A fast-moving storm Saturday knocked out power for thousands of residents in the Historic Triangle, with hundreds still in the dark in the early morning hours Sunday.
James City County took the hardest hit, as Dominion Virginia Power reported nearly 5,000 customers in the county lost power when the storm hit around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. As of 2 a.m., about 340 customers still had no power, according to Dominion’s interactive outage map. By 7:45 a.m., that number had dropped to just 13.
James City County also suffered the most damage in the Historic Triangle. The Elmwood and Woodland Farms subdivisions off Croaker Road had significant damage following the storm, said Bob Ryalls, James City County Fire Department battalion chief.
Ryalls said the Virginia State Police reported a possible tornado touched down in Toano, near Interstate 64 East’s exit 231. WAVY News 10 reported winds in Toano at one point reached 82 mph, which could account for the tornado-like damage from the storm.
Sgt. Michelle Anaya, a state police spokesperson, said a tornado cannot be confirmed because no one witnessed it.
” We did have debris in the road way, and a large tree [at exit 231] that VDOT cleared,” Anaya wrote in an email. “The rest of the debris was minor and no damage or accidents resulted of this.”
NWS will be sending a team to the Croaker area to analyze the ground for signs of a tornado, Ryalls said.
York County had about 425 customers without power after the storm hit. Around 2 a.m., about 260 customers were still in the dark. That number had dropped to six by 7:45 a.m.
No City of Williamsburg customers lost power immediately after the storm, according to Dominion. Around midnight, the map showed about 113 customers had an outage but all had power restored by 2 a.m.
Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for James City County and a tornado watch for much of Hampton Roads, including the Historic Triangle.
Do you have photos of storm damage and debris? Send them to [email protected].
