Over 400,000 without power as severe weather rakes Great Lakes Tuesday

DETROIT – A line of severe thunderstorms swept through Michigan and the Great Lakes area Tuesday afternoon and evening, leaving more than 400,000 electrical customers without power and toppling trees as millions from portions of the Midwest through the Great Lakes region remain under threat for severe weather into Tuesday night. Those places include Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, still bracing for severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts and large hail.A wind gust hit 76 mph at Detroit International Airport, while a gust reached 66 mph at Oakland County International Airport, and 63 mph in Flint. In Saint Johns, Michigan, winds toppled trees and caused a ceiling to collapse inside a home.  Another tree fell onto a home in the town of Perry, while a car was struck by a falling tree on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, according to the National Weather Service.Gusty winds of 55-60 mph also slammed Chicago and its northern suburbs Tuesday evening.  Glendale Heights reported multiple power lines down. An unofficial gust of 80 mph was reported in Wauconda with large tree limbs down, according to the National Weather Service. About another 45,000 had lost power around Chicago as of 10 p.m. ET. More than 23 million people from the central Plains to the Northeast remain in a Level 2 out of 5 risk on the SPC’s 5-point severe weather risk scale Tuesday night:A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect for northern Illinois and northern Indiana into Tuesday night. Forecasters said the main threats from severe thunderstorms that do develop Tuesday night will be large hail and damaging wind gusts.While Michigan has taken the brunt of the storms through mid-evening Tuesday, severe storms are expected to gradually expand in coverage and intensity over southern lower Michigan, northern Illinois and into Indiana and northern Ohio into the overnight hours Tuesday. Damaging wind gusts and large hail remain the primary threats, though a brief tornado or two cannot be ruled out.The renewed weather threat Tuesday comes after severe weather slammed areas of the Midwest on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday morning, knocking out power to more than 150,000 utility customers in Minnesota alone.MINNESOTA STATE FAIR FAIRGOERS FLEE FOR SAFETY AS SEVERE WEATHER BLASTS ACROSS MIDWESTSevere weather barreled across portions of the Midwest on Monday, knocking out power to more than 150,000 utility customers, snapping trees like twigs and forcing people attending the Minnesota State Fair to seek shelter.A video shows flash flooding at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. As the torrential rain fell, people could be seen running through the flooding for safety.Damage was also reported in parts of Nebraska after 4-inch hail was reported, and a wind gust of 70 mph was also reported in South Dakota.