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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A uncommon winter thunderstorm probably whipped up two December tornadoes in Minnesota Wednesday night time — an unprecedented occasion in recorded state historical past.
The Nationwide Climate Service mentioned it is going to ship groups to Freeborn County in Minnesota and Eau Claire County in Wisconsin Thursday to find out “whether or not harm was brought on by a twister or straight line winds.”
Our subsequent problem might be rain-soaked roads that ice over simply in time for the Thursday morning commute. Anne Meyer with the Minnesota Division of Transportation says crews should wait earlier than treating the roads.
“One large problem with this explicit storm is we are able to’t pre-treat when it’s raining. That materials will wash away,” Meyer mentioned.
After the rain, MnDOT will transfer in earlier than issues freeze over by early Thursday morning.
“Right here within the Twin Cities metro, crews are going to workers up round midnight,” Meyer mentioned. “We may additionally see some particles on roadways. That commute within the morning might be difficult.”
As of late Wednesday night time, Xcel Power mentioned extra that 7,000 prospects had been with out energy, with 5,800 of these in southeastern a part of the state.
Robust winds continued into Thursday, with gusts round 40 mph throughout the state. A Wind Warning can be in impact by means of 6 a.m. for a lot of Minnesota, and a Winter Storm Warning can be in impact for a lot of northern Minnesota.
About 1-3 inches will fall north of Interstate 94, and the Twin Cities could get a fast dusting, too. Snow showers ought to wrap up by the afternoon.
A doable twister struck northwest of Albert Lea in Hartland simply after 7 p.m., whereas one other unconfirmed one hit simply southwest of Wabasha. There are experiences of heavy harm to a financial institution and a number of other houses in Hartland, the place winds topped 85 mph. There have been no reported accidents.
WCCO spoke with a viewer named Lillie who was in Hartland because the storm handed by means of. She says her household went into the basement, bringing their canine and cat. She says it was very quiet, after which her mother described the roar of the wind as sounding like a prepare. When she felt just like the hazard handed, they walked a couple of block from their house to a predominant road and noticed among the harm. Lillie says they’re with out energy Wednesday night time.
The Twin Cities was below a Twister Look ahead to a number of hours, which the Nationwide Climate Service canceled round 10 p.m.
WCCO Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says the remainder of Minnesota dealt primarily with wind points, with gusts in extra of 85 mph. Most reported harm simply concerned timber.
It received to 54 levels in Twin Cities late Wednesday night time, nevertheless it was beneath freezing within the Fargo/Moorhead space.
Temperatures will proceed dropping by means of Thursday. The excessive within the Twin Cities can be a misleading 30, since they already hit that within the morning hours and it’ll solely get colder all through the day.
Extra snow is feasible on Friday and Saturday.
Under are earlier climate updates:
UPDATE (8:40 p.m.): Xcel Power is reporting that over 9,000 prospects in Minnesota are with out energy.
UPDATE (8:15 p.m.): Emergency administration officers say a storm slicing throughout southeastern Minnesota has produced a twister close to Plainview.
Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says the storm is transferring northeast at 70 mph and is heading towards Kellogg and cities in western Wisconsin. Residents within the space are suggested to hunt shelter instantly.
(credit score: CBS)
UPDATE (8:02 p.m.): Extra twister warnings have been issued for southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The brand new warnings are in Wabasha and Winona counties and are set to final till 8:45 p.m. They embody the cities of Plainview, Winona, and Wabasha.
A twister warning can be in impact in western Wisconsin till 8:45 p.m.
TORNADO WARNING till 8:45pm for Winona county. In the event you reside in any of the cities within the path of this storm take cowl now. No matter whether or not the winds are tornadic or straight line, this can be a harmful storm #mnwx pic.twitter.com/EpjFx5VuzX
— Mike Augustyniak (@MikeAugustyniak) December 16, 2021
In the meantime, Xcel Power is reporting that over 4,000 prospects in Minnesota are with out energy.
UPDATE (7:50 p.m.): A extreme thunderstorm warning has been issued for a lot of southeastern Minnesota, together with the southern fringe of the Twin Cities metro. Dakota, Goodhue, Rice, Winona, and Wabasha counties are all a part of the newest warning, which is about to final till 8:30 p.m. Cities below the warning space embody Northfield, Cannon Falls, Crimson Wing, Zumbrota and Pine Island.
