Oct. 7--It's been a gusty night and morning, with winds in excess of 45 m.p.h. across southeast Michigan knocking down trees and power lines.

National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Considine said peak gusts of 45 m.p.h. or more were reported at Detroit Metro Airport, Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor and Pontiac. Flint reported a peak of 51 m.p.h.

The weather service said it had issued a wind advisory, which means drivers are advised that wind gusts can shift vehicles suddenly. They also should be on the alert for downed wires, branches and other debris on roadways, the weather service said.

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The weather service said winds were expected to ease through the morning, with the wind advisory ending at 10 a.m.

Metro Airport was reporting delays of 24 minutes for some arriving flights. As of 8:30 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration was reporting delays on flights to airports in Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York and Newark, N.J.

DTE Energy spokesman Scott Simons said about 63,000 customers were without power, primarily in the tri-county area. Crews were out across town working to restore service.

"We're still expecting the winds to last for another couple of hours, and we'll be able to better assess the situation at that point," Simons said.

Nearly 41,000 Consumers Energy customers are without electricity today. More than 86,000 customers were affected by weather-related outages.

Repair crews will be out in force today continuing work to restore power, officials of the utility said and most of the customers without electricity are expected to be restored by late Thursday evening.

Among the hardest hit counties were Allegan, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon and Ottawa.

Consumers Energy cautions residents to avoid touching any downed wires and to report them immediately by calling 1-800-477-5050, or a local law enforcement agency.

Staff writer Joe Rossiter contributed to this report. Contact MATT HELMS: mhelms@freepress.com.

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