THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250238
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON AND STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: HAMPTON ROADS LENGTH: 46 lines
Severe storms accompanied by a spectacular lightning show and inundating rain pounded Hampton Roads Monday night, stalling traffic and knocking out power to thousands of homes.
At least one tornado was spotted on radar near southern Suffolk and neighboring Gates County, N.C., but no damage was reported late Monday night.
Strong winds knocked down power lines and lightning started small fires throughout the area, mostly when tree limbs hit electrical transformers.
Golfball-size hail bombarded Portsmouth and Norfolk, but no serious damage was reported.
As the first of the storms moved through the area about 7 p.m., Virginia Power reported about 22,000 customers were without power in South Hampton Roads and on the Peninsula. Norfolk was hardest hit, with 14,800 customers in the dark until power could be restored - about three hours for most people.
High winds forced Coast Guard officials to close the Berkley Bridge to marine traffic until the storms passed, a couple hours later.
Cars on local highways slowed or stalled. Traffic on Interstate 264 came to a standstill as cars pulled to the sides of the road to cope with hail and heavy downpours.
Water, a foot deep or deeper, threatened to seep into cars along Colonial Avenue in Norfolk. Motorists drove onto sidewalks to avoid it.
On Indian River Road and Military Highway, motorists were forced to travel in one lane as water depths reached 6 to 12 inches in some areas.
The National Weather Service in Wakefield issued severe thunderstorm warnings that were effective for all of southeast Virginia until 11 p.m. as the storms moved east toward the coast at 20 to 25 mph. In some areas gusts were reported up to 55 mph.
At 10:05 p.m. the weather service issued a tornado warning for southern Suffolk and neighboring Gates County after Doppler radar picked up what appeared to be a tornado 10 miles southwest of Whaleyville.
Today, the weather is expected to be calmer. Hampton Roads is likely to have partly sunny skies, with highs in the lower 90s and winds becoming northwest at 15 to 20 mph. Tonight should be clear with lows in the lower 70s and winds out of the north at 10 to 15 mph. ILLUSTRATION: Radar shows the intensity of Monday's storms in the
area. by CNB