1.7 million lose power in East Coast snowstorm

[hue]

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The unusually early snowstorm bringing heavy, wet snow to the East Coast has knocked out power to more than 1.7 million customers.

Half a million are without power in New Jersey, including Gov. Chris Christie, who declared a state of emergency Saturday.

Utilities in Pennsylvania say 428,000 customers have lost power. PPL spokeswoman Lissette Santana says 200 crews were working to restore it. The company serves northeast and central Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/AP1fac3373abce4beea671337ee00d3411.html

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...In New York, more than 200,000 have lost power. More than 160,000 customers are without power in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

In Connecticut, utilities are reporting more than 370,000 without service. In western Maryland, there are more than 26,000 outages...

[mdmc]

1. we still have power in newburgh..

[bpositive]

2. It's pretty bad in bristol

Connecticut, power lines down everywhere. I witnessed a transformer blow up- it looked like burst of light followed up by fireworks(sparks). I was out on the road and saw ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars all over the place. Street lights were out- pretty messy outside.

[eggplant]

3. NYSEG outage status link...

http://www.nyseg.com/Outages/outageinformation.html

This is a really good way to see how the storm is really doing, by watching the numbers change over time.

[starroute]

4. We just got power back after having it out for an hour

Luckier than some, I guess. We're north of Philadelphia.

[swilton]

5. Still have power in Keene, NH

and keeping my fingers crossed.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

6. Doing fine in Jersey City.

Do you really have to turn Fatso's power back on?

[hedgehog]

7. I've been through two storms like this - watch out for low hanging

power lines, especially when out driving. In fact, it's safest to stay home until the roads are clear. Also, don't assume that a power line that is down is dead.

[bpositive]

8. My power has

Gone on an off 4 times since I started typing this post :-( it may be a cold night tonight- will need to cuddle with my spouse:-)

[onehandle]

9. It's the new normal. Extreme cold, extreme hot, extreme storms. Get used to it. nt

[CrackersMcGee]

13. Extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme precipitation, extreme drought.

Yep, should get interesting very quickly now.

[Raschel]

10. If you don't have power it's your own damn fault. (sorry, couldn't resist)

[jakeXT]

11. Snow, wind, rain smack Northeast; cleanup begins

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — An unseasonably early snowstorm that blanketed parts of states from Maryland to Maine, knocking out power to millions and snarling air and highway travel, was forecast to slowly move north out of New England and officials warned it could be days before many see electricity restored.

The heavy, wet October snow, falling atop leaf-laden trees and driven by frigid, gusting winds, brought down branches and power lines and put the Northeast on notice that winter is around the corner. More than 2.3 million customers from Maryland to New England lost power due to the storm by early Sunday.

Governors declared states of emergency in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York, and at least three deaths were blamed on the weather, including an 84-year-old Pennsylvania man killed when a tree fell on his home while he was napping in his recliner.

Some 700,000 lost power in Connecticut, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cautioned that some homes and business without electricity may be in for a long haul.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMkgu3FwGJN_DNIhkDt83FdEwGcw?docId=9d4ccd84de884eedb503b592d98c3d70

[harrose]

12. That's what happens...

... when you allow Rethugs to block environmental legislation. It leads to freak storms where people lose power and die. This whole mess is the fault of the damn Rethugs. People affected by this storm should sue the RNC for damages.

[NickB79]

14. Unusually warm air holds more moisture

When that warm front hits any cold fronts, BOOM!

If only we had some explanation as to why we seem to keep having all this unusually warm air more often than we used to.....:sarcasm:

[noel711]

15. JUst got power back since Saturday...

Here in Bucks County, we just got power.
And this is not a remote rural area: we have most amenities.
But This was freaky:
there are still leaves on trees that gathered the wet snow,and the weight
of the wet snow on branches and boughs dragged the trees down on power lines,
and telephone lines.
Unlike modern developments, many of these old towns go back to
revolutionary times. There are no underground utility cables.
The local devastation is unthinkable..

There were no power repair trucks (PPL- Pennsylvania Power & Light)
until today. All weekend roads were dangerously blocked,
and downed power lines swayed in the wind.
It was impossible to get thru to PPL- all lines were busy,
or a recorded voice said: "Power will be restored tomorrow at noon.."
and it never happened.

There was no power, no heat, no phone service.
NO wireless or no cell service still in my area.

It was a slap of reality to consider how life could be if all
the austerity measures click in: no funding to hire utility workers
or first responders.
We are relatively healthy, and shivered, and ate peanut butter sandwiches.
But what about the elderly? The ill? Those with chronic illness that require
refrigerated medication? What about those with newborns?
Are we/they all on 'our own' when something like this occurs?

Lying in bed in the cold of night I pondered how our ancestors lived,
according to the rising of the sun, and when darkness set it,
it was gather around the fire, or go to bed.

There was also a tinge of the apocalyptic about this too:
when the power hungry get the reins, will they decide that
power outages are a way to control the masses...
What's next, food shortages?
Medical shortages?
Just thinking out loud..