(WWJ) A line of strong thunderstorms rolled across Michigan on Wednesday, bringing gusty winds, rain, hail, and flurry of weather watches and warnings.
There is some wind damage reported, with thousands of homes and businesses were left without electricity, according to DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. Both utilities had crews out working to restore power. [Check the DTE Outage Map]
In the Metro Detroit area, the National Weather Service issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Macomb County, eastern Oakland County, Wayne County and parts of Monroe County as a line of wet and windy storms blew through the area during the late afternoon.
Those warnings have since expired.
In the wake of the storm, DTE Energy was reporting 13,000 power outages by early evening Wednesday, with the biggest outages in Madison Heights and Fraser.
Ferndale Police Chief Dennis Emmi said multiple buildings in the city were damaged, and trees were uprooted.
The Autumn House Apartments on 9 Mile Road damaged, as high winds caused part of the roof to come off.
"We had, obviously, some high winds that resulted in several large trees downed, wires downed," Emmi told WWJ's Luke Sloan. "Transformers are blown in some areas of our city. The wind was strong enough to rip the roofs off some residential and commercial properties."
The chief said one woman was hit by a piece of debris. He advised people to use caution on the roads, with lots of downed branches around.
He said Department of Public Works crews were out working to clear the roadways. "We're very fortunate that this didn't result in any serious injuries," Emmi added.
MORE: Fast moving storm leaves behind trail of destruction in Ferndale
In Washington Township a carport at an apartment complex was "uprooted" and flew into multiple houses.
To the west, the severe weather caused state lawmakers and others to shelter in place Wednesday afternoon, when a Tornado Warning was issued for Lansing/East Lansing/Okemos/Holt until 2:30 p.m.
State representatives were moved out of the House chamber into the hallway, and those in the Senate were also moved into a hallway, officials said.
Forecasters said 60 mph winds and large hail were possible, along with the risk for a "spin-up tornado," and that residents should expect potential damage to roofs, siding and trees.
Michigan State University issued an alert that told students and staff to seek shelter inside a building, while "golf-ball" sized hail was reported in and around the Lansing area.
While AccuWeather said "some rotation" was noted in Lansing/East Lansing area, there are no confirmed tornado touchdowns at this time.
Consumers Energy later said its crews were working to restore power to about 9,500 customers; most were north of Jackson and east of Ludington.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson called Wednesday's a pretty typical spring storm for Michigan.
"It's almost a textbook severe weather outbreak, because we had a storm system off to the northwest, a cold front crossing the area running into a fairly a mild air mass," he said. "That led to a line of storms forming, and it kind of raced across the area in about two or three hours time."
Looking ahead, AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore said things should dry out for the most part during the day on Thursday, with highs once again in the upper 60s. But there could be more showers with a thunderstorm possible Thursday night into early Friday.
"Then we're gonna cool off into the low to mid-50s," DeVore said, "which is actually below average for the end of April. But we will be dry, it looks like, over the weekend, with times of sun and clouds."
On both Saturday and Sunday, DeVore said the Detroit area is looking at a high of around 55 degrees.
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