Twin Cities metro area residents braced for yet another day of heat, humidity and heavy rain Thursday after a night of downpours and road flooding.
No injuries were reported as of late Wednesday, but rainwater pooled deep enough in some areas to set cars afloat after 2 to 4 inches of rain soaked the Twin Cities. That made it the wettest night of the summer, according to meteorologist Paul Douglas.
Scattered power failures were reported from St. Cloud to the south metro just before midnight, and at least one house fire, in Minnetrista, was thought to have been started by lightning, according to police scanner traffic.
Showers and thunderstorms were expected to continue intermittently through the night and to return later Thursday before cooler, drier weather arrives Friday.
For a three-hour period Wednesday night, flooding occurred in a wide swath across the metro, including Hwy. 21 in Scott County, along Hwy. 62 at Penn Avenue and near the Roseville Commons area. Some drivers pulled over when puddles got dangerously deep and visibility went to nearly zero in the downpours.
Flash flood warnings were in effect for Hennepin, Ramsey, Carver, Dakota, Scott and Washington counties until late Wednesday, replaced overnight by flash-flood and severe-thunderstorm watches in many areas.
The Twins-Astros game at Target Field was called off after a nearly three-hour rain delay — a disappointment to Twins fans, whose team was ahead 5-0. The teams will meet again in two games Thursday, at 12:10 and 6:10 p.m. — providing weather allows.
At the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, a concert featuring the talented temporary trio of Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs was called off about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, after the opening act had performed. During a delay of about an hour before the announcement, concertgoers were told to go inside a zoo building because of hail and lightning. Information about rescheduling and refunds will be announced on suemclean.com, concertgoers were told.
