(CBS) — Thousands of DTE Energy customers are affected by power outages after severe storms swept through southeast Michigan on Tuesday.
As of 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday, 89,503 customers were without power. In addition, 50,547 Consumers Energy customers were without power.
According to Brian Calka, vice president of power distribution operations at DTE, most of the outages were caused by Tuesday afternoon storms, with another 30,000 to 40,000 being the result of overnight storms.
“The challenge with an event like this is that we can only respond to downed power lines that we know about. This is where the safety message really comes in: We know there are other power lines down right now; people just haven’t seen them and we don’t know about them,” Calka said. “People should stay in their homes as much as possible to avoid potential safety issues from downed power lines.”
The utility expects power to be restored to 75% of its customers by the end of Wednesday and 90% by the end of Thursday.
The National Weather Service several thunderstorm warnings and observations issued in southeast Michigan, including Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. Heat warnings were also issued for several counties until 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The NWS predicted that head indices would rise above 100 degrees, while high temperatures would reach the 90s.
In response to the heat, the Detroit Public Schools Community District dismissed students from class early on the first two school days of the year.
