Thousands remain without power after storms bring large hail, damaging wind to Minnesota
Updated: 3:15 p.m.
Xcel Energy and other utilities reported more than 3,000 customers remained without power as of mid-afternoon Thursday across Minnesota and western Wisconsin after thunderstorms brought large hail and damaging winds to the region Wednesday night.
That’s down from more than 40,000 homes and businesses that lost power in the immediate wake of the severe weather.
Kowalski’s Markets announced its grocery stores in White Bear Lake and Shoreview would be closed Thursday due to the power outages.
Xcel Energy said its repair crews were out working Wednesday night and would continue working Thursday to restore electricity to customers.
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The National Weather Service reported wind gusts in excess of 60 mph from storms that tracked from south of St. Cloud through the northern Twin Cities metro. There were reports of trees down in Cold Spring and White Bear Lake, and to the east across parts of St. Croix County in Wisconsin.
Brad Martens, Shoreview city manager, told MPR News that the northern part of his city saw some storm damage on Wednesday night. City crews responded to clear trees from streets, and provide backup power for sewage pumping facilities and other infrastructure.
“The work continues today on tree removal and debris cleanup from other public spaces including boulevards, parks and trail corridors. We expect that work to continue into next week,” he said.
Paul Kauppi, public works director and city engineer in White Bear Lake, said the city received some reports that downed trees and branches caused damage to homes.
Power outages forced the city to use generators to power sanitary sewer lift stations and the water system in the wake of the storms, and Kauppi said Thursday morning that parts of the city remained without electricity.
The storms also produced very large hail — up to baseball-size near Marcell in Itasca County. WDIO-TV in Duluth reported there was some damage to vehicles and windows in that area.
Tennis ball-sized hail was reported near Rice Lake, Wis. And spotters near Waverly, Albany, Kelliher and Hendricks in Minnesota reported hailstones the size of golf balls from Wednesday's storms.
The storms also prompted some tornado warnings in the region, but there were no immediate reports of tornado damage.
The National Weather Service received a report of a possible brief tornado touchdown near Tenstrike, northeast of Bemidji, on Wednesday afternoon. There was a report of a funnel cloud near Siren, Wis., at about 5 p.m. And the Weather Service reported a funnel cloud near its office in Chanhassen just after 9 p.m.
Michael Griesinger, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Twin Cities, said the damage in the metro area was from straight-line winds and not tornadic activity.
The storms brought locally heavy rain, but not the widespread rainfall needed to put a significant dent in drought conditions that remain entrenched across the region.
Quiet weather is expected Thursday, but forecasters are watching the potential for an intense heat wave next week.
MPR News reporters Nina Moini and Hannah Yang contributed to this report.