More outages are expected as the storm system moves into Ann Arbor and Detroit. As the storm system arrived and pushed east Wednesday, gusts reached 40 mph in St. Clair Shores and in Mount Clemens, the National Weather Service reported. In Metro Detroit, the National Weather Service forecast winds diminishing to 6-11 mph by early Friday, when the high could reach the 70s. Michigan residents can get utility bill refunds after extended power outages: Here's how.
In Sanilac County, a "church roof partially peeled off along with a couple of trees snapped," while several trees fell onto a roof in Saginaw County, the weather service reported.Hail also was reported in Sanilac and Lapeer counties.When dark clouds erupted with a second round of downpours in east Detroit at about 5:40 p.m., strong winds rattled windows and small hail pelted rooftops for several minutes.There have been reports of a possible tornado sighting in Fowler, though that has not been confirmed by officials. Enroll in alerts to be eligible to win. Steve Considine, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said they have not received any information about a tornado sighting. DTE added it will update restoration efforts throughout the morning and expected to have all customers restored by Saturday, with the vast majority restored by Friday evening.Consumers Energy said it had more than 230 employee and contractor crews out trying to repair lines, with restoration in some of the hardest-hit areas such as Branch, Calhoun, Jackson, Kent and Saginaw expected through the weekend.FedEx customers fuming after long delivery delays from Oak Park officeJobbie Nooner still on despite coronavirus concerns, boaters urged to social distanceThe utilities cautioned customers to stay at least 20 feet away from all power lines and anything the lines are in contact with, emphasizing that downed lines "are extremely dangerous." Energy companies said Thursday they were making progress in restoring power to thousands of customers in the dark since severe thunderstorms swept the state this week.By evening, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy reported some 148,000 customers across the state remained without electricity.DTE Energy reported about 38,000 customers were affected late Thursday, down from about 137,000 at 6 a.m.The storm knocked out power to 227,000 DTE Energy customers overall. "Our crews, as well as crews from out of state, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, who have joined us with our restoration efforts, will continue to work 16 hours a day around the clock until all customers are restored," said Heather Rivard, senior vice president of electric distribution for DTE, in a video message posted on the utility's Twitter page.Meanwhile, Consumers Energy reported about 110,000 of its customers were without power late Thursday, down from 151,000 at about 4:30 a.m.The storms Tuesday and Wednesday interrupted service for more than 245,000 Consumers customers overall, toppled trees along with nearly 5,000 electric wires and broke more than 200 poles, the utility said.Most customers are expected to be restored by the end of Friday. DTE asked, however, to refrain from calling the customer service line at 800-477-4747, unless it’s an emergency.Customers of Consumers Energy can report outages, check the status of repairs and get useful tips at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. Search power outage using United States ZIP codes.