ANDOVER -- High winds damaged homes and toppled trees as a line of severe storms ripped through the metro area, delivering pounding hail and heavy rain. The storm cut power to thousands of people.
One man died during Wednesday's storm when he was hit by a falling tree branch at about 7:30 a.m., Minneapolis police said. The incident happened on the 5200 block of James Avenue North. The man's name was not immediately released.
The storm also knocked out power to more than 160,000 Xcel Energy customers at one point. About 143,000 customers were still without power as of 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
One Andover neighborhood was hit harder than others. About 14 houses near 138th Avenue and Palm Street were damaged by the storms. Tree limbs and other debris littered the neighborhood while overturned gas grills and lawn chairs were scattered around.
The garage at one house was torn apart and it looked as if several holes had been pounded into the roof. A couple houses away, half of one house was in pieces.
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The roof of Kris Hondl's house was partially ripped off. Hondl said she and her family went into the basement when it looked as if the storm had "bent over" the trees outside. While downstairs, she heard hail.
"It sounded like water was pouring right into the house," said Hondl, 39. "Part of the roof was ripped off so water was pouring into the house."
Despite the damage, Hondl said, she thought her house fared well compared to others in the neighborhood.
Anoka County Sheriff Bruce Andersohn said seven houses on the block were severely damaged, while seven others had lesser damage, including ripped roofs or siding. He said the neighborhood was the hardest hit spot in the county.
"We're just thankful that all we had was property damage," he said. "We had no loss of life or injuries. This is all stuff that can be replaced."
The damage was caused by the first of several storms that marched across the central part of the state, one after another. The first storm included straight-line winds: Wind gusts of 67 mph were measured in Monticello, and gusts of 68 mph were recorded in the Crystal area, said Karen Trammell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"There are huge reports of wind damage all across the northern and eastern part of the Twin Cities," Trammell said.
