Hundreds of thousands across the Midwest without power after storms

DETROIT, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- More than 400,000 homes and businesses are without power after strong storms rolled through Michigan on Friday night. Those storms brought heavy rains and strong wind gusts.

In the Detroit metro area alone, about 350,000 of DTE Energy customers were without power late Friday night. Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour downed more than 1,000 power lines across the area. DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said that number is expected to climb throughout the night. He also said given the size of the storm, power could be out for several days.

In addition to Michigan, the storms have affected much of the midwest including the Chicago area, where more than 100,000 customers are without power.

Also in Wisconsin, 31,000 customers are sitting in the dark after strong storms pounded the area. Power officials there said electricity may not be fully restored until the weekend.