GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As a line of storms moves into West Michigan Tuesday morning, damage and power outages are being reported, especially in Muskegon and Oceana counties.
The storms prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana and Mason counties.
Damaging wind gusts—upwards of 70 mph—were the primary risk. Hail was a lesser, isolated risk. The NWS has reported penny- and quarter-sized hail in some areas. Because of these conditions, the NWS is anticipating "considerable" damage from these storms.
Damage reports of downed wires and trees are coming in.
While there was not expected to be a risk of tornadoes with these storms, strong winds prompted sirens in Kent County. 13 ON YOUR SIDE meteorologists are encouraging West Michiganders to treat this storm like a tornado warning and find a safe place.
If you are able to delay your commute this morning, you're urged to do so.
As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, over 146,000 people in Michigan are waking up in the dark. In Muskegon County, over 34,000 people are without power, which is over 40% of the customers in that county. Kent County also has nearly 45,000 without power.
As the storms move across Michigan, more outages are cropping up. You can check a real-time map of outages and estimated restoration times here.
Consumers Energy is preparing crews to respond to these outages. Officials are reminding West Michiganders to stay safe as the storms hit:
- Be alert to crews working along roadsides. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past.
- 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. Consumers Energy reminds people that falsely calling in downed lines actually slows down the restoration process for everyone.
- 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.
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