Huge hail, high winds, and tornado reports rake Minnesota Tuesday night

Some damage reports as severe storms focus south of the Twin Cities

Thunderstorms Tuesday
GOES-16 images show thunderstorms moving into a highly unstable air mass over southern Minnesota Tuesday. Lines indicate higher levels of available thunderstorm energy (CAPE) across southern Minnesota.
NOAA via COD Weather Lab

The forecast for severe storms across southern Minnesota came to fruition Tuesday night. This satellite loop shows how a line of non-severe storms in central Minnesota pushed an outflow boundary south into a highly unstable air mass over southern Minnesota. Storms erupted in the heat of the day as the boundary crashed into the advancing cold front.

Severe storms spawned golf ball to baseball-sized hail, wind gust over 60 mph, and tornado reports.

Wind gusts clocked at to 63 mph down this tree in Albert Lea, Minn., Tuesday evening.

Winds also gusted to 63 mph in Waldorf, and hail larger than golf ball-sized pelted fileds in the area.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Waldorf [Waseca Co, MN] STORM CHASER reports TSTM WND GST of M63 MPH at 2 Jun, 6:00 PM CDT -- MEASURED WITH DAVIS INSTRUMENT. REPORTED VIA TWITTER. TIME ESTIMATED.

Weather watchers in southern Minnesota captured some impressive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in southern Minnesota.

Quiet forecast ahead

We just logged the first two 90-degree days of the year in the Twin Cities. Temperatures back off into the 80s south and 70s north Wednesday and Thursday.

Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
NOAA

Our next chance for thunderstorms arrives late Thursday night.