What Did Your Neighborhood Look Like After The Storm?

As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, CL&P was reporting that there were still about 19 customers in Madison still without power. That was down from about 323 people were left without power from about 10 p.m. Tuesday night, with some reporting the power coming back on early Wednesday.

Statewide, about 18,204 customers were still without power early Wednesday, or about 1 percent of CL&P's 1.2 million customers statewide. As of Wednesday night, that number was down to 2,998 statewide.CL&P reported on its Twitter feed, at CL&P ‏@CTLightandPower that "We’re working on numerous, complex repairs… each affecting a relatively small # of customers. This is painstaking  work that takes time ... Crews have restored power to 85% of customers affected by storms. Around the clock restoration continues for remaining [customers] without power."

Madison's emergency responders and volunteer firefighters were out at the height of the storm Tuesday night, responding to reports of wires down around town.

Metro-North said the storm left trains struggling to reach their stations on time:

As yesterday's storm moved through the region, it caused damage resulting in extensive delays on all three lines.  A total of 20 trees were either blocking tracks or wrapped in overhead wires during the storm. The downed trees on each line forced us to reroute trains or operate on fewer tracks. For the entire evening, we were cautious to operate safely during the inclement weather, and our trains began to experience "slippery rail." As a result, speed restrictions were enacted throughout the territory. These conditions are created by a slimy substance left by crushed leaves on our rails, which get even more slippery after it rains. As our trains attempt to speed up or slow down, the wheels slip and slide along the rails. In severe cases, the train will automatically make an emergency stop because the on-board computer system perceives "slip-sliding" as excessive speed. This slip-sliding and braking can also create flat spots on the train's wheels, forcing us to take much-needed equipment out of service for repairs. Reducing speed helps combat this problem. However, trains could only operate at a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour throughout the territory, slowing your commute. Storm-related problems began at approximately 2 PM, when a tree was knocked down, blocking three of four tracks just north of Fordham Station. This created major congestion on the New Haven and Harlem lines.

Incidents by line included:

On the New Haven Line: Adding to the delays was the fact that power was knocked out to sections of the overhead wire, caused, in part, by tree limbs entangled in the wires from Mount Vernon East to Cos Cob. Again, this took tracks out of service. Throughout the entire evening, several more trees fell at various locations along the line. Crews were dispatched from Stamford to patrol the tracks, removing downed trees as they found them. Downed trees also caused delays on the Danbury and New Canaan branches.

At the Surf Club, the storm left a bit of a mess as well, bringing down tree limbs and toppling a few boats.

How do things look in your neighborhood? If you have pictures, share them with us.

Thanks to Michael Hafford for the pictures of the Surf Club, taken on his early morning walk, and to Ed Brunt for the pictures of Island Avenue.

Here's the forecast from the National Weather Service for the rest of the week:

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 70. North wind 11 to 15 mph.
Wednesday night: Clear, with a low around 45. North wind around 8 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Northeast wind 7 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 72. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.