Calmer conditions forecast Thursday after storms sparked outages across Michigan

Weather conditions calmed to sporadic showers on Thursday after a series of severe storms passed through southeast Michigan the day before, leaving damage and power outages.

The National Weather Service in Detroit projected mostly cloudy skies with highs in the 60s.

The area could get more showers in the evening and a possible thunderstorm, said Dave Kook, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Officials expect partly cloudy skies into Friday as overnight temperatures in the 40s and 50s inch back up to the mid- to upper 50s, according to a post on X from NWS Detroit.

Thursday's storm was dramatic, but not atypical, Kook said.

"It's very typical for spring weather to have an active low pressure system and a warm front and cold front move through and produce some storms," he said. "Tornadoes are always a risk when you have a line of storms. Briefly, tornadoes can develop along that line." 

Severe storms raced across a wide swath of Michigan on Wednesday for an early taste of seasonal weather, knocking down trees and leaving thousands without power while funnel clouds, which did not touch down, were spotted in mid-Michigan.

An estimated 2,262 DTE Energy customers were without power as of early Thursday morning, down from reports of 9,220 without power as of 11:30 p.m. The largest cluster of DTE Energy outages as of Thursday appeared in Redford Township, where a concentrated batch of 884 outages took place in a quadrant between Six Mile Road, Inkster Road, Beech Daly and Five Mile Road.

Clusters of outages were reported near Madison Heights in Oakland County and near Fraser in Macomb County, the utility’s outage map showed near 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Other high-outage areas included Troy and Birmingham in Oakland County.

A Consumers Energy outage mag showed just 206 customers still affected by outages as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, down from 339 residents in the dark at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Hot spots were found near Lyndon Township in Washtenaw County, according to an outage map on the utility’s website close to 7:30 p.m. Other areas included Mason County in northwest Michigan and Midland County, west of Interstate 75.

Officials in Ferndale said first responders and public works crews were working to clear roads of fallen trees, downed power lines and debris from uprooted roof shingles.

Ferndale resident Marisol Dorantes said a tree fell onto her vehicle parked on the street and spilled into her neighbor's yard.

"Its just annoying because we've had issues like this before down the street," said Dorantes, 32, she said, referring to trees that have fallen on cars in her neighborhood.

Dorantes said onlookers said their cars also were damaged by downed trees.

".. My biggest concern, because thankfully, no one was hurt, is 'What is this going to cost me?'"

Ferndale police Chief Dennis Emmi said one person reportedly sustained a "minor injury that did not require transport."

"We know some commercial and residential properties lost some portions of their roofs," said the chief, who added that "DTE crews are prioritizing roads that are completely closed" due to downed power lines.

Utilities companies said customers should stay away from downed wires and call 911 or DTE at (800) 477-4747 and Consumers Energy at (800) 477-5050.

A tornado warning was issued for several northwest and central Michigan communities but the system weakened before producing a tornado that made land. Some areas sustained damage from "half-dollar-size hail," said Joe Ceru, a meteorologist with the weather service in Grand Rapids.

"There were a couple of funnels that quickly formed and dissipated up near Rosebush, but (no tornado) touched down," he said, referring to a village in Isabella County, about 8 miles north of Mount Pleasant. "There has not been a confirmed tornado."

Reports of ponded-over roads, downed trees and power outages were reported in parts of central Michigan, Ceru said.

"There was quarter-size hail in and around the Lansing area in Holt and Okemos as well as Haslett," Ceru said. "The largest was from a spotter, which was half-dollar-size hail, just northwest of Holt."

Michigan House lawmakers reportedly were shuttled off the House floor after the tornado warning was issued Wednesday.

The storm alerts lingered into the late afternoon.

Severe thunderstorms moved from near Marion Springs to near Fowlerville and near Gregory and capable of producing winds up to 60 mph and nickel-size hail.

The mercury reached the upper 60s on Wednesday at Detroit Metro Airport. The average high for the date is 59, weather service records show.

Michigan State Police urged residents to be prepared for storms this season.

"This is a good time to make sure your emergency kit in your home and car are ready to go," the MSP Second District said on X. "Have a safe commute, buckle up, phones down and be nice out today."