Nearly 4,800 ComEd Customers Left Without Power During Winter Storm

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CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thousands of ComEd customers were left without power Saturday as a winter storm pounded the Chicago area.

As of 3 p.m., ComEd reported 282 active outages affecting 4,769 customers.

By 5 p.m., the number had been reduced to 3,551 customers without power, and 259 active outages. By 11 p.m., it was down to 2,626 costumers and 183 active outages.

ComEd warned that as the wintry mix continued to move into the area with strong winds gusting up to 40 mph, there were a number of dangers to the power system.

If a storm has caused a tree or limb to fall on electrical wires, please call (800) 334-7661 to report immediately to ComEd. Tree crews will come out on the spot.

Do not touch any power lines or any object that is touching them, ComEd said.

To report outages or downed lines, you may text OUT to 26633 (COMED) if you are already subscribed to outage alert. You may also download the free ComEd mobile app, long onto the Facebook outage app, call (800) EDISON-1, or use this online form.

A winter storm brought a mix of heavy rain, flooding, sleet, freezing rain and accumulating snow through late Saturday night. Gusty north winds also led to lakeshore flooding and waves of 12 to 18 feet, the highest Chicago has seen in six years.