8% of Bethany Without Power [Updated]

Update as of 9:55 p.m. on July 26

Right now, 8% of Bethany residents are without power, according to CL&P. That percentage is 196 of the utility's 2,307 customers in town. Woodbridge is still in the clear, UI reports.

Update as of 8:35 p.m. on July 26

Route 42 in Bethany, between Oak Ridge Road and Route 69, is closed due to power lines down in the roadway, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The estimated time to clear the road is six hours or less, the DOT reports.

There are no outages reported in Woodbridge, according to UI.

The original report follows:

The latest weather forecast calls for a lot of rain and severe thunderstorms throughout Connecticut this evening, but the most problematic possibility for the utility companies is strong wind.

“The rain is not as much concern as the rains when they exceed 40 mph,” said Michael West, director of communications at United Illuminating (UI). “That starts to pose some different challenges.”

West says the company has been tracking the latest forecasts with “eyes open and our ears to the ground” to see how hard the storm might hit Connecticut.

The latest forecast from the National Weather Service warns that the worst of the weather will be before 11 p.m. According to their forecast, “Some storms could be severe, with large hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain” totaling up to an inch.

At Connecticut Light & Power, a spokesperson said, “It’s all hands on deck.”

“It will be a very strong, very quick-moving storm,” said Mitch Gross. “There’s potential for damage throughout the state. We’re preparing to be very busy later this evening.”

He doesn’t know the severity of the weather, but, he said, “We’re preparing all our people, all our processes, all our equipment, all our everything.”

CL&P customers can report outages by calling 800-286-2000. UI customers can call 1-800-7-CALL-UI (1-800-722-5584).