KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Some residents in Southwest Michigan are dealing with power outages after strong winds and heavy rains hit parts of the area Monday evening.
The storm caused significant damage in Iowa and died down as it moved across the country.
Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were in place through midnight on Tuesday for several counties in West and Central Michigan, including Allegan, Ottawa, Barry, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon, Van Buren, Gratiot, Montcalm, Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, and Jackson. Those have since been lifted.
Around 8 p.m. Monday thunderstorms producing wind gusts up to 70 mph began blowing intermittently across the state, with the most severe south of the I-96 corridor.
Large waves were reported along the lakeshore and lakeshore flood warnings were put in place for Berrien and Van Buren counties.
More than 21,000 Consumers Energy customers were without power statewide Monday night. As of 6 a.m. Tuesday around 10,000 are still affected.
Many of the outages are scattered throughout the Kalamazoo County area. The latest outage updates can be found here.
The Kalamazoo County Michigan Office of Emergency Management and Domestic Preparedness posted on Twitter Monday night saying that there were some trees, branches, and power lines down in the Kalamazoo County area.
“Some power outages resulting in traffic signal outages and low water pressure in the Miller/ML/Sprinkle Rd/N Ave area. Drive carefully and treat signal outages as a 4-way stop,” the tweet reads.
Residents should always stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire and anything it is touching and report downed wires by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
The latest restoration updates can be found on Consumers Energy’s website.
