Storm dumps a month's rain on some parts of Hampton Roads

Some parts of Hampton Roads got as much rain Thursday night as they’d see in the entire month, soaking water-logged lawns and forcing drivers to creep along flooded roads, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm that filled the sky with lightning and loud claps of thunder dropped 4 to 5 inches of rain along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and as much as 3 inches through Downtown Norfolk and farther south in parts of Chesapeake that are near the border with the Beach, said weather service meteorologist Brian Hurley today.

“You basically got a month’s worth in a day,” Hurley said.

At Norfolk International Airport, the weather service recorded 1.55 inches of rain Thursday night, Hurley said.

Normally, by this time in June, the airport has reported about 2.16 inches, Hurley said. As of Thursday, the airport was reporting 5.7 inches.

“We’ve finally gone above normal,” Hurley said. "For so long, we had been below normal."

Since Jan. 1, Hampton Roads has had 21.11 inches of rain with the normal rainfall amount at 20.63, Hurley said.

Thursday night’s storms knocked out electricity to Dominion Virginia Power customers in Hampton Roads and northeast North Carolina. More than 1,400 were waiting for service to be restored Friday morning. By mid-day, more than 4,300 were without service.

And while no major damage was reported from the storm, Richard Gosselin of Virginia Beach reported on the Pilot 13 Weather Spotters blog  that "heavy rain and constant lightning put on a show at the Oceanfront."

Weather Spotter Bill Maddrey of the Overbrook area of Norfolk said more than an inch of rain fell in the 3700 block of Lafayette Blvd. in Norfolk between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m.

 Flooding at the entrance to the Wahab Public Law Library  in Virginia Beach forced the libray to close today due to flooding. There was no damage to the library’s book collection, according to city spokesman Marc Davis. The law library is located in the basement of the Virginia Beach Judicial Center, 2425 Nimmo Parkway. 

The recent rains have caused other problems of the itchy kind for Hampton Roads residents with an increase in pesky, biting mosquitoes. Every Hampton Roads city except Norfolk is reporting a substantial increase, officials said. Dry weather across the state had caused floodwater mosquito eggs to remain dormant, a state entomologist said, but recent rains are causing those eggs to hatch.

Peach farmers, on the other hand, are excited about the prospect of a bumper crop this year because of warmer temperatures and recent rains, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

One Nelson County orchard owner said he hoped to start picking his early peaches by this weekend. 

Michael Lachance, Nelson County's Virginia Cooperative Extension agent, said he hoped the rainy weather had helped to replenish the soil.

"We're happy to see things dry off, but we're also very happy to get some water recharge into the soil," he told the paper, adding, "It looks like we're going to have good crops this upcoming year."

The Wahab Public Law Library is closed today because of flooding. There was no damage to the library’s collection, but flooding at the entrance makes it impossible for the public to enter.

Repair crews are on hand. The library probably will be closed all day. It is located in the basement of the Virginia Beach Judicial Center, 2425 Nimmo Parkway.