BRUNSWICK — A little more than 1,000 residents were without electricity in Sagadahoc County as of 11:30 a.m., after a night of heavy winds damaged power lines.

A total of 5,500 Central Maine customers lost electricity.

“Since early this morning our crews have been addressing outages caused by gusty overnight winds and we are prepared to focus on restoration all day” said Kevin Elwell, CMP’s electric operations director, in a statement. “We have secured additional contract crews to assist with the restoration effort.”

The company said it expected wind gusts of 35-45 mph throughout the day.

Central Maine Power reported that 874 customers in the town of Bowdoin were still in the dark, the most out of Sagadahoc.

In Lincoln County, 658 customers were without power, with 172 customers in Edgecomb still without electricity.

About 850 Cumberland County customers were without electricity.

In its statement, the company reminded drivers to use caution when approaching utility crews. “The working conditions can be difficult in cold, windy weather and the workers appreciate everyone’s consideration for their safety,” the statement read.

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday for much of the state, and warned that downed tree limbs would result in power outages, and that winds could gust up to 50 mph.

The weather service also issued a  hazardous weather outlook, predicting that snow could make traveling difficult. A wintery mix  of precipitation was due to hit the Brunswick area Thursday night into Friday.