PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A fallen tree damaged a Portsmouth apartment building Friday night as storms rolled through the region, though there were no reports of injuries.
On Polouck Circle, a large tree appeared to snap in half, with part of it crashing onto the apartment building. The apartment landlord said she believed the tree fell due to lightning.
The landlord said the units in the building were occupied, but some of them were not at home, and none were injured. It’s unclear at this point how much damage the tree did to the building.
In other parts of the region, there were multiple reports of trees, power lines and crashes in the aftermath of a thunderstorm that rolled through Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina Friday evening.
Hail and wind gusts were the primary threats, causing power outages, downed power lines and damaged trees. According to Dominion Energy, as of 8:30 p.m., more than 19,000 customers in southern Virginia are without power.
Super Doppler 10 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson noted wind gusts of up to 59 mph in Elizabeth City, 52 mph in Chesapeake and 43 mph in Portsmouth.
In Suffolk, there were nearly two-dozen reports of downed power lines, and a number of WAVY viewers shared photos of downed trees in Suffolk.
Swipe through the gallery below to see photos shared by WAVY viewers of the early impacts of the storm damage.
The following cities/counties in North Carolina and Virginia were placed under a severe thunderstorm warning until 8:30 p.m. Friday.
- Camden County
- Pasquotank County
- Perquimans County
- Northeastern Bertie County
- Southeastern Hertford County
- Eastern Gates County
- Northeastern Chowan County
- Currituck County
- Chesapeake
- Norfolk
- Portsmouth
- Suffolk
- Virginia Beach