Power restored in Lincoln after storms
UPDATE, 6:50 p.m. — OPPD says it is down to 3,800 outages.
UPDATE, 5:15 p.m. — The Omaha Public Power District reports that 5,445 customers remain without power.
That’s down from more than 42,000 Wednesday morning.
In Lincoln, only 18 LES customers are still in the dark.
UPDATE, 11:30 a.m. — Animals could make good use of the storm damage you’re cleaning up after Wednesday morning’s wild weather in Nebraska.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium says its herbivores would love to help you out with any branches lying around.
Just complete a form under Community Donations at this webpage.
You also need to be willing to drop your donations off at the zoo.
Trees cannot have been treated with any insecticides or herbicides.
They also shouldn’t have been dead, dying, diseased or infested with any pests.
UPDATE, 10:20 a.m. — LES says many of the outages that have taken the longest to clear were caused by downed tree limbs Wednesday morning.
Officials said they need assistance from tree crews before power can be restored.
Seventy-six customers were still waiting for power to be restored as of the latest update. Some of them have been offline since 6:33 a.m.
OPPD is still busy as well. It’s gotten down to 31,664 outages.
UPDATE, 9:55 a.m. — LES crews have managed to restore power to all but 100 customers after Wednesday’s storm.
Right now, there are 60 outages around South 44th and M Streets.
Twenty-four customers are still waiting to get their power back near South 16th and Arapahoe Streets.
And Waverly is reporting 16 outages as well.
UPDATE, 9:05 a.m. — More damage reports coming from the National Weather Service include a roof that was blown off.
That happened in Cuming County, which also had a report of power poles being snapped in two.
Over in Sarpy County, powerlines were knocked down and sparking Wednesday morning.
Here in Lincoln, part of 33rd Street is closed down after a branch blocked the road between M and L Streets.
LES says there are still about 2,200 outages. There are also nearly 275 outages in Waverly.
OPPD crews have brought the outages there down to around 37,000.
UPDATE, 8:30 a.m. — LES is telling the thousands of customers waiting for power to return that it’s normal for crews to leave the area before you’re back up and running.
It says they may need to go to another location to isolate the problem and switch you to another source.
The National Weather Service is also sharing reports from across the state. They include widespread tree damage in Fort Calhoun.
There’s also a report of an 82 mph wind gust in Dodge County. Lincoln Airport appears to have topped out at 60 mph around 6:30 a.m.
NWS has several baseball-sized hail reports as well. It came down around midnight near Hazard and Ravenna.
UPDATE, 7:45 a.m. — Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management is reminding drivers to treat signals that aren’t working as a four-way stop.
The reminder comes after Wednesday morning’s heavy wind, which led to tens of thousands of power outages across Nebraska.
LES, which says around 2,200 customers are in the dark, is asking everyone to report outages here.
OPPD says more than 42,000 of its customers are currently affected.
UPDATE, 7:10 a.m. — LES is now reporting around 2,200 outages as severe weather slams Nebraska this Wednesday.
Officials say crews have been dispatched to the area between 20th and 33rd Streets, from Van Dorn Street to Nebraska Parkway.
OPPD has seen an even bigger increase in outages. It says more than 40,000 customers are in the dark.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Lincoln Electric System is reporting more than 1,700 power outages as heavy wind pounds Lincoln on Wednesday morning.
The first outages were reported around 6:30 a.m. near Nebraska Parkway and Southwood Drive.
But the situation is a lot more widespread northeast of Lincoln.
The Omaha Public Power District is reporting nearly 30,000 outages as of 6:50 a.m.
Most of those are in Douglas and Washington counties.
Stay with Channel 8 online and on air for weather updates throughout the day.
