Storm advice from Durham Co. Deputy Paul Sherwin

[Triana]

POWER OUTAGES - Please do NOT call 911 for an outage (unless there is an associated emergency)

Duke Energy provides an up-to-the-minute outage map and status here: http://bit.ly/1g7t8O2. Duke Energy restores power for most customer outages in three hours or less. Yet, some outages take longer to restore depending upon the circumstances. Following a storm or in situations where widespread damage has occurred, outage restoration will take longer. Customers are encouraged to call 1-800-POWERON to report outages and get an estimated time of restoration. Los clientes hispanos pueden llamar 1-866-4-APAGON. Duke Energy also has a mobile site where you can report outages.

DOWNED TREES & LIMBS - Please do NOT call 911 (unless there is an associated emergency)

To report downed trees or limbs that are causing a traffic hazard, please call the Sheriff's Office at 919-560-0900 or Durham PD's non-emergency line at 919-560-4600. If it's not a hazard, just leave it be.

FOOD SAFETY

If the power goes out for an extended amount of time, be sure to know which foods you can keep, which can be re-frozen, and which need to be thrown out. The following links are courtesy of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Frozen foods: http://bit.ly/1eQdtUx; Refrigerated foods: http://bit.ly/1okJLtv

Please refrain from calling 911 unless there is an immediate emergency in which life or property is at risk. Emergency call takers and first responders are going to be very busy for the next 48-or-so hours, so please help us serve the community more efficiently by reporting only emergencies to 911.

Stay safe, stay warm, and good luck!

[rdharma]

1. If things get bad, make sure to check on your elderly neighbors.

Often they are too proud to ask for help.

[struggle4progress]

2. ... The National Weather Service’s winter storm warning for the region extends until 6 p.m. Thursday

Forecasters said 4 to 8 inches of snow were possible Wednesday followed by a layer of ice overnight and up to 3 more inches of snow on Thursday ... There were so many accidents on the roads Wednesday that police in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill said they would be responding to only the more serious ones. Durham’s 911 center received about 600 calls in two hours and was tending to more than 100 wrecks as of 4 p.m. The three departments urged motorists involved in minor accidents to exchange information and report the accidents later ...
Ice, more snow, threaten to extend Triangle shutdown
By Bruce Siceloff and Andrew Kenney
Posted: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014

[Triana]

3. Tx S4P. I'm tired of this nasty mess already.

But then -- I hate snow to start with!

Hope you're safe & warm.