Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for a winter storm forecasted to impact the area today through Tuesday.
According to the most recent forecasts, as much as 7-16 inches of snow are possible in all service areas, with the higher totals expected in the inland regions. Snow is expected to develop this afternoon and may continue until Tuesday afternoon, with wind gusts of 30 miles per hour possible as well. While the snow is expected to initially have a wet, heavy consistency, a transition to a drier snow is likely as the storm continues. Wet, heavy snow can stick to trees and limbs, weighing down branches which may break and fall, causing damage to electric infrastructure.
"We will be closely monitoring the forecast as the storm unfolds over the next 48 hours, as just a few temperature degrees difference can have a major effect on the storm’s total impact. The longer the snow stays wet and sticky, the greater the overall risk for outages becomes in all regions.
Alec O’Meara, Media Relations Manager
Based on the current forecast, Unitil has secured additional crews in advance of the storm and is planning to open up its Emergency Operations Center Monday to aid in the coordination of response efforts during the greatest period of potential risk to the system. Unitil will continue to monitor the forecast and is prepared to escalate its response further if conditions warrant doing so.
We recommend our customers remain similarly prepared by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- A battery-operated radio and clock
- Bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener
- A list of important phone numbers and a car charger for cell phones if applicable
- A first aid kit.
The snowy conditions have the potential to take wires to the ground. In the event of downed wires, assume all cables and wires that have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed lined because 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 https://unitil.com/map.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MEDIA: Unitil asks that when reporting outage information, outlets time stamp the information. Outage numbers change hourly and we wish to make sure the information customers receive is consistent and understandable. Re-Tweets and re-posting of old information without referencing a time can create confusion.
