Power Outages After Storm, More Rain On The Way

DETROIT (WWJ) - Blame it on the weather. Metro Detroiters are dealing with storm damage and power outages after a series of storms rolled through several counties Tuesday evening.

About 5,000 DTE Energy customers are without electricity. Spokesman Len Singer says most are scattered across their service area. A power outage was reported near Ten Mile and Van Dyke in Centerline by a WWJ Tipster.

Crews are working on the problems and hope to have full power restored as soon as possible.

Storm experts will be assessing the damage at Gerald-R Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids Wednesday, after severe storms last night damaged two hangars and injured three people. The airport hangars were pulled off their foundations by the winds, exposing the aircrafts inside.

Airport spokesman Phil Johnson said at first glance, the type of damage isn't consistent with the 50-mile-an-hour winds they recorded.

"Maximum sustained winds were 45 knots at the time, as recorded by the National Weather Service, but that wouldn't explain it, so there maybe something more that they can see on scene," Johnson said.

Meantime, near Grand Haven, lightning started a barn fire, while a possible funnel cloud was spotted last night near Jackson.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning Tuesday night for parts of Genesee and Saginaw Counties, saying conditions were favorable for funnel cloud formation, but no tornadoes were reported.

An 80 miles per hour wind gust was also reported in Saginaw County with several trees down and a 65-miles per hour wind gust was reported near Bay City.

The wet weather isn't stopping there, as the metro area is in store for a few more days of rain. A flash flood watch has been issued for St. Clair county from 2 pm Wednesday through Thursday morning.

Here's the forecast from the WWJ weather team:

Wednesday - Partly sunny through mid morning, then showers and thunderstorms likely...heavy rainfall possible. Highs 82 to 86. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Wednesday Night - Mostly cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely mainly before midnight...heavy rainfall possible. Lows 63 to 67. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Thursday - Cloudy. Numerous showers with a chance of thunderstorms. Highs 71 to 75. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Thursday Night - Cloudy. A chance of showers. Lows 57 to 61. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Friday - Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers. Highs 67 to 71. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Friday Night - Partly cloudy. Lows 57 to 61.

For the latest, keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for Traffic and Weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s.  Visit our weather page.