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What do you do if a traffic light is out during a power outage in Michigan

By Jack Nissen
Published  February 23, 2023 7:25am EST
Severe Weather
FOX 2 Detroit

Falling branches, heavy ice disrupting power in Southeast Michigan

DTE said ice wreaked havoc on its power grid Wednesday night when ice that froze to surfaces weighed them down, snapping wires and trees. That includes branches which came crashing onto wires, as well as the wires themselves.

(FOX 2) - A wicked ice storm that blew through Southeast Michigan wreaked havoc on the local utility companies. More than 460,000 homes did not have power Thursday morning as the weight of ice that froze to wires weighed heavily on the grid.

It required a special combination of precipitation and temperatures just at or above freezing for the layers of ice the region is waking up to form.

According to DTE, there were some spots that saw three-quarter-inch ice thickness - the biggest in 50 years. There is no estimated time for restoration as of 7 a.m.

RELATED: See latest DTE power outage figures here

Along with the hundreds of thousands of homes without power, there are also intersections were also caught in the crossfire of the ice. Here's what to do if the light at the intersection is out.

In Michigan, a traffic signal that is out is treated as a four-way stop.

So, treat an intersection without a working light the same way you would treat an intersection with four stop signs: vehicles at each side of the intersection take turns going, beginning with whoever was there first.

The law used to say to follow right-of-way rules when approaching a traffic light that is out, but that changed back in 2018.