Thousands without power Thursday after severe thunderstorm: What we know

More than 22,000 area homes and businesses are without power Thursday afternoon as a result of a severe thunderstorm that moved through the mid-Hudson region Wednesday night.

But the number of outages has been dropping steadily since early this morning, when more than 28,000 had no power.

As of just after noon, Central Hudson was reporting a total of 17,571 customers in Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties without power.

Orange and Rockland Utilities said 4,059 customers in Orange County were without power, along with three in Sullivan County.

New York State Electric and Gas said they had a total of 905 customers without power in Dutchess, Orange and Sullivan counties.

Broken down by county, here's how many customers are without power:

• 11,373 in Orange County
• 8,634 in Dutchess County
• 2,500 in Ulster County
• 28 in Sullivan County

Power Outage Tracker: Check your area for live outage reports

How long power outage will last in mid-Hudson Valley

Central Hudson said crews had been working throughout the night and had already restored power to many customers, but repairs might take several days to complete.

"With nearly 400 remaining individual outage locations to address, we expect this to be a multiple day restoration effort, with some of the most heavily impacted areas potentially out of power until Saturday," Ryan Hawthorne, Central Hudson's vice president of electric engineering and operations, said in a statement released Thursday morning.

With about 550 crew members in the field, including 250 who came from other areas through mutual aid, Central Hudson hoped to make significant progress in restoring power on Thursday, Hawthorne said.

Shortly after noon, Orange and Rockland estimated 90 percent of its customers who do not have power yet will have it restored by 11 p.m. tonight, and most others will have power restored by 11 p.m. Friday.

NYSEG is estimating its remaining outages in Orange County, primarily in Montgomery, will be repaired by 1 p.m. But they, along with Central Hudson, were withholding estimates on times for completing repairs in many locations because they are still assessing some of the damage.

Central Hudson announced that dry ice and bottled water will be distributed beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Home Depot at the Dutchess Mall on Route 9 in Fishkill; the Home Depot at 3470 North Road in Poughkeepsie, near Marist College; and the Dan Leghorn Firehouse, 426 South Plank Road in Newburgh.

Orange and Rockland said dry ice will be distributed at Warwick Town Hall, 32 Kings Highway, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Keep track of power outages with tracker

Keep yourself informed and ready for any power interruptions in your area using our power outage tracker. The tracker offers real-time updates on affected locations, it provides instant insights to ensure your preparedness.

To monitor outages, simply input your county or explore the interactive map to pinpoint specific areas experiencing power disruptions.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Thousands without power Thursday after severe thunderstorm: What we know