Weather today: Tornado watch in effect for several Peninsula cities and counties

A line of storms moving across Virginia may bring rain, strong winds, and a chance for hail and tornadoes to parts of Hampton Roads on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

The weather service issued a tornado watch Thursday afternoon for Suffolk and several Peninsula cities including Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Williamsburg, as well as several counties including Isle of Wight, Gloucester, Mathews, York and James City County.

“We are not expecting a super impactful event, but there may be damaging winds and an isolated tornado or two, mostly based on how strong the storm is,” said Ryan Rogers, NWS Wakefield meteorologist.

The impending storms led some Hampton Roads-area schools to cancel activities Thursday. The Bay Rivers District, which includes high schools in Williamsburg, Poquoson, and James City, New Kent and York counties, has postponed all games that were scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

[ Related coverage: Storm-related closures and cancellations in Hampton Roads ]

The region is expected to see widespread rain showers and a chance for wind gusts of up to 30-40 mph, which could damage trees and power lines. Most of the wind is expected before the thunderstorms start.

“It’s just going to be kind of a windy, gusty day with showers and storms moving through this evening,” meteorologist Jonathan McGee said.

While southeastern Virginia faces a marginal or slight risk of severe storms, “it will certainly be breezy,” Rogers said.

“We are looking at sustained winds of 15-20 mph with gusts of 35 or 45 mph throughout the day,” Rogers said.

Any storms are expected to wrap up around 10 or 11 p.m., according to McGee. The storms will move off of the coast and out of the area.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com