Intense thunder lightning knocked out power to thousands of Connecticut homes on Wednesday night and sent utility companies scrambling to call in extra repair crews. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Litchfield County until 8 p.m.
A special weather statement has been issued for severe thunderstorms in Southern New England this afternoon.
Connecticut Light & Power Co. spokeswoman Pam Medlock said early Thursday that 10,000 customers throughout the state still were without electricity. The number was down to less than 5,000 by 9:30 a.m.
Meriden was hardest hit with outages, but thousands also lost power in Torrington, Middletown, Cheshire, Waterbury and Simsbury. The list of outages is posted on CL&P's Web site.
Back-up crews were also pulled in to deal with downed wires and trees blocking roadways.
A spokesman for United Illuminating reported outages in Derby, West Haven and New Haven. Crews were working to restore electric service.