As of 4:30 PM, more than 7,000 American Electric Power customers remained in the dark. Almost 400 Allegheny Power customers were also without electricity.

"This is the worst storm we've had since December of last year," said Dave Langford, AEP's Manager of Community Affairs.

At the storm's peak, more than 65,000 of AEP's customers statewide didn't have power. Additional crews from Virginia and Ohio were called in to help work on some of the hardest hit places. Langford said it could be as late as Thursday before some areas regain electricity.

For people who lose power, Langford recommends turning off all appliances, air conditioning equipment and all but one light. "When people drop all of their load like that, it's easier for us to bring the circuits back up," he said.

AEP said Beckley was one of the state's hardest hit areas Monday night; some of the city's largest businesses weren't safe from the storm.

"We lost a little bit of business [Monday] night," said Wal-Mart Assistant Manager Tracy Church. "All the businesses, mostly in Beckley and the Oak Hill area, were out too, so everybody was affected."

"I don't think I've ever heard the wind blow so hard as it did [Monday] night," said Harper Road resident Nancy Marcinko. "It sounded like a tornado."

Late Tuesday afternoon, outages were still being reported in Fayette, Greenbrier, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming Counties.