Live updates: Much of Minnesota under tornado watch as storms hit

After one round of thunderstorms moved across Minnesota on Monday morning, attention turned to a second, potentially much more dangerous round of storms during the afternoon and evening hours. The heaviest storm activity is likely between 4 and 7 p.m. for the Twin Cities metro.

Some school districts announced they were ending classes early and canceling after-school activities to allow students and staff to make it home before potential severe weather.

The National Weather Service said there’s a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms — that’s level 4 out of 5 — from Willmar and St. Cloud south and east to the Twin Cities, Mankato and Rochester. It also extends into parts of western Wisconsin.

Most of the rest of Minnesota has an elevated risk of severe weather, too. The threats include large hail, damaging winds and possibly strong tornadoes.

Ahead of the storms, officials urged people to keep a close eye on weather conditions, and have a way to receive severe weather watches and warnings. They said people should plan, and know where they can seek shelter if severe storms approach.

3:39 p.m.: Tornado warning near St. Cloud

A tornado warning has been issued until 4:15 p.m. for northeastern Meeker County, southeastern Stearns County and northwestern Wright County in central Minnesota, including St. Cloud.

3:28 p.m.: New tornado watch includes Twin Cities

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 11 p.m. for a swath of central and southeast Minnesota including the Twin Cities metro, St. Cloud and Rochester. The main concern is “very large hail and a few tornadoes,” but strong tornadoes are possible.

3:25 p.m.: Severe storms dropping large hail in parts of southern Minnesota

The severe storms moving across southern Minnesota on Monday afternoon have produced hailstones the size of baseballs.

The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls, S.D., received a report of baseball-size hail near Beaver Creek in far southwest Minnesota as storms moved through at about 1:30 p.m.

Spotters reported quarter-size hail in Cottonwood County, northeast of Dundee, just before 3 p.m., and in Jackson County, southeast of Brewster, just after 3 p.m.

The storms prompted a tornado warning for parts of Cottonwood and Murray counties just after 2:30 p.m., but there were no immediate confirmed sightings of a tornado or reports of damage.

3:15 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning for southwest Minnesota

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm near Comfrey about 30 miles southwest of New Ulm, moving northeast at 60 mph. The storm could produce hail the size of a half-dollar coin.

There also is a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm about 11 miles east of Worthington, moving northeast at 45 mph, that might produce hail the size of a ping-pong ball.

Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms were moving into Brainerd and were expected to bring pea-sized hail until about 4 p.m.

2:35 p.m.: Tornado warning in southwest Minnesota

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning that includes Jeffers and Storden in southwest Minnesota until 3 p.m. It also said there is possibly very large hail headed toward Dundee, Minn.. It advises anyone within the warning zone to seek shelter.

1:30 p.m.: Schools cancel after-school activities

Many school districts are canceling after-school activities, including extended learning, athletics and facility rentals. School districts that have announced closures include Minneapolis Public Schools, Roseville Area Schools, St. Louis Park Public Schools, Richfield Public Schools, Anoka-Hennepin schools, Minnetonka schools, Independent School District 728, Eastern Carver County Schools, St. Cloud schools, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196 and Osseo Area Schools.

Rochester Public Schools canceled middle school after-school activities and night school classes. All activities at Rochester school sites must conclude by 6 p.m.

Many after-school care programs will remain open until everyone has been picked up, but schools are asking parents to pick up their children as soon as possible.

12:30 p.m.: Tornado watch issued for southwest and central Minnesota

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch until 8 p.m. including most of southwest and central Minnesota. Storms within the watch zone may produce large hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes into Monday evening.

11:53 a.m.: School districts closing early

At least five school districts — Blue Earth Area, Jackson County Central, Martin County West, Red Rock Central and Windom — announced they were ending classes early Monday because of the risk of severe weather.

“We want everyone home safely before the storms begin,” Martin County West school officials wrote.

“With nearly 800 students relying on bus transportation — some on routes that require up to two hours from time of departure to return to bus garages — we want to ensure everyone arrives home safely before the potential for severe weather increases,” Blue Earth Area school officials wrote.

St. Paul Public Schools preemptively canceled most after-school programs and activities for Monday afternoon and evening due to the risk of severe storms.

11:41 a.m.: Preparations begin for coming storms

The city of Minneapolis said it would close public-facing, nonemergency city facilities and services at 2 p.m. Its 311 call center will have extended hours — until 9 p.m. — to handle any storm-related public service calls.

The city said it had activated its Emergency Operations Center and was conducting outreach to homeless shelters and service providers to ensure unhoused residents have a safe place to go.

Utilities across the region were also closely monitoring weather conditions for potential severe storms that could down trees and power lines. Xcel Energy said it’s “tracking these forecasts and will stage additional crews as needed to respond to any outages, attending to the largest outages first to quickly get the most customers back online as soon as possible.”