SAGINAW COUNTY, MI (WNEM/AP) -
Several power outages have been reported throughout the area as a quick moving storm rolled through Mid-Michigan Tuesday morning.
These severe thunderstorms knocked down trees and power lines in places, with damaging winds also reported.
Locally, the hardest hit area was Isabella County, where 2,532 Consumers Energy customers were without power. That number has dropped to just 122 without power as of 4 p.m. Gratiot County had 808 customers in the dark and Saginaw County had about 614 customers without power.
About 2,000 people were without power in Genesee County as of 4 p.m.
Around 10 a.m., a total of 9,000 customers statewide were down. That number has dwindled to about 3,000.
Strong winds, poles and downed trees were reported in Flushing, New Lothrop and Grand Blanc in Genesee County. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph were also recorded at Van Slyke and Bristol Roads in Flint.
The storms come as much of the state faces another day of hot temperatures.
"The warm and unstable atmosphere will be favorable for strong to potentially severe storms today. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts and large hail," TV5 Meteorologist Catherine Bodak reported.
Air quality alerts were issued for parts of West Michigan along Lake Michigan. Heat watches or warnings were issued for southeastern Michigan, including Genesee County and Shiawassee County, where highs were expected in the 90s.
"You will also notice an increase in humidity today, allowing heat indices to rise to around 100 degrees," Bodak said.
The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a situation where heat illnesses are possible.
Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. West southwest wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Copyright 2012 WNEM (Meredith Corporation.) All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tawas Township/Photo Judy Adams Goodman
File Photo
Catherine Bodak
Downtown Saginaw
