CAPE COD – Utility workers continue to make progress restoring power following Wednesday’s windstorm. As of 8 AM 8,000 customers were without power on the Cape. 3,200 of those are in Bourne, with 2,000 in Barnstable. A new storm is expected to affect the region later today with rain and winds up to 40 MPH. While these winds pale in comparison to Wednesday’s, they could still bring down a few weakened limbs causing a few additional scattered outages.
1:30 PM update: (BCREPC report)
CURRENT AND PROJECTED WEATHER
- No new weather advisories, watches or warnings have been generated.
- Today’s storm event is expected to be a short-duration event, with stronger winds remaining aloft and off-shore to our East.
- Rain showers will pick up in intensity throughout the day; 1 to 1.5” of precipitation are expected.
- Winds will steadily increase throughout the day with gusts between 35 and 40 MPH anticipated. Peak winds are expected at 7PM this evening; gusts up to 50 MPH are possible in some areas.
- Temperatures this evening are expected to be in the low to mid-sixties, with colder air entering the area on Tuesday.
UPDATE FROM UTILITIES
- Eversource estimates that 4,200 outages remain Cape-wide as of 11:00 AM this morning.
- Crews continue to work rapidly and Eversource is on track to complete restoration by 6:00 PM this evening.
- See town and customer specific ETR’s on the Eversource website.
- Eversource advises residents to report any new outages that last longer than 5 minutes. Some brief outages related to continued repairs are expected, with power returning after a few seconds or minutes.
THE PUBLIC SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE AWARE OF LOOSE OR FALLING BRANCHES
Falling limbs and branches continue to be a concern, especially with winds predicted to pick up today. Residents are reminded to be aware of the environment when outdoors to avoid being injured.
Update from Eversource at 3 PM: Facing more rain and strong winds Saturday, Eversource continues its massive restoration effort with thousands of field personnel and other support staff – including line and tree crews, damage assessors, troubleshooters, substation electricians, and wire guards, as well as logistics and other support staff – working nonstop to repair the extensive damage to the electric system and restore remaining outages following Tuesday’s powerful nor’easter. As of 12:15 p.m., crews have restored power to more than 473,000 homes and businesses, and Eversource expects to have the vast majority of the approximately 13,000 customers who lost power from the nor’easter on line Saturday by 6 p.m., with many being restored sooner.
Approximately 21,000 customers in total are currently without power, including the approximately 13,000 who lost power from the nor’easter, and today’s forecasted strong winds could cause additional outages. Eversource’s outage map reflects the total number of customers without power, and crews will continue working around the clock until every customer is fully restored.
“We’re at the late stages of the restoration process where the final outages often call for extensive repairs that are labor-intensive and time-consuming,” said Eversource Vice President of Electric Operations Bill Ritchie. “For example, we can have five or more crews – which can be about 18 people – working most of the day to repair the damage at one location and that will bring power back to only one customer. We’ll also continue to face strong winds and challenging conditions today, with additional power outages likely. Our massive team – in the field and behind the scenes – is fully committed to every single customer who loses power and will not stop working until they are all restored. Thanks to the focus and commitment of the thousands of crews in the field and support personnel working hard behind the scenes, we are on track to achieve our goal of restoring power to the vast majority of customers who lost power from this week’s nor’easter by tonight. We know how difficult it is for customers to be without power and we greatly appreciate their patience.”
As part of Eversource’s massive restoration efforts, utility workers from as far away as Canada, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee continue working to clear and repair the widespread damage that included more than 300 blocked roads, 400 broken utility poles, and 100 miles of downed electric lines. Eversource has substantially completed restoration for a majority of the towns impacted by the nor’easter, and customers can find a listing of estimated restoration times for remaining towns on Eversource.com.
With moderate to heavy rain expected Saturday and the potential for hazardous wind gusts, Eversource urges customers to always stay clear of any downed wires and to report them immediately to 911. Be sure to report any outage online at www.eversource.com, or by calling 800-592-2000 in Eastern Massachusetts and 877-659-6326 in Western Massachusetts.
5 PM update: Eversource reports just over 800 customers still out on the Cape.
11 PM update: Only about 250 customers still out across the Cape in widely scattered outages.
CWN will update this story through the day.
