MARTINSVILLE, VA – As our Weatherman Dustin Staples forecasted in advance that our area could see impacts from Hurricane Ian, one of the main concerns was high winds and flash flooding, which has caused area-wide power outages in our coverage area.
As of 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 1, the Appalachian Powers website reported the following localities in the dark:
• Franklin: 249
• Henry: 1,829
• Patrick: 3,866
The rest of the forecast for Saturday will feature overcast skies and below-normal temperatures in the mid to upper 50s, with calmer winds, and a chance of a passing shower overnight, with lows near 50º. Sunday's forecast will showcase a chance a 70% chance of rain showers from the remnants of Ian, with forecast highs ranging from 54º-59º degrees, with a northwest wind, and overnight lows in the middle 40s, with rain showers ending around the midnight hour.
According to Appalachian Powers websites, there is no estimated time of when electricity would be restored.