More severe weather possible in Minnesota Wednesday afternoon after overnight storms knock out power
The first round of Wednesday storms has passed the Twin Cities, but another barrage is set to arrive in the afternoon. The multiple rounds of rain have prompted a NEXT Weather Alert.
Much of Minnesota, including the metro, saw strong storms move through overnight. Some spots saw half an inch of rain or more amid severe weather alerts.
Another round, set to hit between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., could bring large hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The greatest risk is for those east of Interstate 35.
While the threat has shifted to the east, severe storms are still possible in the Twin Cities.
A few showers and storms may linger into Thursday afternoon as cooler air begins to roll in. Highs will fall into the mid-70s under a mostly cloudy sky.
Friday will feature more sunshine, far less humidity and some breezes that could push highs to near 80 degrees.
A weak front may bring showers to the metro Friday night, but it will just reinforce the cooler and more comfortable air for the weekend.
Highs stay in the 70s Saturday, Sunday and into early next week with a mix of sun and clouds.
The metro's next chance for light rain arrives late Monday into Tuesday.
Overnight storms down trees, leave thousands without power
The first round of storms left some damage in its wake and knocked out power for tens of thousands of Minnesotans.
According to poweroutage.us, nearly 20,000 people are still without power as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. That's down from more than 50,000 people reported early Wednesday morning. More than half of those affected are in Ramsey County.
Xcel Energy said nearly 13,000 of its customers are without power as of 12:30 p.m., most of them in the eastern Twin Cities metro. Xcel said hundreds of crews are in the field working to restore power, with more set to join later.
While the company expects most customers to have their power restored by the end of the day, some outages in the east metro could extend into Thursday.
At 22nd and Talmage avenues in southeast Minneapolis, the storms uprooted a tree.
On Lake Harriet, some boats were overturned by the weather.
