Thousands remain without power as Michigan hit by overnight severe weather
Lightning, high winds and in some cases tornado sirens woke up many Michigan residents late Thursday as severe weather rolled through the state.
DTE Energy, which provides electricity in most of Southeast Michigan, showed about 2,300 customers without power as of 9 p.m. Friday in areas such as Ann Arbor, Flat Rock and Adair. Consumers Energy's showed about 1,000 customers who remained without power in the Plainfield area about 10:45 a.m.
But most of the outages that Consumers Energy needs to address are in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek area, where the storms were more severe. Genesee County Dispatch Authority also reported a number of wires down in its community.
At one point overnight, over 280,000 customers across Michigan were without power, according to the . A majority of the state's outages are in the southwest region, including in Berrien, Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Van Buren counties.
The weather setup
Much of Michigan was in the path of a widespread severe weather scenario that started earlier in the day in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, then moved into Michigan late Thursday. A tornado watch was in effect from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. for a large portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula; the tornado watch for Metro Detroit was in effect until 5 a.m.
There were several severe thunderstorm warnings issued in Southeast Michigan, in addition to tornado warnings for parts of Lapeer, Livingston and Oakland counties.
Damage reports
Initial damage reports made to the National Weather Service in Detroit included trees and wires down across the region.
In mid-Michigan, Michigan State University issued a campus alert when Ingham County went under a tornado warning. Ingham County Emergency Management said damage reported in its community from the storm included a semi truck flipped over and a tree that fell on a house. Saginaw County Emergency Management said parts of M-52 and M-57 were closed in its community because of high water and storm debris.
In Kalamazoo, CBS affiliate WWMT Channel 3, lost power to its station at one point, using backup power and livestreaming to get weather and news reports issued. There are multiple parts of the city where wires and trees are down, the Kalamazoo Public Safety Department reported.
Storm surveys
The National Weather Service procedures in the aftermath of a storm include using weather data and on-site surveys to confirm where and when tornadoes hit.
"We are just now starting to get more damage reports received," Steve Considine at the NWS Detroit office said early Friday morning. "If you have any pictures or damage reports, please send them to us. Once we get a better idea of the damage, we will determine if any storm surveys need to be conducted."
CBS News Detroit will follow up on those storm surveys as they are issued.
Michigan has already seen a busier-than-usual tornado season for 2025, with the number of tornadoes reported earlier this year beating the annual average of 16.
