Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) officials are cautioning customers to be prepared for the possibility of multi-day power outages as a result of the ongoing winter storm.
With up to 15 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 45 mph predicted for higher elevations, customers are being advised to prepare for the possibility of a multi-day outage by having a storm kit -- including a flashlight, battery-operated radio, first aid supplies, important phone numbers, warm clothing and blankets -- ready in case power is out for an extended period. Cell phones and laptop computers should be kept fully charged. Customers who rely on special medical equipment should also make alternative arrangements.
All WMECO line crews are on call, bolstered by the assistance of additional line and tree crews. Overnight crews will be assisting local officials in clearing roads and making the system safe.
The company is also reminding customers to take caution if using a generator. A generator should only be installed by a licensed electrician and should only be operated outdoors.
With downed power lines, a probability due to the heavy snow on trees still beaing leaves, WMECO is urging people to always treat downed wires as live and stay at least 10 feet away.
Anyone needing to report an emergency or power outage, call 877-659-6326.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The perfect storm-be perpared
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — An unusually early and powerful nor'easter dumped wet, heavy snow Saturday from the mid-Atlantic to New England, toppling leafy trees and power lines and knocking out electricity to more than 2 million homes and businesses.
Communities inland were getting hit hardest, with eastern Pennsylvania serving as the bull's-eye for the storm. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles northwest of New York City, had received 15.5 inches of snow by Saturday night, while Plainfield, Mass., had gotten 14.3 inches. New York City's Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches of snow.
More than 2.2 million customers lost power from Maryland north through Massachusetts, and utilities were bringing in crews from other states to help restore it. More than half a million residents in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut were without power, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. By late Saturday, the storm had vacated most of Pennsylvania and was tracking northeast.
Throughout the region, officials had warned that the early storm would bring sticky snow on the heels of the week's warmer weather and could create dangerous conditions. New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies. Connecticut authorities blamed at least one traffic death on the storm.
"It's a little startling. I mean, it's only October," said Craig Brodur, who was playing keno with a friend at Northampton Convenience in western Massachusetts, which had received about 4 inches of snow by Saturday night.
And the storm was expected to worsen as it swept north. The heaviest snowfall was forecast for later in the day into Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas.
Some said that even though they knew a storm was coming, the severity caught them by surprise.
"This is absolutely a lot more snow than I expected to see today. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and it's snowing already," Carole Shepherd of Washington Township, N.J., said after shoveling her driveway.
The storm disrupted travel along the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport all had hourslong delays Saturday. Amtrak suspended service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., and commuter trains in Connecticut and New York were delayed or suspended because of downed trees and signal problems.
Residents were urged to avoid travel altogether. Speed limits were reduced on bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A few roads closed because of accidents and downed trees and power lines, and more were expected, said Sean Brown, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The storm came on a busy weekend for many, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled.
But the snow didn't deter the travel plans of Dave Baker, who's been going to Penn State football games for 45 years and made the 200-mile drive from Warminster, outside Philadelphia. He merely adjusted his packing list: Out went the breakfast fixings — his group ate early at a restaurant rather than at the tailgate — in stayed the burgers and hot dogs. And the cold came in handy.
"I didn't have to buy as much ice for the beer," he said.
Elsewhere outside the stadium, 11-year-old Cody Carnes of Pittsburgh made a large snowball as he sweated underneath five layers of clothes — a rain slicker, coat, sweatshirt, T-shirt and thermal. Another fan wore a foam Donkey Kong costume headpiece as he walked to a tailgate.
"It keeps my head nice and warm," explained Matt Langston, 25, a graduate student from Harrisburg.
In eastern Pennsylvania, snow caused widespread problems. It toppled trees and a few power lines and led to minor traffic accidents, according to dispatchers. Allentown, expected to get 4 to 8 inches, is likely to break the city's October record of 2.2 inches set on Halloween in 1925.
Philadelphia was seeing mostly rain, but what snow fell coated downtown roofs in white. The city was expected to get 1 to 3 inches, its first measurable October snow since 1979, with a bit more in some suburbs, meteorologist Mitchell Gaines said.
The last major widespread snowstorm to hit Pennsylvania this early was in 1972, said John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College.
Southern New Jersey was soaked with heavy rains and winds that ranged from 20 to 35 mph, while northern communities awaited the arrival of 5 to 10 inches of snow. Jersey Central Power & Light, which was heavily criticized for being too slow to restore power following Hurricane Irene, had hundreds of workers set to be deployed.
Parts of New York saw a mix of snow, rain and slush that made for sheer misery at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, where drenched protesters hunkered down in tents and under tarps as the plaza filled with rainwater and melted snow.
Technically, tents are banned in the park, but protesters say authorities have been looking the other way, even despite a crackdown on generators that were keeping them warm.
"I want to thank the New York Police Department," said 32-year-old protester Sam McBee, decked out in a yellow slicker and rain pants. "We're not supposed to have tents. We're not supposed to have sleeping bags. You go to Atlanta, they don't have it. You go to Oakland, you don't have it. And we got it."
Communities inland were getting hit hardest, with eastern Pennsylvania serving as the bull's-eye for the storm. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles northwest of New York City, had received 15.5 inches of snow by Saturday night, while Plainfield, Mass., had gotten 14.3 inches. New York City's Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches of snow.
