METRO DETROIT (WWJ) - A major winter storm could bring significant icing to parts of Metro Detroit and down trees and powerlines, meteorologists warn, but DTE Energy says they've been preparing their crews and are ready to tackle any outages.
The wintry mix is expected to glaze parts of Metro Detroit over the next 24 hours with accumulations in between a quarter to half an inch of ice and winds are expected to gust over 40 mph.
"Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice," the National Weather Service said ahead of issuing an Ice Storm Warning for St. Clair, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw counties to include the cities of Port Huron, Howell, Pontiac, Warren, and Ann Arbor.
The warning goes into effect at noon on Wednesday until 4 a.m. on Thursday.
"Travel could be nearly impossible," the NWS warned. "The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute."
Areas of Southeast Michigan not covered by the Ice Storm Warning — including Wayne, Monroe and Lenawee counties — are under a Winter Weather Advisory from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Matt Paul, executive vice president of Distribution Operations for DTE Energy, said the company has been preparing for days ahead of the storm and crews are ready to address any potential outages.
"When we see something like this coming in, our biggest concern is the combination of the ice and the high winds because ice can bring with it a tremendous amount of weight," Paul said during a press conference online on Tuesday. "If we get much ice, it brings a lot of additional weight to trees, tree limbs, wires and other equipment and so when you combine that with the high winds, you can see significant damage as limbs and trees and potentially equipment comes down."
Paul added that the weight of just a half an inch of ice on a powerline is "equivalent to having a baby grand piano on that span of wire."
"So it can be significant," he said.
Just exactly how much ice Metro Detroit will see hasn't been pinned down as meteorologists say they are seeing temperature trends warming slightly which would lessen how long and how much ice could impact the area.
"You know, just a degree or two can mean the difference between rain and ice and so this is one of the more difficult systems to predict," Paul said.
DTE is currently planning on some freezing rain starting Wednesday afternoon through late in the day. On Thursday, the company said they're preparing for winds to also pick up, reaching gusts of 40 to 45 mph and even into the 50s late on Thursday.
Paul said its the combination of ice and wind that is more worrisome.
"Depending on where temperatures come in and how much ice we end up getting, we could see anywhere from, you know, minimal damage to pretty significant damage," he stated.
Paul said the company's focus during the duration of the storm will be resorting any outages as quickly and as safely as possible. Multiple public teams ready in place and ready to respond while 1,500 line works are in place and waiting with another 400 individuals from surrounding states expected to arrive Wednesday.
"We've also stood up our incident command organization and what that group does is they help us really streamline, lead and execute our processes and coordinate across all of our teams," Paul continued. "We're ready to protect the public and restore power 24/7 until every customer is back, we're ready to go."
DTE wants to remind the public of the dangers of downed powerlines, which are expected if Metro Detroit sees the combination of predicted ice and high winds. Paul said the public should do "everything they can to stay away from those wires."
Residents should maintain a 25 feet distance from wires and watch out for anything that those wires may be in contact with, such as metal fences. As a reminder, don't touch anything that those wires are touching, the company warned.
Anyone who notices downed powerlines are asked to call 1-804-774-747 or go to the DTE website to report it.
Related
"As we're out there, we're going to do a lot of taping," Paul added. "We tape these wires off, so anytime anyone in the public sees yellow tape, please heed the warning of that caution tape: Do not cross that yellow tape because there's likely or it could be a live wire on the other side."
Paul also reminded residents that in the event of a power outage, never bring a portable generator inside the home for the risk of them emitting carbon monoxide.
"Carbon monoxide can be deadly," Paul warned. "So keep them outside. Never run the generators inside the home."
For the most current information about outages in your area, visit the DTE Outage Map.