HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — Hundreds across the Twin Cities remain without power Tuesday morning, and investigators from the National Weather Service will be out in the field looking into reports of multiple tornado touchdowns in southern Minnesota after strong storms passed through the state.
Xcel Energy is reporting nearly 2,000 customers are still without power as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday after torrential rain and high winds pounded the metro. At the height of the outages Monday night, more than 9,000 had no electricity, including a large portion of downtown Minneapolis. Street lights, businesses and apartments were dark for about an hour and a half, according to KARE 11 photojournalist David Peterlinz.
The National Weather Service (NWS) received reports of multiple tornadoes touching down, including one just north of St. James, one near Winnebago, another just south of Janesville and an observed twister in Wells.
According to the NWS, multiple spotters reported seeing a tornado touch down just north of St. James at around 5:30 p.m. Watonwan County emergency officials said no injuries have been reported but added that there was damage to outbuildings, crops, trees and powerlines.
A trained spotter reported a tornado touching down near Winnebago at around 6:30 p.m., and shortly afterward another spotter reported a "large tornado" moving east-southeast just south of Janesville, according to the NWS. An additional observed tornado was also reported on the ground just south of Wells around 7:30 p.m., causing tree damage.
More than 1,000 people in Blue Earth County, which includes Mankato, were reported without power as of 5:50 p.m. The NWS also is reporting hail of 1.5 inches around Madelia.