After Storm Clean-Up, Twin Cities Residents Try To Beat The Heat
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People across the Twin Cities weathered Thursday night's storm.
Now, they'll try and beat the 90-degree heat that's coming our way.
Storms popped up at different times and different places Thursday night. They didn't last long, but they left their mark. Strong winds uprooted trees and Xcel Energy said nearly 20,000 customers lost power.
"Some heavy winds drew up. Some thunderclaps. A few branches came down," said Mike Mitchelson of St. Paul.
On Friday morning, crews worked to remove those trees and other debris, casualties of Thursday's storms. As the day wore on, the focus shifted to sweltering, summer-like temperatures over Memorial Day weekend.
"It's going to be hot but I'm ready. I love the summer," said Oliver Elias of Minneapolis.
"We are swamped with calls. Yeah, with this early heat we are out a couple weeks I think on new customers," said Elliot Ikeler.
Ikeler is a service technician with Standard Heating and Air Conditioning.
A mid-April snowstorm shortened the tune-up season for air conditioners, leaving Ikeler and others backlogged. And that means Ikeler's plans for this weekend have already been made for him.
"We were way behind and now the AC's are breaking down. That's how I'm spending my Memorial Day weekend, yeah," said Ikeler.
Generally, they have two months to kind of get air conditioners in working order. This year, that timeline was just a couple weeks.
Hennepin County also has a map for places people can go to cool off this weekend if they don't have AC.