Weather service to investigate possible tornadoes in Monroe, Wayne

National Weather Service officials are investigating whether tornadoes touched down Tuesday in two southeast Michigan counties.

Surveyors are scheduled to visit sites in Frenchtown and Berlin townships in Monroe County, as well as Gibraltar in Wayne County on Wednesday following reports of damage there from one or more twisters, said Steve Considine, a meteorologist with the agency.

"We just have to do a survey to determine the strength and path that the tornado took," he said. "It’s likely there may be more than one."

The weather service spotted a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado at 8:18 p.m. near Maybee moving northeast at 25 mph.

Following a tornado warning for northeastern Monroe and south-central Wayne that expired at 9:30 p.m., Gibraltar police reported multiple power lines down and trees uprooted.

"DTE has been notified and are enroute," officials said in a statement. "Gibraltar Fire, Police and DPW are assessing the damage. Please stay away from downed power lines."

Meanwhile, tree limbs blocked the road in Berlin Township, and three homes sustained significant damage near Toben and South Stony Creek roads in Frenchtown Township, the National Weather Service reported.

Late Tuesday, DTE Energy's website showed more than 2,500 outages near Gibraltar and at least 100 in Monroe County. Early Wednesday, the numbers had subsided but the map showed pockets of up to 1,500 outages in and around Gibraltar and another pocket of up to 1,500 outages in the Riverview area. 

The turbulence came after storms brought heavy rain earlier Tuesday.

Some 1.2 inches of rain was recorded at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus in just an hour, said Trent Frey, a National Weather Service meteorologist. 

That rain had left water on the roadway on the John C. Lodge Freeway, on Detroit's west side, northbound at Linwood and southbound at Livernois, per the Michigan Department of Transportation.

As much as 1.19 inches of rain was reported in Saline, according to the weather service.

The storms resulted from warm, moist air coming to Michigan from the south.

"We had a lot of moisture, some instability and very strong winds aloft," Considine said.

Some more showers are possible before 5 a.m. But an approaching cold front is bringing a change. High temperatures through Friday are expected to top out in the 60s, the weather service predicts.

Extended forecast

Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a high of 66 degrees and a low of 47. 

Thursday: Partly cloudy, high of 67 and low of 51 degrees. 

Friday: Mostly sunny with a high of 71 and a low of 48 degrees.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, high of 62 degrees and a low of 45. 

Sunday: Partly cloudy with a high of 64 degrees and a low of 50. 

Source: The Weather Channel