High winds shear bolts, toppling billboard in east Twin Cities metro area

Strong winds toppled a large billboard in Maplewood, Minnesota on Friday, shearing off four large metal bolts that anchored the structure along Interstate 94.

The billboard came down near the 3M headquarters along Hudson Road, just east of the corporate campus. A representative for the company that owns the billboard said wind was to blame.

The damage came as strong winds swept through the Twin Cities metro area overnight and into Friday morning. Xcel Energy said more than 20,000 customers lost power across the greater metro.

In River Falls, Wisconsin, wind knocked down a tree that took power lines down with it.

WCCO's NEXT Weather team says that, while winds die down Friday, stronger winds are expected to return Saturday night, along with several inches of snow. A major winter storm is set to bring significant snow and wind to parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin this weekend.

A strong area of low pressure will slide across Iowa Saturday night into Sunday. Heavy snow is likely across central Minnesota and areas of Wisconsin with the current expected track because the system will carry a lot of moisture with it.

The snow is set to move in Saturday evening, with the heaviest snow falling overnight into early Sunday morning. The snow should slow down through the afternoon and evening Sunday.

Northern Minnesota likely will not see much snow, if any at all.

Impacts are still about 30 hours away, meaning there is still some room for adjustments in the forecast.