Severe thunderstorms swept across Minnesota late Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning, producing violent wind gusts, heavy rain, lightning and widespread damage that left more than 75,000 customers without power statewide. The storms, which developed over South Dakota before racing eastward across Minnesota, delivered some of the most damaging gusts the region has seen in years.
The highest wind speeds recorded came from western Minnesota, where Marietta reported gusts of 83 mph, Madison saw 78 mph winds, Chokio recorded 72 mph and Benson hit 69 mph. Farther east, Alexandria saw 64 mph gusts, St. Cloud recorded 51 mph and Buffalo hit 49 mph. The ferocious winds brought down trees and power lines across the metro area, with the heaviest concentration of outages in the eastern Twin Cities.
As of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, more than 54,000 Xcel Energy customers statewide were without power, with Ramsey County alone accounting for more than 30,000 of those outages. When all utility providers are included, the total number of affected customers statewide climbed past 74,000, with significant outages also reported in Wright, Douglas, Stearns and Cass counties.
Damage across the Twin Cities
Storm damage was reported across multiple neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland neighborhood, a large tree broke off at its base on West James Avenue and Wheeler Street, landing in the road and narrowly missing a parked pickup truck. In Minneapolis’s Como neighborhood, a tree fell onto a house near Talmage and 22nd Avenues, landing on the bedroom and taking down power lines in the process. The homeowner told reporters she had fortunately not been asleep at the time of the collapse. Fire crews responded to secure the power lines and assist the resident.
Xcel Energy said its crews had been positioned ahead of the storms in anticipation of damaging winds, and restoration work was underway across the region by early Wednesday morning.
A second round of severe weather expected Wednesday
The threat is not over. Forecasters warn that another round of severe storms is likely to develop Wednesday afternoon and evening, with the primary risk having shifted farther east. The Twin Cities metro, much of Wisconsin and portions of Iowa and Illinois are under a level 3 enhanced risk for severe weather, with damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes all possible.
The National Weather Service noted that western Wisconsin in particular faces a favorable environment for tornado development as Wednesday’s storm system pushes through. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for multiple Wisconsin counties including Buffalo, Dunn, Saint Croix, Eau Claire, Pierce, Polk, Barron and Pepin counties through early Wednesday morning.
Heat compounds the danger
On top of the storm threat, Wednesday will also bring another day of dangerous heat to the region. Temperatures are expected to push near 90 degrees in the Twin Cities metro, continuing a warm stretch that has defined the start of June. If temperatures reach at least 80 degrees Wednesday, it would mark only the third time in 154 years of Twin Cities recordkeeping and in 133 years of St. Cloud records that the first 10 days of June all reached that threshold. The other years this occurred were 2023 and 1976, according to the Minnesota Climatology Office.
Relief is expected Thursday, with temperatures forecast to drop to around 75 degrees. Conditions are expected to moderate through the weekend, with highs between 71 and 80 degrees, lower humidity and mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. An unsettled pattern may return early next week.
Residents are urged to stay weather-aware throughout Wednesday as the storm threat remains active and crews continue working to restore power across the state.