Tens of thousands of Vermonters woke up without power Saturday morning after wet, heavy snow downed trees and power lines in the first big snowstorm of the season.
And while the state’s largest electric utility said it had already restored power to nearly 34,000 customers, it warned that the forecast meant more outages could come and that “some remote locations … may not get power back for a few days.”
About 51,000 households and other customers served by Green Mountain Power remained without power as of 10 a.m., according to the utility. Many were clustered in the Upper Valley and White River Valley, with severe outages reported from Springfield up to Fairlee and west to the Randolph area. Hartford topped the statewide list with more than 5,300 customers out.
Significant power outages were also reported in the areas around Waterbury, Castleton and Newfane. At least 175 towns were affected, according to the Green Mountain Power’s outage tracker.
The National Weather Service reported more than a foot of snow had fallen in Chelsea, in the White River Valley, with amounts varying across the state from 5 inches in Burlington to 9 inches in Brattleboro. “Localized amounts near 2 feet” were reported in some areas of higher elevation.
“As forecasted, the heavy, wet snow weighed down trees and lines and new outages are still happening with dangerous conditions in the field as trees continue to fail under the weight of the snow,” the utility reported in a Saturday morning press release. “Forecasters say temperatures will not warm up enough in the next few days to help the snow melt, so even more outages are possible.”
Green Mountain Power had drawn in crews from surrounding regions ahead of the storm to help with the cleanup.
Mike Burke, the utility’s vice president of field operations, said in the release that clearing trees has been “slow and difficult” as continued snowfall creates “driving hazards and hazardous working conditions.”
“Safety is key, and we want customers to stay far away from any downed lines or trees, and to plan ahead, as some remote locations that are hardest hit may not get power back for a few days,” Burke said.
Vermont State Police reported multiple road closures from Friday morning, when the storm first barreled into the state, into Saturday, due to car crashes, downed trees or vehicles off the road.
Among them, Interstate 91 southbound in Rockingham was closed due to a car crash around 1 a.m. Saturday and reopened some six hours later.
State highways and other significant roads in Grand Isle, St. Johnsbury, Sharon, Duxbury, Waltham, Bridport and elsewhere also faced closures over the course of the storm.
The National Weather Service canceled its winter storm warning shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday as snow “has tapered off to scattered snow showers and flurries with additional accumulation less than 1 inch expected.” Temperatures were forecasted to hold in the low 30s.
Several school districts canceled classes on Friday, while some ski areas rejoiced.
