UPDATED: Total outages remain about 5,500 in Bemidji area after storm

BEMIDJI - About 5,500 customers remain without power today after a powerful storm packing winds in excess of 80 mph tore through the region.

Otter Tail Power Company said it had about 1,500 customers without power as of 1:30 p.m.

Cris Kling, spokeswoman for Otter Tail Power, said crews are working throughout the area and expect to have less than 500 customers without power by this evening.

The remaining customers, she said, should have power restored Wednesday. Those who likely will face another night without power are isolated areas of the Nymore and Lavinia neighborhoods, downtown Bemidji and Cass Lake.

Overall, about 4,400 Otter Tail Power customers experienced an outage from Monday night's storm, with about 3,200 seeing an extended outage.

Meanwhile, Beltrami Electric Cooperative reports it still has about 4,050 customers without power - up from a few hours earlier today.

According to the co-op, there are 94 outages affecting 4,013 members. Of those customers, there are 1,791 in Beltrami County, 1,355 in Hubbard County and 906 in Cass County.

To follow the outages on the Beltrami Electric website, visit http://www.beltramielectric.com/Outage_Information.aspx and click on the "Open in New Window" tab on the right side of the page.