WCCO
By Chris Shaffer, Lisa Meadows and Joseph Dames
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A severe thunderstorm swept through southern Minnesota on Monday night, leaving tens of thousands without power.
The National Weather Service said the storm passed through the Waconia area west of the city just before 7 p.m. with winds of around 35 miles per hour, leading to “several reports of downed trees and power outages.”
The warning affected the counties of Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Pierce, Polk, Ramsey, St. Croix and Washington.
As of 10:50 p.m., Xcel Energy is processing 1,410 outage reports affecting over 79,000 customers.
The system also caused temperatures at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to drop by nearly 20 degrees in just a few minutes.
This storm is one of two expected to hit the metro on Monday, with another expected overnight into Tuesday. Flash flooding is also possible.
This line of storms should exit western Wisconsin by 11 p.m., but storms are still possible through Tuesday morning.
At around 7 p.m., weather sirens sounded around the metro, warning visitors and vendors at the Minnesota State Fair to prepare for “heavy rain, frequent lightning and strong winds.”
Earlier in the evening, fair officials postponed the grandstand show before canceling it altogether. All free stage entertainment was also canceled, and all Mighty Midway and Kidway rides and games closed early for the evening.
Temperatures reached the 30 degrees mark on Monday, the seventh time this year. A heat warning and heat advisory for southeast and south-central Minnesota, including the metropolitan area, expired at 8 p.m. The expiration came as temperatures dropped dramatically due to the first low pressure system in the storm.
Isolated showers are also possible on Tuesday, although it will be a little less hot and humid.
For the rest of the week, maximum temperatures will be between 27 and 25 degrees Celsius.
Except for the possibility of some thunderstorms on Thursday, the forecast promises dry weather.
Labor Day weekend is quite pleasant for outdoor activities, with highs around 21 degrees Celsius.
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