Widespread Storms Bring Downed Trees, Power Lines, Outages

Severe weather, with high winds and heavy rain blew into the Great Lakes Bay Region Wednesday afternoon, causing thousands of power outages, downed trees and wires. As of 2:45 p.m., Consumers Energy reported more than 16,000 of its Saginaw County customers without power, nearly 6,000 in Bay County and just over 1,800 in Midland County.

The Saginaw County Courthouse closed about 2:30 p.m. due to a power outage. Damage was heavy west of Saginaw, with a possible tornado touchdown in the Hemlock area. That could not immediately be confirmed. The National Weather Service  issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Bay, Saginaw and Tuscola Counties until 5:00 p.m., and a severe thunderstorm watch for Midland County until 8:00 p.m.

Stay away from any downed power lines, and report them to Consumers Energy or your local utility. Listen to WSGW for the latest weather updates.