THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER AND STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: 54 lines
It seemed night had come two hours early as a particularly strong thunderstorm - one of several to sweep Hampton Roads on Wednesday - flooded streets and stalled traffic in downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth around 7 p.m.
But it was an earlier, lesser storm that produced the most dramatic moment, leaving a man dangling from a trio of safety lines more than a dozen stories above a downtown street for half an hour.
Dozens of bystanders watched about 5 p.m. as rescuers raised the man to safety atop the Howard Johnson's hotel at the corner of Brambleton Avenue and St. Paul's Boulevard.
The worker was wearing a body harness tethered to the roof of the hotel while he worked on a radio antenna. When a blustery thunderstorm moved through, the high winds shoved him around and tangled his lines, said fire Capt. Todd Cannon.
When the winds subsided, the worker was left hanging about 12 stories above the street.
Firefighters equipped with special rescue gear hoisted the man to the rooftop and pulled him over the ledge.
``He's fine,'' Cannon said. ``He's a little shaken up, but mainly he's happy to be off the building.''
Cannon identified the worker as Richard McCray, whose age and address weren't available.
Cannon said McCray was so thankful to be off the roof that he promised to write thank-you letters to the rescuers.
The storm that left McCray hanging was one of several Wednesday to move through southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. And more likely are on the way.
The storms formed in advance of a cold front that stretched from the Ohio Valley into Tennessee and Arkansas on Wednesday. It is forecast to move east, through the mountains overnight and into central Virginia and North Carolina today before stalling.
The result will be lots of cloud cover and areas of rain through tonight. Here is the Hampton Roads forecast:
Today - Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Some storms may produce strong gusty winds and heavy downpours. The high should be in the lower 80s with southwest winds at 10 mph.
Tonight - Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. The low will be in the lower 70s with winds southwest at 10 mph.
Friday - Considerable cloudiness with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and a high in the mid-80s.
Weekend - Partly cloudy throughout the period with scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Daily highs will be in the low to mid-80s and overnight lows in the mid-60s to lower 70s. MEMO: Color photo appears on P.B1
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL WEATHER by CNB