Over 300,000 without power in Michigan after severe thunderstorm downs trees, drops hail

Emma Dale, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

DETROIT — A severe thunderstorm slammed southeastern Michigan on Wednesday, toppling trees across the tricounty area, pelting protest marchers in downtown Detroit with 1-inch-diameter hail and leaving more than 300,000 customers without power.

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, Consumers Energy reported nearly 172,000 customers were without power, and DTE reported that it had more than 184,000 customers in the dark. (Each utility "customer" represents one electric meter, serving a home, apartment or business.)

Hard hit with outages and downed trees were Detroit's eastern suburbs — the Grosse Pointes, St. Clair Shores and Roseville — as well as the Farmington Hills/West Bloomfield area, and also homes in a swath from Lake Orion to Oakland Township.

This scene of a toppled tree in Grosse Pointe Farms repeated itself over and over across southeast Michigan on Wednesday night. (Photo by Cristina Hall.)
This scene of a toppled tree in Grosse Pointe Farms repeated itself over and over across southeast Michigan on Wednesday night. (Photo by Cristina Hall.)

Lights flickered and trees toppled in the Grosse Pointes over the dinner hour.

Across the region, winds gusted over 50 mph and at one point in Ann Arbor topped 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service's regional office in White Lake Township. No tornadoes formed, however, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal swept north through Michigan and into Canada. By 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, most of the storm's effect had left southeastern Michigan.

With flooding possible, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department recommended:

  • Avoid driving through standing water.

  • Check your basement drain(s) to make sure they are not clogged in case they are needed if water enters your basement.

  • Clear leaves, trash and other debris from above and around the catch basins, and make sure no objects such as garbage and recycling bins are on top of the storm drain; during the COVID-19 pandemic, be sure to follow CDC and Detroit Health Department guidelines.

Live Michigan weather radar

DTE Energy has advised residents to take precautions in case outages occur. It suggested charging any mobile device or battery pack as soon as possible. It also recommend assembling an emergency kit, including flashlights, candles, a battery-powered radio, bottled water and nonperishable food.

Contributing: Detroit Free Press staff writer Bill Laitner and Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan power outage leaves over 300K in the dark after thunderstorm