GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Consumers Energy reported many of their customers across West Michigan lost power Friday. The outages came amid a wind advisory for most of Michigan.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued the advisory Friday afternoon, the advisory was canceled just before 10 p.m. Previously it was supposed to remain in effect until 2 a.m.
Early Friday evening, Consumers Energy showed 5,300 in Kent County, 2,000 in Newaygo County, 8,000 in Muskegon County, 5,200 in Ottawa County and about 2,000 in Allegan County without power.
Consumers Energy told 13 ON YOUR SIDE they would be working through the evening Friday, overnight and into Saturday to restore power as quickly as possible.
As of Saturday morning, Consumers Energy said more than 80% of customers had their power restored, with almost all remaining customers expected to have power back by the end of the day.
“Today’s storm was notable because it brought powerful gusts that lasted for several hours across dozens of counties that we serve,” said Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy’s officer in charge for this storm. “We prepared by putting crews on rest through the day, readying them for 16-hour shifts that will allow us to restore power while many of our customers sleep tonight.”
The NWS said the affected areas were Hastings, Charlotte, Kalamazoo, Ludington, Jenison, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, Ionia, Big Rapids, Grand Haven, Hart, Reed City, Alma, Holland, Lansing, Jackson, Greenville, Clare, South Haven, St. Johns, Baldwin, Fremont, Mount Pleasant and Muskegon. These areas were under an advisory for NW winds of 25-35 mph as well as gusts of up to 50 mph.
People living in the affected areas experienced branches and powerlines being knocked down causing power outages.
“It’s not lost on us that outages from major storms can be a hardship for families, communities and businesses that count on us 24/7,” Salisbury said. “That’s why we’re pouring our resources into restoring power to everyone affected by today’s storm as quickly and safely as possible. We are grateful for people’s patience.”
Our meteorologists said we can expect some winds to continue through the weekend, although they will not be nearly as severe.
To check outages around you, you can visit consumersenergy.com/outagemap.
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