NEXT Weather: Hail rains down inside Wisconsin Walmart during Wednesday's storms
MINNEAPOLIS -- Wednesday's storms caused plenty of damage and dysfunction, including the shutdown of a western Wisconsin Walmart after hail smashed through the roof.
There were reports Wednesday evening of trees downed by heavy wind in many areas, and severe hail fell across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, including some as big as golf balls – and even tennis ball-size hail in Duluth, according to the National Weather Service.
Rice Lake, Wisconsin seemed to be the epicenter of hail chaos Wednesday, giving yards a Christmas-like feel -- and even smashing through the roof of the city's Walmart. The store closed early, and there are no reports yet of any injuries.
A tornado-warned storm repeatedly dropped a funnel out into the western Wisconsin counties of Barron and Pierce, but there were no reports of an actual tornado.
At one point Wednesday, 50,000 residents of Minnesota and western Wisconsin were without power due to the storms, with most in the metro area. As of Thursday morning, about 7,800 customers in the Twin Cities are still without power, according to Xcel Energy.
In Carlton County, lightning struck a barn, igniting it and causing it to burn to the ground, the sheriff's office said. No animals or humans were injured.
The upside of the evening's storms is that many areas north of Interstate 94 received up to a half-inch of rainfall.
It all quieted down overnight, and Thursday is expected to be much quieter and cooler.
By Sunday, temps will start to rise into the upper 80s, and we have a chance of hitting the triple digits by the middle of next week.
There is also no precipitation in sight for the next several days.
