ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The damage is widespread after Tuesday's storms as wind yanked utility poles down and created a headache of cleanup across our area.
See crazy viewer video of strong straight-line winds from Lincoln Park below
See video of major storm damage along a trail in Rochester Hills in the player below
In Southfield, utility poles were taken down by strong winds and in Royal Oak, uprooted trees and branches covered the entire stretch of streets.
Watch DTE Energy's Tuesday evening update after more than 200,000 customers were left without power:
Sam Thiele was wrapping up his shift at Wendy’s near 10 Mile Road and Northwestern Highway around 6 p.m. in Southfield when he heard loud thunder and a wind gust. The power went out, so he went outside to find multiple utility poles that were taken down by the wind and live wires scattered across the roads.
“Pure Michigan weather. That’s all I gotta say," Thiele said.
In Royal Oak, many residents remain without power including neighbors Michael Zaccardelli and Lucas Neugebauer who live in the area of 14 Mile and Woodward roads.
Zaccardelli heard about the extreme weather rolling through Tuesday evening and decided to move his car off the street. Fifteen minutes later, his front yard tree fell on the exact spot where his car was just moments before.
"It would’ve took out the engine for sure. It would’ve been a complete loss," he said. “Everyone’s safe and just really thankful no one got hurt.”
Neugebauer saw the tree go down while he was with his children and is thankful no one got hurt.
“Saw a big gust of wind and just saw the tree slowly peeling back and just went down in slow motion. It was pretty wild," he said.
Crews and residents plan to continue clean-up efforts throughout the night and into Wednesday morning.
For the latest power outage numbers, check DTE's website.
