Michigan storms down trees, powerlines and flood streets, but no major damage

Overnight storms Tuesday rocked many southeast Michigan communities with thunderous booms and flashes of lightning, but so far, the National Weather Service said, there have been no serious damage reports or flooding, although that's not to say there was no damage at all.

"At this time, we’ve received no severe reports," said Brian Cromwell, a weather service meteorologist in White Lake, despite the last night's alerts. There were, he added, several downed tree limbs and about 1-2 inches of rainfall, which swamped some side roads and basements.

Also, he noted, the weather service's search for damage "is still ongoing" so there could still be some.

To help identify problem areas, the weather service asked on social media if "anyone has damage reports from the thunderstorms last night and this morning" and, if so, to either add them as a comment on the Facebook post or "send them our way!"

One jokester offered a photo of a tiny, broken maple tree. The retort: "I pray that you recover quickly."

Posted by Camron Gilbert on Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Other folks, however, mentioned more substantial concerns, including washouts north of Chelsea, Beverly Hills, flooding in Richmond, and St. Clair, a downed tree in Coldwater, and blown transformer in Northville, no power in South Lyon, Sterling Heights.

As of about 9:30 a.m., DTE reported about 20,000 customers with no electricity, and Consumers Energy listed about 3,000 more. Both utilities seeking to restore power as quickly as possible. The highs Tuesday are expected to be in the 80s.

The forecast for Tuesday evening: Potentially more showers, mostly in the Thumb area, and some showers, possibly Wednesday. But after that, the weather is expected to be dry and temperate for summer — what one meteorologist called "really nice" — heading into the weekend.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan storms down trees, powerlines and flood streets, but no major damage