Storm warnings expire after a rainy Twin Cities night that includes brief tornado scare

The National Weather Service confirmed that two tornadoes touched down Friday in northern Minnesota, and there could be a few more twisters across the state Tuesday, the weather service said.

A swath of Minnesota was under a slight or enhanced risk of severe weather Tuesday into Wednesday, with the west central part of the state most likely to see large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes, the Weather Service said.

Tuesday night, a brief tornado warning was issued in the metro area for Shakopee, Eden Prairie and Savage after radar indicated a storm in the area. It expired at 8:15 p.m., with parts of Carver County were dropped just after 8 p.m.

Among the storm watches and warnings popping up Tuesday night was a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m. that includes the Twin Cities. Later it was expanded to include Stevens through Chisago counties and points north. It was allowed to expire.

The Weather Service updated its forecast about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. It was calling for storms to continue to develop overnight and spread south and east into southern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.

The Twin Cities metro area along with portions of southwestern, south central and central Minnesota were under a slight risk for severe weather Tuesday.

Friday's severe weather spawned two tornadoes in northern and northwestern Minnesota. The first touched down around 3:45 p.m. near Kelliher in Beltrami County. The twister 200 yards wide with winds of 95 miles per hour knocked down several trees and toppled a couple of grain bins and sheds as it traveled 3 miles, the weather service said.

A weaker tornado touched down around 5:34 p.m. near Glyndon in Clay County. The twister just 100 yards wide with winds of 75 miles per hour was on the ground for about a half mile and did not cause any damage, the weather service said.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768