US: Winter storm leaves 730,000 households and businesses without electricity in Michigan

Significant power outages were reported, especially in the Midwest, as winter weather continues to wreak havoc on parts of the nation. More than 730,000 consumers in Michigan were left in the dark on Thursday morning.

As of 9:40 a.m. ET on Thursday, Michigan had the most power outages, followed by Illinois (over 80,000 outages), Wisconsin (over 60,000 outages), and Michigan (over 60,000 outages), according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US.

According to the power outage tracker for USA TODAY Network, more than 105,000 outages were recorded in Oakland County and more than 110,000 in Wayne County, which includes Detroit.



In Hillsdale County, which is situated in southern Michigan close to the Ohio border, more than 80% of energy users, or around 18,000 homes and businesses, were without power.

According to the National Weather Service, there were still winter storm warnings and advisories in effect for much of Michigan on Thursday morning, especially for the northern portion of the state and the Upper Peninsula.

FAQs:

1. What exactly is an ice storm?
   The NWS states that ice storm warnings are issued when buildup of ice is anticipated to be at least 0.25 inches or more.
2. What is the most famous ice storm?
   On January 31, 1951, the costliest ice storm in history wreaked havoc across a region that stretched from West Virginia to Louisiana and was more than 100 miles wide. A storm-related disaster claimed the lives of 25 persons and wounded almost 500 more.