In the meantime, a second twister warning has been issued for Olmsted County. A storm with radar-indicated rotation was noticed simply east of Rochester, transferring northeast towards Viola.
UPDATE (7:30 p.m.): A twister warning has been issued for southeastern Minnesota.
The warning is in impact for elements of Fillmore and Houston counties till 8:15 p.m. Radar has indicated rotation, and cities within the path of the storm embody Concord, Preston, Lanesboro, and Rushford.
These within the warning space are suggested to hunt shelter instantly.
Radar indicated twister warning for southeastern MN. Watch out for doable straight-line winds with this line of highly effective storms. It is transferring northeast at 75 mph. Search shelter in the event you reside within the space. pic.twitter.com/UWoNj0D6km
— Chris Shaffer (@WCCOShaffer) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (7:34 p.m.): A extreme thunderstorm warning has been issued for elements of Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona counties in southeastern Minnesota. The warning space contains the cities of Rochester, Kasson, Chatfield, and Preston. The warning is about to be in impact till 8:15 p.m.
Forecasters say the storms may produce wind gusts as much as 70 mph, penny-sized hail and doable tornadoes. Residents within the space are suggested to hunt shelter instantly.
The storm line is transferring northeast alongside the I-35 hall and appears to quickly hit the Twin Cities metro space. An earlier twister warning in south-central Minnesota has since expired.
Areas from I-35 on east are positively extra susceptible to extreme wind gusts (60+ mph) as these storms trip up from NE #IAwx. Warnings are in impact for at the very least the subsequent half hour for a number of counties, and @NWSTwinCities radar sees 60-80 mph winds aloft #mnwx pic.twitter.com/TlFR62m3GP
— Mike Augustyniak (@MikeAugustyniak) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (7:18 p.m.): The extreme thunderstorm warning has been prolonged to incorporate elements of Rice and Steele counties, together with the cities of Owatonna and Northfield. The warning is about to final till 8 p.m.
Radar exhibits the sting of the storm line transferring northeast alongside the Interstate 35 hall towards the Twin Cities metro space.
⚠️ SEVERE T-STORM WARNING for areas shaded in orange till 12/15 8:00PM. Extreme storms can produce hail 1″ or bigger, 60+ mph winds & tornadoes. Transfer to an inside room on the bottom flooring of a sturdy constructing. https://t.co/hcQdTh3wDG #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/PwirT4ISDW
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (7:10 p.m.): A extreme thunder warning has been issued for a part of south-central Minnesota, together with the cities of Mankato, Waseca and Le Middle till 7:45 p.m.
Forecasters say there’s the potential for damaging winds. Residents within the space are suggested to hunt shelter till the storm has fully handed by means of.
⚠️ SEVERE T-STORM WARNING for areas shaded in orange till 12/15 7:45PM. Extreme storms can produce hail 1″ or bigger, 60+ mph winds & tornadoes. Transfer to an inside room on the bottom flooring of a sturdy constructing. https://t.co/hcQdTh3wDG #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/3fdPAN47O4
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (6:56 p.m.): A twister warning has been issued for southeastern Freeborn County and western Faribault County till 7:30 p.m.
Forecasters say rotation was picked up on radar simply east of Kiester. Residents within the warning space are suggested to hunt shelter instantly. Cities within the warning space embody Alden, Conger, Manchester, Hartland and Geneva.
⚠️ SEVERE T-STORM WARNING for areas shaded in orange till 12/15 7:45PM. Extreme storms can produce hail 1″ or bigger, 60+ mph winds & tornadoes. Transfer to an inside room on the bottom flooring of a sturdy constructing. https://t.co/hcQdTh3wDG #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/jrNBSvqX9l
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (6:40 p.m.): A extreme thunderstorm warning has been issued for Freeborn and Faribault counties alongside the Iowa border in south-central Minnesota till 7:30 p.m.
These within the warning space are suggested to hunt shelter as damaging winds may fell tree branches and powerlines. In line with radar photos, the storm line is shortly transferring northeast towards Albert Lea and Austin.
