Skies darkened and tornado warning sirens sounded Saturday afternoon in the southern Twin Cities metro area and to its southwest and southeast, putting a damper on outdoor Memorial Day weekend celebrations.
Several funnel clouds were sighted across the area, but just one touchdown was reported, by a trained weather spotter near Gaylord, just after 2:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
No one was hurt, but the Sibley County Sheriff's Office reported some storm debris and damage between Gaylord and Winthrop, south of Hwy. 19.
Through the afternoon, as the storm moved eastward, the Weather Service issued tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings across a wide swath, including Carver, Scott, Le Sueur, Rice, Dakota and Goodhue counties.
Severe weather was possible into late evening to the west and north of the Twin Cities, forecasters said.
Showers and thunderstorms could threaten the metro area throughout the Memorial Day weekend, according to the Weather Service.
Sunday is expected to be mostly cloudy in the metro area, with a high near 71 and a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and at night. The overnight low will be 60.
Memorial Day is expected to be partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of rain in the morning and a high near 85.
