More than 800,000 people in the US were without power on Christmas Eve morning after a brutal winter storm affected nearly the entire country over the past week, according to a 5:30 a.m. report. PowerOutage.
Although the power outages spread across the country, affecting nine regions, approximately 417,430 of the outages were in the New England area.
The website showed that 248,482 of those outages were in Maine alone, representing more than 25% of the 849,004 tracked power customers in the state.
The next region to experience widespread blackouts was the Mid-Atlantic with approximately 225,952.
THE WINTER STORM BRINGS US BELOW ZERO TEMPERATURES: THESE ARE THE RECORDS IT COULD BREAK
A color-coded map on the Power Outage Map shows residents across the country without power as of 5:10 a.m. Saturday.
(PowerOutage.us)
As officials anticipated freezing temperatures to affect many areas of the United States this weekend, the power outages were considered life-threatening.
The biggest concern stemming from power loss is the inability of many homes to provide heat without it.
WYOMING TEMPERATURE DROPS 40 DEGREES IN HALF HOUR AS COLD WIND FREEZES US, BREAKS RECORDS
Steam rises from Lake Michigan as morning temperatures remain below freezing with high winds on Friday, December 23, 2022 in Fox Point, Wisconsin.
(AP Photo/Morry Gash)
On a positive note, the number of homes without power in the southern states was down sharply as of Saturday. Across 12 states, approximately 116,722 people were without power as of 5:30 a.m. Saturday.
Georgia, which alone reported more than 100,000 people without power on Friday, saw the biggest improvement with only about 11,000 people in the state still waiting for power.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest utility, ended rolling blackouts Friday afternoon but continued to urge homeowners and businesses to conserve power.
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The winter storm will move from the Northeast US on Christmas Eve to Canada, but heavy snow and persistent winds that deliver dangerously cold chills will be a serious threat to anyone without power, according to FOX Weather.
Those persistent strong winds could contribute to additional power outages in the Northeast and across the Great Lakes.
