Summer barged into the metro area Tuesday with an afternoon outbreak of heavy rain, wind, tornado warnings and power-line takedowns, but no other serious damage.

More of the same is possible Wednesday and Thursday as a slow-moving low pressure system, more typical of winter or spring, creeps eastward across the region, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Friedlein.

Shortly after the midday summer solstice, observers reported funnel clouds over Willmar and Hutchinson, Minn., as well as Hampton and Coon Rapids in the metro area. Trees fell on some houses in the Coon Rapids and Blaine areas. Local and weather service officials were determining whether the damage was the result of a tornado.

Tornado sirens sounded across much of the metro area, including downtown St. Paul, where state Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman and several staffers headed for an interior storm shelter after spotting a rotating funnel cloud several blocks away. But there were no reports of touchdowns.

Bursts of heavy rain hit the metro overnight Monday and through Tuesday afternoon, flooding some streets. The weather service recorded 1.01 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport overnight and 0.17 inches in the afternoon. At the Star Tribune in downtown Minneapolis, 0.53 inches fell before dawn Tuesday and another 0.28 through the afternoon. A Wright County observer measured 2 inches in 12 minutes at around 4 p.m.

More than 13,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power as the first line of storms crashed through. Authorities in Eagan said a lightning strike likely started a house fire shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday; damage was estimated at $100,000. The family escaped without injury. Xcel Energy reported 61 households without power in the west metro area at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Don Haller, vice president of member services for Connexus Energy, which serves 120,000 households in Anoka and six other north-metro counties, said only 350 households were without power. "If [a tornado] did touch down, it didn't do much damage at all," he said.

At the Twin Cities office of the weather service, a computer glitch prevented two of the afternoon's four tornado warnings to be posted on the agency's website. The problem was resolved in less than an hour, and warnings in any case were disseminated to local media outlets and emergency mangers who sounded sirens, Friedlein said.

The latest rain was forecast to push the Minnesota River at Jordan up 2 feet by Monday, when it could possibly encroach on Hwy. 101 at Shakopee. Flood watches are in place across much of Minnesota, but little flooding has been forecast.

Showers are likely Wednesday, with a high in the Twin Cities of 71, with more showers expected Thursday. Sun should return Friday and Saturday, with highs in the low 70s.

Staff writer Pat Pheifer contributed to this report. • Bill McAuliffe • 612-673-7646