CU has few power outages; Empire customers hit hard

While the ice storm warning for southwest Missouri is set to expire at noon, a winter storm watch will be in effect from noon through late Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service. Another round of precipitation is expected to spread over the region tonight into Wednesday.

CU is working to restore power to about 400 of its 106,000 customers, primarily near Battlefield Road and Lone Pine Avenue, according to spokesman Joel Alexander.

Alexander said CU has placed additional and contract utility crews on stand-by in preparation for more outages. Customers are asked to report outages via CU’s hotline, (417) 863-9000.

Customers of Joplin’s Empire District Electric Co. were hit harder – 61,000 out 165,700 total electric customers were without power this morning, according to spokeswoman Amy Bass.

Meanwhile, Springfield-Branson National Airport is open but experiencing some flight delays and cancellations, according to spokesman Kent Boyd. United Airlines has cancelled all daytime flights to and from Springfield, but its evening flights are still scheduled.

The airlines’ Web sites are most accurate in determining whether flights are on time, Boyd said.

Gov. Matt Blunt on Sunday declared a state of emergency in response to the severe winter storms. He also activated the State Emergency Operations Center and the State Emergency Management Agency, which provide state resources to local jurisdictions, and the Missouri National Guard, which is available as needed to protect civilians.