Damage reports, 150,000 homes without power as storms hammer Twin Cities

Two rounds of severe thunderstorms that brought wind gusts of between 70-90 mph and torrential rain has left almost 150,000 homes across the Twin Cities without power.

As of 6 a.m., the Xcel Energy outage map is showing just over 148,000 homes in its Minnesota coverage region are without electricity after the metro was hit with another severe storm early Tuesday morning.

Tens of thousands of homes have been without power since Monday evening, when wind gusts potentially topping 90 mph blasted through the metro area, combined with heavy rain and – in some areas – large hail.

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The Monday evening storm wreaked havoc at the Minnesota State Fair , forcing the closure of rides and cancelation of all live music including the Happy Together Tour performance at the Grandstand, while videos show areas of the fairgrounds were flooded.

But that was just part one of two, with another line of severe storms hitting the Twin Cities metro at around 5 a.m.

Residents are waking up to the damage left by the storms, with pictures showing downed trees and power lines across the metro area. This story will be updated as more reports come in.

Xcel Energy meanwhile says its crews are working quickly to restore power to affected homes. The last major storm to hit the Twin Cities in mid-July saw some households left without power for three days.

As the Monday evening storm passed through Minnesota, it left behind spectacular skies that turned yellow and then deep orange, with a double rainbow visible as lightning fired in the distance.