More than 2.2 million customers lost power from Maryland north through Massachusetts, and utilities were bringing in crews from other states to help restore it. More than half a million residents in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut were without power, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. By late Saturday, the storm had vacated most of Pennsylvania and was tracking northeast.
Throughout the region, officials had warned that the early storm would bring sticky snow on the heels of the week's warmer weather and could create dangerous conditions. New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies. Connecticut authorities blamed at least one traffic death on the storm.
"It's a little startling. I mean, it's only October," said Craig Brodur, who was playing keno with a friend at Northampton Convenience in western Massachusetts, which had received about 4 inches of snow by Saturday night.
And the storm was expected to worsen as it swept north. The heaviest snowfall was forecast for later in the day into Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas.
Some said that even though they knew a storm was coming, the severity caught them by surprise.
"This is absolutely a lot more snow than I expected to see today. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and it's snowing already," Carole Shepherd of Washington Township, N.J., said after shoveling her driveway.
The storm disrupted travel along the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport all had hourslong delays Saturday. Amtrak suspended service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., and commuter trains in Connecticut and New York were delayed or suspended because of downed trees and signal problems.
Residents were urged to avoid travel altogether. Speed limits were reduced on bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A few roads closed because of accidents and downed trees and power lines, and more were expected, said Sean Brown, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The storm came on a busy weekend for many, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled.
But the snow didn't deter the travel plans of Dave Baker, who's been going to Penn State football games for 45 years and made the 200-mile drive from Warminster, outside Philadelphia. He merely adjusted his packing list: Out went the breakfast fixings — his group ate early at a restaurant rather than at the tailgate — in stayed the burgers and hot dogs. And the cold came in handy.
"I didn't have to buy as much ice for the beer," he said.
Elsewhere outside the stadium, 11-year-old Cody Carnes of Pittsburgh made a large snowball as he sweated underneath five layers of clothes — a rain slicker, coat, sweatshirt, T-shirt and thermal. Another fan wore a foam Donkey Kong costume headpiece as he walked to a tailgate.
"It keeps my head nice and warm," explained Matt Langston, 25, a graduate student from Harrisburg.
In eastern Pennsylvania, snow caused widespread problems. It toppled trees and a few power lines and led to minor traffic accidents, according to dispatchers. Allentown, expected to get 4 to 8 inches, is likely to break the city's October record of 2.2 inches set on Halloween in 1925.
Philadelphia was seeing mostly rain, but what snow fell coated downtown roofs in white. The city was expected to get 1 to 3 inches, its first measurable October snow since 1979, with a bit more in some suburbs, meteorologist Mitchell Gaines said.
The last major widespread snowstorm to hit Pennsylvania this early was in 1972, said John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College.
Southern New Jersey was soaked with heavy rains and winds that ranged from 20 to 35 mph, while northern communities awaited the arrival of 5 to 10 inches of snow. Jersey Central Power & Light, which was heavily criticized for being too slow to restore power following Hurricane Irene, had hundreds of workers set to be deployed.
Parts of New York saw a mix of snow, rain and slush that made for sheer misery at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, where drenched protesters hunkered down in tents and under tarps as the plaza filled with rainwater and melted snow.
Technically, tents are banned in the park, but protesters say authorities have been looking the other way, even despite a crackdown on generators that were keeping them warm.
"I want to thank the New York Police Department," said 32-year-old protester Sam McBee, decked out in a yellow slicker and rain pants. "We're not supposed to have tents. We're not supposed to have sleeping bags. You go to Atlanta, they don't have it. You go to Oakland, you don't have it. And we got it."
Friday, October 28, 2011
Businesses move to mexcio
Whirlpool Corp. says it will cut 5,000 jobs as it faces soft demand and higher costs for materials.
POSTED: 5:36 am CDT October 28, 2011
UPDATED: 5:38 am CDT October 28, 2011
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0 comments
Whirlpool move to mexico
This should be illegal
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. says it will cut 5,000 jobs in an effort as it faces soft demand and higher costs for materials.
The jobs to be cut are mostly in North America and Europe. They include 1,200 salaried positions and the closing of the company's Fort Smith, Ark., plant.
The company expects the moves will save $400 million by the end of 2013.
Whirlpool also says its third-quarter net income more than doubled to $177 million, or $2.27 per share, from $79 million, or $1.02 per share. Adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share fell short of analyst expectations for $2.75 per share.
The company, whose brands include Maytag and KitchenAid, has been squeezed by higher costs for materials such as steel and copper.
U.S. is becoming a 3rd world economy
Read more: http://www.4029tv.com/news/29611610/detail.html#ixzz1cAe44d5H
POSTED: 5:36 am CDT October 28, 2011
UPDATED: 5:38 am CDT October 28, 2011
Email Print
0 comments
Whirlpool move to mexico
This should be illegal
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. says it will cut 5,000 jobs in an effort as it faces soft demand and higher costs for materials.
The jobs to be cut are mostly in North America and Europe. They include 1,200 salaried positions and the closing of the company's Fort Smith, Ark., plant.
The company expects the moves will save $400 million by the end of 2013.
Whirlpool also says its third-quarter net income more than doubled to $177 million, or $2.27 per share, from $79 million, or $1.02 per share. Adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share fell short of analyst expectations for $2.75 per share.
The company, whose brands include Maytag and KitchenAid, has been squeezed by higher costs for materials such as steel and copper.
U.S. is becoming a 3rd world economy
Read more: http://www.4029tv.com/news/29611610/detail.html#ixzz1cAe44d5H
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