right now, wild weather continues in the bay area, rain, hail and even snow. and one of the biggest afghani populations in the united states is here in the bay area and tonight that community is remembering the 16 people killed by an american soldier. we'll have a live report. and a bizarre story is unfolding in iraq. iraqi officials have released a plan they claim to be a former american soldier who had been captured. theycy it is an act of goodwill. but the u.s. government has not yet commented. the news at 5:00 starts right now.

good evening. in case you haven't been outside for a couple of hours, it's getting cold out there. the winter storm that blew in from alaska and brought with it so much rain is producing very cold temperatures from tahoe to the bay area. let's go now to nbc bay area's rob mayeda to see what's happening. >> we're seeing the strongest cells on the radar we've seen during the afternoon. we expected it with the cold air coming in. the heating of the day, the atmosphere, very unstable around the bay area. and into the areas in yellow and orange around concord to the south of alamo into san ramon, h very likely areas seeing hail coming down. the convective showers, another shower passing to the south of campbell and east of san jose, that's snow flying atop mount

hamilton. you can see the moisture cartwheeling around to our south for most of the day. right around 2:00 this afternoon, we're watching the band of showers pushing into contra costa county and solano counties, pushing into the places south and east. inbound to livermore and pleasanton. and likely into dublin. tonight between now and 9:00, after the sun sets, the atmosphere will stabilize a little bit. we're still talking about hail thunder.ight chance of gusty winds, lowering snow levels on sunday as round two of the cold air starts to drop in for the second half of the weekend. we'll let you know how much to expect in the full forecast coming up. right now we want to check in on mount hamilton, let's go to stephanie trong live at the top of mount hamilton. there's a fair amount of snow going on right there. >> reporter: absolutely. we checked in with ron, he said

it started snowing around 7:00 a.m. as you can see, plenty of snow building up. a good couple inches here, really pretty, really nice up here. he asked about the winds, 15 minutes ago. it wasn't bad then, but now it's kicking up and blowing the stuff in your face, it's dusted the trees and nice up here. as we drove up here, there was the hail he was talking about. people come here and like to play, but you can't see this, we're at the summit, it's 4200 feet up and that's why mount hamilton is getting so much of this pretty white stuff right now. and according to rob actually, it could drop down to lower levels, so mount diablo, mount tamalpais, it's cold and pretty.

>> as far as going up there for other folks who are thinking about it after seeing the pretty pictures, roads are going to be closing down, not a safe place to be driving? >> i think you asked about the drive up here. when we drove up here, it was fine, as we were heading up here. you just have to be really slow, it is slick on the roads, if anyone has ever driven up here to mount hamilton, very windy and narrow roads, but beyond that, so far, so good. and when we came up here, mark did a great job of driving up here, so we're okay. >> that's good to hear. be careful and try to enjoy and stay warm, thanks, stephanie. on the peninsula, another tree came crashing down because of the weather. this morning the big oak tree fell in a duplex in men lo park, waking up the people inside and much of the neighborhood. the impact shook the duplex so hard, but remarkably, no one was hurt. >> it was an amazing sound. the whole bedroom, the whole house was shaking and rocking

and you know, it was like a ten-car pileup. it was going crazy. and the whole house started shaking. i was holding on for dear life. >> the family in the front unit is staying elsewhere until the tree is removed and damage repaired. the wet weather isn't keeping people from a desperate search for a missing mother in gilroy. martha gutierrez disappeared when police say her son killed his 11-year-old sister and himself at a home. before the murder suicide. detectives believe abel gutierrez shot his mother in his car. police say there's evidence of a violent assault in the car and police found martha gutierrez's cell phone in the car. they're searching for any signs of the 52-year-old mother, focusing on the route she would take to and from work. >> i hope it's possible that she's okay and if not, that someone out here finds her. locates her soon enough for the

family to have at least some kind of sense of closure. >> the suspect again gutierrez suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. a family member told nbc bay area news that the family had been concerned about his mental state. the family member said police knew gutierrez had guns and if they confiscated the weapons back in february perhaps the whole tragedy could have been avoid avoided. two men behind bars tonight, after a police chase through san jose. officers say roland ramirez and his girlfriend were spotted in a stolen car 12:30 this afternoon. the two led police on a short chase, which ended when ramirez tried to reportedly carjack another driver. two cars and a building were damaged in the police chase and several streets were closed during that investigation. the bay area afghan community held a rally and candlelight vigil for the 16 civilians shot and killed when a u.s. soldier opened fire in the

southern kandahar province. and nbc bay area's kimberly terry is in free month with more. >> reporter: diane, that rally just ended. the group was out here mourning the loss of those killed. it also calling for peace. they want an end to the war in afghanistan. and justice to be served for the families of those killed. u.s. military officials say army staff sergeant robert bales slipped off a u.s. base, stormed into two villages and started shooting. 16 were killed, nine of them children, five people were injured. some of the corpses, military officials say were burned. >> it doesn't matter who you kill, it's killing people, that's wrong. 's it doesn't matter if it's muslim, christian, afghan, it's wrong. and especially when you kill civilian people who is innocent, killing children, killing woman, it's wrong. >> many of the people at the

