More than 1,000 still without power

Published 3:44 pm Thursday, June 13, 2013

Most of the Lake Kennedy area was out of power Thursday evening thanks to a tree that fell on these power lines on Stacey Drive.

Most of the Lake Kennedy area was out of power Thursday evening thanks to a tree that fell on these power lines on Stacey Drive. The tree was on fire earlier in the evening.

UPDATED 10 p.m. Thursday

About 1,159 Dominion customers in Suffolk remain without power at this time, according to the company’s online outage map.

Capital Street remains closed, as do two lanes — one in each direction — on Bennetts Pasture Road, in both cases due to downed power lines.

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Crews from Dominion are on scene at Bennetts Pasture Road and making their way toward Capital Street, city spokeswoman Diana Klink said in a press release.

UPDATED 7 p.m. Thursday

A tree is down and on fire on Stacey Drive, city spokeswoman Diana Klink said Thursday.

Power lines are down, and power is out to the entire Lake Kennedy area. Police and fire are on the scene, and Dominion Virginia Power is in its way to the location.

In addition, power lines are down on several cars on Capital Street. Dominion is on its way, and the street is shut down to remove the wires.

UPDATED 6:45 p.m. Thursday

The number of Suffolk customers without power is now up to nearly 4,200, according to Dominion.

UPDATED 6:10 p.m. Thursday

The city reports at least two trees that have been knocked down because of the storm, city spokeswoman Diana Klink said.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has lifted a severe thunderstorm warning for Suffolk.

One tree down is at the intersection of Bridge and Bennetts Pasture roads. The tree took down power lines, causing many in the area to be in the dark. One lane of traffic is closed in both directions.

Another tree was down on Holland Road near Johnson’s Gardens, but it already has been removed from the roadway, Klink said.

UPDATED 6 p.m. Thursday

More than 3,100 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Suffolk are out of power, mostly in North Suffolk, according to the company’s online outage map.

UPDATED 5:25 p.m. Thursday

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Suffolk and surrounding areas.

The storms could produce winds in excess of 60 miles per hour, destructive hail, deadly lighting and very heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Residents should now move to an interior room on the lowest floor of the building. Motorists should not drive into areas where water covers the road.

EARLIER Thursday

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Suffolk and surrounding areas until 10 p.m.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely, the weather service’s Wakefield office stated. Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds up to 70 miles per hour, golf ball-sized hail and isolated tornados, according to the city’s Department of Emergency Management.

At 3:45 p.m., the storms were approaching Richmond in a line from the northwest as the cold front advanced upon the region.

For more information on watches and warnings issued by the National Weather Service, return later to www.suffolknewsherald.com.