. low 70s tomorrow.