The National Weather Service has forecast high winds and other severe weather conditions this afternoon and tonight.  Below is their hazardous weather outlook, special weather statement, and severe thunderstorm watch.  Those items are followed by a statement from Consumers Energy.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
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This afternoon and tonight strong to severe thunderstorms are possible between 400 pm and Midnight. The storms will be capable of damaging winds, large hail to around 1 inch in diameter and locally heavy rain. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out either.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

Thunderstorms that were over Northeastern Illinois at 2 PM EDT will move northeast at 45 mph across Southern Lake Michigan and enter far Southwest Lower Michigan before 4 PM EDT. These storms may become severe with large hail, damaging winds, frequent lightning, and torrential rainfall. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. The threat for severe weather will persist over much of Southern Lower Michigan into tonight.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH is in effect until 11 pm for the following Michigan counties:ALLEGAN, BARRY, BERRIEN, BRANCH, CALHOUN, CASS, CLINTON, EATON, GRATIOT, INGHAM, IONIA, ISABELLA, JACKSON, KALAMAZOO, KENT, MECOSTA, MONTCALM, MUSKEGON, NEWAYGO ,OTTAWA, ST. JOSEPH, VAN BUREN.

Earlier today, Consumers Energy issued this statement:

“This morning’s scattered storms across portions of Michigan will be followed by a more organized line of strong and potentially severe thunderstorms entering the southwest part of the state by 4 p.m. today. The storms are expected to impact much of the Lower Peninsula through this evening and may include wind gusts in excess of 60 mph. This active weather pattern could result in power outages. Consumers Energy is monitoring the weather closely, mobilizing resources and making other preparations to quickly respond to any service interruptions.”

Consumers Energy encourages you to visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter for helpful tips. At this location, you’ll find the online outage map, report an outage and sign up to receive power restoration updates.

As always, the A Plus Electric crew is ready to help should you experience storm damage.  Click here to learn when you or Consumers Energy is responsible for damage.  You can reach A Plus Electric on your smart phone by clicking the emergency button on the main page of this website.

You can get a 24/7 weather update by clicking here, and scrolling down.