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| A massive tree lies across a residential street in Mid-Michigan after severe storms swept through the area late Thursday night, causing widespread damage and power outages. |
Late Thursday night, severe storms tore through Mid-Michigan, leaving behind a trail of destruction that residents are waking up to Friday morning. The powerful winds brought down countless trees and power lines, forcing road closures and knocking out electricity for hundreds of thousands.
As of early Friday, more than 200,000 Consumers Energy customers and over 20,000 Lansing Board of Water and Light customers were without power. While DTE Energy reported fewer issues on the east side of the state, Mid-Michigan clearly took a hard hit.
Some major roads are completely shut down due to fallen power lines:
I-496 in Lansing is closed in both directions between Pine Street and MLK Boulevard.
M-43 (Grand River Avenue) westbound is blocked at Fairview Avenue.
Canal Road in Eaton County is shut down between Rickie Street and Davis Highway.
Eaton County appears to be one of the worst-affected areas. Crews from the National Weather Service will be surveying the damage today to check whether a tornado may have touched down.