Michigan power outages: Barrage of storms knocks power out for 180k with more weather incoming

Storm damage in Troy after heavy winds rip through region

Michigan saw heavy winds and storms for a few hours Sunday evening.

(FOX 2) - Weekend storms walloped Michigan, bringing severe weather with ice in the northern region of the state, while a cluster of systems on Sunday brought brutal wind and even reports of a tornado.

Between DTE and Consumers, more than 180,000 households don't have power across the Lower Peninsula.

What we know:

On Saturday, a significant ice storm passed through northern Michigan, knocking down trees and power lines across the region.

Then on Sunday, a string of brief but powerful storms evolved in west Michigan and pushed across the lower half of the state, impacting residents around Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, and along the I-94 corridor near Jackson.

The same storms hit Southeast Michigan late Sunday night, disrupting power to approximately 17,415 homes who get their electricity from DTE.

According to Consumers Energy, more than 153,000 homes don't have power, with the bulk being in the lower half of the state. However, thousands more in the northern Lower Peninsula also don't have power.

What we don't know:

The timing of the power returning is always the biggest question that affected customers will have.

Regarding the latest inclement weather, DTE says it expects 95% of households that were impacted by the storms to have power restored by the end of the day Monday.

Consumers Energy says restoration for the majority of its Northern Michigan customers can expect restoration to be complete by Tuesday, with the hardest hit areas to be fixed a day later.

They have no estimate for restoring power to customers impacted by Sunday's storm.

Dig deeper:

The weather was bad enough Saturday to prompt the Michigan governor to activate its emergency operations center.

A news release early Sunday evening said Gretchen Whitmer had ordered the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) for the ice storms. On Monday, the governor declared a state of emergency for the 10 counties impacted.

They include Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, and Alpena counties.

In addition to the lost power, there are also trees blocking roads throughout the region, making travel tough. Residents are advised to avoid those areas. SEOC will help coordinate disaster response for the state agencies involved and local governments that are impacted.

The situation is particularly dire due to more inclement weather on the way.

The National Weather Service reported Monday that an additional quarter of an inch of ice is possible across northern Michigan. Meanwhile, temperatures will plummet below freezing while wind gusts could build as high as 30 mph on Monday.

The dangerous conditions come from freezing cold temperatures and those who don't have power to stay warm. Homes could have to deal with broken pipes from frozen water.

Photos posted by the NWS on social media over the weekend showed icicles covering outdoor surfaces like trees, buildings, and stairs.

Looking Forward:

And even more inclement weather is on the way Wednesday.

The NWS is predicting a combination of rain, freezing rain, and snow Wednesday. The wintry mix will hit earlier in the day before transitioning to rain after 2 p.m.

Even thunder is possible with some wind gusts.

Some chances of rain continuing through the night are possible before things finally settle down in the second half of the week.