Severe thunderstorms led to widespread power outages across parts of the upper Midwest, Northeast, and southern Ontario, Canada. The outages occurred as the region endured sweltering temperatures late Friday night.
According to PowerOutage.com, approximately 1 million customers lost power from Illinois to New York and Ontario. Many outages were attributed to downed power lines.
Authorities issued urgent safety warnings due to the combination of extreme heat and power interruptions. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised residents without electricity to seek refuge in overnight cooling centers. Con Edison, serving most of New York City, reported power losses for thousands across the city and in Westchester County. The company attributed the outages to thunderstorms, which further strained the electric grid amidst the ongoing heat.
New Jersey experienced significant outages in its northern and central counties. Governor Mikie Sherrill urged residents to steer clear of fallen power lines. NJ Transit reported disruptions to several train lines due to the storms.
In Warren Township, New Jersey, authorities warned of potentially prolonged outages, citing widespread damage. Utility crews were on site; however, they anticipated lengthy restoration efforts.
The small borough of Alburtis in eastern Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency. Significant wind damage resulted in downed trees and power lines, prompting local fire departments to work on restoring power.
Michigan’s two largest utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, deployed crews to address power outages. They expected 95 percent of customers would have power restored by the end of Monday.
In northern Ohio, fire departments in Hambden and Chardon responded to numerous emergency calls involving downed power lines and trees.
Tennessee also faced severe storm-related outages, according to utility EPB.
In Ontario, Canada, thousands experienced power cuts. Essex Powerlines and Hydro One reported ongoing efforts to address the extensive damage from thunderstorms earlier in the week.