Storm Update and Electric Status

By any measure, Sullivan County has been slammed by the one-two punch of this week's snow storms. Snow on the ground in many areas is now over two feet. Sullivan County has declared a state of emergency, in effect until Noon on Friday. While driving has not been banned, any non-emergency driving is strongly discouraged.

This snowstorm ranks up there in the 'pretty major' category, and may end up being the biggest since 1993. So many newcomers to the area may have not dealt with a snowstorm with this kind of depth. 24 to 30 inches of snow on the ground is a lot different than 10 or 12.

A big problem with this storm is potential electric outages, due to the combination of heavy, wet snow and strong winds. If you're not in the country, and worried that your electric might be out, you can check the Outage Information section on the NYSEG website at http://ebiz1.nyseg.com/cusweb/outage/. You can check your road by village / hamlet / area. Note that NYSEG may not list your address by your mailing address city, e.g. my home address is "Callicoon" but NYSEG includes my road under "Hortonville". If your service is out, you can get an estimated service restoration time by going to their "Report an Outage" page at https://ebiz1.nyseg.com/cusweb/OutageNotification.aspx. You'll need your NYSEG account number, or, if you've registered a phone number with your account, you can check by phone number.

There is a similar online reporting system for Central Hudson and Orange and Rockland, but those utilities do not have the more general "Check Where Service is Out" type lists like on the NYSEG site.

Comments

[Reg]

Orange & Rockland does have an outage map: http://wp1.coned.com/or_stormcenter/default.aspx

[ar]

These links are a real and much appreciated service.

[Bix]

People are encouraged to post local conditions on the Sullivan County Message Board: http://sullivancountybbs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cold

[friday910]

Sunday, 02.28.2010, morning, drove from NYC to Lumberland, through Paramus & Port Jevis, using GW, 17, 6, 84, 97

All roads, including dirt roads, streets, and highways completely clean, and drivable. Some broken trees here and there (on 84), and at least one crew working on power lines/cable, by Hawk's Nest (97).

Accumulated snow around Lumberland, high altitude, 21 inches. Side of the (dirt) roads, due to the plows, one side of the road the snow is ~25 inches, the other side of the road the snow is ~45 inches.

Currently, (2pm), snowing on and off, sun in and out, temperature in the low 40s.

[John]

www.catskillconcierge.com is designed to assist in just such emergencies.