A monster blizzard struck the tri-state area on Sunday into Monday, blanketing New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with more than a foot of snow. The storm triggered widespread power outages.
This blog post analyzes the storm’s impact, detailing how many customers lost power and which utilities were hardest hit. It also describes how restoration efforts progressed as bitter cold lingered.
Blizzard Impact and Snowfall in the Tri-State Area
The storm delivered heavy snowfall and created treacherous travel conditions across the region. By Monday morning, roughly 155,440 customers were without power across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
As temperatures remained frigid, crews faced the dual challenge of clearing roadways and restoring electricity to homes and businesses.
Snow totals and lingering cold
Snow accumulations exceeded a foot in many communities. Drifts and icy patches complicated cleanup and repair operations.
The persistent cold raised the risk of frozen pipes and increased heating demands at a time when residents were awaiting power restoration.
Outage Landscape Across NY, NJ, CT
New Jersey bore a significant share of outages at the height of the event, with reports of more than 124,000 outages in the state at one point. By 5:15 p.m. on the outage update day, utilities across the tri-state area were gradually restoring service.
Many customers remained in the dark. The following snapshot captures the distribution of outages among major providers:
- Con Edison (NYC area) — 2,912 outages
- Orange & Rockland Utilities (NY) — 44 outages
- PSEG Long Island — 9,599 outages
- NYS Electric & Gas (NYSEG) — 0 outages reported at the time
- Central Hudson — 16 outages
- PSEG (statewide) — 587 outages
- FirstEnergy/Jersey Central Power & Light — 35,390 outages
- Atlantic City Electric — 3,438 outages
- Regional Eversource — 5,780 outages
- United Illuminating — 71 outages
Note: These figures reflect conditions reported around 5:15 p.m. on the day in question and illustrate the heavy concentration of outages in New Jersey. There was substantial activity in New York and more limited reports in Connecticut.
Safety and Restoration Efforts
Authorities urged extreme caution as frigid temperatures persisted. Crews worked tirelessly to clear roads and restore electricity.
Downed power lines posed a serious safety risk. Residents were advised to stay clear of any downed lines and monitor local advisories.
People were also asked to conserve energy to ease the load on the grid during restoration surges. Utilities coordinated across multiple companies to prioritize critical facilities and neighborhoods.
They aimed to restore service as swiftly and safely as possible despite challenging winter conditions.
Here is the source article for this story: Monster blizzard causes massive power outages across tri-state