Powerful Windstorm Causes Damages, Power Outages in Hudson Valley
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. — The Hudson Valley may be used to dealing with snow during the winter, but last week the community experienced a truly unprecedented weather phenomenon. From the night of Sunday, Feb. 24 to the morning of Monday, Feb. 25, Hudson Valley residents were in the midst of a powerful windstorm.
Power companies including Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. and New York State Electric and Gas warned residents of the storm and urged them to take precaution. The companies advised customers to prepare at home by following up to date weather advisories, have a flashlight and charged batteries available, and keep an adequate supply of bottled water and canned food. They also advised residents to install a working carbon monoxide detector, to avoid heating homes with a natural gas or propane stove, and to keep at least 30 feet away from fallen wires.
The vicious wind gusts during the storm reached over 50 mph. Thousands of Hudson Valley homes were without power for much of Monday due to fallen power lines. According to Central Hudson’s twitter page, approximately 28,000 customers were affected by the wind storm. However, nearly all affected Central Hudson Customers had their power restored by the end of the day.
Power outages were not the only damages that resulted from the storm. The winds were so strong that they managed to partially rip off the copper roof of an East Fishkill firehouse. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of the incident. In fact, according to the department, Hopewell Hose Fire Company №1 was able to continue responding to calls.
“Though our roof may be falling off we’re still out running calls and ready for anything that may come our way,” the department said on Facebook.
Captain of Hopewell Hose Fire Company №1 Bryan Conti praised the company’s ability to stay on task despite the incident. “It was definitely bizarre. We were all very shocked,” said Conti. “But our group recognizes the importance of our job and wouldn’t let the roof get in the way of responding to calls.”
Ryan Syslo, First Lieutenant of the company, also gave credit to the company’s ability to continue to work in spite of the damage to the roof. “We are very fortunate nobody was hurt from this,” Syslo said. “It was a pretty scary moment, but everybody in the company continued to do their job. It says a lot about our group and what we do.”
The roof was inspected on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 26 and repair work has now begun.
