A powerful thunderstorm raced into the Twin Cities from the west Sunday morning, bringing heavy rain, thunder and strong winds, ripping down trees and causing property damage.
Hail in many Twin Cities communities was so thick that it resembled several inches of snow.
The metro area office of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet about 8:35 a.m.: "It's NASTY here at the office in Chanhassen right now. TAKE COVER in the Twin Cities NOW!!!!"
Within minutes, downtown Minneapolis experienced dark green storm clouds, heavy rain and the peppering of hail. The Twin Cities temperature plunged as the storm rolled in, from 75 degrees at 8 a.m. to barely 60 two hours later, the NWS said.
Crews have restored power to roughly 150,000 Xcel Energy customers since the storm hit, with the west metro accounting for a large chunk of that total.
By 11 a.m. Monday, the number of customers without electricity was down to about 14,500, the utility reported.
The first storm-related injuries surfaced in St. Paul, where the Fire Department said a storm-damaged tree that was being cut fell on two adults in the 1800 block of W. Minnehaha Avenue. Both were taken to Regions Hospital and were expected to survive the injuries.
In Coon Rapids, public works crews fired up the heavy equipment and plowed several inches of hail from the streets.