The National Weather Service expected winds to reach between 50 to 65 mph and originally expected to be confined to the north county. On Sunday morning, winds were clocked at 54 mph at the Dunkirk Airport and in Fredonia between 7:25 and 8 a.m.

In the wake of the afternoon storm, county dispatch reported having more than 30 calls backed up for a variety of downed trees and utility poles.

Jamestown’s westside saw several trees come down during the storm. First responders were on scene for two uprooted trees in the West Third Street area, one at its interaction at Andrews Avenue, where one tree fell on a garage, and another at the intersection of Lakin and Ellis Avenues that took down a power line. A third tree on lower Stewart Avenue also took down a power line.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist, in a post on social media, alerted residents that city officials and the Board of Public Utilities were aware of the “widespread power outages,” encouraging residents to stay home and stay safe. Later in the day, he said that “crews out working to restore power and remove downed trees. So far, over a dozen downed trees across the City, many have taken out power lines.”

OBSERVER Photo by Janice Gee Trucks were stationed on Route 60 in preparation for high winds.

Some areas had power restored on Sunday night in Jamestown, the Board of Public Utilities told customers via Facebook, but said that outages “caused by downed trees and utility poles, however, will be worked on throughout the night. Our crews will work overnight until electricity comes back on. Heavy wind and rain has brought down many trees in our territory; many trees are uprooted as a result of our storm.”

The BPU Water Division also warned residents that they may see widespread discolored water as a result of the large outage.

“The water is safe but avoid doing laundry until you are sure it’s clear.”

National Grid announced Sunday it was preparing for the worst. According to a news release, the company has increased staffing across the region to more than 2,600 line, service, tree, damage assessment and public safety workers.

In anticipation of the potential for extended power outages in the region, National Grid is prepared to distribute dry ice and bottled water to impacted customers from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday.

“If the weather system results in power outages, National Grid will work closely with local officials to coordinate restoration efforts. The company reminds customers to remain aware of potential safety hazards such as damaged trees,particularly broken limbs that haven’t yet fallen to the ground. As always, all downed wires should be considered live and dangerous and should be immediately reported to National Grid at 1-800-867-5222 or by calling 911.”

In Dunkirk-Fredonia, that location is the Dunkirk Training Grounds, 665 Brigham Road.

According to National Grid’s Power Outage Map, there are more than 900 customers without power in the North Harmony, Clymer and Busti area and 600 customers in the French Creek area.

There were reports of trees down in Bemus Point in addition to utility lines down in Forestville and Sherman.

Rain is forecast Monday and Tuesday as well with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s.