Crews for two of Michigan's largest utilities are currently working diligently to restore power to over 300,000 homes and businesses that were left without electricity following severe storms. As of noon Wednesday, more than 302,000 Michigan customers were affected, with the majority of outages concentrated in central and southeastern parts of the state. DTE Energy reported over 192,000 outages, while Consumers Energy reported more than 100,000.
DTE Energy indicated that 350 schools within its Michigan service area were without power as of Wednesday morning. The utility's vice president of distribution operations expressed optimism that 90% of the outages would be resolved by Thursday. However, the extent of the damage, spanning over 150 miles, includes broken poles and infrastructure, presenting significant challenges for restoration efforts.
In one instance, a resident in Royal Oak narrowly avoided disaster when a tree fell on the exact spot where his car had been parked just minutes after he moved it. The storms also impacted the Chicago area, causing damage to homes and vehicles after record-breaking heat. Severe thunderstorms were expected to continue across various regions, with heat advisories in effect for several areas.
Meanwhile, in the central Pacific Ocean, tropical storms Hone, Gilma, and Hector were forecasted to weaken, with the remnants of Gilma and Hector expected to bring much-needed rain to Hawaii. As of Wednesday, no tropical storms were anticipated in the Atlantic region.
