Crews for Michigan's largest power companies are working to restore service to more than 14,000 customers following storms and tornadoes Wednesday.
DTE Energy reported 13,970 of its customers across Metro Detroit were without electricity power as of 8 a.m. Thursday.
The company said it estimates most of those customers should have their power restored by the end of the day.
Late Wednesday, DTE said service had been knocked out to more than 22,900 of its customers.
Meanwhile, Consumers Energy reported 295 of its customers across the state were in the dark as of 7 a.m.
Two tornadoes touched down Wednesday in lower Michigan: one in Metro Detroit and another in Crawford County near Roscommon, National Weather Service officials confirmed.
The tornado in Metro Detroit swept through Livonia and toppled a tree onto a house, killing a 2-year-old and injuring his mother and his two-week-old sibling.
"The City of Livonia extends its heartfelt sympathies to the family after the death of their 2-year son, who was killed after a tree fell on the family house when a quick-developing tornado struck several Livonia neighborhoods at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday," officials said in a statement Wednesday evening on the municipality's Facebook page.
National Weather Service officials classified the tornado as an EF1 with winds of up to 95 mph in its preliminary report. They said the tornado was 450 yards wide and cut a 5.5-mile path.
The agency said the twister touched down at about 3:30 p.m. just east of Schoolcraft and Eckles roads then moved northeast onto Mason Road just north of Interstate 96. It said the tornado continued to the intersection of Nola and Lyndon roads uprooting large trees, snapping off large tree limbs, and damaging homes.
Officials said the tornado traveled across Newburgh Road and onto Levan Road near its intersection with Five Mile, causing tree damage. It then moved northeast to the area of Farmington and Six Mile roads where trees were uprooted. It arrived in Rotary Park and sheared off tree limbs before heading into Beverly Park where the tornado downed more tree limbs.
The tornado lifted off southwest of Seven Mile and Middlebelt Road, the weather service said.
Livonia city officials said the tornado and storm struck the community so fast, they didn't get the chance to sound the alarm and warn residents.
"(The city) activates warning sirens based on notifications from the National Weather Service, public safety officials or NWS-trained weather spotters," they said in a statement. "NWS concluded that the storms moving through the area suddenly became severe as they entered Livonia ... This line of storms continued through Michigan, causing damage to Macomb County. NWS called it a spin-up storm which didn’t show up on their radars in enough time to issue a warning.
"Thank you to our first responders and all the caring neighbors who worked hard to clear trees and assist our firefighters and officers on the scene," the statement said.
Elsewhere in Metro Detroit, the storm collapsed the canopy of a Farmington Hills Citgo gas station near 10 Mile and Middle Belt with vehicles beneath it. Officials said a portion of the covering and a gas pump burst into flames at about 3:45 p.m. One person had minor injuries.
"Gas station employees were quick to initiate the station’s emergency shut off," officials said.
Wednesday's second tornado touched down at about 1:19 p.m. at the Forest Dunes Golf Club in Roscommon in southeast Crawford County.
National Weather Service officials classified the tornado as an EF0, meaning its winds were between 65 mph to 85 mph.
They said the twister was 90 yards wide, was on the ground for one minute and moved 0.3 of a mile. Officials also said the tornado uprooted a couple of dozen trees, including three that fell onto a home's roof.
Communities Thursday morning began cleaning up after the storms.
Port Huron City Manager James Freed said the storm impacted areas in the southern portion of the city the most. Numerous roads are closed due to downed trees and powerlines there, he said. Futhermore, there are also significant fields of debris in the area, according to Freed.
"Our emergency crews continue to clear roadways and assist residents," he said in a statement Thursday. "We are working with the National Weather Services as they determine whether or not a tornado was what our community experienced last night. In the meantime, we are focused on recovery and are grateful that we suffered no loss of life in our community."
Freed said he urges residents to wait until areas where powerlines were downed Wednesday are safe to begin cleanup.
"We want residents to take their time and be safe about this," he said.
In the meantime, he said the city is offering free brush pickup throughout the community and has partnered with DTE Energy to distribute free ice and water to those impacted by power outages.
"The city is in this for the long haul," the city manager said. "We will collect tree limbs and brush for as long as it takes."
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
