A line of powerful thunderstorms with wind gusts up to 63 miles per hour Friday afternoon spared most of the area from heavy damage. However, a few businesses and residents at Gloucester Point, Hayes and Glass were not so fortunate. Thankfully, no major injuries were reported.

Gloucester’s emergency management coordinator Creig Moore said the storms were part of a larger system that had started in the southern U.S. last Thursday, creating several tornados and significantly stronger winds.

“Those cells stayed mostly to the west of our location on Friday as it came into Virginia, but Hampton Roads was impacted by the front edge of the storm and associated cold front causing straight-line winds in Gloucester County,” Moore said.

Residents were warned about the impending weather through a tornado watch, which was issued Friday morning by the U.S. National Weather Service in Wakefield.

Some of the strongest winds throughout the entire area w...