Quarter-size hail reported in Saginaw County
SAGINAW -- What started as spring rains Thursday quickly escalated into a heavy downpour off I-75 in Saginaw County as evening commuters made their way home.
"The temperature dropped 32 degrees in a matter of five minutes,” Mary Robinson said. She was heading north from Birch Run and drove right into the storm's path of pounding rain and damaging hail.
"Sunlight behind me and sunlight ahead of me and I was under the dark cloud."
"I couldn't see, period, at one time,” said Mary Lou Beck, who pulled over at a McDonald’s to wait out the storms.
"It's scary,” she described the driving conditions, “especially when you have somebody behind you that wants to pass."
Emergency management officials urged caution on the slick roadways, citing poor visibility and strong wind gusts.
Most drivers seemed to have the right idea, slowing down as the skies continued to gush.
The quick-moving storms left roughly 788 Consumers customers without power in Saginaw County; 2,540 in Genesee County; and 490 in Shiawassee County.
