Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Consumers Energy crews are ready to go as Friday evening's winter storm settles in across the state.

The utility's Chris Laird says power outages are very likely as temperatures plummet through the weekend.

"We can expect wet, heavy snow to weigh down trees, power lines, and expect that to be the root cause of outage as we star," he said.

Laird says the latest forecast shows the heaviest snow on a line from Grand Rapids to Tawas, but stressed the entire state of Michigan will see wind gusts of 50 miles per hour, on top of frigid temperatures.

"That has potential to knock down additional limbs and lines, and to make those wet, heavy branches move up and down, to cause additional outages."

Laird says the top priority for getting power back on is emergency responders, television and radio stations, and bigger grids first. He urges all Michiganders to keep their phones charged and have emergency kits ready just in case.