More Than 100,000 People Without Power as Winter Storm Heads to Sea

Areas hit by the storm Thursday were still grappling with the effects of icing. Memphis Light, Gas and Water—the municipal utility in southwestern Tennessee—reported more than 90,000 customers without power on Saturday afternoon. That is down from more than 250,000 people who were without power in the immediate aftermath of the storm, officials said.

Utility Chief Executive J.T. Young said that in one location, the storm knocked out 12 utility poles. He said 90% of the utility’s customers would have power restored by Monday but some could remain in the dark until Thursday.

“The vast majority of customers should be back on by early week,” Mr. Young said. “Be patient. There are things that can change in that equation. Our last storm of this magnitude was about a 10-day event.”

Robert Knecht, director of the Memphis Division of Public Works, said at a Saturday news conference that crews were working a 16-hour schedule to address more than 160 downed trees in the city. More than 100 people stayed in a warming center Friday night, Mr. Knecht said.

As the storm blew out to sea, it dropped an icy mix on New York and New England that snarled Friday travel. Areas north of Boston reported 1.5 inches of sleet through Friday afternoon, according to the local NWS office.

Officials encouraged people to stay off the roads, and the Massachusetts State Police reported more than 200 crashes between 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday afternoon. “Patrols were going from one crash to another,” according to the department’s Twitter account.

More than 44,000 people were without power in New York’s Ulster County, according to the Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. utility. The area, which includes the city of Kingston, was hit by as much as a half-inch of ice and sleet.

The utility company distributed bottled water and dry ice on Saturday to affected customers, and the state opened warming centers and dispatched National Guard troops. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said Saturday that there were at least 500 power-line breaks, and it could take at least another 24 hours to restore service.

“It’s done tremendous damage—hundreds if not thousands of trees are down,” Mr. Ryan said. “We’re primarily focused on keeping people safe and warm until we can get the power back up.”

Write to Jimmy Vielkind at Jimmy.Vielkind@wsj.com