**SNIP** But for thousands of power crews, the lead-up to the storm is a period of waiting to face the mess it leaves behind. The storm is expected to knock out power to as many as 3 million customers across the two states, utilities officials in the Carolinas said Wednesday afternoon. “I was expecting the call [from the power company] when I saw it on the news,” said Raymond Gallant, a 70-year-old lineman from New Brunswick. He was among a mix of linemen, mechanics, loggers and carpenters on Wednesday who signed up to spend an anticipated three weeks on the...