Monday's severe storms cause damage, down trees and power lines in Southeast Michigan
Monday's severe weather caused damage and havoc across multiple communities in Metro Detroit, and led to some school closings for Tuesday in Macomb County.
"Just happy nobody got hurt," said Utica homeowner Paul Weaver.
Weaver was home when he heard a transmitter explode. The loud band led him to his front lawn, where a massive tree broke into two and landed on top of a parked vehicle.
"We had a tree that lost a limb about a month ago, and we cut it down. We should've cut this one down, too," said Weaver.
CBS News Detroit heard a similar story in Troy at an auto shop on John R Road. Businessman Branislav Jovanov says he was working across the street when severe weather came through.
"I was just inside and all of a sudden, I heard this gust of wind, and it started to sound really bad," said Jovanov.
"I saw this thing flying through the foggy, like rain, very thick rain, and didn't realize I thought it was a tree, but the whole roof got blown off."
The auto shop employee didn't want to talk on camera, but he showed CBS News Detroit inside, where his tools were covered in water, with water seeping through holes in the ceiling.
"He was really shook up, you know, and he was running around, you know, just trying to assess the situation," said Jovanov.
In another situation, a little over a mile away, firefighters were responding to power lines toppled by strong winds. A part of Stephenson Highway and Maple Road was blocked off as crews redirected traffic around the damage.
In Plymouth, Interstate 275 at Ann Arbor Road was shut down due to downed power lines, causing quite a backup for commuters this afternoon.
School closings
Several buildings in the Utica Community Schools district, based in Sterling Heights, are closed on Tuesday, May 19, because of lingering power outages. That list is Stevenson, Davis, Jeannette, Plumbrook and Schuchard.
The Warren Consolidated Schools District in Warren also is reporting school closings for Tuesday, May 19, at Butcher Harwood, Willow Woods buildings along with Sterling Heights High School.
