Weather service cancels tornado watch for southern Michigan, Metro ...

A tornado watch for southern Michigan and Metro Detroit was cancelled Wednesday afternoon by the National Weather Service after storms moved through the area.

The service had issued the watch Wednesday morning and covered the southern part of the state from Kent County in the west to Wayne County in the east and north to Saginaw County.

"Numerous showers and some thunderstorms continue through the afternoon," the NWS said on its website. "The severe threat has waned for most locations."

The system, fueled by an area of low pressure combined with strong southerly winds, spawned severe thunderstorms that threatened tornadoes and large hail for some 40 million people across the South and Midwest, including lower Michigan, forecasters.

The high Wednesday reached 77 at 12:13 p.m., near the record of 79 set in 1921; normal temperature for the day is 54. Last year, the temperature set on April 5 was 57, according to the National Weather Service.

By 4:30 p.m., total rainfall recorded by the weather service was 0.36 inches for Metro Detroit, boosting the rainfall total since Jan. 1 to 11.60 inches.

In Macomb Township, lightning struck a house early Wednesday in the 24000 block of Arrowhead Drive near 23 Mile and Fairchild roads and set it ablaze, Fire Chief Robert Phillips said. He said his department was called to the home at about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday.

A crew of 15 extinguished the fire in a couple of hours, Phillips said. About 40% of the home was damaged.

"The home's owner told us he heard a loud boom and then heard some noises that didn't sound right to him," Phillips said. "He looked out his home's windows and saw smoke and flames near the sliding door of the patio at the back of the house."

The fire chief said the homeowner is a retired firefighter who worked in another community and quickly got his wife out of the house. "He told us the flames were through the roof," Phillips said.

Phillips said lightning strikes on houses is "a common occurrence."

"Lightning takes the tallest objects, and in a subdivision where a lot of trees have been taken down, the tallest object it can find is usually one of the metal vents on a house's roof," he said.

The regional water authority had asked its customers to be on high alert because of rainfall from the storms.

"The regional system is near capacity, given recent heavy rain events, and is actively being drained," said Navid Mehram, chief operating officer, wastewater operating services, for the Great Lakes Water Authority. "However, it is working as designed and has the capacity to handle the expected flows into the system."

"GLWA is asking residents in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding during heavy rainfall to remain vigilant and out of an abundance of caution, to remove items of value from their basements."

Wednesday’s rain came just days after a tornado hit Dundee, Michigan.

Extended Detroit forecast

Thursday: Partly sunny; high 55, low 36.

Friday: Sunny; high 52, low 34.

Saturday: Mostly sunny; high 50, low 37.

Sunday: Sunny; high 60, low 46.

Monday: Mostly sunny; high 68, low 52.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny; high 74.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez