LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Apr. 16, 2026) – While Holland was spared, for the most part, from a wave of storms that swept parts of Michigan on Tuesday night, areas south and east of the Tulip City were slammed.
On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer expanded a state of emergency declaration, initially issued last Friday for Cheyboygan County due to flooding issues, to 32 additional counties. This includes Allegan County, which saw storm-related damage strike mostly in the Otsego/Plainwell area, where two tornadoes touched down.
The declaration, slated to run no later than May 13th, will activate available state resources to assist local authorities in response and recovery operations, and is a first step towards possible federal assistance, if the damage warrants it. Local governments can also petition Lansing for compensation in covering emergency response costs and repair damaged public infrastructure.
In addition, the Heart of West Michigan United Way and the Allegan County Community Foundation activated a coordinated community disaster response operation through a United Response Fund and Allegan County Cares initiatives, respectively.
As of dawn on Thursday morning, over 2,600 electricity customers were without power in Allegan County, according to Find Energy, with a peak outage count of more than 12,500. Consumers Energy officials say that restoration efforts should be completed by Thursday afternoon.
Another round of severe storms is predicted by the National Weather Service for the region on Saturday.
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