RHODE ISLAND – High winds and thunderstorms Wednesday night downed trees and wires, knocking out power to homes across Rhode Island, with some of the worst damages in the northern part of the state.
The storm, which rolled in during the early evening, brought in heavy rains, lightening and even hail in some areas, and damages were reported to homes and vehicles in both North Smithfield and Burrillville.
On Victory Highway, a downed wire diverted traffic into Burrillville, and further back on Route 102, a tree blocked Great Road.
As of 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night, around 41,000 National Grid customers in Rhode Island were without power, mostly in the northern part of the state.
Burrillville customers also saw outages, and crews from Pascoag Utility District were working Wednesday night on restoring power to areas including Wallum Lake Road.
Cleanup efforts were ongoing Thursday morning following the severe thunderstorms and gusts of up to 60-miles-an-hour that ravaged trees already weakened by the summer drought. Many in the region remained without power.
