First Person: Northeastern Storm Cuts Power to Thousands in Rhode Island

Yahoo! News is gathering brief first-person accounts, photos and video from the severe winter weather in the northeastern United States. Here's one resident's story.

FIRST PERSON | PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- This winter storm system is currently hitting the northeast hard. In Rhode Island, we are experiencing wind gusts up to 50 mph. The visibility is very poor and all people have been ordered off the roads. The major highways have been closed to commuters in an effort to keep all non-essential workers off the road. This storm has developed rapidly over the day starting with a light dusting and light winds to a full on blizzard. With snow falling at such a fast rate our area is bracing for more than two feet of accumulation.

The snow is wet and heavy, weighing down the trees in my backyard. Shoveling is difficult due to the strong winds and cold chill. With the accumulations, it seems that shoveling needs to be done every hour or so just to keep up. As of 5 p.m., more than 1,000 people were without power. Within the last couple of hours, this number has jumped to tens of thousands. Although we currently are still with power in Pawtucket, the lights continue to dim on and off and we are prepared in the event we do lose electricity.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-northeastern-storm-cuts-power-thousands-rhode-015600408.html

oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012 kombucha tea separation of church and state dale earnhardt oscar predictions nba all star game 2012