POQUOSON, Va. — Like many of her neighbors, Poquoson resident Belinda Knight had a lot of cleaning up to do Tuesday after a strong storm in the area Monday. When News 3 caught up with her, she was cutting up a tree uprooted in her front yard.
“I’m starting to tear it down limb by limb right now," Knight explained.
Not easy work, physically or emotionally. The tree, she said, was a Mother’s Day gift from her family and had been there for over a decade.
Watch: Newport News woman's BMW damaged by tree after Sunday storms
“Very sad," Knight said about having to cut up the tree.
Not far away, News 3 met Natasha Leahy. She showed News 3 a picture of what her living room looked like from the inside after a tree came crashing through during Monday's storm and nearly hit her and her son.
“It was pretty terrifying," Leahy recalled.
Watch: Waterspout spotted on James River during Hampton Roads storms
From the back yard, you could see the damage. You could also see part of tree sticking out of the roof over her bedroom closet.
“If we get the tree out of the house, we should be able to rebuild everything. The only thing that is un-salvageable is my closet," said Leahy.
She said her kids baby books and some books passed down by her great-grandmother were lost. After the tree fell on the living room, she and her family rode out the rest of the storm in a bathroom.
Watch: Stormy Weather and Your Furry Friends on Coast Live
“The kids were having pretty intense anxiety attacks. Luckily, we just got a new puppy so she was acting as a little bit of an emotional support dog," Leahy said.
News 3 Chief Meteorologist David Aldrich said the storm produced 60-70 mile an hour winds, around two inches of rain, and quarter-sized hail. But, as of Tuesday, there was no indication that it produced a tornado and any damage was likely caused by straight line winds.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.