  We have investigated shapes and sizes of selected two- and four-quasiparticle
\mbox{high-$K$} states in nobelium and rutherfordium isotopes within the
microscopic-macroscopic model with the deformed Woods-Saxon potential. Excited
nuclear configurations were obtained by blocking single-particle states lying
close to the Fermi level. Their energies and deformations were found by the
four-dimensional energy minimization over shape variables. We have selected the
most promising candidates for \mbox{$K$-isomers} by analyzing the isotopic
dependence of excitation energies, and compared our results to available
experimental data. We calculated differences in quadrupole moments and charge
radii between nuclei in their \mbox{high-$K$} and ground states and found their
quite different pattern for four-quasiparticle states in neighboring No and Rf
isotopes. The leading role of the quadrupole and hexadecapole deformations as
well as the importance of higher rank symmetries are also discussed. The
current development of laser techniques and the resulting ability to measure
discussed effects in the near future is the motivation of our study.
