Storms leave thousands without power in SE Michigan; thunderstorms likely Wednesday

Thunderstorms brought heavy rain and thousands of outages in southeast Michigan on Tuesday, and severe weather is possible over the next two days, the National Weather Service said.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely by 3 p.m. Wednesday as highs reach the upper 80s. 

"It appears areas along/south of M-59/Detroit Metro area will have the best opportunity for multiple rounds of thunderstorms/heavy showers, with localized rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches possible this afternoon through tonight," the weather service said Wednesday. "This amount of rain in a short period of time could lead to localized flash flooding ... ."

Storms pushed across the region Tuesday after the thermometer hit the low 90s — nearly 10 degrees above average for the date, NWS data show.

Winds near 50 mph were reported in Livingston, Genesee and Monroe counties, while tree limbs fell in Saginaw, Port Huron and Shelby Township, according to the agency's website.

By Wednesday, DTE Energy reported more than 26,000 customers without power. The utility's website showed large clusters of outages near Dearborn, Southfield, Mount Clemens and New Baltimore.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning Tuesday night for eastern Michigan in the Thumb, including Sandusky, Croswell and Marlette.

A special marine warning had earlier been issued for the Inner Saginaw Bay southwest of Point Au Gres to Bay Port and Outer Saginaw Bay and southwest of Alabaster to Port Austin to Inner Saginaw Bay.