Midamerican Gives Storm Update, What to Do About Downed Power Lines

MidAmerican Energy calls the 14.7-inch snowfall recorded at the Quad Cities International Airport “astonishing” in a news release update issued late Friday.

That snowfall adds to the roughly 10” that accumulated on Tuesday, the release says. “The area is now experiencing blizzard conditions, including blowing and drifting roads, and we can expect temperatures and wind chills to fall to dangerous levels over the next several days.”

The wet, heavy snow accumulating on power lines and tree limbs has created some system issues, according to the release. At 10 p.m. Friday, MidAmerican projected that about 900 customers were without power in the Quad Cities area, which was down from 2,700 customers at 9 p.m.

MidAmerican has more than 100 crew members working to restore outages, “but the work is challenging and time-consuming,” the update says. “Simply traveling to the locations where the system is impacted is difficult due to road conditions. The forecast continues to include increasing winds, which will make restoration even more difficult and result in the potential for additional outages to occur.”

Given the dangerous temperatures and extreme weather conditions, if customers are without power, “We encourage them to consider seeking shelter with friends or family or at nearby hotels,” the release says.

“Our crews, along with outside line and tree crews that we called in for assistance, will work through the night to restore service as quickly and as safely as possible for existing outages and will continue to respond to any new outages that occur,” according to the release.

If you see a downed power line, stay far away and please call 911 or the electric emergency line at 1-800-799-4443.

“Please continue to monitor our outage map for updates and sign up to receive email or text alerts,” the update concludes.