00:00AccuWeather correspondent Leslie Hudson is live on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk with the latest.
00:05You know, Leslie is very well versed in this area.
00:08She reported for us back in October of last year where there was a lot of damage.
00:14And Leslie, so far what you've seen, how does this event compare to that?
00:24So, Bernie, exactly, we were here last October, almost a year to the date,
00:30and we're definitely seeing an increase in the wave heights, an increase in the winds, and this is just the
00:36beginning.
00:37We came here a couple of days into the coverage last October, so this is technically day one for us.
00:43I'm anticipating this to be worse throughout the afternoon and tomorrow.
00:46And if you look over my shoulder, you can see the wave heights are easily 8 to 12 feet.
00:51They are an angry surf this morning here in Virginia Beach.
00:56Of course, where there is gale warnings offshore, there is also high surf advisories.
01:01There is a coastal flood warning in parts of the Hampton Roads area here, and we're expecting that to only
01:09increase.
01:10I wanted to show you real quick, take a look at this.
01:12Over here is a suitcase that washed ashore.
01:15It is a steady 25 to 30 mile per hour wind here, gusting a little higher.
01:21It's a little hard to stand at times, of course, so we're anticipating that to all increase.
01:27And this really is a textbook of how a coastal community preps for one of these storms.
01:32And the biggest concern from the officials here tonight is when we get into that high tide cycle
01:38where they anticipate some of the worst inundation to be the issue.
01:42So let me show you some video that we shot yesterday here along the boardwalk in Virginia Beach.
01:47And a lot of folks came out to check out what Mother Nature was delivering yesterday.
01:52Again, winds are very brisk at times, 25 mile per hour or so.
01:58And the concern will be, as we head through these next couple of hours, how much more that increases, the
02:03wind factor,
02:04what that means for this very fragile community.
02:07You have to remember, when these communities that line across the shores all the way along the Atlantic seaboard
02:13get these nor'easters or these big storms, it can really have a ripple effect on them rebuilding.
02:20So last year was a pretty tough year for this area in the mid-Atlantic in terms of these coastal
02:25storms.
02:26So I talked to a traffic engineer last night.
02:28She was going to be pulling an all-nighter, trying to make sure that the traffic signals were working.
02:33I can tell you there's about 2,000 people here in the Virginia Beach area that are currently without power
02:38that they believe is storm-related.
02:40And there's also about another 60 or so just to the south of the Chesapeake Bay area.
02:46So anticipating things, we're just getting going.
02:49We talked to a resident that was from West Virginia, had not been over here in about 10 years.
02:54And here's what he had to say about this storm.
02:57The beach, the northeaster, just eats the sand away.
03:02But other than that, it's just windy, bad weather.
03:06You know, we have the Neptune Festival this coming up weekend, which is very popular.
03:11But, you know, hopefully the weather holds off for that.
03:20So, of course, at this time of year, as we get into fall, a lot of outdoor festivals are usually
03:25very common.
03:26They line the boardwalk here across Virginia Beach.
03:30As he was saying, Jeffrey was saying, there is a huge festival here this weekend that they're concerned how this
03:37will all play out,
03:37even though they'll be on the backside of the storm by then, still folks start traveling into town these days
03:44leading up to the weekend.
03:45And, of course, that inundation will be the concern as we get into the next several hours.
03:50For now, we're reporting from Virginia Beach.
03:52I'll send it back to you.
03:53And I just want to clarify, you were just seeing the flooding footage that you sent last night.
03:58That was not freshwater flood.
04:01That was all tidal.
04:03And that's what they're worried most about, correct?
04:10Yeah, so that video that I shot was down by the Chrysler Museum of Art building and the Gantt Park.
04:18Those are notorious areas for tidal flooding.
04:22There was significant rain in parts of Virginia Beach yesterday, not here where we are, but inland, further inland, closer
04:28to the airport near Norfolk there was.
04:31But where I was down there by the museum, that is a classic textbook area for tidal flooding.
04:38That's why I headed there as soon as I landed.
04:40And, again, about a foot or two of standing water.
04:43I do know there is some standing water there this morning.
04:45We're going to try and head into those areas and see how things look.
04:49And I'll also check some things out here by the inlets.
04:52But, yes, tidal inundation already underway here in the Virginia Beach area.
04:57All right, Leslie Hudson, an expert in the area, knowing the spots to go and to check out.
05:02And we will keep you posted and look forward to seeing some more video.
05:04Good to see you, Leslie.
05:05Thank you so much.
05:05For now, we go to Washington, D.C.
