Over 170,000 left without power following ice storms, strong winds in Michigan

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather staff writer
February 08, 2019, 12:39:20 PM EST


Over 170,000 customers were without power on Friday morning in Michigan, and it could be several days before power is restored to some customers.

The website poweroutage.US listed the number of outages, with the majority located around the Grand Rapids area.

Tens of thousands initially lost power during the middle of the week after damaging ice storms toppled trees and power lines.

ice storm power outages Michigan

Ice begins to melt from a power line shown in Detroit, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. Hundreds of schools are closed in Michigan as freezing rain leaves roads slippery and cuts power to thousands of homes and businesses, while flooding caused by an ice jam prompted an evacuation. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)


"We appreciate your understanding as a series of ice storms have caused additional outages and are making it challenging for our crews to assess damage and accurately predict when power will be restored," the utility Consumers Energy said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "Crews are working 24/7 to restore power in the wake of these damaging ice storms. Customers in West Michigan remain without electric service after ice storms covered the area in as much as a half-inch of ice. The majority of outages occurred from ice damage that brought down trees and electric lines in Kent County and metro Grand Rapids."

"The majority of customers without power should be restored by late Sunday, but in the hardest hit areas that could extend into Monday."

The utility said Friday morning that strong overnight wind gusts of 55 mph hindered recovery efforts and caused additional damage. Additional crews from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa were expected to arrive Friday to help with the restoration.

About 231,000 customers have been impacted by back-to-back waves of icy precipitation in western Michigan since the beginning of the week.

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Warming shelters were being opened around Grand Rapids for customers whose homes lack heat, according to WZZM. Schools in the area announced they would be closed Friday.

Another round of Arctic air is expected to arrive in the region later Friday along with some lake-effect snow.

"Temperatures were in the 40s [Thursday] across much of lower Michigan but will be in the teens [Friday]," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines said. "Winds will gust past 35 mph. Accuweather RealFeel® Temperatures will be zero to 20 below zero. The wind combined with lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan is causing near-zero visibility and difficult travel in the western half of Michigan."

"Winds will diminish statewide tonight but temperatures will drop into the single digits," Kines added. "Temperatures will moderate this weekend but with the moderation in temperature will come the threat of snow Sunday."

cold winds graphic


DTE Energy, based in Detroit, said crews had restored power to 19,000 customers as of Friday morning, but with strong winds in the forecast, additional outages could occur.

"DTE expects to have restoration estimates once crews are assigned and can assess the damage," the utility said. More than 37,000 customers were impacted overall.

Elsewhere in Michigan, ice jam flooding on the Grand River prompted evacuations around the town of Portland on Wednesday.

In the state's Upper Peninsula, hazardous travel was reported across the northwest due to blizzard conditions Thursday.

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