Electricity is very much in the news these days in northern New Jersey, where I live and work. A freak early snowstorm over the weekend dumped over a foot in some places, resulting in widespread electrical power outages. Many people, including a lot of my friends and coworkers, still haven't had their power restored, and some of them may need to wait several more days. This problem covers a wide area - over 1 million people are still power-less in New England.Why did this happen? Twelve inches of snow during the winter doesn't usually cause such havoc! The answer is, of course, that many, many tree branches came crashing down because of the weight of the snow. During winter, the trees have no leaves, and little snow sticks to the bare branches. But in October, the trees still have most of their leaves, which catch the snow. Falling branches pulled down power lines, causing the electricity to go out. It's taking a long time to remove all these branches and get the power turned back on.
Power outage are really inconvenient, but people can make them dangerous. If you see a dangling power line, you should never, ever touch it. Call the electric utility, and they will send a crew to fix it. Using gas stoves, space heaters, or faulty generators to keep warm can lead to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas. So, if you're stuck in a power outage, be smart and stay safe!
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