General Manager Dan Singletary provides an update on power outages.

We made slow but steady progress today, however we still have more than 5,700 members without power. Crews worked to figure out where and what they needed to start making more progress tomorrow and that includes more assistance. These photos came in from Highway ZZ south of West Plains. This will still be a multi-day outage for many. Be safe and stay away from downed power lines!

HOEC Crews, including contractors and other co-ops, have been working to assess damage and begin the process to rebuild lines. These pictures are of some of the damage south of West Plains around highway 63. There are numerous poles on the ground and lines down. Due to the sheer amount of damage this will be a multi-day event for most. We have called for assistance, with some arriving today and the remainder to come tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

General Manager Dan Singletary provides an update on power outages.

Two substations in the West Plains area were damaged from the tornado or tornado-like winds. The substation on south 63, south of Dairy Queen, had substantial damage and many poles blown over causing downed power lines and traffic issues on Highway 63. 1,743 members are without power who are served by this substation. The substation off JJ highway received damage and numerous poles have been toppled causing 1,479 members to lose power. There are also issues with the substation in Koshkonong leaving 988 members without power. Please stay away from downed power lines and stay safe.

We currently have 6,140 members without power after the tornado activity in our service area. During wide-spread outages dispatch is overwhelmed with calls and not all are able to get through. If you need to report an outage please use the SmartHub app for your phone or our SmartHub website.

Linemen are making progress on the outages due to the wind today. We are currently down to 42 members without power with the majority of those in the Eminence area. We are aware of 3 poles that were broken. There are still storms that will be moving through tonight and we encourage you to make sure you can receive weather alerts as the night progresses.

Numbers have fluctuated during this afternoon with the strong winds, but our linemen were just able to restore power for about 50 more members. We still have 227 members without power across the service area, ahead of the actual storms.

304 members are currently without power across our service area. Eminence has 37 without power and the remainder stretch back through Mountain View, Peace Valley, West Plains, Alton, Willow Springs, Vanzant and Dora. Crews have been dispatched.

This is what our crew found when they got out to the Caulfield area, and the cause of the Caulfield power outage, which has been restored. We currently have 173 members without power across our service area including Winona (40), Alton (21), Willow Springs (31), Cull (21), Dora (43) and Vanzant (5). Crews have been dispatched.

We currently have 689 members without power across our service area in Winona (40), Tecumseh (58), West Plains (127), Caulfield (344), Willow Springs (31), Cull (21), Vanzant (5) and Dora (63). Dispatch is aware of the outages and crews have been dispatched. The wind is about 40 MPH right now in the West Plains area with gusts higher.

A strong system will move through the region on Friday. West Plains and HOEC Service Area to the east is in the Enhanced Risk area, with the biggest concern being potentially damaging winds (50-60+ mph). Strong to severe thunderstorms are forecast between 4 and 10 p.m. and there is a red flag warning from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Have you been itching to tackle the list of outdoor projects you made this winter? Be sure to always call 811 before you dig to prevent contacting underground utility lines! Learn more here.