Storm cuts power to 80,000 in metro, largely shuts down State Fair

About 80,000 people in the Twin Cities area are without power after a severe storm rolled through Monday evening.

In a statement issued before the storm, Xcel Energy said it planned to stage crews in the metro area in anticipation of outages in order to quickly restore power.

Theo Keith, a spokesperson for Xcel, said the storm brought heavy rain, hail, winds up to 60 miles an hour and “widespread damage.” He said crews were still assessing the situation and did not have estimate for restoring power as of 8:45 p.m. More than 55,000 of Xcel’s customers without power live in Hennepin County.

The National Weather Service reported downed trees in metro areas as far flung as Deephaven, North Branch, Waconia and Mendota.

Following the storm, the Minnesota State Fair canceled the grandstand concert, the Happy Together Tour, and said refunds would be issued. Admission to the fair, free entertainment, ticketed attractions, games and rides would remain closed for Monday as well, although the fairgrounds will stay open until 11 p.m. as usual. Those who stuck around were rewarded with a double rainbow and orange sky.