Four tornadoes touched down in Carver County on Sunday, NWS confirms
The National Weather Service confirmed at least four tornadoes touched down in the southwestern Twin Cities metro overnight into Sunday.
One tornado was near Lake Zumbra in the northeastern part of Carver County. It has a preliminary rating of EF-1 with winds of 80-90 mph, according to the NWS. A second tornado tracked along the north side of Lake Waconia toward Parley Lake, also in Carver County. That tornado also has a preliminary rating of EF-1, with winds between 85 to 95 mph.
A third tornado in Carver County was confirmed south of Waconia and north of Cologne. The NWS says the preliminary rating of that tornado is EF-0 with winds between 70 and 80 mph. The NWS confirmed another tornado with a preliminary rating of EF-0 touched down south of Cologne.
Tornadoes also seen near Gary, South Dakota
Multiple videos were submitted to WCCO, showing what appear to be tornadoes near Gary, South Dakota, on Saturday, which is located near the Minnesota border.
The town saw hail, excessive rain and tornadoes. No damage has been reported in the town.
Many families across the metro and western Minnesota are spending their Sunday cleaning up after the storms.
Over 14,000 Xcel Energy customers are without power in the Twin Cities as of 12:20 p.m., according to the company's outage map. That's down from about 50,000 customers without power earlier in the morning. Xcel Energy says its crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.
Several trees came down on Highway 7 in the southwestern metro, blocking traffic in both directions for several hours. Power lines were also downed in the storm. The highway has since reopened.
The Swift County Sheriff's Office in west-central Minnesota reported a tornado touchdown five miles east of Halloway just before 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The Twin Cities National Weather Service issued the first tornado warning for the Twin Cities shortly after midnight Sunday that included cities such as Chanhassen, Waconia and Mound in the western metro.
Another tornado warning was issued for parts of Minneapolis and the south and western metro around 12:30 a.m. The NWS allowed that warning to expire at 1 a.m.
Many metro cities reported nearly an inch or more of rain falling overnight. More than 2 inches of rain fell in Elk River and Minneapolis received nearly 1.5 inches.
There's another chance for severe weather Sunday night, with the Twin Cities under a marginal risk (1 out of 5) and southeastern Minnesota under a slight risk (2 out of 5). Damaging winds and hail are the main threats, but isolated tornadoes are also possible.
