MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A line of severe storms swept across Minnesota late Friday into early Saturday, bringing damaging winds that knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses.
Minnesota Public Radio reports winds were estimated at up to 80 mph at times on Friday evening as the storms barreled across northern Minnesota, where several thousand homes and businesses lost power.
Xcel Energy reported more than 20,000 customers without power early Saturday in its Minnesota service area - with most of those outages in the Twin Cities, where the National Weather Service reported wind gusts of close to 60 mph. That number had dropped to less than 12,000 as of 6:40 a.m. as crews worked to repair the downed lines.
The storms also brought some hail and torrential rain, with street flooding reported overnight in Brainerd. Strong winds also destroyed football field bleachers and damaged grain bins in Argyle.
In the wake of the storms, a dangerously hot, humid day is in the forecast for much of Minnesota for Saturday.
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