Associated Press
Thousands of people waited for their electricity to be restored Saturday in the aftermath of a snow and ice storm blamed for at least 22 deaths.
The storm had blown far out to sea by Saturday, leaving a trail of broken tree limbs and snowbanks from Oklahoma to Maine.
Among those still without electricity from Oklahoma to upstate New York were more than 115,000 customers in Michigan, and several thousand of them might not regain power until Monday, utility officials said. Oklahoma state emergency officials estimated the number of customers still in the dark Saturday at 149,000.
Bill Dowling, executive vice president of Kansas City Power and Light, said he expected repair crews there to work into the new week.
"This is the most devastating storm we’ve ever experienced in our 120-year history," he said. "We plead for patience."
Some 76,000 customers were still blacked out Saturday in New York state, where power lines were snapped by a combination of ice and wind gusting to 71 mph.
The storm was blamed for four deaths each in Oklahoma, Michigan and Illinois; three in Nebraska; two each in Kansas, Iowa and New York; and one in Missouri.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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