Memphis utility faces multi-day recovery after bow echo storms leave 130,000 without power
Memphis, Light, Gas and Water is restoring power to over 100,000 customers after severe storms, with most service expected to return by Thursday evening.
Key points
- Peak outage reached approximately 130,000 customers during Saturday's storm.
- MLGW prioritizes hospitals, water treatment, and sewer facilities for immediate restoration.
- Over 30 contractor crews are being deployed alongside MLGW staff and tree trimming teams.
- Germantown and Olive Branch reported significant power issues and downed trees.
- MLGW expects a multi-day recovery, with the majority of customers restored by Thursday evening.
Background
This event follows a pattern of severe Midwest storms in August 2026, including a 540,000-customer outage in Indiana and a 170,000-customer outage in Cincinnati, highlighting regional vulnerability to bow echo systems.
Why it matters
The outage disrupts critical infrastructure and daily life for a large portion of the Memphis metro area, requiring coordinated emergency response and resource allocation.
What to watch
MLGW will continue assessment and restoration efforts, aiming to restore power to the majority of customers by Thursday evening, while monitoring for further damage.
- MLGW provides update after storms knock out power for over 100k customers Action News 5
- MLGW: Power outages could last until Thursday after 70 mph winds hit Memphis area WREG.com
- Strong storms affect 25% of MLGW customers, power outages may linger until Thursday, officials say localmemphis.com
- Severe Weather Day declared as Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for all of Mid-South until 10 pm FOX13 Memphis
- Severe storms wreak havoc across the Mid-South, leave woman's home crushed by large tree Yahoo
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