Two severe waves of weather that swept through Macomb County, Wednesday afternoon and again Thursday morning left more than 600,000 homes and businesses without power.
As of 9:30 p.m. Thursday, DTE Energy reported crews had restored power to about 150,000 utility customers and is targeting to have more than 80% back online by late Saturday. Officials said the vast majority of outages — around 95% — will have their service restored by Sunday night.
The outages rendered numerous traffic signals inoperable, leaving motorists to navigate through the roadways. Other streets were temporarily closed due to flooding brought on by heavy rains from overnight Thursday.
Even DTE Energy’s power outage map went down briefly by the weather system. When it came back up the colored patches showing power outages were everywhere due to more than 3,100 downed wires, broken poles and tree-related damage.
DTE reported a total of nearly 700,000 customers impacted by the storms.
Among the hardest hits with two large pockets of power outages showing more than 5,000 customers being without power were the areas of 16 Mile and Mound roads in Sterling Heights and South River Road in Mount Clemens.
Wind gusts of over 70 mph and heavy rain caused extensive damage across the service territory, according to the utility.
Thursday’s high at Selfridge Air National Guard Base was 87 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, but felt warmer with humidity levels factored in.
DTE reported employees and contractors were working 16-hour shifts around the clock to quickly and safely secure downed wires and restore power to our customers. More than 1,800 DTE personnel are working to restore service. DTE said they also called in more than 1,000 additional out-of-state linemen to help with restoration efforts.
Restoration estimates will be available on the DTE Energy Outage Map as crews are assigned to each outage and assess damage throughout the day. Some areas may be restored over the weekend, while others could take as long as next week, officials said.
Megan Varcie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said there is a 40% chance Macomb County will see a second storm system hit early Friday. Winds as a high as 60 mph are expected but Varcie said they will be isolated and not as widespread as the past two storms.
Whenstorms of this sizeleave extensive damagein their wake, DTEcrews must first arrive on each scenetoassessthe extent of damage, as wellasdeterminethenumber and types ofcrews and equipmentrequiredtosafelyrestore power to impacted customers.This work oftenrequiresextensive work to make the site safe for restoration work, such astreelimbor entire treeremoval.
Anyone who comes across a downed power line should stay at least 29 feet away. Anything they’re in contact with should be considered live and extremely dangerous.
DTE Energy also advises customers to heed the warning of yellow caution tape, which indicates there is a downed power line in the area. Never cross the yellow caution tape.
Customers should report outages or down power lines online at outage.dteenergy.com or with the DTE Energy Mobile app and not by phone, due to technical issues we have experienced with our phone carrier.
Also areas of caution are roads and rivers that have flooded. The NWS has issued a flood warning advisory for areas in Macomb County along the Clinton River.
Further tips from DTE Energy include:
• Never drive across a downed power line. If a power line falls on your vehicle, remain inside until help arrives.
• Always operate generators outdoors to avoid dangerous buildup of toxic fumes.
• Don’t open refrigerators or freezers more often than absolutely necessary. A closed refrigerator will stay cold for 12 hours. Kept closed, a well-filled freezer will preserve food for two days.
• Turn off or unplug all appliances to prevent an electrical overload when power is restored. Leave on one light switch to indicate when power is restored.
• If a customer is elderly or has a medical condition that would be adversely impacted by a power outage, they should try to make alternative accommodations with family or friends.
• During low-voltage conditions – when lights are dim and television pictures are smaller – shut off motor-driven appliances such as refrigerators to prevent overheating and possible damage. Sensitive electronic devices also should be unplugged.
• Stay out of flooded or damp basem*nts or other areas if water is in contact with outlets or any electrically-operated appliance. The water or moisture may serve as a conductor of electricity. This can cause serious or even fatal injury.
• Assemble an emergency kit. It should include a battery-powered radio, a flashlight and candles, extra batteries, a first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, bottled water and non-perishable food.
• Customers who depend on electrically powered medical equipment should ask their physician about an emergency battery back-up system. If a customer is elderly or has a medical condition that would be adversely impacted by a power outage, they should develop an emergency plan that allows for alternative accommodations with family or friends.
• Keep a corded or cell phone on hand because a cordless telephone needs electricity to operate. Also, customers should learn how to manually open automated garage doors.
• Customers who depend on a well for drinking water need to plan ahead on how they will obtain water. Store containers of water for cooking and washing in case of an emergency situation.
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For more information about power outages in your area and updates visit https://outage.dteenergy.com/
Rain data online
Farmers always know how much rain has fallen in their fields.
Now Macomb County residents can easily do the same by viewing the rain information used by the county Public Works Office for storm water management.
“We recently completed installationof 22 rain gaugesand are now able to share this valuable information with the public,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said. “We look at the data, and the history of the data. We’re doing hydraulic modeling so that we can make improvements to the system.”
As explained by the Public Works Office details about rainfall location, intensity, duration and total amount are used by pump station operators to see how the flow impacts an area. For example, if it rains more in one area than another, operators can prioritize storage in the sewer system to specific areas that may not have received a large amount of rain.
This data is collected every five minutes from rain gauges operated by the Public Works Office and used to not only help better operate the system during wet weather events but it is also used from a planning and design perspective.
Information collected from all 22 rain gauges is now available on an interactive map on the Macomb County Public Works website at publicworks.macombgov.org/publicworks-rainfall and shown in near real time. Or from the Public Works home page at publicworks.macombgov.org/index.php/PublicWorks-Home, in the left menu click on “Resources” and select “Rainfall Reports.”
Visitors to the site can see rainfall totals closer to home for the current day, or select a range of dates to view a graphic of rain amounts. Rainfall may temporarily show zero inches at the start of a new day as the system resets and before new precipitation falls and is measured.
“Let’s face it, water is expensive. This information can really help if you’re a gardener or watering your lawn,” Miller said. “Or, if you’re just interested in how much rain fell in your area compared to another part of Macomb County.”
