Heavy rainfall causes flooding throughout Metro Detroit, vehicles submerged downtown

(FOX 2) - There are major flooding spots throughout Metro Detroit and road closures due to heavy rainfall Friday morning.

Since early this morning there has been a downpour from Livonia to Detroit and active flooding. The rain begins near the 96/696 corridor - the further south or west you go, the drier it is. Monroe and Lenawee counties are not experiencing these storms.

Friday morning flooding!

A day of unsettled weather leads to a different feel this weekend.

There's a flash flood warning in the Detroit area until about 11 a.m. today, and a flash flood warning until about 10:15 a.m. in the Macomb region.Expect scattered storms throughout the day. It won't ran everywhere all day long but the storms will persist for the next few hours.

There's potential for some severe weather this afternoon -- a two on a scale of six. After tonight, we're done with the rain for a bit, maybe an early shower Saturday.

Several major highways were affected by the rain, including the Jeffries, which is closed in both directions at Beech Daly. The flooding is so bad in Detroit in some areas that there are vehicles submerged downtown. As of 9:40 a.m., the Lodge heading northbound is closed at Jefferson Avenue.

For more information on construction, head to our traffic page for a map.

Viewer video of ‘Mini lake’ on I-96 westbound

Footage submitted by Kyle Heiob showed water rising on I-96 westbound lanes before Beech Daly.

Severe weather also led to thousands of power outages on Friday. DTE's outage map, which you can click here for more information, showed outages all around Metro Detroit. About 12,000 people were without power as of 10:15 a.m. Friday.

The most severe power failures included neighborhoods near Grand Boulevard near downtown Detroit, parts of Madison Heights and Royal Oak and near Allen Park.