Severe weather strikes Metro Detroit with 30k outages, flooded highways, and toppled trees
Late afternoon storms hit Metro Detroit
Storms this afternoon are causing widespread damage in the Metro Detroit area, and there's more to come this week.
(FOX 2) - Severe weather moved through Michigan Tuesday afternoon, bringing gusty winds, downpours, and some destruction to homeowners.
More than 30,000 lost power during the thunderstorms.
Big picture view:
Severe weather impacted several corners of Southeast Michigan on Tuesday after thunderstorms cropped up, disappearing as quickly as they arrived.
Left in its wake are tens of thousands of homes without power, flooded highways and blocked roads due to downed power lines, and at least a few homes with damage from fallen trees.
The rain arrived at the tail-end of a heat wave that cooked the region for several days in a row.
While the relief is near, more severe weather is expected for the rest of the week, meaning the threat of outages, flooding, and more property damage will remain.
Power Outages and Downed Trees
Local perspective:
Among those impacted by the severe weather was a home on Freda Street in Detroit. While the severe weather was brief, it brought with it enough force to take down a massive tree.
When it fell, it lifted several feet of dirt and concrete, blocking access to the home and making a mess for those living at the residence.
The homeowners told FOX 2 they had lived in the home for 30 years. Over that time, they had never seen something like the damage that arrived Tuesday around 3:30 p.m.
Other trees were also brought down by the storms, which arrived with 60 mph winds and downpours of almost half an inch, according to the National Weather Service.
Storms uproot tree at Detroit home
Thunderstorms uprooted a tree after bringing enough force to knock out power for tens of thousands of residents in Metro Detroit Tuesday afternoon.
By the numbers:
Clinton Township, Livonia, and other communities along the Eight Mile corridor were also hit.
In southern Oakland County, Grand River Avenue became blocked by a power line that was brought down when the thunderstorms arrived. Flooding on I-75 choked off travel for both northbound and southbound drivers.
According to DTE's outage map, more than 33,000 homes have lost power because of the severe weather.
The outages are dispersed around Metro Detroit, including thousands of outages reported in southern Macomb County and western Oakland County.
When will Detroit's heat wave end? Latest forecast shows relief on the way
The end of Detroit's early-summer heat wave is in sight. Here's when we will finally see a break from the heat and humidity.
Traffic closures
The blast of storms left flooding on highways around Detroit. Traffic jams were reported along some of the major arteries for getting around Southeast Michigan.
Check out the map below for up-to-date traffic.
Future severe weather
While Michigan is finally ridding itself of the boiling temperatures that cooked it for the past four days, extreme weather is not done with us yet.
The NWS is expecting thunderstorms throughout the rest of the week, starting with Tuesday night. Storms are possible before 11 p.m. and again by 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Precipitation returns Wednesday morning with on-and-off showers and thunderstorm chances throughout the day, mostly before 2 p.m.
On Thursday, more showers are expected in the late morning and early afternoon, as well as thunderstorms in the later afternoon.
On Friday, a 60% chance of rain is present for the entire day.
The Source: Warnings from the National Weather Service as well as FOX 2's meteorology team were used while reporting this story.