GHOST OF IDA

THE GHOST OF IDA

November 12, 2009

Once a major hurricane, Ida weakened before moving inland near the Alabama Florida border as a tropical storm. Ida quickly transitioned to an extratropical system and moved slowly up the east coast. All of Ida's energy shifted to the Carolina coast along with a trough of low pressure getting involved and a huge high pressure to the north all combined to create on of the largest and strongest nor'easters to hit North Carolina and Virginia in many years. I decided to stay here in Virginia instead of joining Mark Sudduth in Nags Head to shoot and cover the storm.

I would start out going to downtown Portsmouth around 6am. I didn't really expect to see all the flooding already downtown. One of the main areas I saw right away was near WAVY TV. This area usually floods in these storms and the call it "Lake WAVY". From there I headed to the Virginia Beach oceanfront. It was windy with horizontal rain but really nothing to see. I decided to head to Sandbridge where it is similar to the Outer Banks and they always seem to take it on the chin. Before reaching Sandbridge, I got a call from my wife to tell me that the neighbor called and said out cedar tree fell and I needed to get home to see if it hit the house. After a 30 minute drive home, things were good, it missed the house and the a/c units. I would eventually make it to Sandbridge where the wind was howling and sand was flying. There was lots of sand and water on the road with large mounds of sand piled high from where they had already scraped the road. Bill Coyle would call and say he was in Chic's Beach area of Virginia Beach and that I needed to get there soon. So I would head that way and would arrive as high tide was starting to come in. A restaurant, Alexander's On The Bay was taking a beating from large waves slamming into the back of the building from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The wind was sustained in the 40's with occasional gusts to the 50's. As the tide came in, things continued to get worse. We shot video and I have photos of the scene below. Waves hitting the seawall, or what was left of it, sending spray into the air and into the parking lot. The police would come and run the bystanders and sight seers off as debris littered the road, parking lot, and flew through the air on the wind and waves. The back wall of the restaurant would eventually collapse from the beating after dark and once we had left. Winds would gust to near or over hurricane force in many areas on the side reaching 75mph at the beach. I believe this is what helped to take down the wall and also knocked out power to many living on the southside of Hampton Roads.

The photos and video link are below. Will have another video clip to come from the first half of the day.

VIDEO: Ghost Of Ida Part II

A worker runs across Atlantic Blvd. in Virginia Beach in high winds and rain.

A look southward on Atlantic in Virginia Beach as the wind whips the rain around.

Flooded road and car just outside the Naval Hospital in downtown Portsmouth.

Surge washes across the road in downtown Portsmouth early in the morning well after high tide had passed.

A scene not out of the norm in a storm like this in downtown Norfolk.

This storm owner was carrying supplies to their store that was still open even in the flooding and pouring rain.

Another flooded vehicle in downtown Norfolk as the rain and wind continued awaiting another high tide!

Piles of wind blown sand surround this house as well as cover it in Sandbridge in Virginia Beach.

Working hard in the wind and driving rain to restore power in Sandbridge.

Sand and water cover the road in Sandbridge making travel difficult. Things were sure to get worse as high tide was still hours away.

Large waves slam the shoreline in Chic's Beach in Virginia beach at Alexander's On The Bay restaurant.

Brave or foolish, this guy stands in the battering wind to check out Mother Natures full force.

Actually sitting in a debris field to check out the waves smashing the shoreline.

Looking from the deck of Alexander's On The Bay at the waves hammering the shore and the houses down the beach.

The police comes in and runs people out of the parking lot and makes them park across the street if they were going to watch the show. They would later run them off from there as well.

All Images Copyright Jesse V. Bass III and VaStormphoto.com