Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a peacetime emergency in the aftermath of the storms that raked some two dozen Minnesota counties with high winds and flash floods in late June.

Wednesday's executive order comes after severe storms that hit between June 20 and June 26. The storms caused floods, downed trees and knocked out electrical service to more than half a million residents around the Twin Cities.

Dayton has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct damage assessments in the counties hit hardest by the June storms. The emergency declaration is one of the steps necessary to request federal disaster assistance.