rally have people in afghanistan. one man said he has people in the area where the shooting took place and he said his heart is now breaking for the parents of the children killed there. there are u.s. army veterans who live here who say they want to support the afghan-american community and are calling for the u.s. government to provide u.s. soldiers with proper medical attention and time off between tours of duty. now some of the people out here we saw them signing a banner, a lot of them writing personal messages, calling for peace and justice. they plan on sending that banner to president obama. live in fremont, kimberly terry, nbc bay area news. thank you very much. we have a bizarre story coming out of iraq right now. a man claim to be a former u.s. soldier spoke out today about his alleged release from a nine-month imprisonment by an iraqi shiite militia. the man made the announcement during a news conference in baghdad. he wore a u.s. army uniform and iraqi lawmakers held up his

identification krd for the cameras, the man says after serving as a soldier in iraq in 2003-2004, he moved to a civilian role. he claims to have taken hostage last june and only released recently. >> it was explained that my release has been for humanitarian reasons and there was no exchange involved. >> the pentagon says the man is not a former soldier, a u.s. embassy spokesperson says he's been transferred now to the u.s. embassy in baghdad. and coming up next at 5:00, gop front-runner, mitt romney was in puerto rico today, he tried to capitalize on the controversial comments made by his closest rival earlier this week. also we'll show you why oakland police officers are shaving their locks for solidarity. we've been talking about hail, snow, rain, we're also having to talk about some gusty winds out there this evening. winds up to 35 miles per hour coming into along the coast, also pushing a high surf advisory to the coast. take your pick, we've got surf,

snow, hail. how much of it will be sticking around for your sunday forecast, coming up. ♪

[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. republican presidential candidate, mitt romney is campaigning in puerto rico today, ahead of sunday's primary in the u.s. territory.

the visit comes days after rival candidate, rick santorum stirred up controversial there when he said the primary language in puerto rico should be english if that island wants to become a u.s. state. nbc's peter alexander reports from san juan, puerto rico. >> the people here can't vote in america's general election, but they will have a say in selecting the republican nominee. romney at an event with voters, last night he was here for a vote rally that was more of a carnival than it was a political event. a long list of speakers, almost all of them speaking in spanish. there was music, dancing, energy and passion. romney told the puerto rican people that he respects them and cares for them as americans. his rival, rick santorum, who today is in missouri and illinois, also caused a firestorm of controversy before he left of the island of puerto rico in the week. he said if puerto rico wants to become the 51st state in america, it was necessary that english become the primary language. that of course upset some of his

supporters, as well as some of the voters here. he tried to back-pedal, do some damage control, saying more specifically that english would have to be the preferred language, but not the official language. >> we understand that the people of different cultures speem different languages, but we have a common language. that's what i was saying that maliciously i would add, someone would maliciously write that said that is really unfortunate. >> again, that primary here in puerto rico is tomorrow. missouri caucus is tonight. illinois votes on tuesday. peter alexander, nbc news, san juan, puerto rico. and still to come at 5:00, we'll show you what prompted these oakland police officers to shave their heads, why they're lling it an act of solidarity.

never in my lifetime

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some people in oakland spent st. patrick's day in a bald and beautiful way, shaving their heads in solidarity with children fighting cancer. today marks the children's hospital and research center fifth annual fundraiser. it's a childhood cancer charity that funds some of the most promising research for children with cancer. firefighters and police and coast guard joined in the fundraiser. as well as cancer survivors and their families. >> we have many families who are saving on behalf of their

families, it's a pretty dramatic experience for a lot of people and life-altering as well. >> by the end of day, event organizers hope to raise about $175,000 for the saint baldric foundation. let's check in with mr. rob mayeda on the weather. it's been krcrazy the last coup of days. >> we've got very unsettled air moving into the bay area. helping to drop the temperatures and drop some hail still at this hour. right now, 40s and 50s outside. we've got the northwest winds starting to kick up. you can see them through novato, northwest, west at 22 into san jose. so you can see on the radar, it's the east bay and tri-valley seeing the heaviest showers from napa county down into places like san ramon, alamo, eventually into dublin, pleasanton and livermore, the line is heading your way that

