DETROIT (WWJ) - While many Metro Detroiters have seen power restored, just under 3,000 homes and businesses are still offline Wednesday afternoon, after strong winds bringing plummeting temperatures knocked out power across the area.
At the peak of the outage, DTE Energy was reporting more than 5,600 customers without power Wednesday morning.
DTE said via its outage map that it is working on big outages near Ann Arbor and Waterford.
A large swath without power was also reported in Shelby Township between 24 Mile Road in the Schoenherr and Hayes Road area earlier in the day.
Restoration in most cases was expected by mid-morning, but weather experts and energy officials said the weather could cause more widespread issues as the day continues.
Metro Detroit is currently under a Wind Advisory that will expire at 10 p.m. Wednesday and along with it, residents will experience dramatically changing weather.
The National Weather Service said a strong cold front pushed across the listening area earlier this morning with dangerous wind gusts and freezing temperatures following close behind.
"The wind is going to turn things sharply colder," Accuweather meteorologist Dean DeVore said. "Temperatures are going to plummet to the 40s and into the 30s with flurries and some snow shows, some localized damage and power outages with that wind as we see Real Feel temperatures ending up in the teens tonight."
Widespread westerly gusts could reach up to 45 mph by late morning and will persist through the afternoon into the evening hours.
The strong winds can cause difficult driving conditions, isolated to scattered power outages, tree damage as well as blowing around unsecured outdoor items.
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