Unhealthy levels of air in Twin Cities and central Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A line of severe thunderstorms raced across Minnesota overnight, bringing wind gusts of more than 80 mph, downing trees and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

The strong winds may also have been responsible for a train derailment in western Minnesota, near the city of Hoffman.

More severe storms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, especially across eastern Minnesota and into western Wisconsin. Find forecast updates on the 

The first round developed over the Dakotas and Nebraska late Tuesday and congealed into a line of severe storms that reached the Twin Cities around 3 a.m.

Parts of western Minnesota were especially hard-hit. A weather station near Marietta recorded a wind gust of 83 mph just after 1 a.m. Other gusts reported by the National Weather Service included 78 mph near Madison; 74 mph near Glenwood; 72 mph at Chokio; and 62 mph near Dilworth, Sabin and Parkers Prairie.

At about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, as those winds were raking western Minnesota, about 20 cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway train were knocked off the tracks in Hoffman, which is located in Grant County.

“The cars are all loaded autoracks carrying new vehicles. No hazardous materials are involved and there is no risk to public safety,” the railway said in a statement later in the morning. “CPKC crews and equipment are at the site working on cleanup.”

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, but the railway’s statement acknowledged that it happened as the storms were moving through.

City officials in Hoffman asked residents to stay out of city parks. “There are many trees uprooted and it is currently not safe,” the city said in a 

There were also strong winds in the Twin Cities. The storms toppled large limbs and entire trees onto vehicles in parts of St. Paul, including the Cathedral Hill neighborhood.

As of 5 a.m., Minnesota utilities were reporting more than 70,000 customers without power. That number dropped through the morning as line crews made repairs.

Ahead of the storms, Xcel Energy said it had crews ready to respond to downed lines.

The utility reminded people to stay away from downed or sagging power lines — and to “always assume an electric line, even one on the ground, is energized and dangerous.”

In an update Wednesday morning, Xcel said “about 275 crews are in the field now to safely restore power as quickly as possible, with additional teams slated to join this afternoon. Crews report first to situations that threaten public safety, such as downed wires that are still energized, followed by the restoration jobs that will bring the largest number of customers back online at once.”

After the early-morning storms, a break is expected midday before more storms develop in the afternoon — which could also be severe. 

The storms are forming as a cold front collides with hot, humid air across the region.

Minnesota News

Weather and Climate News

NewsPartners

Homepage

Andrew Krueger

Author

A line of severe thunderstorms raced across Minnesota overnight, bringing wind gusts of more than 80 mph and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses. The strong winds may have been responsible for a train derailment in western Minnesota.

Severe storms down trees, knock out power to thousands across Minnesota

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox