Xcel urges Twin Cities customers to prep for Monday’s severe storms

Xcel Energy is urging Twin Cities customers to prepare for possible severe storms Monday evening, warning that conditions could produce damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes across the metro. The utility’s advisory, issued ahead of the forecasted storm window starting after 4 p.m., tells residents to have a storm plan and basic emergency supplies on hand — battery‑powered radio or TV, flashlights, backup phone chargers, bottled water, nonperishable food, a manual can opener and first‑aid supplies — and to avoid downed power lines and make contingency arrangements for anyone who depends on electrically powered medical equipment. Xcel also laid out multiple outage‑reporting channels: call 1‑800‑895‑1999, text OUT to 98936, or report outages through its website or the Xcel app.

The meteorological picture has sharpened since initial alerts: forecasts now call for mid‑70s temperatures and light easterly winds before storms develop in the late afternoon and continue into the evening. That convergence of heat and moisture has social media meteorologists and the local NWS warning that several models are aligned on a significant upper‑Midwest event, with posts noting an upgrade to an enhanced risk for the Twin Cities and urging residents to use multiple ways to receive warnings. Recent regional trends add urgency: hourly rainfall intensity in Minneapolis has climbed roughly 24% in recent years and Minnesota has averaged more costly weather disasters in 2020–2024 than the long‑term past, increasing the likelihood that strong storms produce heavy rain, flooding and widespread outages — a point underscored by a recent major outage event that left more than 140,000 Xcel customers without power during a July storm.

Coverage of the threat has shifted from broad alerts to specific timing and actionable preparedness. Early reports flagged the metro as at risk for strong storms; follow‑up reporting narrowed the probable storm onset to after 4 p.m. and amplified utility guidance, led by local meteorologists and Xcel’s customer advisory. That evolution — from general caution to precise timing and practical steps — reflects both improving forecast confidence and a growing emphasis on equipping residents to respond quickly when warnings arrive.