Tornado Hits Minneapolis

A tornado touched down just south of downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday, according to several reports. Several fire departments reported seeing a tornado near the area of 35th Street and Portland Ave. and 15th and Lasalle Ave around 2 p.m.  

Full list of active watches + warnings

No injuries, lots of damage

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the city of Minneapolis has no reports of injuries, but downed trees and property damage have been reported along Portland Avenue and downtown at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The city is asking people to avoid traveling in the area.

Video: Truck Pushes Car on Interstate 35W

Minneapolis police, fire and inspectors have surveyed damaged in the area between Interstate 35W to Park Avenue between 35th Street and 49th Street, and have been doing door-to-door welfare checks.

The Minneapolis Convention Center has sustained approximately 1,800 square feet of roof damage and has some water damage. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was holding its national convention at the center at the time of the storm. About 2,200 people were registered for the convention. People inside the Convention Center were taken to a safe location, and there were no reports of injury.

Damage at Electric Fetus

The storm blew out windows at the iconic Electric Fetus record store in Minneapolis . Before the dust cleared, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was at the store, checking in on the safety of everyone in the area and surveying the damage.

As of 2:17 p.m. Xcel Energy was reporting 4,600 power outages in the Twin Cities metro area.

Some areas in heavy storm damage zones did not get yard waste pickup Wednesday due to the weather. If your yard waste was not picked up Wednesday as scheduled, city crews will pick up the yard waste Thursday.

Firefighters report tornado

National Weather Service meteorologists are working to confirm the tornado reports. A number of trained NWS storm spotters reported seeing rotation prior to what Minneapolis firefighters have characterized as a tornado touchdown.

Storm came out of nowhere

No sirens sounded and no tornado warnings were issued in the city before the storm hit. Rain had been falling most of the day in the Twin Cities metro, but the storm came as a major surprise to everyone in the area.