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30K NY Utility Customers Without Power After Severe Storms

WAMC photo by Dave Lucas
Half a tree brought down by lightning in the city of Albany, May 18, 2017.

More than 30,000 utility customers in eastern New York lost electricity after severe thunderstorms packing high winds knocked down trees and power lines across the region.

Thursday evening's storms also brought heavy rain, hail and numerous lightning strikes to some areas. Most of the outages Friday morning were in Rensselaer, Albany, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.

Several homes in the Albany area were damaged by falling trees.

Many school districts without electric service cancelled classes.

National Grid’s website says it's assessing storm damage with no estimated time of power restoration is available for those areas most severely affected..

© 2017 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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