Minnesota hit by big storm, boy drowns

Torrential rains, damaging winds and large hail struck a broad swath of Minnesota on Thursday. One death was linked to the storms.

A 13-year-old boy drowned in Battle Creek Regional Park in Maplewood Thursday night. Police said he was with three friends who went to play in the swollen stream.

The rushing water swept him over a small concrete dam, Maplewood Police Chief David Thomalla said.

Rescue crews later pulled the boy's body from the water. His name was not immediately released.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport briefly suspended departures because of the storm.

There were several reports of funnel clouds being spotted across the metro area and elsewhere, though there were no confirmed tornado touchdowns.

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Two townhomes were damaged in Woodbury, though police and fire officials said they were not immediately able to determine if the damage was the result of a tornado or straight-line winds.

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Around 18,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power in the Twin Cities, as did about 11,000 Lake Country Power customers in northeastern Minnesota and about 7,000 members of Crow Wing Power in the Brainerd Lakes area.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for all of northeastern Minnesota, an area that had already been soaked by heavy rains Tuesday.