41K Still In The Dark In Rhode Island As Storm Subsides

NEWPORT, RI — Much of Rhode Island remained in the dark as the sun set Wednesday evening, with more than 40,000 outages statewide, according to National Grid.

Thursday evening, the number of outages were down by about half from that morning, when more than 90,000 households were without power.

The latest outage numbers, by county, are listed below. Numbers are accurate as of 7 p.m.

• Bristol County: 3,391 outages
• Kent County: 13,417 outages
• Newport County: 3,227 outages
• Providence County: 2,282 outages
• Washington County: 19,354 outages

Washington and Kent Counties had the highest number of outages. Many areas are expected to remain in the dark until at least Thursday morning. See the status of a particular area using National Grid's interactive map.

Report an outage online or by calling 1-800-465-1212.

High Winds

Powerful wind gusts slammed the region overnight, bringing down trees, wires and debris. The highest recorded was Edgartown, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard, which clocked in at 94 mph around 4:30 a.m.

Here in Rhode Island, the highest recorded gust came from the Block Island jetty, recorded at 74 mph around 5:40 a.m.

Inland areas saw high winds overnight as well, with gusts ranging from 40 to 70 mph throughout the overnight and early morning hours.

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority closed the Newport Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges to all traffic starting at 6:15 a.m. due to unsafe wind conditions. The bridges reopened to traffic around 8:45 a.m., with restrictions still in place for school buses, large trucks and other high-profile vehicles.