Storms rob 1.4-million of power

Utility companies continued working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers Friday night after heavy wind and rain hit the East and Midwest. The powerful gusts were expected to calm by today.

At least eight people have died in the storms since Wednesday, including three motorists hit by falling trees.

More than 1.4-million customers lost power, and by Friday evening, lights were still out for about 260,000, including nearly 79,000 in Pennsylvania.

Most utilities expected to return to full power by today, but some hard-hit areas of western New York may be without power until early next week as crews untangle trees from lines and make repairs.

The winds that had gusted to more than 70 mph Thursday died down somewhat, but gusts as high as 45 mph swept over some areas Friday. The National Weather Service predicted calmer winds today.

Throughout the region, downed trees and power lines littered roads and yards. Schools were closed Friday in a few spots.

Besides the outages in Pennsylvania, power remained out Friday for about 21,000 customers in Michigan, 8,700 in Ohio, 480 in West Virginia, 61,000 in New York, 3,800 in Vermont, 500 in New Hampshire, 27,000 in Maine, 7,500 in Massachusetts, 7,000 in Connecticut, 11,000 in New Jersey and 33,000 in Maryland and Delaware.

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