Friday storms left tens of thousands dealing with a DTE power outage across Michigan. By about 6:30 p.m., Consumers Energy reported about 46,700 customers without power statewide, and Kalamazoo County had been the hardest hit.
At one point, the outage map showed more than 17,000 customers in Kalamazoo County affected. Matt Johnson, a Consumers spokesman, said the utility had some 300 crews at work, and Friday conditions were looking good for power to be restored.
Kalamazoo County and Portage
The hardest-hit area was in Kalamazoo County, where the outage total topped 17,000 customers during the afternoon storms. Portage reported a 79 mile per hour gust at 4:05 p.m., while South Haven gusted to 60 miles per hour and Grand Rapids remained slightly below the severe threshold near 54 miles per hour.
Those readings help explain why the outage total climbed so quickly after the afternoon storms moved through West Michigan. Consumers had been planning for the overnight storms for days, yet Friday’s storms still left more than 46,700 customers without power statewide.
Consumers Energy crews
Johnson said the crews were already out in the field on Friday, trying to bring the outages down after multiple sets of storms rolled through Michigan. The utility’s restoration work followed storms overnight that brought lightning and gusty winds, then another round of storms later in the day.
For customers in West Michigan and across the state, the immediate takeaway was simple: crews were working, and the utility said conditions looked good for restoration. The outage total and the county-level spike pointed to a long Friday for anyone waiting for lights, heat, or internet to come back on.
