A tornado warning has been issued for Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight in Virginia. It was extended until 5:30 PM EDT.
“This is the storm that has a history of producing a brief tornado and possible funnel clouds. This storm is producing wind gusts up to 60-70mph around the Norfolk area. It is heading towards VA Beach. Refrain from driving if possible, seek shelter indoors until is passes!” the National Weather Service tweeted.
The NWS canceled the tornado warning for parts of South Hampton Roads. The line of storms shifted to southeast at 35 mph extending from eight miles northeast of Grand View to Ocean View to Western Branch. Funnel clouds have been spotted, the weather service reported.
Flash flood warnings were issued for Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach due to thunderstorms. Multiple power outages, as many as 14000, were reported through Dominion Energy as of 6 PM local time.
Several social media users shared videos of the storm.
On Thursday, at least three people died when a tornado struck Perryton, Texas, Ochiltree County sheriff Terry Bouchard said. Rescue efforts were underway.
Perryton fire chief Paul Dutcher on NBC’s Today Show said that about 150 to 200 homes had been destroyed.
“You keep hearing people say, ‘We’ll rebuild’ and ‘We’ll be back’. And we will. That’s the hope we have. It is such a tragedy. All the stuff behind me, it can all be rebuilt, but those lives that we’ve lost is really the tragedy of everything,” the fire chief said while standing in front of a collapsed building and a pile of bricks and other debris covered the ground, partially burying a truck,” he said.
