Ida’s rains sweep region; 1 dead

An Amherst County man was killed along Route 56 in Nelson County Thursday when he was hit by a tractor-trailer carrying logs.
Alger H. Fleming, 66, had stopped to inspect the damage to his truck after striking a large tree that had fallen across the road near the Tye River Bridge, Virginia State Police Public Relations Manager Corinne Geller said.
The oncoming tractor-trailer swerved to miss the vehicle and hit Fleming. His death was one of three in Virginia linked to the weather.

The downpours were the continuing aftermath of late-season Tropical Storm Ida, which made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday but still soaked a swath from Alabama to Georgia.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared a state of emergency in Virginia and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. Rain and resulting floods were predicted to continue at least through today, especially along the state’s southeastern coast.
Weather experts even warned of possible freezing rain in higher elevations around Central Virginia through this morning.
Swollen by rain and pushed by heavy winds, an evening high tide in Hampton Roads produced the worst flooding in coastal Virginia since Hurricane Isabel hit in 2003, the National Weather Service said.

The storm added 3 to 5 feet to the normal high tide, said Chris Wamsley, a weather service forecaster in Wakefield.
“It’s severe flooding, comparable to Isabel,” Wamsley said.
In Central Virginia, the National Weather Service was predicting minor flooding of the middle James River near Bremo Bluff, which is officially defined as the river rising past 19 feet.
It was above 14 feet at 10 a.m. Thursday and expected to pass 19 feet early today and keep rising.
It is expected to crest at at least 22.5 feet eventually. As a result, the weather service issued a flood warning for Buckingham and Fluvanna counties effective until further notice.

By Thursday evening, Dominion Power was reporting more than 159,000 customers were without electricity in Virginia and part of North Carolina.
Over 150 roads closed statewide Thursday, but only a few were in The Daily Progress’ coverage area. On the border between Orange and Louisa counties, Route 651 North was closed, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Old Office Road (Route 602 West) in Orange County was also listed as impassible, as was Stage Coach Road (Route 636 East).