Three dead, power out to 320,000 customers after storms hit Michigan

WEST MICHIGAN [WOOD Radio] -- Surveyors will try to determine Monday whether a tornado touched down in eastern Newaygo County on Sunday.

That was just after 6 p.m. near in Croton Township. Tornado warnings were issued for six counties. A line of thunderstorms packing high winds tore down trees and power lines, and produced lighting, hail and heavy rain.

A roof on a barn in Gaines Township was torn off. A tree fell on a home in Ottawa County's Jamestown Township. No injuries were reported there. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office said three members of a family were killed and three others injured when a tree fell on a car in Climax Township.

The canopy over the fuel pumps at a Marathon gas station was toppled by the high winds on West Main Street in Oshtemo Township. In the Fruitport area, part of an elementary school roof was ripped off by the high winds.

The lights went out for about 320,000 homes and businesses in Michigan on Sunday. Traffic lights were out at many intersections. Consumers Energy reported about 190,000 power outages at one point last night, and more than 45,000 Great Lakes Energy customers lost electrical service, as well. That was on top of at least 90-thousand total outages that the two utility companies reported after an ice storm hit Northern Michigan over the weekend. An inch-and-a-half of ice accumulated near Gaylord.

In Southern Michigan, peak winds were clocked at 96 miles per hour in Jackson and 78 in Benton Harbor. The National Weather Service said they topped 80 miles per hour in Grand Rapids, with peak winds of 66 in Holland.

Consumers Energy provided more information in a news release:

Consumers Energy is starting a major response to a wave of punishing thunderstorms that carried high winds and caused power outages across the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. The around-the-clock work joins an already full-throttle effort to restore power after two waves of weekend storms delivered an inch of ice and caused devastation in the Northern Lower Peninsula.

“This weekend has showcased all of the unpredictable weather that Michigan experiences. The good news is that Consumers Energy was prepared, and we have over 600 crews that are working to restore power across the state,” said Chris Fultz, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for this storm response.

While the Northern Michigan storms brought ice, this afternoon and evening storms featured reports of tornadoes, gusts that may have topped 70 mph and thunderstorms that knocked down trees. Consumers Energy pre-staged its own crews, plus those from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.

The majority of Northern Michigan's restoration is on track to be complete Tuesday, and the hardest hit areas Wednesday. With the severe weather we experienced Sunday evening, the crews that were pre-staged are now responding and will continue until the power is restored.

Customers should continue to check ConsumersEnergy.com/outagemap for updates.

“The severe thunderstorms impacted over a hundred thousand of our customers, and we appreciate their patience as our crews in the southern part of the state move into damage assessment mode tonight,” Fultz said. “Our crews were standing ready for the weather to leave the state in order to help our customers and have now transitioned into restoration.”

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

• Be alert to crews working along slick roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past workers on roadsides.
• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
• Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
• Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
• In some cases, the mast that holds the electric service wires to a home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

 

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. Consumers Energy knows job No. 1 is to keep the lights on for customers. We are committed to delivering reliable, clean, and affordable energy to our customers 24/7. 

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