15,000 in SE Michigan without power after storms

An estimated 15,000 DTE Energy customers are without power Tuesday morning after another round of thunderstorms swept across southeast Michigan on Monday, the utility said.

Large clusters of outages were reported near Howell, Hartland, Independence Township and Lexington Township, according to the company's website. The company earlier reported about 40,000 customers were affected by the storms.

Restoration times will be available once crews assess the damage, DTE spokeswoman Cynthia Hecht said. The utility is "hopeful" to have all restored by the end of the day Tuesday, Hecht said.

On Sunday, the National Weather Service had issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Oakland, Livingston, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.

Temperatures climbed into the upper-80s and moisture associated with an approaching front fueled storms that brought downpours and high winds in some spots.

As much as 1.25 inches of rain fell in Saginaw in four hours, trees were toppled in Livingston, Saginaw and Tuscola counties, while Detroit City Airport recorded wind gusts around 46 mph, NWS reported.

The last band of storms ended by early Tuesday as overnight lows dropped into the upper-60s.

The Tuesday forecast calls for a slight chance of showers in the afternoon and highs reaching the mid-80s.

Calmer conditions are on tap for the next several days, Arnold said. "Once we hit Wednesday, we should start to see below-normal temperatures and dry conditions."