DTE Energy officials provided an update on the winter storm response in Metro Detroit.
The Winter storm occurred Wednesday (Feb. 22) as snow, rain and ice hit the roadways. Strong winds have caused some power outages in the region.
“A half an inch of radial ice, so that’s ice covering, say, a wire, is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire,” said DTE Executive Vice President Matt Paul. “So the weight is significant for our system. We normally don’t see this kind of ice accumulation, so that’s the concern.
About half an inch of ice landed on some wires across Metro Detroit, which is about the size of a baby grand piano. The tremendous amount of weight can create a lot of damage as the ice builds, and DTE says they’ve seen a substantial amount of build-up.
Metro Detroit counties are either under a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning, or a winter weather advisory into Thursday, Feb. 23. Power outages are possible amid the winter storm.
As of 7:40 p.m. on Wednesday, more than 95,000 DTE Energy customers were without power in Southeast Michigan.
You can see DTE’s outage map right here.