More than 110,000 homes and businesses remained without power Monday after severe thunderstorms swept across Michigan, officials said. In Indiana, at least eight people were struck by lightning during storms and a man was crushed to death by a barn roof.
Hundreds of power lines remained on the ground in Michigan overnight, creating a danger in many areas, Consumers Energy Co. spokesman Kevin Keane warned.
As the storms moved through Sunday, two suspected funnel cloud touchdowns were reported in Saginaw County. Spotters planned to visit the sites to confirm the tornadoes, National Weather Service forecaster Dennis Dixon said.
Straight-line winds or hail probably caused the other storm damage around the state, Dixon said.
As of 7:30 a.m., about 30,000 Consumers Energy customers were without service, down from the 84,000 affected by Sunday’s storms, Keane said. In addition, about 83,000 DTE Energy customers in southeastern Michigan remained blacked out Monday morning, utility spokesman Michael Porter said. It would take until late Tuesday to finish restoring service, he said. In all, some 103,000 DTE customers lost service.
In Indiana, lightning Sunday caused two minor fires at buildings in Anderson and struck at least eight people, authorities said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, emergency personnel said.
Wind gusting to 91 mph left 35,000 customers without power in Indiana, though most had service restored by Monday morning.
In Elkhart County, 50-year-old Gary Conway was crushed to death when wind tore the roof off his barn, said Ron Perry of the Concord Township Fire Department. “He was standing out there when it fell on top of him,” Perry said.
Wind, hail and heavy rain also disrupted the James Dean Fest in Marion, Ind., forcing the band America to cut short its performance, damaging artwork and other items and scattering a crowd of about 1,000 people. Dean died 50 years ago this year.
In Oklahoma, meanwhile, cleanup efforts continued after severe storms Saturday tore down trees and power lines, damaged several homes and injured five people.