On Monday, 87,100 Consumers Energy and Lansing Board of Water & Light customers across the state were still without power after last weekend’s stretch of severe weather. Local businesses, residents and MSU Grounds crews are still adjusting to the aftereffects of the storms as they work to regain a sense of normalcy.

“When we first lost power we called the hospital in order to get more tanks for him, but it wasn’t until this morning we actually got the tanks,” Rachel Hackel said.

She said her husband is healthy enough to go without supplied oxygen for short periods of time, but she didn’t know what others in worse situations would do.

“Not having a back-up tank wasn’t that bad for him, but I can’t imagine what someone would do if they were desperate,” Rachel Hackel said.

The BWL said power outages could not be projected due to recurring storms Monday evening, but 7,100 customers remained without power as of Monday morning.

As of Monday evening, Consumers Energy had 80,000 customers across the state who were without power and 12,500 of those were in the Lansing area. Estimates project the power will be restored in the hardest hit areas by Wednesday or Thursday.

“We have been keeping all the windows closed trying to keep the warm air out, because as of right now, we are still unsure about how long we are going to have to go without power,” Rachel Hackel said.

Although the Hackels had not considered renting a hotel room to get them through until their power is restored, some local hotels were overfilling with patrons trying to reserve a room Sunday night.

“We saw about 20 to 25 more people than average walk in and ask for a room (Sunday) night,” said Brandon Dawson, a front desk agent at Quality Suites, 901 Delta Commerce Drive in Lansing. “People were saying they wanted a cool place to sleep and a place to take a shower.”

Several businesses in East Lansing also adjusted to power outages as strong winds and heavy rains took their toll on Grand River Avenue over the weekend.

Quality Dairy, 1109 E. Grand River Ave., lost power during both the Saturday night and Sunday evening storms, causing sections of the store to be closed, said store manager Tony Miller.

“We had to bring in dry ice in order to preserve all the dairy products,” Miller said. “It was so frustrating dealing with that, and having to wait the eight or nine hours it took for the power to come back on each night.”

Los Tres Amigos, 1227 E. Grand River Ave., also felt the wrath of the Sunday evening storm as they lost power and were forced to close their restaurant for the remainder of the night seven hours early, said Nino Vrimvs, manager at the restaurant.

“There were people here sitting out on the patio right before the storm hit,” Vrimvs said. “We had to bring them inside and also box up other customers’ food when we decided to close the restaurant for the rest of the night.”

Both businesses regained power late Sunday night, and were open for business Monday morning.

While some businesses were forced to close their doors to the public, others businesses who did not lose power felt an influx of customers.

Emily Williams, general manager of Potbelly Sandwich Works, 233 E. Grand River Ave., said sales during the power outage were much higher than they would be on a normal night.

“Since a lot of people were without power and unable to cook at home, they were forced to find alternative places to eat,” Williams said. “We never lost our power completely, unlike other restaurants, so I think that drew more people into the store.”

After consecutive days of heavy rains and harsh winds, Physical Plant employees are scouring campus grounds cleaning up fallen trees, branches and other debris that clutter the area.

Large pine and maple tress at the Union were taken down by the powerful wind gusts during the storm Sunday evening, said Gerry Dobbs, landscape service manager of the Physical Plant.

“There was quite a bit of trees and large branches down that we are seeing all over campus,” Dobbs said. “We have had our crews out since 5 o’clock this morning cleaning up roadways and areas around dorms and other campus buildings.”

Although the storms only lasted a few hours altogether, Dobbs said it will take much longer to clean up MSU and replant several of the lost trees.

“We are looking at a cleanup that will last the rest of the week,” Dobbs said. “If this type of weather continues, it may even take until the end of the month.”