Severe Storms Rock West Michigan Morning Commute, 100k Without Power

West Michigan woke up to 80 mph wind gusts, hail pounding, lightining flashing across the sky, and trees in their yards after a severe thunderstorm rolled through the area, coming off of Lake Michigan from Northern Wisconsin. The storms arrived in Muskegon a little after 5am, rolling through West Michigan south eastbound until after 7am.

According to consumers energy, the slow rolling storm has caused power outages for over 100,000 people between Muskegon and Grand Rapids, with that number expected to grow throughout the morning. Downed trees and surge windlines are to blame for the outages, and cosumers energy has already dispatched workers to the areas where it is safe to try to restore power as quickly as possible.

(This map was last updated around 7:55am. Check their website for the most up to date info.)

Traffic-wise, you can expect some slowdowns throughout the area as tree branches are in the roadways in many areas of West Michigan. US-31 NB in Muskegon is closed (as of 7:40a) around Russell Rd and White Lake Drive, which will cause some headaches for commutes in the area.

If you're able to stay home today, or delay the start of your commute until it's brighter outside- officials say that is your best bet. Also, avoid any and all standing water, because you can never tell how deep it may be. And if you see any downed power lines, make sure you call and report them.

The National Weather Service has also warned that all West Michigan beaches are under a red or yellow flag warning today, so if you are near the water- stay out of it. Currents could last for hours after the storm, making it extremely dangerous to swim.

Obviously, this is still developing so make sure you keep up to date with the latest information from the national weather service, and let us know what you see.