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Storm Watch: As Remnants of Nicole Near, O&R’s Ready to Repair Storm Damage

  • Orange and Rockland Media Relations

  • Pearl River – November 10, 2022 -- 01:00 PM

Orange & Rockland is prepared to repair possible storm damage and restore electric service outages as needed in response to the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole, with their high winds and heavy rain, drawing closer to the region today.

O&R company and contractor overhead line crews and tree removal experts, customer service operations and the other O&R emergency response teams will be activated and deployed Friday. They will be joined by mutual aid overhead line contractors.

O&R Warns

For safety’s sake, O&R warns the public not to touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also consider calling your local police to divert traffic from the downed wire’s location until an O&R crew arrives.

Weather Forecast

Temperatures rebound into the lower 60s today while clouds will increase tonight well ahead of Nicole. Light to moderate rain showers are expected to develop across the area Friday afternoon as Nicole’s remnants stream northward.

  • Rain is forecasted to become moderate to heavy at times 7 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday as Nicole’s remnants merge with a cold front to the west.
  • Approximately 0.75 of an inch to 2.50 inches of rain is likely across the area with isolated higher amounts possible.
  • Isolated thunderstorms are also possible 7 p.m. Friday through 3 a.m. Saturday with a low chance for them becoming severe during this timeframe.
  • Widespread strong gusty winds are likely 8 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday, especially closer to the coast.
  • Showers are due to end by late morning Saturday and clouds are expected to decrease into the afternoon.

TROPICAL UPDATE

Nicole made landfall in Florida last night as a hurricane and is currently located about 30 miles southwest of Orlando, FL. This system is expected to continue weakening while tracking northwest through Florida then north into Georgia tonight. It’s expected to dissipate Friday over the southeast US while being absorbed by a cold front.

Nicole’s remnants will then interact with a cold front and low-pressure system while tracking up the coast Friday into Saturday. Confidence is high Nicole’s remnants will bring moderate to heavy rainfall and strong gusty winds to the area Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. But, tropical storm force winds are no longer a concern for our area.

How to Report an Outage

If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it. You can report it and check to see when your lights will be back on through:

  • At www.oru.com/ReportOutage from any computer or web-based mobile device.
  • O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device --- download via Apple Store or Google Play.
  • Text messaging by texting “OUT” to 69678 (myORU) or
  • Call 1-877-434-4100.

For the latest information about power outages, please view O&R’s Outage Map.

For a brief video that provides a step-by-step guide to the Outage Map’s basic operation:

Restoring Service

Once the weather clears enough to safely assess damage and begin electric service restoration, O&R crews will give priority to clearing downed wires blocking roads and making repairs to critical and emergency facilities (police and fire stations, and hospitals, for example) and to those locations where the repair will provide power to the largest number of customers as quickly as possible. Then, crews will restore smaller outages and individual customers’ outages.

Important Safety Tips

  • For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.
  • Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash or otherwise secure.
  • If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.
  • Pole-top transformers --- those small grey-colored metal drums attached to the wires at the tops of most utility poles --- also should be avoided when they have been knocked to the ground.
  • Portable generators pose a serious hazard if used improperly. They should be used and installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A wrong connection could feed electricity back through the lines and endanger our repair crews. Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.
  • Have emergency equipment within reach --- portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.
  • Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.

About O&R

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, is a regulated utility. O&R provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange & Rockland) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company) and natural gas service to approximately 130,000 customers in New York.

O&R’s Customers

O&R serves the following communities in New York: Airmont, Bloomingburg, Blooming Grove, Chester Town, Chester Village, Chestnut Ridge, Clarkstown, Crawford, Deerpark, Florida, Forestburgh, Goshen Town, Goshen Village, Grand View, Greenwood Lake, Greenville, Harriman, Haverstraw Town, Haverstraw Village, Highland Falls, Highlands, Hillburn, Kaser, Kiryas Joel, Lumberland, Mamakating, Middletown, Minisink, Monroe Town, Monroe Village, Montebello, Mount Hope, New Hempstead, New Square, Nyack, Orangetown, Otisville, Palm Tree, Piermont, Pomona, Port Jervis, Ramapo, Sloatsburg, South Blooming Grove, South Nyack, Spring Valley, Stony Point, Suffern, Tuxedo Town, Tuxedo Park, Unionville, Upper Nyack, Wesley Hills, Wallkill, Warwick Town, Warwick Village, Washingtonville, Wawayanda, West Haverstraw, Woodbury, Woodbury Village, Wurtsboro.

O&R, as Rockland Electric Company, serves the following communities in New Jersey: Allendale, Alpine, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Franklin Lakes, Harrington Park, Mahwah, Haworth (part), Montague, Montvale, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan (part), Ramsey, Ringwood, Rivervale (part), Rockleigh, Saddle River (part), Upper Saddle River, Wantage (part), Vernon (part), West Milford (part), Wyckoff (part).