Minnesota State Fair employee Tom Koeck was sweeping up fallen tree branches and loading them into a truck near the Leinie Lodge Bandshell on Tuesday morning after several waves of severe storms made a mess of the fairgrounds and briefly delayed its opening.
The storm left upward of 140,000 Twin Cities residents without power, though that number was falling by Tuesday morning and Xcel Energy said “most customers” would have it restored by the end of Thursday. The storms, which struck with intensity across much of the metro and other parts of central Minnesota, left many downed trees and other damage in the wake.
Debris covered the fairgrounds in Falcon Heights “from north to south,” said Koeck, who works in the operations division. He was still cutting back trees and clearing debris as customers finally started to filter in. In what may be a first, at least in recent history, fair officials postponed opening for the day by two hours, from 7 to 9 a.m., so crews and vendors had time to clean up and repair damage.

Storms packing winds up to 60 mph — as strong as a tropical storm — roared through the Twin Cities and central Minnesota on Monday evening. The second burst moved through the metro around 6 a.m. Tuesday, carrying similarly dangerous winds.
Brent Hewett, a Chanhassen-based meteorologist who was filling a shift Tuesday at the National Weather Service’s office at the fairgrounds, said it was the Tuesday morning storm that did most of the damage to the fairgrounds. But the inclement weather on Monday led the State Fair to call off the Happy Together Tour show at the grandstand. Those who stuck around were rewarded with with a double rainbow and orange sky.
Monday’s line of storms toppled large trees in Isanti, Maplewood, Chanhassen and Minneapolis, where radar indicated a tree 23 inches in diameter at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design was felled, the Weather Service said. Wind gusts over 60 mph were reported in Richfield, Eden Prairie and North St. Paul, and over 50 mph in Deephaven and Plato.

Monday saw highs in the 90s combined with high dew point readings, which pushed the heat index well above the 100-degree mark all across southern Minnesota. The most oppressive heat index — what it feels like — was 114 degrees in Albert Lea, with Carver and New Ulm right behind at 113 degrees, the Weather Service said.
The official highest heat index Monday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 103 degrees. Tuesday brought cooler temps and cloudy skies, and Wednesday is forecast to deliver partly sunny skies with a high of 79. Another chance of rain enters the forecast on Thursday.