A New Hampshire man is feeling extra lucky after almost being crushed by a falling tree branch earlier this week. According to WMUR 9 News, heavy snow and ice from a winter storm downed trees and powerlines across the state. Tal Hagbi was shoveling snow off the stairs next to his driveway when a big tree branch from the tree above him came crashing to the ground. The close call was caught on camera.
Making the situation even scarier is that his wife and 11-month-old daughter were watching him when the incident occurred. It would have been tremendously traumatic had they both witnessed him get injured or worse by the falling tree limb.
“It was really scary,” Hagbi said. “I felt like a guardian angel was watching me and making sure that nothing will happen to me. But it was like 10 seconds for me. I didn’t know what would happen.”
That very same winter storm did cause quite a bit of other damage though. Tens of thousands of people in the Northeast U.S. had their power blacked out after a winter storm dumped over a foot of snow onto the region. Power outages from New York all the way up to the Maine-Canada border were reported back on January 25th.
Winter Storms Cause Wide Spread Power Outages Throughout Northeast
As of earlier this week, more than 30,000 homes and businesses in Maine were without power. “York County, Maine, has been most impacted by today’s long-duration storm as leftover snow on trees and power lines from last Friday’s storm resulted in downed trees and blocked roads throughout the area,” said Central Maine Power spokesperson Jon Breed.
That number exceeded more than 66,000 in New Hampshire. According to New England’s energy provider Eversource, things could get even worse for northeast residents in the coming days though. As the snow clings onto trees, combined with high winds, it will only aggravate any current damage done to powerlines. In addition, it’s likely to bring more power outages. “Our system has continued to take damage into tonight, and we are actively assessing and clearing damage while also supporting public safety efforts,” Eversource spokesperson William Hinkle said Monday evening.
There is currently a brief break in winter storm activity though. That will allow crews to attempt to restore electricity to the region. Meteorologists are predicting another winter storm moving up from the south to impact the region early next week.
“A large-scale winter storm will move into the southern Plains Monday night and Tuesday, producing areas of heavy snow from eastern New Mexico through Oklahoma,” forecasts the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. “The storm is expected to strengthen and track northeastward from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes Tuesday night and Wednesday and produce a stripe of moderate to heavy snow from the Ozarks to the Great Lakes.”
