(WWJ) A severe storm system packing gusty winds arrived in Southeast Michigan Wednesday afternoon, doing some damage and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect for the metro Detroit area and beyond until 8 p.m. The watch includes 17 counties: Bay, Genesee, Huron, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Midland, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, Sanilac Shiawassee, St. Clairm Tuscolam Washtenaw and Wayne.
In addition, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for some areas, including Macomb County until 6 p.m., and parts of Wayne, Monroe and Washtenaw Counties until 6:30 p.m. One for a portion of Oakland County has since expired.
By around 5 p.m., more than 240,000 homes and businesses across Michigan had lost power in strong winds; more than 86,000 of them in metro Detroit.
Weather spotters reported gusts as high as 61-miles per hour in Ann Arbor at around the same time a large tree came down in the westbound lanes of Stadium near Brockman in Ann Arbor. Trees were downed in Oxford in Oakland County, a barn collapse was reported in Elkton in Huron County, a utility pole caught fire Dryden in Lapeer Country due to down power lines, and more down trees and lines also in Bay, Huron, Saginaw and Genesee Counties.
The storms are expected to continue into the night. AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore says worst case scenario is the storms could produce a tornado or two.
"We think the line that has the worst comes through between about 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.," DeVore said, speaking live on WWJ Newsradio 950. "A couple of those could have damaging wind gusts, and heavy flooding downpours briefly — and then maybe an isolated tornado could get spun up here as we go later today, so we'll keep an eye on that."
The National Weather Service says wind gusts could reach 60-70 mph in Southeast Michigan, with heavy rainfall in spots, localized flooding in low-lying and urban areas, hail around 1 inch and a "few tornadoes possible."
Metro Detroit residents are urged, as always, to stay alert to changing weather conditions and to have a severe weather safety plan in place for your family.
DTE earlier said crews were preparing for what the utility expected would be a "significant number" of power outages. They began popping up in some areas as early as 2 p.m.
"We understand that these are challenging times, and we want to assure you that the health and safety of our customers and our employees is our top priority. Our crews are on standby and are ready to respond should high winds cause outages. Due to the pandemic, we are taking extra measures to keep people safe, including practicing social distancing and washing our equipment between jobs," DTE said in a release.
Photos sent to WWJ show trees uprooted by high winds as the system earlier moved across the west side of the state.
Customers can report power outages via the DTE Energy Mobile App or at outage.dteenergy.com. People are asked to refrain from calling the DTE customer service line unless it's an emergency, such as a downed power line.
DTE urges customers to do the following to prepare for the storm:
- Charge all mobile devices now and have extra battery packs on hand
- Assemble an emergency kit, including flashlights, candles, a battery-powered radio, bottled water and non-perishable food
- To keep your food safe if there is an outage, please review this link for more information.
To keep yourself and your family safe, everyone is urged to stay at least 20 feet away from a downed power line. Do not drive over downed lines, and know what to do if one falls on your vehicle.
Remember never to use a portable generator inside your home. It emits carbon monoxide, which can be deadly. Keep it outside, away from windows and doors so the fumes won't come in.
In better weather news, although there is a chance for another thunderstorm on Friday, we're looking at a pleasant weekend ahead (Yes, we're already thinking about the weekend, too!), with plenty of sunshine and temps in the 60s and 70s.
Here's the daily AccuWeather forecast for Detroit:
We'll let you know the latest! Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 for updates during traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s, 24 hours-a-day.
