When severe weather threatens Southeast Michigan -- or anywhere else -- it’s important to be prepared for potential power outages and other dangers.
This week in Michigan, potentially severe storms are moving through the Lower Peninsula on Wednesday, April 5, bringing risks of tornadoes, flooding, damaging winds and large hail. In situations like this, residents are urged to make preparations before severe weather hits to keep themselves and their families safe.
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Southeast Michigan is under a slight risk of severe weather Wednesday. The region is also under a tornado watch until 4 p.m. Wednesday. Click here to see the latest forecast.
Michigan State Police are sharing the following list of tips for preparing for severe weather:
- Identify the lowest place to take shelter in your home. If a basement does not exist, find an interior hallway away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Go under something sturdy — such as a workbench or stairwell — when taking shelter in the basement or designated spot.
- Prepare for a power outage by filling plastic containers with water and placing them in the refrigerator and freezer. Cold water bottles will help keep food cool during a power outage and can also be used for drinking water.
- Charge cell phones and other wireless communication devices.
- Secure outdoor objects that could be blown around, such as garbage cans and patio furniture.
- Sign up to receive text or email alerts from your local news media or emergency management agency. Plan a way to stay tuned to commercial radio or television broadcasts for news on changing weather conditions or approaching storms.
- Ensure emergency preparedness kits are fully stocked with enough food, water and other supplies to last 72 hours per person. Double-check to ensure there are supplies for your pets.
- Check the weather before leaving for a destination. If the weather forecast looks dangerous, reschedule or postpone the driving trip.
Power outages are of particular concern in Metro Detroit, where outages have occurred frequently amid severe weather.
Report an outage to DTE here. Report an outage to Consumers Energy here.
---> Michigan commission approves larger power outage credits for impacted residents
Safety tips during a storm
- Stay at least 20 feet away from downed power lines and anything they are in contact with, including puddles of water and fences. Keep children and pets away too.
- Be extremely cautious near metal fences, which conduct electricity, following a severe storm. Electric current will be the strongest where a downed power line is touching a metal fence. Even a connecting fence several backyards away can be energized and dangerous.
- Never cross yellow barrier tape. It may be around downed power lines.
- Never drive across downed power lines. If a power line falls on your vehicle, remain inside your car until emergency help arrives.
- A live power line may spark and whip around as it looks for a ground. A ground is the earth or something touching the earth, like a fence or a tree. A live wire that has found its ground may lie silently, but it is still dangerous. Report a downed power line online, on the DTE Energy Mobile App or call us immediately at 800-477-4747.
- Cable or telephone lines can be energized if they come in contact with electrical lines. Contact with any energized power line can be fatal.
- Never use a portable generator inside a home or business. It emits carbon monoxide, which can be deadly. Keep it outside, away from windows and doors, so the fumes won’t come in.
Tornado precautions
If you’re in an area under a tornado watch, you should keep an eye out for rapidly changing weather conditions and listen for possible warnings.
If a warning is issued in your area, immediately move to the lowest floor of your home, such as the basement. If you don’t have a basement, move to an interior portion of the home, like a bathroom or closet.
Try to put as many walls between your family and the outside as possible during a tornado warning. Stay away from windows, because they could be damaged by strong winds.
Where should you go during a tornado warning?
House
- Go to the basement or lowest level of your home and avoid windows.
- Get under sturdy objects like tables or workbenches and cover up with blankets for more protection.
- If you don’t have a basement, go to an inside room, without windows, on the lowest floor. This could be a center hallway, bathroom, or closet.
- Avoid taking shelter where heavy objects are on the floor directly above you. Heavy objects like refrigerators or pianos could fall through the floor if the tornado strikes your house.
Mobile Home
- Mobile homes cannot hold up to tornado winds. It is best to find a nearby building you can go to for shelter.
- If there is no shelter nearby, lie flat in the nearest ditch, ravine, or culvert and shield your head with your hands.
Driving
- Vehicles are not safe against tornado winds. Never stay in or under a car during a tornado. If a tornado occurs while driving, stop and find a nearby building to take shelter in or seek low-lying ground.
- Never try to outrun a tornado in your vehicle.
- Stay away from highway overpasses and bridges.
Outside
- If you cannot get to a sturdy building, find a low-lying area, like a ditch, and cover your head with an object or your arms.
- Avoid places with trees since they can cause more dangerous debris or fall on top of you.
Work/school
- Make sure you and your family know the tornado shelter plans at your work and school(s) and that these plans are regularly practiced.
- Stay away from windows and don’t go to large open rooms such as cafeterias, gyms, or auditoriums.
- Get to the lowest level of the building (the basement, if possible).
More: Tornado watch vs. warning: Here’s the difference between these alerts