Tornado Watches, Warnings Hit Minn.

Several southern Minnesota counties are under tornado watch and warnings on Thursday.

A tornado touched down in Austin. The Mower County Sheriff's Office reports that all injuries reported are minor. Austin Police are combing the city, assessing damage and going door-to-door checking on the welfare of residents

Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Freeborn, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Rice, Steele, Waseca, Watonwan, Goodhue, Albert Lea, Blue Earth, Fairmont, Mankato, New Ulm, Owatonna, Red Wing, St. James, St. Peter and Waseca Counties are all under Tornado watch.

Development is expected to take place over western Minnesota this evening and spread east toward west central Wisconsin through midnight. Because of the very moist and unstable air in place across this region, severe thunderstorms will be a threat overnight across central and southern Minnesota.

The greatest severe weather threat will be from large hail and damaging winds.

However, if storms initiate over south central Minnesota before dark, an isolated tornado will be possible, mainly along and south of the Minnesota River Valley. Along with the severe weather threat, locally heavy rainfall can be expected with the stronger storms.