Power outages are likely Thursday evening as high winds whip into the metro Detroit area.
Nearly a month after a historic storm knocked out power to nearly 1 million people, a second storm has people bracing for power outages. This time, however, DTE officials expect a much smaller footprint.
In fact, a bulk of the lineman that have been activated to respond to high wind, and snowy conditions, will be directed to the thumb-area instead of metro Detroit
“We expect this to be maybe a tenth of that size,” said Paul Whitman, when comparing the storm expected to hit Detroit Thursday compared to March’s issues that led to thousands of customers losing power for days. “So, a smaller magnitude. We’ve got resources here that can cover that.”
According to Whitman, people who live along Lake Huron will be the most likely to be affected. That’s a good news situation in terms of shear size, because the population is more sparse; but it also means sending additional crew members that way before the storm begins.
It doesn’t mean that Detroit, and the surrounding areas, are in the clear.
Overnight rain-drenched yards allowed for a large tree to come crashing down across Plainview Avenue in northwest Detroit near Santa Clara. A homeowner’s car was totaled when the tree crashed across it, which led her to point out that she didn’t think the winds were very strong.
If similar issues cascade following higher winds on Thursday evening, power lines could be taken out. However, Whitman reassured 7 Action News that their crews are prepared for whatever lies ahead.
“A storm this size we’ll work our crews throughout the night and into tomorrow,” said Whitman. “We’ll wrap this thing up as quickly as we possibly can.”
