I left work at 1PM and headed south on I-95. There was already a line of storms in southcentral Virginia extending to the southwest into North Carolina. The line was moving to the northeast. I hoped to target the tail end of the line in extreme southeast Virginia. I turned east on 40, then south on 35 to Courtland, Virginia. There, I had a straight shot east on 58. One of the storms was becoming dominant just south of 58. I was starting to get ahead of the storm when I encountered massive traffic in the Suffolk to Chesapeake area. I was about to call off the chase when the more isolated storm intensified and was showing significant shear markers on XM. I followed 460 through Chesapeake, then north on 13. Virginia Beach Blvd would put me in good position just south of the storm but I was slowed by more traffic. The storm eventually moved over Virginia Beach and out to sea.
The Hampton Roads area of Virginia is always a traffic nightmare, and I was now in early rush hour. I called off the chase and made my way slowly back to 460 from Virginia Beach Blvd. I didn't think there would be any more significant storms and I stopped for dinner at the Virginia Diner near Wakefield on 460. There were some mushy showers to the northwest. I didn't think they would amount to anything, and they would be moving north of the James River. I didn't have any nearby cross over points on the river. After dinner, I noticed that one of the cells had exploded, and I was able to get some nice distant shots just north of Wakefield. Additional small storms formed to my west and I was able to watch some nice lightning near Surry, Virginia before heading home. Total miles 287.
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