Xcel Energy: Power outages for thousands of homes could last till Thursday evening

Around 116,000 Twin Cities and western Wisconsin residents are still without power after severe storms, with some households potentially facing around 72 hours without electricity.

According to Xcel Energy, the storms caused widespread damage including fallen trees and power lines. Overnight, crews restored power for 50,000 customers affected by the first round of storms.

However, around 5 a.m., a second round started, pushing outage counts back up across the region.

Sign up for our BREAKING WEATHER newsletters

By this morning, around 150,000 homes had been impacted. Of those, Xcel around 35,000 have had their power restored, and a further 40,000 are expected to get their power back by the end of Tuesday.

However, those remaining could face a wait until Wednesday or even Thursday evening.

"Because the damage is widespread, it will take significant time for all customers to get the lights back on," the Xcel statement said.  "Xcel Energy anticipates restoring power for about half of the 150,000 affected customers today. Most remaining customers will have power restored by Thursday evening."

The company says it anticipated the storm and prepared by sending crews into the Twin Cities. About 700 Xcel Energy employees and contractors are on the ground to “begin safely assessing damage.”

The company expects 1,700 people to work this afternoon to restore power.

Related: What was with the eerie, orange sky after severe storms blasted Twin Cities?