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November 14, 2005WHOOSH!Storm tips trees and knocks out power
John Fall and Chris Childers of the Traverse City Parks and Recreation Department clean up branches from a felled tree that crushed a parked car at Riverview Terrace. Sunday's storm left thousands of area residents without power and prompted the National Weather Service in Gaylord to post a high wind warning. Meteorologists said the squall would usher in colder temperatures and snow by midweek. The tree-toppling gusts crushed the back end of Chris Bolek's mother's car. A tree limb poked through the window of the silver-blue car parked outside of Riverview Terrace in Traverse City. "Something like that I don't think you can fix," Bolek said. Ted Bathke was watching football in his Traverse City house when a tall tree across the street tipped over and splayed across 13th Street. The tree was one of several that stood next to Trinity Lutheran Church. "That was the most beautiful one," said Norma Bathke. "I'm sad to see it go." Downed lines caused power outages throughout the area. Consumers Energy reported about 13,000 area customers without power Sunday afternoon. In Leelanau County, a utility pole on a high-voltage "major transmission line" broke, said Consumers spokeswoman Karen McCarthy. Consumers planned to cut power to 9,500 electric customers on the Leelanau Peninsula to repair the pole. The outage was to last about three hours. Cherryland Electric Cooperative reported outages in several spots including near Silver Lake and in the Williamsburg area. Great Lakes Energy officials said 17,500 customers lacked power Sunday. Most of the outages were in northern Lower Michigan counties. At noon, a 44-mph wind was clocked at the airport in Traverse City, said weather service meteorologist Monique Runyan. A 63-mph wind blew off the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, she said. The storm strengthened early Sunday morning, with high winds reported by sunrise. Runyan expected the winds to calm overnight and early this morning. Colder temperatures and snow is predicted early this week. "It looks like winter is coming," said meteorologist Mike Proud. Traverse City had temperatures in the mid-50s Sunday morning. But by Tuesday night, Proud said it could plummet to the mid-20s. Rain is also expected Tuesday, changing to snow by Tuesday night through Wednesday. A Grand Traverse County Sheriff's sergeant reported about 100 "wind-related" calls throughout the morning and early afternoon. Downed power lines and trees topped the list of complaints, he said. The Mackinac Bridge was closed to "high-profile vehicles" such as pick-up trucks with cabs, said Sgt. Amy Pendergraff, of the St. Ignace post of the Michigan State Police.
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