Jan Wesner Childs and Eric Zerkel
More than a million people were still without power in Michigan more than a day after Winter Storm Olive brought a destructive ice storm to the area.
Utility providers in the southern part of the state were making slow progress on power restoration, but still, more than 715,000 customers were in the dark. Because a customer can include multiple people in a single household, the amount of people affected by these outages is likely over a million.
Residents in other areas of the Upper Midwest are still digging out from snow, where travel remained hazardous in some areas. At least one death was being connected to the storm.
Below are our updates as the storm continued to pound parts of the northern U.S. Thursday.
(7:01 p.m. ET) Fire Chief: Heavy Snow Probably Contributed To Garage Collapse
North Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Whitaker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that a pile of plowed snow "likely" had an impact on the partial collapse of a parking garage near Milwaukee. Whitaker said it "would be fair to say" that heavy snow contributed to the incident.
There were no known injuries or missing people after the collapse.
(6:45 p.m. ET) Millions Still Without Power
Top power outage numbers as darkness sets in: Nearly 823,000 in Michigan; about 50,000 in Illinois; more than 19,000 in Wisconsin; about 5,000 in Indiana. Because each outage affects multiple people in individual households or buildings, that means millions are likely to be without electricity overnight and into tomorrow, at least.
(3:47 p.m. ET) Cause Of Parking Deck Collapse Not Immediately Clear
Witnesses at the parking garage say the collapse happened in the same area where crews had been piling snow on the second level of the two-story structure, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
An aerial view from WISN-TV showed cleared parking spaces around a gaping hole filled with snow.
(3:12 p.m. ET) Witnesses Describe Scene At Bayshore Mall Garage In Wisconsin
“It sounded like a bomb,” Darius Fox, who works at a pizza restaurant in an adjacent building, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It shook the whole building.”
Fox said he assumed it was a car crash. Outside, he saw the collapsed roof and pile of snow.
Emergency vehicles on the scene as firefighters dig through snow after part of a parking collapsed at a garage in Glendale, Wisconsin, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.(3 p.m. ET) Snow Parking Deck Collapses At Wisconsin Garage
Search and rescue crews are on the scene of a partial collapse at the Bayshore Mall in Glendale, on the north side of Milwaukee. Video from the scene shows firefighters digging through mounds of snow. There are no immediate reports of injuries or missing people.
(2:37 p.m. ET) Minnesota State Police Respond To 200+ Crashes
Troopers in Minnesota assisted in 233 crashes during a 24 hour period ending at 11:30 a.m. local time today, according to tweets from the agency's public information office.. Nearly half of those occurred during a four-hour period on Wednesday morning.
(1:31 p.m. ET) How To Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
With millions of people without electricity or experiencing frigid cold, generators and portable heaters will be in widespread use. It's important to follow strict safety guidelines and manufacturer instructions to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
That includes never operating a generator or using a grill indoors and making sure portable heaters are properly vented, and always having carbon monoxide detectors in your home where people are sleeping.
"CO can build up so quickly that you can go unconscious before feeling the typical mild carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms of nausea, headache and fatigue," according to Nicolette Nye, a spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
(12:55 p.m. ET) Drone Video Shows Mess On Minneapolis Streets
Snow piled on Minneapolis streets was seen in drone video shot this morning. The city's airport measured more than 10 inches of snow this morning. An estimated 19 inches has fallen in the suburb of Apple Valley. Another 1 to 3 inches is expected in some areas today.
(12:00 p.m. ET) Michigan Firefighter Killed
A Michigan firefighter was killed by a power line downed by Olive's ice storm, according to The Associated Press.
The volunteer firefighter worked for the Paw Paw fire department in Van Buren County, around 17 miles southwest of Kalamazoo in western Michigan.
The firefighter has not been identified and it's unclear exactly how the incident happened, but the Van Buren County Sherriff's office said that the firefighter was not at fault, according to WOODTV. All that's known at this time is that the incident happened in Almena Township around 6 p.m. local time Wednesday evening.
(10:50 a.m. ET) Millions Without Power Across Great Lakes Region
About 800,000 power outages are being reported in Michigan alone, according to PowerOutage.us. There are nearly 80,000 outages in Illinois, more than 57,000 in Wisconsin, and about 13,000 in Indiana. Because each outage affects multiple people in individual households or buildings, that means millions are without electricity.
(10:43 a.m. ET) Airport Travel Woes Continue
More than 500 flights are canceled today and hundreds of others delayed at airports serving major cities including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago and Detroit.
(9:22 a.m. ET) First Daylight View Shows Cars Buried
This photo from Tracy, Minnesota, shows a car buried under a snowdrift. Snowdrifts are caused by strong winds tossing and blowing snow in a continuous direction, pushing and piling it against nearby surfaces like this car.
(8:00 a.m. ET) 'Extreme Amount Of Damage' To Power Infrastructure In Michigan
DTE, One of Michigan's largest power providers, said early Thursday morning that the ice storm that had hit the region produced levels of ice accumulations that they hadn't seen in decades and said that there was an "extreme amount of damage" to power infrastructure there.
"We saw ice amounts up to three-quarters of an inch throughout southeast Michigan and that's a level we haven't seen in nearly 50 years," Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations at DTE said in a press briefing.
Long-term ice accumulation records aren't kept, so Paul's claim can't be confirmed, but it's clear that the ice caused significant issues across the region. More than 2,000 power lines were downed by the ice, Paul said, adding that the combination of significant ice and strong winds from Olive caused "an extreme amount of damage," adding that it resulted in several of their utility poles being snapped by the weight.
Well over 650,000 are without power across Michigan and more than 450,000 of those are from DTE customers.
Paul added that there was no timeline for restoration to those customers and that it would take several hours of assessments this morning before DTE could provide an accurate timeline for restoration efforts.
(7:20 a.m. ET) More Than 900,000 Without Power Across US
Winter storm Olive has now knocked out power to more than 900,000 customers across six states, according to poweroutage.us. The majority of those were in Michigan, where an ice storm has knocked down power lines and tree branches.
(5:55 a.m. ET) Part of Interstate 90 Closed In Minnesota
A stretch of I-90 is closed Thursday morning in the southwest corner of the state because of whiteout conditions. The closure affects dozens of miles of the road starting from the South Dakota border and running to exit 43 near Worthington, Minnesota. There's also a no-travel advisory in place to try to keep people off of the roads. There are several other road closures across that part of the state.
(4:55 a.m. ET) More Than 650,000 Without Power In Michigan Alone
A combination of wind and ice has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in southern Michigan. Up to 3/4 of an inch of ice fell across the area. That has brought down tree branches and power lines. As of Thursday morning, over half of the customers had lost power in multiple counties including Hillsdale, Lenawee and Jackson counties, according to poweroutage.us
More than 200,000 of the outages are in Detroit's Wayne County.
(4:45 a.m. ET) Wisconsin Governor Issues Energy Emergency
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued an energy emergency late Wednesday to try to free up additional utility restoration resources and increase the efficiency of those already in the state to help in the wake of anticipated outages.
“During and after a winter storm, restoration of power is critically important to the safety and well-being of folks across our state. As we continue to deal with the challenges of severe winter weather and its impact on everyday necessities, the health, welfare, and safety of our neighbors remains our top priority,” Gov. Evers said in a press release.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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