Severe storms forecast for Detroit, schools close early

(Reuters) - A forecast of severe thunderstorms for the Detroit metro area on Wednesday afternoon prompted Detroit public schools to dismiss students early and city officials to warn residents of possible flooding. The National Weather Service issued a "hazardous weather outlook" for parts of southeast Michigan, with thunderstorms, the potential of localized flash flooding and wind gusts of around 60 mph (96 kph). An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, it said. Detroit officials asked residents to help prevent flooding by clearing storm drains of leaves and other trash in front of homes and businesses. An inch of rain is expected. Storms could develop through about 8 p.m. in the Detroit area south to the Ohio border, said Bryan Tilley, a National Weather Service meteorologist. About 9,000 DTE Energy customers in the Detroit area remain without power due to a storm on Friday that downed 4,000 power lines, DTE said on its website. The utility said it expects to have power restored to the majority of them by Wednesday night, but some may not have power until Thursday. Wednesday's storms could cause additional outages, it said. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)