Severe weather blew through the Lansing area for a third day Sunday, triggering a funnel cloud near Williamston and flash floods throughout major local thoroughfares.
Lansing was splashed with 1.89 inches of rain yesterday, as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Statewide, thunderstorms drenched an already saturated region, causing widespread property damage and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. About 85,000 customers remained without power Sunday night.
The Williamston funnel cloud was sighted at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, about 15 miles east of Lansing, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.
A tornado touched down about 6 p.m. near Montrose, about halfway between Flint and Saginaw, according to the weather service.
The Genesee County Sheriff's Department had received no immediate reports on injuries or property damage, and the weather service reported it had received no reports of injuries or property damage.
Flood warnings remained in effect for the southern two-thirds of Lower Michigan. At least three people in southwest Lower Michigan were killed Friday when high winds blew trees onto their vehicles.
About 19,000 DTE Energy Co. customers were without electricity at 11 a.m. Sunday. The utility had restored service to 6,000 of them by 4 p.m., only to see the late afternoon storms knock out service to 4,000 customers, spokesman Scott Simons said.
Consumers Energy Co. reported 38,000 customers were without electricity Sunday afternoon. Nearly two-thirds of them - 24,000 - were in Jackson, the utility said.
American Electric Power brought in repair crews from as far away as Texas and Virginia to help restore power to 42,000 customers in southwest Michigan, spokesman David Mayne said. Power was being gradually restored, but yet another band of thunderstorms was approaching the region at 7:30 p.m., he said.
"It looks pretty ominous here right now," Mayne said from AEP's South Bend, Ind., office.
Witnesses reported Saturday that as many as four tornados were reported in the area between Saginaw and Flint, but none of the reports could be confirmed by the weather service. Little damage was reported in the area, The Saginaw News said.
Friday's and Saturday's storms caused at least $800,000 in damage to businesses in Benton Harbor, City Manager Dwight Mitchell said.
The rain kept pouring down Sunday in Meridian Township, as motorists drove through more than a foot of water at the intersection of Okemos Road and Grand River Avenue.
After stalling out in the road and pushing her car to higher ground, Donnielle Chase sat in a nearby parking lot with her boyfriend and three small children.
"We didn't even see it until we were already in it," the Fowlerville resident said. "I was really scared and the kids were saying, 'We don't like this.'"
Chase said she was waiting for the car to dry out a little before she tried to start it again.
"As soon as we can get it started, we're going to go home and stay there," she said.
In East Lansing, artists were quickly packing up their works at the East Lansing Art Festival to prevent them from being damaged by the weather.
"I saw a lot of people packing up first thing this morning after they heard of the possible 60 mph winds," wildlife photographer Ron St. Germain said.
Aside from the art festival's wet departure, Lansing and East Lansing residents also arrived home to flooded basements and apartments.
MSU alumna Kristin Fair improvised a plan to prevent more water from coming into her already flooded basement apartment near Albert Avenue and Division Street.
She placed a tarp above the apartment's window over their stairwell to cover the drain and prevent further damage.
"There was several inches of standing water in front of our doorway, and the drain is busted," Fair said. "Now, we are just trying to come up with a quick fix."
The weather service predicts more showers and thunderstorms through Monday morning with additional rainfall of up to an inch. A flood warning for Grand River in Lansing also has been issued by the weather service.
