Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of electricity and gas to customers in New England, is preparing for a rain and wind event forecasted to impact the area late tonight and into tomorrow.
According to the most recent forecast, wind gusts of 40-50 miles per hour or more are forecasted through the service region, with higher gusts possible in coastal areas. The storm system is expected to come in two waves, with rain and the potential for isolated thunderstorms.
Unitil secured additional crews in advance of the storm and will be coordinating response efforts out of its regional emergency operations centers.
“This two-pronged wind event is expected to impact the region in waves, beginning Wednesday night into Thursday morning,” Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara said. “With this type of storm system that has peak wind gusts of up to 55 mph, we have the potential for outages across our system due to broken branches and tree limbs. We will work closely with municipal first responders on any public safety issues, such as downed wires or other hazards, resulting from the high winds.”
We recommend our customers prepare similarly by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- Portable chargers and supplemental batteries for mobile devices
- Bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener
- Electric vehicles are fully charged in advance of the storm
- A first aid kit.
High wind gusts have the potential to damage trees and tree branches, which can in turn bring poles and wires to the ground. We urge all to always assume all cables and wires have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line, as water conducts electricity. In addition, keep away from all flooded and debris laden areas because they may be hiding downed lines. Stay in a safe place and avoid driving in damaged areas so you don’t interfere with rescue and restoration efforts.
Unitil will be communicating throughout the event through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), our website, our customer call center and through the media. We also encourage customers to follow along with our storm updates via Facebook, our Twitter feed (@Unitil) and we will be providing real-time outage information online at unitil.com/map.
