Severe weather moves out of Minnesota after overnight storms knock out power
Severe storms that prompted a NEXT Weather Alert are moving out of the Twin Cities late Wednesday evening.
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. A second round of storms arrived in the afternoon, bringing strong winds and hail to parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
As of 8 p.m., most of the severe storms are out of Minnesota and trending weaker, though hail and wind gusts up to 40 mph are still possible to the west.
The Twin Cities also saw its first 90-degree day of 2026, according to the National Weather Service, with MSP Airport reaching 91 degrees.
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 leave thousands without power
For some people, Wednesday has given just enough time to clean up one storm mess before the next one rolls through.
Power crews are working to get the lights back on for thousands of homes in the Twin Cities and beyond after the first round of storms.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 4,000 people are still without power as of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday across the state, with the majority of outages in Douglas and Pope counties. That's down from more than 50,000 people reported early Wednesday morning.
Xcel Energy said less than 1,000 of its customers are still without power as of 10:30 p.m., most of them in the eastern Twin Cities metro.
"Just go with it"
Minneapolis city crews had their backs against the wall Wednesday, trying to get cleanup done before the next round comes.
When the rain stopped and the sun rose Wednesday morning, Mary Solac got her first look at the damage left behind in her Minneapolis yard.
"I heard a bump, and I heard the glass falling," Solac said. "And when you hear the glass and realize stuff's coming through the window, you know you've got a problem [laughs]."
But Solac is choosing to see the silver lining, despite losing the boulevard tree outside her home; the only thing that's been there longer than she has. A chorus of crews spent hours Wednesday sawing and hauling it all away.
"Well, it always needed to be fixed, I guess we fix it now," Solac said.
The storm took down the tree, but it couldn't take down Solac.
"I've had a lot of s***** stuff happen in my lifetime," Solac said. "As long as there's not a dead body at the end of it, just go with it."
On her list now is sleep, call insurance and clean up. And to any storm chasers looking to make a buck, don't bother. She's weathered this storm before.
"Been here, been scammed, know what the story is," she said.
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