BEATRICE – As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, 16,000 customers of Norris Public Power District were without electricity in the aftermath of a short, but powerful winter blast that moved across the region. That number has since been reduced, somewhat.

This morning on the Norris Public Power District website outage map…over 11,700 customers were still without power, just over 41 percent of total customers served.

Norris officials said most of those without power reside in Saline, Seward, Lancaster and Thayer Counties.  Snow and ice accompanied by strong winds knocked down poles and power lines…and ice buildup on power lines contributed to the outage problem.  Yesterday, the district said it expected some customers to remain without power through the overnight period.

Norris crews were working throughout the day and overnight to restore electricity.

Meanwhile, Nebraska Public Power District reports as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, the district still had 2,900 customers without power, with York and Geneva among the hardest hit areas.  At the peak of the storm, NPPD reported 11,000 customers were without electricity.