The storm system that hit Hampton Roads Tuesday evening was pretty amazing. It barreled through at about 50 mph and generated winds gust of more 70 mph. It knocked out electrical service to more than 192,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers, me included. A wind gust knocked over two tractor-trailers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel; high winds also ripped two new tears into the tent-like roof of the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center. One question for after the storm: was there a tornado involved? According to the National Weather Service, no.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Wakefield sent a survey team to review the damage in two of the hardest hit areas: Suffolk and the Kempsville section of Virginia Beach. Their assessment: the damages were from straight line winds from thunderstorms. They found no evidence of rotational wind damage from a tornado.
There have been some anecdotal tales of funnel clouds in the storm. But in a telephone interview this morning, meteorologist Mike Montefusco of the Wakefield weather office said no funnel clouds or tornado touchdowns were reported by their trained weather spotters.
Weather spotters, by the way, are volunteers who are taught how to identify and report severe weather. The National Weather Service calls weather spotters the first line of defense against severe weather incidents.
Want to become a weather spotter?
Click here for more details about the program.
Click here for a schedule of upcoming weather spotter training classes.
More links
The NWS Wakefield Homepage.
A virtual tour of the Wakefield weather office by the aforementioned Mike Montefusco.
NOAA's Virginia Weather Page.
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