Summery evening brings hail

From quarter-size to tennis ball-size, the hail battered parts of the area, even covering Target Field in ice chunks.

May 11, 2011 at 4:57AM
At Target Field in a game between the Twins and the Tigers, second baseman Luke Hughes, right, put his hand on his head to avoid the golf ball-sized hail.
At Target Field in a game between the Twins and the Tigers, second baseman Luke Hughes, right, put his hand on his head to avoid the golf ball-sized hail. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

Lightning strikes from storm clouds over downtown Minneapolis as seen from the Diamond Lake Bridge over I-35W.
Lightning strikes from storm clouds over downtown Minneapolis as seen from the Diamond Lake Bridge over I-35W. (Stan Schmidt — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Mary Lynn Smith

Reporter

Mary Lynn Smith is a general assignment reporter for the Star Tribune. She previously covered St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County. Before that, she worked in Duluth where she covered local and state government and business. She frequently has written about the outdoors.

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