Thunderstorms Hit, Knocking Out Power To Thousands
FLINT (WWJ/AP) - Thousands lost power Thursday as a fresh wave of severe thunderstorms pushed across Michigan's Lower Peninsula -- two days six tornadoes knocked down homes in the Flint area.
The fast-moving storms that rolled across a wide area of southeast Michigan left about 24,000 homes and businesses without power. As of 4 a.m. Friday, approximately 6,000 scattered outages remained.
Outages were reported near Belleville and Detroit Metro Airport; as well as Plymouth, Berkley and Clawson. Other outages were reported in the Rochester and Bloomfield area.
A lightning strike is being blamed for a house fire in Lyon Township. Fire Chief Ron McClain said the call came in around 2 p.m. as flames began shooting from the roof.
McClain said, luckily, was no one home and no injuries.
"The only occupant of the house was a dog. We got the dog out after breaking the front door; corralled him and brought him out safely," McClain said.
McClain said the house will need extensive repairs to the upstairs before the family can move back in.
Meantime, Romeo resident Abe Buchenmeyer said the storm that hit his neighborhood, in the area 32 Mile Road and Van Dyke, packed a powerful punch.
"There's trees down everywhere, and, you know, out in Romeo that's all we have is trees everywhere," Buchenmeyer said. "And down on this street there's fire crews and ambulances trying to move trees around."
There were also reports of trees and power lines down in the Pontiac area, as well as in Shelby Township and Port Huron. Downed wires had closed Franklin Road between 13 Mile and 14 Mile.
All severe weather watches and warnings issued for the area expired by 6 p.m.
The storms hit as residents of the Flint area continued cleaning up from the damage caused by six tornadoes that struck during a 2-hour span Tuesday night.
WWJ AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Bowers said the warm, humid weather would continue for the next few days in Metro Detroit -- bringing an occasional shower and perhaps another heavy thunderstorm.
For the latest forecast, keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. Click here to see live radar on our weather page.
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