includes hail. we did have some hail earlier around the south bay and now that continues to push off to the south and east. but you can see with the moisture kind of rotating around an area of low pressure to the south, we've been watching the moisture dropping out of the north bay into the tri-valley now and into the santa clara mountains, to the east which includes obviously mount hamilton. so the jet stream which has been off to the north for most of the winter now has actually moved south of the bay area. and when you're on the north side of the jet stream that's where the cold air starts to spill on down. which we're seeing right now. and the cold air will actually drop snow levels even more tonight. at least low enough to get to mount diablo. close to 3600 feet to 3800 feet and as low as skyline boulevard or mount tam tomorrow morning. >> hour by hour, you're seeing the swiss cheese effect with the showers, still indicating some unstable air with the heating of the day. destabilizes the atmosphere from noon to about 6:00, just like

we're seeing right now. as we head through the afternoon and evening, you'll see the showers start to back off and the moisture heading to the east as we get into monday. in the sierra we've been seeing almost a foot of snow falling each day. for areas south of highway 50, the winter storm warning in effect is in effect from highway 50 south towards yosemite. the central and southern sierra hasn't seen a whole lot of snow. now you're seeing two feet of snow coming down south of highway 50. temperatures around the bay area tonight, the winds should keep the temperatures up. in the valleys to the 30s and mid 40s. again tomorrow, i think it will be a blustery day and as the day wears on and we get the heating of the day, we'll get more scattered showers and chance for hail and isolated thunder. especially along the coast, temperatures in the low 50s. we'll wrap up the weekend with the risk of showers, snow levels as low as 2500 feet. a little bit of drying monday.

but the seven-day forecast ahead, not as wet as the week we just wrapped up, but still no signs of strong high pressure, which means off and on chances of showers all the way into next weekend. >> we needed it. let's bring in jim of comcast sports net for a look at what's going on in sports. jim? >> i could tell you here's what we've got coming up in sports, giants and athletic have a cactus league date in phoenix. we'll show you who won the battle of the bay, desert style. what if i told you some of the best entertainers in the theater are also some of the best athletes in the world? we'll explain, next from the xfinity sports desk.

good evening, we're halfway through the cactus league season for the giants and the athletics, and both teams have questions they need answered. the a's are rebuilding while the g-men are reloading for another playoff run, they hope. the two teams went at it today. the giants and a's from phoenix muni and check out this young fan, brian wilson green beard on st. patrick's day. the giants double deep to right off tom malone. melky cabrera comes around to score. next batter, ryan atario, a shot to left, one of a four-run, fourth inning for the giants, they win it 7-2. how about some sports and entertainment now? combined. cirque du soleil's "totem" is on tour through april 15th through san jose. most of their performers are

former athletes, while they don't compete any more, life is not that different. >> with weights, punching bags, a video room and a lot of stretching, it has all the signs of athletes getting ready for the game of their lives. but these performers are not priming for competition, they are preparing for this. and this -- and this. and this. >> what you do as an elite athlete, all the preparation and tools you use to be successful, you just apply it to this kind of lifestyle. >> it takes 52 performers to pull off a single act of "totem." just like a sports team they have trainers, captains and even coaches. >> they've got the knowledge to give you feedback in terms of telling you what you're doing wrong, what you could do to make it better. so it's very useful to have that person who can you know, from an

outside perspective, looking in. help you. >> we go from gymnastics background. so it's very hard to be expert. to be teamwork. but we're getting used to it. >> this particular show is nearly two years old and even after hundreds of performances, it still gets reviewed on video every night. >> when i'm there, i think something is going on on stage. i come here to watch, oh, i didn't like this or i like that. i try to find my right move and how to perform better. >> we still try to improve ourselves. and we always want to do best performance every single day. and we need to practice and invent and improve something new. >> just to prove this stuff is harder than it looks -- i got a firsthand try at cirque du soleil. >> you realize i can't even do a pull-up, right? >> yes. >> get out of here.

>> hold it -- hold it, yeah. >> it's pretty clear they are professionals and they are athletes. but do they want to be considered professional athletes? >> because it's a performance, because it's a show, because you're not winning something at the end of it. it's a performance. so in that sense, we're regarded as artists. >> in san jose, body brazil. nbc bay area news. >> i love the cirque du soleil shows, the strength, grace and athleticism are wonderful to watch. how about that for a different look at sports, we'll have more highlights of the giants and a's. diane, have you been to any of shos shows? >> lots of them and you guys are good sports. >> yes, we are, we'll see if we can do our own gymnastics, when we come back at 6:00. >> when we come back, a st. ick' tr dics day surprise for people at one pub in the

nation's capital. can you guess? never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. with 3 days and 60 miles, you're making a bold statement. you're saying breast cancer is not going to win. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us.

it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime.

it's no surprise that many people around the country will celebrate st. patrick's day with a beer or two at a bar. imagine the surprise if you were one particular bar in washington, d.c. today. you recognize that guy? president obama celebrated st. patrick's day by having a guinness. he made a brief stop at a traditional irish pub a couple of blocks from the capital building in union station. he toasted a lively crowd and spent time holding babies and shaking some hands. there's the baby, come on, pick up the baby. there you go. the president has irish roots and even visited the town of momegal last year where his