What to expect and when

Most parts of Lower Michigan are under threat of severe weather on Friday.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of the Lower Peninsula in the “minor” risk category for severe storms on Friday, August 16. The area includes areas south of Traverse City.

“Marginal” is the lowest of five severe weather risk levels.

Isolated thunderstorms may be accompanied by destructive gusts of wind and heavy hail, and there may be heavy rainfall in some areas. The risk of tornadoes is very low.

The time window for possible storms is Friday afternoon to Friday night. In Metro Detroit from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

—> Read more from 4Warn Weather here

By Ashlee Baracy: Showers with a few thunderstorms interspersed will move through the area this morning into early afternoon. Highs will again be around 80. A slight (1 in 5) risk of severe weather remains this afternoon into early evening. Isolated thunderstorms may produce damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph.

In addition, storms may bring locally heavy rainfall. Some model data suggests severe weather may arrive as early as midday, but the greatest severe weather potential appears to be between 3 and 8 p.m. These storms are expected to move southwest to northeast at 35 mph.

—> Follow the live radar

How to prepare your home and family for severe weather

• Find the lowest place in your home where you can take shelter. If there is no basement, find an interior hallway away from windows, doors, and exterior walls. Get under something sturdy – like a workbench or stairwell – if you are taking shelter in the basement or a designated area.

• Prepare for a power outage by filling plastic containers with water and placing them in the refrigerator and freezer. Cold water bottles will help keep food cool during a power outage and can also be used for drinking water.

• Charge mobile phones and other wireless communication devices.

• Secure outdoor items that could be blown around, such as garbage cans and garden furniture.

• Sign up to receive text or email alerts from your local news media or emergency management agencies. Plan to stay tuned to commercial radio or television broadcasts for news of changing weather conditions or approaching storms.

• Make sure emergency packs are filled with enough food, water and other supplies for 72 hours per person. Double-check that there are supplies for your pets.

• Check the weather before heading to a destination. If the forecast looks dangerous, postpone or reschedule the trip.

Power outages are particularly worrying in the Detroit metropolitan area, where severe weather causes power outages frequently.

Safety tips during storms

• Stay at least 20 feet away from downed power lines and anything they come into contact with, including puddles of water and fences. Also keep children and pets away.

• After a severe storm, be extremely cautious near metal fences that conduct electricity. Electricity is strongest where a downed power line touches a metal fence. Even a connecting fence several feet away can be live and dangerous.

• Never cross the yellow tape. It may be around downed power lines.

• Never drive over downed power lines. If a power line falls on your vehicle, stay in the car until emergency help arrives.

• A live power line can spark and whirl around as it searches for a ground point. A ground point is the earth or something that touches the earth, like a fence or a tree. A live wire that has found its ground point may lie there unobtrusively, but it is still dangerous. Report a downed power line online, through the DTE Energy Mobile App, or call us immediately at 800-477-4747.

• Cables or telephone lines can be live if they come into contact with electrical wires. Contact with a live wire can be fatal.

• Never use a portable generator in a home or business. They emit carbon monoxide, which can be fatal. Place it outside, away from windows and doors, so the fumes cannot enter.