Thousands in Southeast Michigan without power after storms move through region
(CBS DETROIT) - Thousands of residents are without power after storms moved through Southeast Michigan Wednesday night.
As of 6:30 a.m. on Friday, DTE Energy reported that more than 18,000 people were without power.
The storm hit Oakland County hardest, with more than 25,000 residents initially without power, followed by Macomb County, where more than 12,000 were without power.
"Extreme weather has hit Southeast Michigan, and DTE's Storm Response Teams are working hard to restore power to impacted customers as quickly and safely as possible," according to a storm alert on DTE Energy's website. "Report any outage or downed power line here."
Residents are advised to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines and anything they are touching.
Downed trees were reported throughout the region, from Ann Arbor to New Haven.
The National Weather Service released an updated storm outlook heading into the weekend. Officials say the chance for thunderstorms in the southern areas is greater on Thursday and across the entire Southeast region on Friday and Saturday.
The strongest storms are forecasted to occur in the evenings of those days, with winds potentially reaching 60 mph. The National Weather Service says localized flooding is a key concern for these storms.
Stay with the CBS News Detroit NEXT Weather team for all the latest updates on the hot weather and storms forecasted for Metro Detroit this week.