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13News

Cars are slowing down as the drivers find high water in Norfolk.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Heavy rain and high wind from a coastal storm made the morning commute miserable Wednesday in southeastern Virginia, with drivers scrambling to find alternate routes to avoid intersections filled with pooled water and stalled cars.

On the Peninsula, Fort Monroe and Langley Air Force Base told only mission-essential personnel to report for work Wednesday because of the potential for flooding.

At Fort Monroe, residents of 121 contracted residential units close to the seawall along the Chesapeake Bay were evacuated to local hotels. However, officials said they didn't anticipate any significant interior flooding of those structures.

At Langley, where the flight line is only 11 feet above sea level, workers placed sandbags around buildings with a history of flooding and waterproofed computers and electrical equipment.

Fort Monroe was expected to be open as usual Thursday.

Andy Grossman, 13News

The Midtown Tunnel floodgates were closed before the floodwaters arrived.

Poquoson Public Schools closed and the Midtown Tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth was shut down at 10:15 a.m. because of high water.

"Conditions at the Midtown Tunnel have reached a point where there is a likely potential for flooding, and the tunnel needs to be closed," said Dennis Heuer, VDOT's Hampton Roads District Administrator. "Crews will be waiting close by to reopen the tunnel to traffic as soon as it is safe."

As of 4:30 p.m., the Midtown still hadn't reopened. VDOT officials hoped to have the tube open in time for the afternoon rush.

Power outages were scattered across southeastern Virginia, but most the power outages have been in northeastern North Carolina, Dominion Power officials told 13News in a live report. Spokesman Chuck Penn expected the outages to be short.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel reported sustained winds of 50-60 mph with gusts of up to 65 mph. Officials restricted the types of vehicles that cross the span between Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore basically to cars and pickup trucks.

"With winds gusting to 65 mph, that's right powerful," said Patricia Sumners, a switchboard operator at the bridge-tunnel. "You get out there on the bay in a high-profile SUV, you better keep both hands on the wheel."

Wind gusts reaching 50 mph battered Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood, also on the Chesapeake Bay.

Sky 13

The Norwegian Dawn will leave Thursday and return to New York.

The Norwegian Dawn, a cruise ship that made an unexpected stop in Norfolk Monday because of the weather and a mechanical problem, now won't leave until Thursday at 6:00 a.m. Cruise line officials had hoped to leave Wednesday evening.

The ship will sail directly back to New York, arriving on Friday morning at approximately 7 am and will remain alongside the pier in New York until its next scheduled sailing on Sunday, November 26.

In North Carolina, some residents of Dare County started the day without electricity as a storm hovering off the North Carolina coast dumps rain and whips up winds.

Emergency Management spokeswoman Dorothy Toolan said Hatteras Island is completely without power and wasn't expected to have power restored until Wednesday night.

All roads and bridges north of Oregon Inlet are open. There is still debris and standing water on many streets and motorists should use caution when traveling.

NC Highway 12 south of Oregon Inlet remains closed due to standing water, sand, and loss of roadway. Repairs and clearing of NC 12 should be completed by noon on Thursday, November 23.

Forecasters say the storm should clear the North Carolina coast by tomorrow morning and conditions should improve then.

Bryan Tulwits, 13News

The underside of the roof edge was ripped off during the storm.

There was damage to the new Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk. Siding was blown off and some roof edges were ripped away.

Also, authorities in Bladen County say while rain has led to minor flooding problems there, a rehabilitation center in Elizabethtown will not have to be evacuated.

Authorities are asking residents to stay off the road if at all possible.

"We're very strongly encouraging people -- don't walk through it, don't drive through it. Because it's hard to tell how deep it is," said Detective Jan Westerbeck of the Portsmouth Police.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)