HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Major downpours, strong winds and thunder moved across Hampton Roads Friday afternoon and evening.
A tornado was observed in Carrollton, Isle of Wight County, according to First Warning Weather Chief Meteorologist Patrick Rockey. Strong winds and rain moved across the Hampton Roads area.
News 3's Kelsey Jones made her way over to Smithfield and Isle of Wight because families there were under a severe thunderstorm warning. On North Mason Street, in Smithfield, there were fallen trees and downed power lines.
Dominion Energy crews were working to restore power and the fire department was on scene. Jones talked with Eric Leaman, who lost his power.
"It's one of the worst blows I've seen come through, and we've been through a couple of hurricanes here," Leaman said. "But I looked out the back there and it was raining horizontally, vertically, and hailing at the same time."
The impact of the storms right in front of his home.
"It all came through so quickly." said Leaman. "I saw that tree sitting there in the middle of the street."
Leaman says he's glad the tree didn't fall on his home.
"If you see all the stumps up there I knew that tree was going to come down," Leaman said. "It started coming down last year we had about half of that tree taken away so it wouldn't come down on the house."
Leaman was using his generator in the meantime.
In Isle of Wight, Sheriff’s deputies officials said there were no reports of any damage, just one downed tree.
Once the tornado warning cleared, thunderstorm warnings remained in effect for Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.
The weather prompted several flight cancellations at Norfolk International Airport.
Jose Ramos' flight was impacted. He was in town from New York City, visiting friends, and he was set to head home Friday. But the weather canceled those plans, so he stayed in a hotel for the evening.
"When I woke up this morning, I knew there was going to be some sort of weather issues but never did I imagine it was going to be of this magnitude," Ramos told News 3 Digital Content Producer Jay Greene. "I think it was a good call for me to stick around one more day."
Luckily, for Jose, he said he'd be on a flight back to New York City in the morning.
As of 9:15 p.m. Friday, there were still a number of power outages throughout the region. Dominion's Power Outage Map showed more than 30,000 homes and businesses were still without power. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake had the most impacts.
If you are experiencing power outages, click here to be taken to the Dominion Energy map.
In Newport News, 89-year-old Hazel Francis was home alone when this tree came down. She says the fire department came out to look at the roof.
"When the sound came I was in my kitchen and I heard a noise and it sounded like it was on the earth," Francis said. "But I didn’t think it was anything here. I looked outside and didn’t see anything. It was the neighbor that called and told me. The roof is safe."
On the other side of Newport News, on Huntington Avenue, an enormous tree fell on top of Mae's home home.
"I saw the wind going back and forth. Then the lights went out for 5 or 10 minutes. Then I heard this big boom," Mae said.
That's when she says this tree fell on her house.
"The basement is filled with water. The third floor has a crack in the roof and my room is leaking water. I’ve been here for 8 years and have been complaining about this tree to the city. Just a month ago, they came and trimmed the tree," the resident said.
The house is now condemned. Mae and her daughter were trying to figure out their plans.
In a neighborhood near the Newport News shipyard, there were downed power lines and a part of a tree fell on top of this pickup truck. A hefty part of the branch covered the front of the car.
"We sheltered in the basement. We heard Patrick Rockey say we should go to the basement and that’s where we went. I took my 3 dogs and my husband," said Jackie Hartman, of Newport News.
She says this is not the first time parts of the tree have fallen during a storm in front of her neighbor’s house.
"I hope when they come back from Florida, they’ll be okay," Hartman said.
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