⚠️ SEVERE T-STORM WARNING for areas shaded in orange till 12/15 7:45PM. Extreme storms can produce hail 1″ or bigger, 60+ mph winds & tornadoes. Transfer to an inside room on the bottom flooring of a sturdy constructing. https://t.co/hcQdTh3wDG #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/jrNBSvqX9l
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 16, 2021
UPDATE (6:10 p.m.): Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says {that a} climate balloon despatched up Wednesday afternoon confirmed that steady air was above southern Minnesota at about 5,000 toes. To date, he says, this layer of air has prevented the stronger winds from the storm line from reaching the bottom.
It’s but unclear if any new storm warnings can be issued. To date, the storm line has began to deteriorate the nearer it will get to Minnesota.
Nonetheless, the Nationwide Climate Service says a line of storms is racing throughout southern Minnesota and can method the Twin Cities metro round 7:30 p.m. Damaging winds can be a risk. Residents are suggested to hunt shelter if warnings are issued.
UPDATE (6 p.m.): The storms that prompted extreme thunderstorm warnings in south-central Minnesota have weakened and moved out of the realm. Nonetheless, the Twin Cities and southeastern Minnesota stay below a twister watch till late Wednesday.
UPDATE (5:28 p.m.): The Nationwide Climate Service has issued a twister watch masking the Twin Cities metro, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin till 11 p.m.
“The primary risk stays damaging wind gusts, however this highly effective line of storms has spawned a number of tornadoes,” meteorologist Chris Shaffer mentioned. “Hunker down at house, and keep away from home windows.”
(credit score: CBS)
In the meantime, extreme thunderstorm warnings have been issued for plenty of counties in south-central Minnesota. Counties below the warning embody Blue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Jackson, and Watonwan.
Forecasters say a line of storms is transferring by means of the realm, pushing northeast at a 80 mph. These within the warning areas are suggested to hunt shelter, as this storm has a historical past of manufacturing damaging wind gusts as much as 90 mph.
The present warnings are set to final by means of 6 p.m. Places within the storm line’s path embody St. James, Truman, Lewisville, Madelia, Crystal Lake.
⚠️ SEVERE T-STORM WARNING for areas shaded in orange till 12/15 6:15PM. Extreme storms can produce hail 1″ or bigger, 60+ mph winds & tornadoes. Transfer to an inside room on the bottom flooring of a sturdy constructing. https://t.co/hcQdTh3wDG #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/6QkGx4G0vW
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) December 15, 2021
UPDATE (5:05 p.m.): Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says the Nationwide Climate Service is getting ready to challenge a twister look ahead to southeastern Minnesota till 11 p.m. A squall line that’s produced a number of twister warnings throughout Iowa is monitoring towards the realm and anticipated to achieve it round 8 p.m.
(credit score: CBS)
UPDATE (4:18 p.m.): Quite a lot of faculties in southern Minnesota are delaying the beginning of lessons Thursday. Amongst them are Lakeville Space Faculties, which is delaying the beginning of lessons by two hours.
To see a full listing of closings, click on right here.
UPDATE (3:20 p.m.): Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says the squall line that can transfer into southwestern Minnesota round 5 p.m. has produced widespread 70-90 mph wind gusts throughout Nebraska and Kansas. This line is transferring northeast at 80 to 100 mph.
3:20pm Replace: Squall line (starting of a #derecho?) that can transfer into SW #MNwx starting round 5pm has a historical past of manufacturing widespread 70-90 mph wind gusts right now in Nebraska & Kansas. Some latest @NWSSPC wind experiences are hooked up (windspeeds within the column 2nd to leftmost) pic.twitter.com/iXinTVSbVy
— Mike Augustyniak (@MikeAugustyniak) December 15, 2021
In the meantime, the Nationwide Climate Service has issued a winter storm warning for a lot of central and north-central Minnesota.
This space is predicted to see snow on the backend of the storm, and the mix of recent snow plus sturdy winds may result in enormously diminished visibility. Moreover, the anticipated drop in temperatures in a single day may result in moisture on the roads flash freezing, creating black ice.
