Storm surge from Hurricane Irene falls short of predictions

NORFOLK

Hurricane Irene left Hampton Roads early this morning with widespread flooding, downed trees and hundreds of thousands without power, but the storm fell short of the worst predictions.

Irene was rated a Category 1 hurricane, but in some areas its winds topped out at tropical storm-level speeds. A top gust of 67 mph was recorded at Langley Air Force Base and a 63 mph gust at Norfolk Naval Station, the National Weather Service said.

In Richmond, a 71-mph gust was recorded at the airport, more than 100 miles away from the storm center.

In Norfolk, Irene’s storm surge at high tide on Saturday night almost pushed water levels to a record level. The weather service reported a combined tide and surge of 7.54 feet around 8 p.m. at Sewells Point, while the city reported a reading of 7.63 feet there. Water reached 7.89 feet during Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and 7.75 feet during the November nor’easter in 2009, Hurley said.

Irene brought 3.5-foot to 4.5-foot storm surges across the region, which was in the range of what had been anticipated, he said.

Gov. Bob McDonnell had warned Irene could be "catastrophic" with 80 mph winds hitting during high tide, expecting to produce record storm surges of up to 8 feet.

"I think it's a little strong to say we dodged a bullet, however, it certainly could have turned out worse for the Hampton Roads area," said weather service meteorologist Mike Montefusco.

Emergency crews around the region got set to head out after daybreak to assess damage reports like the one confirmed tornado in Chincoteague, on the Eastern Shore. There were no injuries, only downed trees and power lines.

There was at least one other suspected tornado that ripped away roofs in Sandbridge in Virginia Beach.

In Suffolk, a number of roads were closed due to trees and debris. A massive tree near the Suffolk Art Gallery blocked portions of Bosley Avenue. 

"There are numerous reports around the state of houses and cars with fallen trees," McDonnell said late Saturday. "At the first light of day as people start to make reports of what they can see, we're going to hear a lot more."

In Richmond, 10 motorists were trapped for more than seven hours near the Richmond National Battlefield Park after downed trees blocked them in both directions on Va. 5. Virginia National Guard soldiers used chain saws to clear a path early Sunday.

More than 370,000 of Dominion Virginia Power’s 694,000 customers in southeastern Virginia did not have electricity into the early morning hours. The company said it could not tell people when their power might be back on until workers could get out and make early damage assessments.

Flooded streets, felled trees and downed power lines kept emergency responders busy overnight, but otherwise, major calls for service related to the storm were scarce in its aftermath.

“We’ve been really pleased with the low-level emergency stuff,” said Bob Batcher, a Norfolk city spokesman.

Earlier Saturday, an 11-year-old boy in Newport News died when a tree crashed into his apartment. At least two other people were killed in Virginia and another in North Carolina from falling trees.

In Virginia Beach, the early indication was that the resort area had sustained minimal damage, the city said on its Twitter feed early this morning. The fire department planned to begin assessing the aftermath at daybreak.

Some of the heaviest rainfall from the storm happened in Suffolk and west of there, Hurley said. The weather service reported 4.53 inches in Norfolk, 6.35 inches in Chesapeake and 9.17 inches in Wakefield.

The heavy rains will likely cause rivers in southeastern Virginia to flood for the next few days or longer, Hurley said.

“We expect major river flooding for Franklin,” he said.

In Poquoson, where most of the city is 2 to 3 feet above the sea level of the nearby Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, Irene fell far short of the city's worst flood — Hurricane Isabel eight years ago.

The water reached its high point at 8:45 p.m. and was receding by 9 p.m., said Poquoson firefighter Joe Breeden. And in a city so scarred by flooding that red-and-white signs mark the levels of Isabel and a punishing nor'easter in 2009, Saturday's results could be measured: Irene fell 17½ inches short of Isabel and 8¼ inches shy of the two-day November 2009 storm.

Saturday would have been far worse if not for the lessons of Isabel, Breeden said. In its aftermath, residents spent thousands of dollars to raise the foundations of their homes by several feet, putting them out of the reach of all but the most catastrophic flooding.

With the water still high, police closed roads where high water lapped just short of door levels of homes Saturday night. Muscular pickup trucks with jacked-up suspensions and huge tires plied flooded roads where most vehicles could not pass, kicking up wakes of 6 to 8 inches, just enough to push the water inside houses that otherwise would be dry.

"We always get sightseers in big trucks who want to see the water," Breeden said. "These are people's homes being affected, not a sideshow."

Read previous reports by time and location here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.