Southern MN tornado watch, warnings active Monday evening

MN weather: Rain totals so far Monday

Heavy rain hit a large portion of the Twin Cities Monday morning, with the northwest metro getting hit the hardest. More rain is expected Monday afternoon as it moves south. Into Monday evening, the rain has the possibility to turn into storms.

ST. JAMES, Minn. (FOX 9) - As storms push their way through parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued tornado watches and warnings for several southern Minnesota counties on Monday evening.

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin until 12 a.m.

Widespread rain and isolated thunderstorms continued throughout southern Minnesota, with a possible tornado being spotted in both Darfur and St. James, Minnesota, around 5:40 p.m. FOX 9 Meteorologist Mace Michaels confirmed a tornado also touched down in Wells, Minnesota.

As of 6 p.m., people in the Winnebago, Minnesota, area were being advised to take shelter, following reports of an observed tornado. Threats also remained active in both Steele and Waseca counties for several hours before passing from the area.

The NWS also issued a tornado warning for Minnesota Lake, Easton and Delavan throughout the evening.

Several thousand people have lost power throughout the Twin Cities, according to Xcel Energy.

FOX 9 will continue to track storms as they develop. Check back for details.