Outage map showing fewer than 30,000 without power
As of 9:45 p.m., City Utilities’ online outage map was showing some improvement, with the number of reported customers without power sitting at about 29,700 as crews made repairs. In an email at about the same time, the utility put the number of outages at 31,000 and said all available crews are working, with additional mutual aid and contract crews expected to arrive tonight and throughout the day Monday, June 30.
8:15 p.m. update: CU says 37,000 customers without power, with number expected to rise
Springfield City Utilities sent an email update at 8:15 p.m. saying that 37,000 customers were without power after the Sunday, June 29 storm, with that number expected to grow as more outages are reported.
“CU crews are actively assessing damage and restoring power,” the utility said in the statement. “We’ve also requested mutual assistance to help speed up restoration efforts. Restoration times may be extended and this will be a multi-day event for some. All available resources will be mobilized to respond.”
CU asked residents to report outages by calling (888) 863-9001 to ensure addresses are included in restoration efforts.
The utility also warned to avoid downed power lines, which pose a serious safety risk. “Always assume they are energized,” CU’s statement said. “Stay far away and report them immediately to (417) 863-9000 — this number is for emergency and downed line reports only. Do not call to report an outage.”
Public safety, other efforts
Soon after the CU update, the City of Springfield released a statement that included updates about public safety, road and park activity (bold added for clarity):
“The Springfield Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department are responding to calls for service including traffic control, reports of downed trees and power lines across roadways as well as reports of downed trees and power lines on structures
“Traffic lights throughout the city may be impacted by significant power outages. If a traffic signal is dark or flashing, remember to treat the intersection as a four-way stop. Please travel slowly and use caution.
“Springfield Public Works has mobilized and is currently assessing damage and clearing trees and debris from blocked roadways. To report debris in the roadway, call 417-864-1010 or email city@springfieldmo.gov.
“Springfield Greene County 911 telecommunicators are experiencing a high volume of calls. Some calls are rolling over to Jasper County Emergency Services, Joplin 911, and other surrounding jurisdictions.
“To help telecommunicators prioritize storm-related calls, 911 should be reserved for life-threatening situations like being trapped in a home or vehicle, power lines are down and are smoking, sparking or on fire, there is a medical emergency, or the power is out and someone in the home is on oxygen therapy.
“The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management is partially activated and currently assessing storm damage in the community. …
“Park Board operations crews are currently assessing storm damage in parks, which appears to be mostly south of Grand Street. Ray Kelley Park has significant tree damage. Limbs are down at Sequiota and Phelps Grove Park. The Park Board advises the public to stay away from downed limbs, trees, or power lines, and use caution on the greenway trails, which may have debris or mud on the trails.”
60-80 mph winds recorded during 5 p.m. storm
As of 8 p.m., Springfield City Utilities’ outage map was showing about 37,500 customers without power. CU had not yet released further information about a timeline for restoration efforts.
Springfield and surrounding areas were suffering significant power outages again following an early evening storm Sunday, June 29, that brought high winds that downed trees and power lines and damaged roofs.
The National Weather Service in Springfield said that wind speeds were recorded between 60 and 80 miles per hour. City Utilities’ outage map was plagued by technical difficulties in the hours after the storm struck but as of 7 p.m. was showing more than 33,000 customers without power.
Due to storm damage and rainfall, people are encouraged to stay off the roads if possible, said Jason Schaumann, a meteorologist with Springfield’s National Weather Service office. In addition to the danger of downed powerlines, standing water from the rain increases risk of electrocution as well as flash flooding.
With the evening approaching, “the dangers of flash flooding after dark increase significantly because sometimes it’s hard to see water over the roads until it’s too late,” Schaumann explained.
“Ideally, if you don’t have to travel, don’t (travel), because we’ve got a lot of power utility crews out there right now, firefighters that are trying to clear debris off roadways,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult to navigate anyway with all those downed trees, so ideally, don’t travel tonight and if you do, be extra safe.”
The thunderstorms were projected to be pushing into northern Arkansas by about 6:45 p.m., with most of southern Missouri out of the severe weather threat. However, the threat will continue longer for other areas.
“If you’re roughly from Bull Shoals Lake west, the threat’s ending (by around 6:45 p.m.),” Schaumann said. “If you’re east of there, along the Highway 60 corridor, it’s going to be through about 8 o’clock or so until the threat ends.”
This is the second time this year that City Utilities customers have encountered power outages. According to Schaumann, the initial areas affected by the severe weather this time were similar to those affected at the end of April.
“It kind of started out the same way with the track, but then spread out and went a little bit further south this time, because we’re getting a lot of wind damage reports from Republic to Battlefield, through southern Springfield,” Schaumann said.
He said that there were no tornadoes reported during this weather event.
A severe thunderstorm watch and flood advisory remained active in the area in the wake of high winds that struck about 5 p.m. City Utilities reported on its Facebook page that power outages were causing technical difficulties with its outage map, but at about 6:15 p.m. the map briefly was working again, showing more than 10,600 customers without power, stretching across the utility’s coverage area. Shortly after 7 p.m., the map showed more than 33,000 customers without power.
More: See outages in Greene County and surrounding areas of the Ozarks
Anyone affected is asked to report outages by calling 888-863-9001.
In addition, be careful to avoid any downed power lines and trees that could conceal downed wires.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Significant power outages across Springfield in wake of high winds
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