MINNEAPOLIS — Another round of severe weather descended upon Minnesota and Wisconsin Thursday, bringing with it extreme heat, strong winds, hail and a risk for flash flooding.
In western Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon, Polk County Fair attendees were evacuated for a short time when the storm arrived between 3 and 4 p.m., blowing over tents in bouts of heavy rain and hail. Fair organizers told KARE 11 that despite the St. Croix Falls fairgrounds reopening after the storm, its rides and horse pull have been canceled for the rest of the night.
Organizers say the activities will resume Friday.
In the meantime, fair workers had a sizeable clean-up in the wake of the storm system, having to clear standing water from buildings and reinforce vendor tents that the wind had flattened.
Around the same time in nearby Cushing, Wisconsin, some residents reported large trees being ripped from the ground.
About an hour-and-a-half drive southwest, homeowners in Eureka Township, Wisconsin had already started cleaning up the mess of trees and debris left behind by the storm by 6 p.m. KARE 11 spoke with a resident who watched as the storm came in, raining hail and pummeling the trees in his yard to the ground.
"I was inside and it just started pouring and I could hear hail hitting the windows," said Jeremy Lindquist, adding, "There's some really strong trees in the front that were just snapped out of the ground. It was something to see — those big trees bending the way they were."
As the storm moved east into Minnesota, areas in Chisago County also saw wind damage to trees and power lines. The National Weather Service reported numerous instances of downed trees, some 8-10 inches in diameter, in North Branch and Rush City.
By 7 p.m. KARE 11 Meteorologist Jamie Kagol said the system had moved into Anoka County and was expected to hit the rest of the Twin Cities over the next few hours.
As of 9 p.m., Xcel Energy reported just over 12,000 customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin were without power.
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