AES crews are working around the clock to restore power to the area, AES spokeswoman Mary Ann Kabel said Sunday.
“We have 600 people working on restoration efforts, (including) 227 line crews and storm team members, 50 tree crews, and 60 out-of-state support crews,” Kabel said.
The total number of customers without power during this storm peaked at 125,000 on Saturday, Kabel said. As of Sunday afternoon, over 80% of outages have been restored.
Ongoing rain and ground saturation has slowed restoration efforts slightly, Kabel said, noting falling tree limbs and debris may lead to further outages in some cases.
Crews can not remove debris during restoration efforts, and Kabel recommended customers check within their communities for offerings of free debris removal and/or pick up.
AES is estimating all remaining outages to be restored by Monday evening, Sept. 30.
Several thousand customers in Butler and Warren counties remain with power, according to Duke Energy.
As of 11:30 a.m. today, Duke Energy OH/KY’s crews restored power for more than 100,000 customers in the Greater Cincinnati region, while nearly 21,000 continue to experience outages as a result of Hurricane Helene.
More than 1,000 customers in the Middletown and Monroe areas have been without electricity since Friday night, according to Duke’s outage map.
The Hamilton area has less than 100 homes without power provided by Duke Energy.
A large area between Lebanon and Mason in Warren County is still without power, according to the Duke map.
With a significant number of lineworkers, tree trimmers and other support personnel on the ground working to restore service – the company expects nearly all customers to be restored by tonight. The company will communicate estimated times for restoration directly with any customers who, due to extensive damage in their area, may not be restored tonight.
“Despite the challenging conditions throughout this storm, our crews continue to make very steady progress on restoration,” said Clint Carnahan, Duke Energy Midwest storm director. “I want our customers to know we will continue working until every customer is restored.”
“We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work through this challenging storm response. Our crews have been out around the clock in challenging and variable conditions and continue to make excellent progress,” said Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky President Amy Spiller. “We have a full complement of crews out in the field – with additional resources that have arrived from other states – that are working and fully engaged to restore power today.”
Weather this week
The remains of Helene will push east of the region Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. The region will then be in-between systems Monday night into Tuesday morning. There will still be low level moisture in place.
Precipitation chances will be in place on Tuesday into Tuesday night, especially Tuesday evening, as a system quickly moves through the region bringing with it cooler air to the region. By Wednesday morning western portions of the region will have dropped into the 40s. Highs on Wednesday will range from the upper 60s to lower 70s, according to the NWS.
How it started
Hurricane Helene killed and destroyed far and wide — from Tampa to Atlanta to Asheville, North Carolina, its high winds, heavy rains and sheer size created a perfect mix for devastation.
The storm made landfall late Thursday along a largely undeveloped expanse of pine trees and salt marshes on Florida’s Big Bend coast, but it immediately displayed its far-reaching power several hundred miles away. As of Sunday morning, at least 64 people were confirmed killed.
Tampa Bay was inundated with a massive storm surge that sent water up to people’s attics. Atlanta got more than 11 inches of rain, more than any 48-hour period in recorded history. So many trees were toppled in South Carolina that at one point more than 40 percent of the state lost electricity. In North Carolina, dams were in jeopardy of failing and entire communities are cut off by floods. Floodwaters submerged a hospital in Tennessee so quickly that more than 50 patients had to be rescued from the roof via helicopter.
How did a single storm unleash destruction so far away?
Dan Brown, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center near Miami, said Helene had all the attributes that make a storm widely destructive.
It was large, about 350 miles (560 kilometers) wide. It was strong, with winds reaching 140 mph (225 kph) when it made landfall late Thursday, creating widespread storm surge. It carried heavy rains. And it was fast, speeding north at up to 24 mph (39 kph) offshore and 30 mph (48 kph) inland.
He compared the geographic scale of Helene’s destruction to 1972′s Hurricane Agnes, 1989′s Hurricane Hugo and 2004′s Hurricane Ivan.
“Systems that get very powerful, large and fast moving unfortunately do bring the potential for impact and damage well inland,” Brown said Saturday.
Aftermath
Many areas have felt the effects of Hurricane Helene along the East Coast and the Midwest including here in Ohio from Montgomery County to Clark County to Butler County with very gusty winds and heavy rain that lead to fallen debris and downed trees.
Multiple agencies and police departments over the weekend warned residents to watch out for brush from the storm while traveling, gave tips and resources on what to do if power was out and directed residents to call their local electric company for further information.
On Saturday, the West Carrollton Police Department posted on Facebook of how an owner/employee of Homeland Home Repair and Remodeling assisted with clearing tree limbs along the jurisdiction line of Miamisburg and West Carrollton.
“I was dispatched to a downed tree during the storm that was completely blocking Central Ave at the jurisdiction line with Miamisburg. It was a big tree,” Derek Dillman, a police officer for the West Carrollton Police Department, said. “When I get there, this guy was pulled off to the side with his trailer, had a sawzall and was cutting the branches of this tree to get it clear. He was by himself, getting soaked, doing it on his own to help his community.”
Dillman said within the post that he told the man the street department was on its way. “He acknowledged me and continued to work,” he added. “It took the street department a long while to get there because they were tied up with other trees.”
“He had most of the limbs cleared by the time the street department showed up to move the main trunk of the tree,” Dillman continued within the post. “After helping clear that tree, he then went and cleared another tree blocking traffic into West Carrollton, just across the jurisdiction line in Miamisburg.”
Community events like the Ohio Renaissance Festival are opened for the day after announcing a temporary closure yesterday from power outages due to the storm Friday.
King’s Island reopened Saturday after they closed Friday to prepare against the storms and showers.
The Oktoberfest by the Dayton Art Instiutite reopened at noon on Saturday and will be open again from 12 to 7 p.m. Sunday for drinks, food and activities.
Restaurants like The Blue Berry Cafe at their Kettering and Bellbrook locations offered a free take out breakfast and cup of Boston Stoker Coffee to any lineman, fireman and rescue or police officers as a “thank you” for their work in assisting during and after the storm. If someone wasn’t in uniform, a form of identification was required.
Some areas such as the City of Centerville will provide a one-time drop-off for residents brush from the storm throughout the week of Oct. 7. The City of Miamisburg will sends out crews to collect debris from the storm beginning Monday as well.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.