Quick Moving Storms Cause Power Outages, Damage
DETROIT (WWJ) - Quick moving storms caused power outages and damage Tuesday morning throughout parts of southeast Michigan.
DTE Energy officials say about 16,000 homes and businesses lost power after thunderstorms rolled through the area. At 2 p.m. about 10,000 DTE customers were still in the dark.
Among the bigger outages are north of Clarkston, where just over 2,000 customers were without power near I-75 and Dixie Highway. Another 1,500 customers lost power near Brighton.
There's also outages on Detroit's east side at Seven Mile and Hoover, and near Moross and Kelly Road.
DTE spokesman Scott Simons said crews are working to get power restored.
"But there is some more inclement weather heading our way this afternoon, and we'll see what happens with that," he added.
DTE is constantly updating a power outage map to show residents where to expect the worst. Click here to check the map.
Joe Girard was working at Al Deebe Dodge in Clarkston as the storm clouds rushed in.
"It came in all of a sudden, the skies were all dark and when they opened up, they opened up with a downpour," said Girard. "It came down heavily with thunder, lightning, sirens started going off, and then all of a sudden after 15 or 20 minutes of rain, it quit."
The storms are also causing damage elsewhere in southeast Michigan. Police say trees, about eight inches in diameter, are reportedly down near Clio and Pasadena roads in Flint. Nearly two-inch hail has also been reported near Van Slyke and Bristol roads, near Bishop Airport just south of Flint.
The storms come as much of the state faces another day of hot temperatures. Air quality alerts were issued for parts of West Michigan along Lake Michigan. Heat watches or warnings were issued for Southeast and other areas of Michigan, where highs were expected in the 90s.
Keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest forecast during traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. For updates and live radar anytime, visit the CBS Detroit weather page.
