MINNEAPOLIS  — Powerful storms moving through eastern Minnesota uprooted trees and knocked down utility lines leaving tens of thousands of people without power.

In Washington County, a sheriff’s dispatcher says Hugo and Forest Lake were inundated with downed power lines and trees as a result of the storms that hit early Wednesday morning. A tree fell on an apartment building in Columbia Heights.

In Anoka County, trees fell on homes and parked cars in Mounds View. Winds of 50 mph were recorded in Maple Grove, which also sustained significant tree damage.

Xcel Energy reported more than 56,000 customers lost service in the storm that moved through central Minnesota before landing in the Twin Cities northern suburbs.  Hundreds of utility workers had that number reduced to 29,000 by mid-morning.