Overnight Storms Cause Widespread Damage, Power Outages Across Detroit Area

A line of powerful storms rolled through the Detroit area overnight, prompting tornado warnings and leaving thousands without power.

The first tornado warning went out in the Ann Arbor area where officials said the storms left behind a path of damage.

Officials said there was roof and siding damage at the University of Michigan Yost Ice Arena, as well as downed trees and power lines scattered across the area.

Overall, Ann Arbor Police said it handled more than 120 calls between 1:45 a.m. and 6 a.m., "the vast majority of which were related to the storm."

There were also downed trees scattered across Dearborn, Garden City and Wayne, and a building in Lincoln Park that had its top ripped off, Fox 2 Detroit reports.

Though the storm damage is consistent with tornado damage, as of Wednesday morning, forecasters have not confirmed any tornadoes touched down across the area.

Several schools were closed across Washtenaw and Wayne counties. Officials said some schools suffered storm damage and others were left without power Wednesday morning.

The severe weather threat ended at roughly 2:30 a.m., leaving more than 17,000 DTE customers were without power Wednesday morning.

Most of the outages were in Washtenaw and Wayne counties, including areas in Ypsilanti, Canton and Dearborn Heights, according to the DTE outage map.

Officials ask people to stay at least 20 feet away from downed power lines and keep children and pets inside.

You can report downed lines to DTE Energy by calling 800-477-4747 or to Consumers Energy by calling 800-477-5050.