THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605120143
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
High winds accompanying a line of thunderstorms blew through eastern Virginia and North Carolina on Saturday, uprooting trees, downing power lines and pushing a 300-foot freighter aground.
Gusts of up to 60 mph were common and frequent from Richmond to Virginia Beach.
The Coast Guard said the Panamanian freighter Balsa 31 was preparing to get underway when storm winds began lashing it.
The ship still had its anchors down, but the winds proved too much. It was pushed aground near Newport News Shipbuilding, one of its anchors entangling a 90-foot aide to navigation tower.
The vessel remained aground late Saturday, but there were no injuries and no pollution problems.
Some of the fiercest weather hit the Williamsburg area. On Jamestown Island, residents reported that winds cut a half-mile long, 100-yard wide swath where trees were sheared off 8- to 10-feet above the ground. Several fell on homes.
At the College of William and Mary, at least seven trees were felled by wind gusts.
State police urged motorists to avoid Interstate 64 from Lee Hall to Williamsburg after numerous trees fell on the road.
Fire units were called to Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake after the smell of smoke was detected, possibly after a lightning strike. Crews were still at the mall late Saturday, although they apparently had found nothing.
In Richmond and Courtland, wind gusts were clocked at 60 mph; in Portsmouth and at the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, 55 mph; at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, 52 mph; and at Norfolk International Airport, 45 mph.
The National Weather Service issued warnings of the storm's approach, giving organizers of outdoor events a chance to get ready.
In Norfolk, the Art Explosure at Town Point Park closed early and some events at the Ocean View Beach Festival were rescheduled: The band Firefall will play today at 3:30 p.m. and fireworks will take place at 9 p.m. by CNB