MINNEAPOLIS - A line of severe weather rolled through parts of Minnesota Monday evening, prompting several tornado watches and warnings.
A likely tornado near Princeton has downed trees and power lines and ripped off part of a roof. Law enforcement reported the tornado in east-central Minnesota, about 44 miles northwest of Minneapolis, late Monday afternoon.
National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Krause says if confirmed, the tornado would be the earliest in the year ever for Minnesota. He says the previous record was a tornado on March 18, 1968, near St. James, in southern Minnesota.
KARE 11 viewers captured some of the storm images and shared them on social media.
Obvious tornado damage with a path across highway 4... 4 miles west of Zimmerman, MN @weatherchannel @NWSTwinCities @kare11 pic.twitter.com/mTE9AzVsJz
— Kory Hartman (@koryhartman) March 7, 2017
The storms brought with them high winds and hail ranging in size. Tamela Schultz posted a Facebook video of the hail late Monday afternoon in Hutchinson.
A spotter measured a hailstone of 4 inches near Cokato. The weather service says a wind gust of 62 mph was reported near Pierz in central Minnesota. In southeastern Minnesota, a large grain elevator collapsed in Clarks Grove, and there were numerous reports of building damage.
This is a developing story. Stay with KARE 11 News for the latest updates.