Community cleaning up damage after possible microburst in southwest Michigan

By: Dante Stanton

Posted: Jul 22, 2022 8:09 AM EDT | Updated: Jul 22, 2022 10:17 AM EDT

Storm damage throughout Michiana Storm damage throughout Michiana Storm damage throughout Michiana Storm damage throughout Michiana Storm damage throughout Michiana

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Microburst the likely cause of storm damage in Northern Berrien County

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Thousands are without power across Michiana on Friday, likely thanks to a rare microburst thunderstorm, which formed offshore of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.

Berrien and Cass counties were the most affected by damage and the outages.

A microburst is described as "a small-scale wind event", and damage from the storm is usually confined to a small area of less than three miles, but can still generate high wind gusts, according to ABC57 meteorologist, Tom Coomes.

The storm has caused widespread power outages, and dozens of reports of downed trees and powerlines throughout Southwestern Michigan.

Repair crews are currently working to get power back on.

According to Indiana Michigan Power, there are about 4,151 customers still without power in the Benton Harbor area on Friday morning.