HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) – A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for most areas of Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina this afternoon.
The last of the severe thunderstorm warnings that were in effect for areas of northeastern North Carolina expired at 7 p.m.
A severe thunderstorm watch for the region that had been in place until 9 p.m. has been canceled.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
The National Weather Service said 70 mph wind gusts and penny-sized hail are possible, and said to expect considerable tree damage, as well as possible damage to mobile homes, roofs and outbuildings.
In Suffolk, there are reports of multiple trees that have fallen in the area of U.S. Route 58/Portsmouth Boulevard. About 1,000 feet above the surface of Suffolk, 66 mph winds were indicated on radar.
There was hail reported in Suffolk in the area of Sentara Obici Hospital.
Looking at the radar scan, you can see the difference in the storm from 700 feet and from 14,000 feet.
Update: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for the region until 9pm Tuesday. Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected for the evening commute. Wind gusts to 70mph, hail and frequent lightning will accompany the pockets of heavy rainfall. Stay weather aware!
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Yesterday was as hot and humid as forecast. High temps were in the mid 90s for most. The heat index was well over 100. Today will be about as bad, but the humidity has gone UP! So it will feel a little worse. In fact… We have not only Heat Advisories posted for the region. We now also have Excessive Heat Warnings for parts of North Carolina.
High temperatures will aim for the mid 90s this afternoon. However, the heat indices will be between 102 and 113 degrees.
This will be rough for folks working outdoors, the homeless, and kids at Summer camp. Stay hydrated, and be sure to take breaks in the A.C. as much as possible.
There is a warm front to our north with a cool front to the west.
The cool front is quickly moving to the east. We’ll be partly cloudy for a while. Then a few showers and storms will fire up this afternoon well ahead of the front.
It’s possible that the storms could fire up a little sooner. Some models have quite a bit firing up during the mid-late afternoon like the hi-res NAM. So keep that in mind. Either way the theme is that the chance will increase between the mid afternoon into the early evening.
More strong storms will develop into the later evening, and the coverage could increase even more as the front approaches from the west.
That will depend on how much activity fires up between 4 and 9pm. There is a slight risk for severe weather for the entire viewing area.
Heavy rain and strong gusty winds will be the main threats. The general wind will be out of the southwest at 10-15mph with some gusts to 20mph. However, winds could easily gust to over 45mph is a few of the storms. Some areas could pick up a quick 1-2″. There is a Flash Flood Watch across the metro as low lying areas could see flooding around the evening commute.
There may also be some scattered large hail along with isolated tornadoes in the area. By tomorrow everything changes. The front will stall out just offshore. We’ll have a mix of sun and clouds with some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. High temps will drop to the upper 80s.
The heat index will still be in the mid 90s, but that’s a big improvement over today. There will be a northeast breeze developing. The models are trying to hint at the front sliding just a little farther offshore on Wednesday and Thursday. So the rain chances may be more isolated to scattered. We’ll see. Either way the high temps will be in the upper 80s with a few 90s inland. We’ll have typical Summer weather on Friday with partly cloudy skies and some isolated to scattered pop up storms. Highs will be near 90. Then we’ll cool down and dry out over the weekend. As of right it looks partly cloudy with highs in the 80s. It will be awesome if the humidity drops as forecast.
The tropics are about the same. There are 2 weak tropical disturbances in the eastern Atlantic. They are moving generally west. They both have a low shot a formation for now.
Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler