Joy and Evergreen roads on Detroit's west side Saturday. (Photo: Twitter/Tia Graham, WWJ)Build-an-ark jokes, not funny to begin with, seem even less amusing Saturday afternoon as Metro Detroit waterways rise and some streets become impassable -- except by kayakers.
"Multiple rounds of heavy rain" bring a local National Weather Service Weather flood warning through Sunday morning. Storm totals of two to four inches since late Friday are "leading to widespread and significant flooding," add federal meteorologists at the White Lake station in Oakland County.
"Rain changes over to freezing rain, sleet and snow today and tonight, especially north of and along I-69" [between Flint and Port Huron].
(Graphic: National Weather Service)
DTE Energy braces for big trouble and is realistic about its duration. "We could see significant power outages," spokeswoman Randi Berris tells WWJ.
"If that happens, the ice will really cause significant damage to the energy grid. It will snap utility poles, it will bring down power lines. ...
"If the ice comes, there is a high potential for those lines to break and that damage is very challenging to repair. So, we want our customers to know in advance that if the power goes out, it may take us a little longer than normal to get it back on due to the extensive damage."
DTE has brought in 200 line workers from out of state to help local crews as outages arise.
Police agencies warn drivers to turn away from streets with deep water, rather than trying to splash through. "We are going to help you, but we may not have our happy face on," tweets the Troy Police Department.
WXYZ reporter Syma Chowdhry posts these from western Wayne County:
Here is some video pic.twitter.com/EjFSWM3sA6
— Syma Chowdhry (@SymaChowdhry) January 11, 2020
