Strong winds sweeping across Michigan have left tens of thousands of residents without electricity, even as temperatures climbed into the 50s across much of the state. Wind gusts exceeding 50 miles per hour were reported in several areas, causing widespread disruptions.
As of Friday, more than 30,000 people across Michigan were experiencing power outages as a statewide wind advisory remained in effect. According to the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, strong wind gusts moved from west to east throughout the morning hours. Forecasters warned that gusts ranging between 45 and 55 miles per hour were possible. The strongest winds were expected to begin around 6 a.m. along the Lake Michigan shoreline, then push eastward, reaching areas such as Lansing and Jackson by approximately 9 a.m.
Michigan Storm Chasers reported that the strongest wind gust recorded Friday morning reached 67 miles per hour at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. While the most intense winds were concentrated in southern Michigan, northern areas were also affected. Alpena recorded a wind gust of 51 miles per hour. Additional National Weather Service observations showed wind gusts of around 39 miles per hour in Big Rapids at about 7 a.m., 32 miles per hour in Manistee around noon, and 39 miles per hour in Midland at approximately 10:15 a.m. Bad Axe experienced gusts near 44 miles per hour shortly after noon. Power outage tracking site outage.us reported that by noon on January 9, roughly 32,000 customers across the state were without power. Wayne County had the highest number of affected households, with 6,717 outages reported. Jackson County recorded the highest percentage of homes without power, with more than 5.5 percent of households, totaling 4,376, affected by the outages.
