Susan Bromley|Hometownlife.com
DTE has faced significant backlash this year for frequent, and sometimes long-lasting, power outages.
Gerald Polk, DTE manager for southwest engineering and planning, acknowledges there has been an increase in power outages over the last five years. He correlated it to an increase in the number of severe storms, specificallythose classified as a catastrophic 2, or Cat 2, stormin which more than 250,000 customers lose power.
“The severity is increasing year after year,” Polk said. “Traditionally, there are not many Cat 2 storms, but recently, that number has drastically increased. Weather is much more severe.”
He noted that historicallythe length of time between storms is at least 20 or more days, but over the course of the past couple months, that average has been six days between storms, with nine very severe storms during the 70-day period preceding Sept. 1.
“Each storm, by the time we clean upthe next storm comes around,” Polk said. “Before, we had a lot more time to recover. That’s not the case this year We expect we will continue to see this severe weather, and we’re preparing infrastructure to handle higher winds.”
There area lot of storms lately
Trent Frey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, agreed that 2021 is far above normal for severe storms in the 17 counties covered by the White Lake station, which includes the thumb and metro Detroit.
Since January, theweather servicehadissued 136 severe thunderstorm or tornado warnings, just hours ahead of another storm on Sept. 14 that followed a severe thunderstorm less than 24 hours before.
“That places us at this point, the seventh most warnings issued in a year going back to 1986,” Frey said.
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Over the course of the last 35 years the average for severe storms is in the low 100s, with 2004 being the highest year in that period for storm warnings with 191. Other high scoring years were 2006 ad 2007 with 160 each, and 2011 also active with 150 warnings issued.
From 2015 to 2020, he said it has actually been below 100 annually.
“So we had a good six-year stretch, a relatively quiet period,” Frey said. “This year is obviously quite a bit above.”
He explained that the higher number of severe storms is a function of how the overall weather pattern set upwith a front draping over the region leading to additional storms that persist for more than a day and make for a couple rounds of storms during a given week.
The National Weather Service issues a “severe thunderstorm warning” when conditions are favorable for winds in excess of 58 mph, or a storm capable of producing hail in excess of 1-inch in diameter. For tornadoes, meteorologists consider conditions that create instability in wind shear.
The National Weather Service has implemented a new system this year in which “considerable” or “catastrophic” tags can be attached to warnings. A base warning comes with 58 mph winds, “considerable” is reached with 70 mph winds, and 80 mph is a catastrophic or destructive storm.
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On July 24, the considerable tag was given to a storm that reached 70 mph winds in Wayne and Washtenaw, and up to 80 mph with a tornado that touched down in Walled Lake, two miles south of the National Weather Service office.
On Aug. 11, a storm with 80 mph winds blew through St. Clair, Sanilac, Lapeer and Macomb counties.
These summer storms can’t be attributed to climate change until more research is done, Frey said, “but that is the trend we are expecting as the climate warms and changes. This extreme weather will be more common.”
The most severe weather is tapering off at this point as the heat and humidity fades and fall weather arrives. This winter will usher in the second La Nina system in a row, which normally means a wetter season, with more rain and snowstorms the typical pattern for the Great Lakes. However, Frey noted that is not what happened last year.
“We had La Nina last winter and didn’t see that pattern,” he said. “There will be the potential for that, but there are a lot of other variables we have yet to determine.”
Attorney General Nessel in Novi Sept. 20
Michigan Attorney General DanaNesselwillhost discussions around the state to hear from those impacted by repeated power outages this summer.The first stop of her listening tour is 6:30-8 p.m., Monday, Sept. 20, at theNovi Civic Center,45175 W 10 Mile Roadin Novi. The event is open to everyone.
Last month,Nessel launched an onlinefeedback initiativefocused on the state's power companiesamid recent and prolonged outages with most responses coming from metro Detroit.In its first two weeks online,the majority of responses were fromOakland and Wayne County residents.
The 1,199Oakland County respondentsexperienced an averageof2.91outages this summer, with more than 41% of respondentssharing the outages resulted in a financial loss of between $100 and $500.
Wayne County residents accounted for 1,015 responses in the first two weeks and experienced an average of 2.72 outages this summer. The majorityof Wayne County respondents —45% —alsoreported a financial loss of between $100 and $500.
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com or 517-281-2412. Follow her on Twitter @SusanBromley10.
