Severe weather cancels grandstand show, leads to power outages in metro

The Minnesota State Fair shut down rides on the Mighty Midway and Adventure Park, canceled the grandstand concert, closed the free stages and told guests to "seek shelter immediately" as severe weather rumbled through the Twin Cities on Saturday night.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Ramsey, Dakota, Washington and Hennepin counties until 9:30 p.m. and reported pea-sized hail was possible and a possible tornado. It said winds hit 60 mph at the St. Paul Downtown Airport and urged residents to take shelter.

National Weather Service meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein said the weather service has received reports of tree damage and fallen trees blocking roadways and radar indications of a possible tornado, but no flooding. By 10 p.m., the National Weather Service was warning of possible tornadoes in Red Wing, Minn., and Ellsworth, Wis.

An Xcel Energy outage map reported that there were 280 power outages in the Twin Cities shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday affecting more than 27,000 customers. By 10:15 a.m. Sunday, about 6,200 customers remained without power.

Marisa Palmer, who was visiting the State Fair with two friends, said she was getting off a ride in the Midway when they started seeing reports of tornado warnings on their phones shortly before 9 p.m.

"All of a sudden, rain started pouring from the sky and everybody started running," said Palmer, who was visiting Minnesota from New Jersey. "It felt really scary at first. The entire sky was covered with lightning. It was truly petrifying."

"It literally felt like someone turned on a shower head," said Palmer's friend, Pacinthe Mattar, of Toronto. Mattar said she and her friends sought shelter under the awning of a Midway booth. "It looked real apocalyptic."

Mattar said many fairgoers headed for the exits when the storm hit and some fair booths started packing up for the night. But she said there were still "massive crowds" of people lined up for Sweet Martha's cookies despite the rain.

"It feels like a real Midwest fair," she said.

The State Fair said those attending the grandstand show would get refunds.