NORFOLK, Va. — Strong wind gusts are causing power outages and affecting ferry service in Hampton Roads and northeast North Carolina on Friday.
Dominion Energy said about 65,000 customers in total lost power in Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina throughout the day Friday.
However, as of 8 a.m. Christmas morning, only 20 in Virginia and 96 in North Carolina were still without power.
Bonita Billingsley Harris with Dominion Energy said wind conditions had caused the most interruptions in electricity service near the coast and in areas with a lot of trees.
"Our local crews have completed 1300 work locations and counting," Billingsley Harris said in a news release. "They will continue working throughout the day Saturday. Our goal is to restore power to nearly all remaining customers impacted by the storm by 11:00 p.m. Saturday."
In Surry County, the Virginia Department of Transportation suspended service at the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry until further notice, due to high wind conditions and warned service interruptions could continue into the evening.
"High winds prevent the safe loading of vehicles from the docks and transit across the James River," a VDOT news release stated.
VDOT sent out an update Saturday morning stating that service on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry has resumed as of 10:30 a.m.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was operating with intermittent wind restrictions and lane closures, which were expected to continue into the evening.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation also suspended service for all seven North Carolina ferry routes: Southport-Fort Fisher, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, Bayview-Aurora, Cedar Island-Ocracoke, Swan Quarter-Ocracoke, Hatteras-Ocracoke, and Currituck-Knotts Island.
Service to four out of six ferry lines had been restored by Saturday afternoon.
Billingsley Harris said Dominion Power crews were "out in force," working to fix the downed lines, but the number of customers without power could fluctuate throughout the day.
"You can use our app to keep track of outage numbers and work sites," she said.
In Virginia Beach, many downed power lines were to blame for the outages. These outages come as Hampton Roads greets its coldest Christmas weekend in decades.
"Yeah, bad timing...very bad timing," said PJ Crosby, who lost power at her home. "[We're] not prepared at all. We've got candles, but that's not going to warm anything up. I guess renting a generator..."
The Gray family just started getting ready to host their family this holiday weekend. Brian Gray said his wife was in the middle of baking when the power cut off.
"She had cookies planned and the cookies weren't going to turn out the way they wanted... so we put that on the 'back burner,'" said Gray. "We're going off to eat somewhere else and hoping they have power!"
You can track those power outage numbers at PowerOutage.us.
The severe winds will be followed by a strong cold front, according to 13News Now meteorologists, who are predicting a severe drop in temperatures Friday and Saturday.
VDOT also warned drivers Friday of the hazardous road conditions that could accompany the sub-freezing temperatures, like black ice, and to be on the lookout for debris on roadways due to high winds.
It's important to take some precautions if you think you could lose power during the severe cold.
Make sure your phones and laptops are fully charged, your generator is fueled, connected and outside (running a generator inside can lead to deadly carbon monoxide poisoning), and you have food, water and emergency supplies.
Stay far away from downed poles and power lines. Report those right away to 866-DOM-HELP (866-366-4357).
You can report a power outage on the Dominion Energy app or website.