Just as Michigan recovers from one wave of storms, another is set to hit

Yahoo

02-04-2025

Michiganders reeling from one wave of deadly storms are steeling for another.
As weather watchers forecast more violent storms to sweep across the state Wednesday, residents — and officials — are preparing for more snow and ice, more dangerous winds, and maybe more tornadoes and flooding.
What's next? Locusts?
"I stick to predicting the weather," National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Arnold in White Lake Township joked early Wednesday, adding that the state has seen its share of calamitous storms, with more on the way. "Later, we'll see a front moving through."
The weather service issued a flood watch Wednesday for much of southeast Michigan, including metro Detroit, as 1½ to 2 inches of rainfall is expected Wednesday evening in rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms.
Further north, forecasters warned of snow and another glazing of ice.
It's hardly the first time the state has been struck by hardship caused by bad weather. Utility crews have reconnected down lines before only to have Mother Nature undo their work or suddenly take down other lines elsewhere.
As of Wednesday morning, DTE had reported power restoration to all but a few hundred customers and Consumers Energy had about 50,000 more to go. Crews are on standby in case the power goes out again.
"This has been an unusual week of back-to-back storms," Consumers Energy's Chris Fultz said. "But we know we have to be ready to continue doing work that people count on us to do."
Moreover, scientists have suggested for years that human-induced climate change is responsible, in part for changes in weather patterns as well as for more intense — and more frequent — cold blasts, heat waves and storms.
This time, the bad weather is coming at a time when many are worried about rising prices, a falling stock market, cuts and the threat of cuts to federal government jobs and agencies.
More: After deadly storms and tornadoes ravage Michigan, more severe weather on the way
In response to this past weekend's ice storms — which, in Michigan alone killed at least four people and knocked out power to more than a quarter-million others — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out the National Guard.
The soldiers will be clearing roadways made impassable by fallen trees.
More: Northern Michigan state parks closed after ice storm damage
In addition, the state was hit by four tornadoes, a rarity in March in Michigan.
The governor declared a state of emergency in 10 counties — Ostego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac and Alpena — and then, on Tuesday, added two more: Alcona and Antrim.
"Power restoration is a top priority," she said, adding that she deployed soldiers and airmen to "keep people safe," "help first responders get to where they need to go" and promised that "we will get through this together."
In the northern part of the state, long lines formed at gas stations as residents scrambled for fuel, in part, to run generators to keep warm as tens were without power — or heat.
At one gas station in Boyne City on Sunday, more than 30 cars from across the region waited upward of 40 minutes, according to the Cheboygan Daily Tribune. The power outages forced many stations to close.
And the Great Lakes Water Authority warned metro Detroit residents, especially those in low areas who have experienced flooding before, to move valuables out of basements and into attics even to protect them.
A sudden downpour could overwhelm creeks, streams and the water system. Some people on Tuesday in places like Dearborn Heights, where flooding is common, were setting out sandbags, hoping to hold back the water.
A Flood Watch is in effect for parts of Southeast Michigan including Metro Detroit this evening through tonight. 1.5 to...
Posted by US National Weather Service Detroit / Pontiac Michigan on Wednesday, April 2, 2025
The news of flooding, however, comes weeks after a large water main break in Detroit flooded roadways and hundreds of basements during a cold snap, forcing residents to be evacuated by rafts and to seek shelter in hotels.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michiganders prepare for storms, tornadoes, flooding in forecast