CHENANGO COUNTY – Powerful winds swept through Chenango County on Wednesday causing trees and power lines to fall.
The National Weather Service in Binghamton issued a wind advisory from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. yesterday. According to the weather service, a cold front which came through the area early Wednesday brought with it strong winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour. Wind gusts of 45 miles per hour were frequent, especially during the morning hours.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. NYSEG reported an interruption in its electrical lines as a result of severe winds. New York State Electric and Gas spokesman Jim Salmon said the issues had all been resolved as of press time this morning. “Currently there aren’t any customers without power. Downed trees coming across the lines and a few broken poles scattered throughout the area caused the interruption.”
Chenango Memorial Hospital lost power for just over an hour and Salmon said crews immediately responded and had the building fully operational by noon yesterday.
“We really appreciate the support we have received in going about our work, and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding,” said Mark Mahlmeister, NYSEG’s manager of regional operations.
Mahlmeister said fierce wind damage associated with the cold front damaged NYSEG’s electricity delivery system, leaving approximately 4,300 customers in the local division without power. The company reported the majority of the customers impacted were located in Chenango and Otsego counties.
By 4 p.m. yesterday evening, all but 500 residences had power restored and by midnight, nearly all affected customers were up and running, said Salmon.
In addition to the power failures, winds knocked down trees and caused damage around Chenango County. “There were over a dozen calls of trees and lines down yesterday, and the bulk were between 9 and 11 a.m.,” said Norwich Emergency Management Officer A. Wesley Jones.
According to City of Norwich Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence, one property located in the city suffered structural damage due to a falling tree. A wind gust, which occurred around 9:30 a.m., caused the upper portion of a tree on Howard Street to break off. A segment of the tree landed on a van, which took the brunt of the fall. The tree also struck a 12 by 20 foot addition to the 32 Howard St. property. “The tree went through the roof, broke the roof boards and created a hole,” Lawrence said. He explained that the structural damage to the home was minor. A tree service was called immediately, and a crane was used to remove the tree from the structure.
Police and emergency crews reported no other outstanding accidents associated with the storm and there were no reports of any traffic devices being affected.
For more information about current weather conditions, visit the City of Norwich Emergency Management website at www.norwichnewyork.net/emergency. The site offers automatic e-mail updates of extreme weather conditions and a link to the new weather station information.