Summery evening brings hail

Fast-moving storms swept through the area Tuesday evening, and forecasters predicted a repeat performance for Wednesday.

"We're not out of the woods yet," said James McQuirter of the National Weather Service. "We'll likely get more hail and wind [Wednesday] afternoon and evening."

While the Tigers were thumping the Twins Tuesday night, hail pummeled Target Field during the fourth inning, forcing a weather delay until crews cleaned up the golf ball-size hail that littered the field.

Twins fans scampered for cover about 8:15 p.m. as rain and hail fell. A few daring fans stayed in the seats, too, capturing the storm on cameras and playfully tossing ice chunks at each other to pass the time. Some Twins players stood in the dugout, trying to catch the hail in their mouths.

After the storm passed, crews used blowers, rakes and shovels to gather the ice chunks before calling an end to the 64-minute game delay.

Hail -- up to 2 1/2 inches in diameter -- also pelted other parts of the metro area, including Chanhassen, Chaska, Edina, Eden Prairie and Forest Lake. A trained weather spotter reported seeing a tornado touch down near St. Michael. Wright County authorities said it blew a roof off a house and took out some windows in vehicles, but no injuries were reported.

The Weather Service also received reports of a funnel cloud in Hennepin County.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788