With high wind comes the threat of power outages and utilities companies serving Northern Michigan say they're prepared.

Both Consumers Energy and Cherryland Electric say they are watching the weather conditions carefully on Monday night.  Tony Anderson, general manager of Cherryland Electric, says no more crews than usual will be working tonight, but they will be on standby and ready to respond quickly if there is a power outage.

Anderson says preparations for wind and storms are on-going year-round. "We work on our tree trimming year round," says Anderson. "We have a smart grid in place so we can remotely check the meters and that helps us respond quicker. "

As of early Monday afternoon, Anderson reported 140 Cherryland customers without power. Consumers Energy was reporting just over a thousand customers without power in oceana, mason, manistee, and benzie counties as of 4 o'clock Monday afternoon.