WEATHER

More rain on the way for Metro Detroit; about 66K remain without power

After 3 to 5 inches of rain drenched some parts of Metro Detroit over the last couple of days, the forecast calls for some more rain through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

"The heavier rain that impacted the region over the last couple of days is basically done," said Ian Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township. 

Rain comes pouring down during the weather delay after six innings of play.

He said a low-pressure system also made Thursday's weather blustery with below normal temperatures. 

Temperatures topped out in the 50s. The normal high for the area at this time of the year is in the low 70s. 

"It's going to be a pretty dreary day out there," Lee said.

Friday will get noticeably warmer, he said. The forecast predicts the day should start cloudy and get sunnier as it progresses, but there's a chance for rain at night. The rain is expected to continue through Saturday morning. Lee said the forecast isn't calling for any heavy rain.

However, conditions should improve by midday Saturday and pleasant weather will hang around into next week, the weather service said.

People make their way through the rain at Motor Bella at the M1 Concourse car club in Pontiac, Mich. on Sept. 21, 2021.

Meanwhile, thousands of Metro Detroiters were still without power Thursday after storms toppled trees and took down power lines.

On Thursday evening, DTE Energy reported more than 65,000 customers in the dark across southeast Michigan and more than 1,700 crews in the field working to restore their service. The largest clusters of outages were near Lake Orion, Whitmore Lake and Port Huron.

Consumers Energy said service remained out for nearly 1,000 of its customers across the state and 76 crews were in the field.

"Over 200 wire downs, 160 trees down and countless other incidents have been reported throughout the impacted areas following last night's storm," Consumers said in a statement. "While crews are currently working to restore power to everyone affected, we expect high winds and rain to continue throughout the day, making repairs difficult."

DTE also said numerous customers located in the Thumb region experienced loss of power since Wednesday evening. High winds resulted in damage to many power lines. 

Among the areas hardest hit were Port Huron, Algonac, Caseville, Lyon Township, Farmington and Farmington Hills. 

Crews were working to restore at least 60% of impacted customers Thursday, and 95% of customers should be restored by the end of Friday, the utility said.

"We began receiving damage reports into city administration throughout the city that has led to a long-term weather event in our city with sustained winds up to 40 miles per hour and gusts up to 50," Port Huron City Manager James Freed said. "Our main concern today is down power lines and down trees throughout the city. About 30,000 St. Clair residents have been effected by the power outage."

Extended forecast

Friday: Mostly cloudy; high 71, low 56.

Saturday: Chance of showers; high 68, low 50.

Sunday: Sunny; high 70, low 52.

Monday: Mostly sunny; high 74.

Source: National Weather Service

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez

Staff Writer Mark Hicks contributed