More than 1,000 Royal Oak Customers Without Power in Heat Wave

Our neighbors to the south in , but misery does not love company when it comes to suffering through a power outage and a record-breaking heat wave at the same time.

Nearly 900 customers have been without power since 6 p.m. today in an area that covers and  – north of Gardenia, east of Rochester Road, according to DTE's power outage map. Power is not expected to be restored there until late Friday.

Almost 100 customers in the northwest corner of Royal Oak are still without power after it went out around 6 p.m. Wednesday. Service is expected to be restored by late Thursday, according to DTE.

The high temperature hit 100 degrees Thursday, cracking the 1926 record of 97 degrees, while the "real feel" soared to 112 degrees. At 9 p.m., the temperature was still in the mid-90s and felt like it was 105 degrees.

Even as DTE Energy crews are working to restore power to 29,000 customers in southeast Michigan, the extreme heat may create other problems, including rolling blackouts, according to DTE spokesman Scott Simons.

"Our system is designed to meet our customers' need for power on the hottest days of the year," he said, "but we're in the midst of we don't know how many days of 90-plus temperatures and extremely high humidity. We typically don't see that."

The heat wave has taken its toll on local activities, too. For example:

• Principal Michael Greening cut short summer school classes Thursday morning as classroom temperatures reached into the 90s because the school's air-conditioning system wasn't working. Greening said he was confident the cooling system and classes would be back on Friday morning.
• The Royal Oak Sandlot League summer baseball program is in the midst of playoffs but canceled all games except Thursday night's Kaline division playoff games.
• The closed for the week. "The window units cannot keep up with the heat," Muriel Versagi explained. The museum plans to reopen Tuesday, weather permitting.
• Despite the heat, however, the show must go on — and it did in Royal Oak's on Thursday night, where the . The audience was a little smaller than might be expected for an opening night, but theater officials are confident attendance will pick up as the temperatures level off over the weekend. 

Most local residents seem to be adapting, either staying inside or taking it easy when outside. reported no particular extra heat-related visits to its Emergency Center on Thursday. However, the extreme heat is being blamed for two deaths in the area, one in Detroit and another in Highland.

The excessive heat warning was due to expire Thursday night but was extended to 6 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. A hazardous weather outlook remains in effect until Wednesday as high temperatures stay in the 90s with thunderstorms possible each day.