Thousands without power after tornado warnings issued in Twin Cities overnight
Many families across the Twin Cities metro and western Minnesota are finding themselves cleaning up Sunday after severe storms rolled in overnight.
Nearly 18,000 Xcel Energy customers are without power in the Twin Cities as of 10:30 a.m., according to the company's outage map. That's down from about 50,000 customers without power earlier in the morning. Xcel Energy says its crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.
Several trees came down on Highway 7 in the southwestern metro, blocking traffic in both directions for several hours. Power lines were also downed in the storm. The highway has since reopened.
The Swift County Sheriff's Office in west-central Minnesota reported a tornado touchdown five miles east of Halloway just before 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Multiple downed trees in Minnetonka, Minnesota, after an early morning storm on June 29, 2025.
D.A. Johnson
The Twin Cities National Weather Service issued the first tornado warning for the Twin Cities shortly after midnight Sunday that included cities such as Chanhassen, Waconia and Mound in the western metro. The NWS says it received reports of a tornado near Waconia, but has not confirmed it yet.
Another tornado warning was issued for parts of Minneapolis and the south and western metro around 12:30 a.m. The NWS allowed that warning to expire at 1 a.m. No tornadoes have been officially confirmed.
Many metro cities reported nearly an inch or more of rain falling overnight. More than 2 inches of rain fell in Elk River and Minneapolis received nearly 1.5 inches.
There's another chance for severe weather Sunday night, with the Twin Cities under a marginal risk (1 out of 5) and southeastern Minnesota under a slight risk (2 out of 5). Damaging winds and hail are the main threats, but isolated tornadoes are also possible.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Severe Storms Cause July 4 Travel Delays: What to Expect
The busy Fourth of July travel week is off to a soggy start with severe storms causing more than 9,600 flight delays and 400 cancellations Sunday. AAA estimates 72 million Americans will be traveling for the long holiday weekend. More 61 million of those are expected to hit the road by car — and that number could increase due to the air traffic trouble. NBC's Maggie Vespa reports and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer tracks the latest forecast.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Trump admin will cut hurricane forecasters out of key satellite data in one month
The abrupt cutoff of satellite data crucial for hurricane forecasting is delayed by one month, until July 31, according to a message posted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monday. The impending data loss from a Department of Defense weather satellite system was announced on June 25 and slated to take place 'no later than' Monday, according to an earlier NOAA announcement. The Defense Department will still maintain the Defense Meteorological Satellite program, but announced last week it would cease sharing the imagery with NOAA and NASA. The decision, which was initiated by the Defense Department, caused an uproar among meteorologists, public officials and the media in the midst of hurricane season. The fear is that the missing information could degrade the accuracy of hurricane forecasts. The move comes in the wake of steep personnel cuts at the National Weather Service and other parts of NOAA. The data in question is from a microwave sounder data known as the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder, or SSMIS. This tool is like a 3D X-ray of tropical storms and hurricanes, revealing where the strongest rain bands and winds are likely to be and how they are shifting. Such imagery provides forecasters with information about a storm's inner structure and is one of the limited ways they can discern how quickly and significantly a storm's intensity is changing, particularly at night and during periods when hurricane hunter aircraft are not flying in the storm. According to a former NOAA employee familiar with the matter, the Defense Department's actions caught the nation's weather and oceans agency off guard, along with NASA, whose scientists also use this satellite imagery. The delay, this source said, is the result of pressure from both NOAA and NASA officials. The new NOAA message supports this, stating: 'Late on Friday, June 27th, CNMOC received a request from Dr. Germain with NASA to postpone the removal and to continue processing and distributing DMSP data through July 31st.' 'An update service advisory will be sent and FNMOC now expects to decommission DMSP processing no later than July 31st,' the message states, referring to the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center. The satellite status message references Karen M. St. Germain, the division director for NASA's Earth Science Division. This indicates the intervening of a high level official in this matter. The one month delay does not solve the issue since hurricane season peaks in August and September, and there currently is no plan in place for resuming the flow of this data, even when a new Defense Department weather satellite begins operations in October. Currently, NOAA is planning for that microwave imagery from that satellite will flow to the agency. According to media reports last week, the Defense Department's rationale for cutting off this data has to do with cybersecurity concerns stemming from the way the data is transmitted between agencies. NOAA has publicly maintained there are many other sources of data on hurricanes that will allow for accurate forecasts this season. The Atlantic hurricane season does not end until November 30, and this season is expected to be another unusually active one. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Trump admin will cut hurricane forecasters out of key satellite data in one month
Hurricanes Storms Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow The abrupt cutoff of satellite data crucial for hurricane forecasting is delayed by one month, until July 31, according to a message posted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monday. The impending data loss from a Department of Defense weather satellite system was announced on June 25 and slated to take place 'no later than' Monday, according to an earlier NOAA announcement. The Defense Department will still maintain the Defense Meteorological Satellite program, but announced last week it would cease sharing the imagery with NOAA and NASA. The decision, which was initiated by the Defense Department, caused an uproar among meteorologists, public officials and the media in the midst of hurricane season. The fear is that the missing information could degrade the accuracy of hurricane forecasts. The move comes in the wake of steep personnel cuts at the National Weather Service and other parts of NOAA. The data in question is from a microwave sounder data known as the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder, or SSMIS. This tool is like a 3D X-ray of tropical storms and hurricanes, revealing where the strongest rain bands and winds are likely to be and how they are shifting. Such imagery provides forecasters with information about a storm's inner structure and is one of the limited ways they can discern how quickly and significantly a storm's intensity is changing, particularly at night and during periods when hurricane hunter aircraft are not flying in the storm. According to a former NOAA employee familiar with the matter, the Defense Department's actions caught the nation's weather and oceans agency off guard, along with NASA, whose scientists also use this satellite imagery. The delay, this source said, is the result of pressure from both NOAA and NASA officials. The new NOAA message supports this, stating: 'Late on Friday, June 27th, CNMOC received a request from Dr. Germain with NASA to postpone the removal and to continue processing and distributing DMSP data through July 31st.' 'An update service advisory will be sent and FNMOC now expects to decommission DMSP processing no later than July 31st,' the message states, referring to the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center. The satellite status message references Karen M. St. Germain, the division director for NASA's Earth Science Division. This indicates the intervening of a high level official in this matter. The one month delay does not solve the issue since hurricane season peaks in August and September, and there currently is no plan in place for resuming the flow of this data, even when a new Defense Department weather satellite begins operations in October. Currently, NOAA is planning for that microwave imagery from that satellite will flow to the agency. According to media reports last week, the Defense Department's rationale for cutting off this data has to do with cybersecurity concerns stemming from the way the data is transmitted between agencies. NOAA has publicly maintained there are many other sources of data on hurricanes that will allow for accurate forecasts this season. The Atlantic hurricane season does not end until November 30, and this season is expected to be another unusually active one. This is a developing story and will be updated.
