Thursday night’s storm knocked out power to tens of thousands of Southwest Michigan residents as wind gusts topped 70 miles per hour in some places.

National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Marsili tells us the hail that was predicted didn’t really materialize, but the storm still packed a punch.

“It appeared mainly to be straight line wind damage,” Marsili said. “A couple of areas that were hardest hit that we’ve heard of at this point have been St. Joseph, Berrien Springs, and Buchanan, Michigan, and also the Michigan City, Indiana area.”

Marsili says so far, no tornadoes have been confirmed in Southwest Michigan, although there was a suspected tornado in Allegan County. How high did the winds get?

“We did have a report of a 72 mile an hour gust at the ASA station there in Berrien County, Benton Harbor. That would be the Benton Harbor Airport.”

Michigan City had a 73 mile an hour gust.

Indiana Michigan Power says more than 24,000 of its customers remained without power as of Friday afternoon. Due to considerable damage to electrical equipment, I&M anticipates having most Southwest Michigan customers who can receive power restored by 11 p.m. on Saturday.