15,000 still without power in Washtenaw County - and more storms on the way
The morning after strong thunderstorms hammered Washtenaw County, about 15,000 households and businesses remain without power, DTE Energy officials said.
And while crews hope to restore power to the majority of the customers by tonight, that could be impacted by today's forecast, said Eileen Dixon, a spokeswoman for DTE.
In total, 60,000 customers in DTE's coverage area lost power Friday evening, with the majority in Washtenaw and western Wayne counties, Dixon said.
"Those areas got socked," she said. "We've had crews working all night, and they haven't stopped since the storms hit, but it's been challenging."
AnnArbor.com reader Bradley Cross took this photo near the Jackson plaza Friday evening as the storms moved through and the sun set.
One challenge is the impending forecast, which calls for more storms later today - with some predicted to be severe.
"We're hoping to have the vast majority back up tonight, but more really bad weather today could impact those efforts and mean more power outages," Dixon said.
In Washtenaw County, the hardest hit areas appeared to be south of Ann Arbor in Saline, Milan and Pittsfield and Augusta townships, officials said. Winds between 60 mph and 80 mph were reported.
Saline police said numerous trees and wires were downed by the storms, but no major damage or injuries resulted.
Steve Considine, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at White Lake Township, said rainfall totals were 1.82 inches in southeast Ann Arbor, 1.5 inches in west Ann Arbor and 1.28 inches in Saline.
That means the potential for flooding is high today, as isolated storms are expected to move through later this morning and more storms are predicted this evening, he said.
"We're looking at off and on showers and thunderstorms today, with a chance for severe weather late today into the evening," Considine said. "It would be much like we've had for the last couple days. Torrential rains on top of all the rain we've seen means there are flooding concerns again through today."
A flash flood watch is in effect through the day, Considine said. "The soil is already really saturated, so any rain will cause runoff," he said.
But Considine did have one piece of good news - after a muggy day today, the humidity is expected to subside, and the area should have a chance to dry out.
"We're looking at some dryer and cooler air, so it should be a lot more comfortable in the next few days," Considine said.
Comments
Pika
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 9:34 a.m.
Not to belittle people's troubles but that is an awesome weather photograph accompanying this story.
j10z
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 7:34 a.m.
Re: underground vs overhead lines Yes, DonBee, a big chunk of your electric bill goes towards those wires. But those overhead lines were paid for 50 years ago. DTE has shown very little interest in maintaining or upgrading since then. Remember, they are a large corporation and, as such, their sole interest is generating (no pun intended) PROFITS for their stockholders and executives. They are not interested in incurring expenses to benefit their customers. On the other side, Val Losse, in my little neighborhood, converting the overhead to undergroung for about 50 customers would entail destroying everyone's backyard, razing dozens of trees, destroying thousands of feet of fencing and maybe even taking out a garage or two. Would you be willing to have this done to you? They can put underground in new developments because they don't have all these pre-existing conditions.
AAMAF
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 9:30 p.m.
Thank yu, Bradley CroSs for taking this photo. We had the odd orange-yellow light in our windows, but could not capture it like this. BEAUTIFUL!
DonBee
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 2:53 p.m.
Val Losse - It is an economic issue. Overhead construction costs between 1/3 and 1/5 the cost of underground. So if you want buried lines, you will have to put up with higher electric bills. Roughly 1/3 of your electric bill is the cost of lines - so if you triple that cost - you would be looking at a roughly 60 percent increase in the price of power. There is a white paper at EEI on the costs of overhead vs underground and a page at the US Government's Energy Information Agency if you are interested in more information.
stevek
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 1:25 p.m.
@AlwaysLate-cut the first responders some slack. It is unfortunate that your neighbor or anyone's residence suffered some damage from the storms, but do they live on their porch? Major damage is damage that affects the ability to live in your house.
AlwaysLate
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 12:25 p.m.
"Saline police said numerous trees and wires were downed by the storms, but no major damage or injuries resulted." Mmmm, maybe the Saline Police should ask my next door neighbor whether they consider having their front porch crushed and destroyed by a fallen tree is major damage. Typical Saline Police response.as long as the power stays on at Tim Hortons, alls well with the Saline Police.
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 10:05 a.m.
Cross... night photo!
Val Losse
Sat, Jul 24, 2010 : 9:24 a.m.
The technology is there, start burying the power lines. It is done in the subdivisions why not the rest of the area? We will always have storms summer and winter.