Those loud bangs and flashes you might have noticed early this morning was the sound of lightning, thunder and severe weather sweeping through Michigan and our region.
Consumer's Energy last reported at 10 a.m. this morning that approximately 8,800 homes are without power across the state.
The hardest hit area was Genesee County, with around 2,000 without power. Almost 1,100 are without power in Gratiot County, 840 in Saginaw County, 320 in Bay County and 287 in Shiawassee County.
Isabella County was also hit hard this morning but Consumer's Energy reports most of that county has been restored.
Residents can expect power to be back statewide later this evening.
Our station here in Clio wasn't spared either as lightning bolts peppered our antenna tower and booming thunder could be heard in our studio during the morning show.
We got some great visuals from the severe weather this morning including a slow motion shot of the lightning strike outside our studio.
Check out our weather page for a full look at today's forecast including severe weather alerts.
