For the second time this week, strong storms roared through Minnesota and western Wisconsin, uprooting trees and disrupting electrical service.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS surveyed the damage in an Anoka neighborhood where fierce winds had snapped tree trunks and strewn branches across neighbors’ lawns. Multiple trees had fallen on homes, causing major damage.

Some of the most significant damage 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS saw in Anoka was just north of Highway 10 and near Seventh Avenue. There, many trees were uprooted and power crews were busy into the night working to restore power. 

“When I first walked up here and saw the root systems of both trees literally torn up from the very foundation that they come from. It’s just insane,” Blake Johnson, of Anoka, said of two large pine trees falling feet from his home. 

Throughout the night, Anoka city officials were sharing updates on the work to restore power — the city was also sharing reminders for homeowners to help their power restored as quickly as possible. 

Also in the north metro, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS found trees tipped over at the base in Champlin, pulling up carpets of turf with them.

Meanwhile, Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey declared a state of emergency due to widespread damage to trees, homes and power lines. Crews from the city and Washington County are set to clean up debris on Friday morning.

In Isanti, law enforcement reported a tornado had briefly touched down around 4:45 p.m. Other reports of tornadoes came from El Paso, River Falls and Wilson in western Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

More than 18,000 customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin were without power as of 9:15 p.m., according to Xcel Energy. Lights were out for as many as 40,000 earlier in the night.

The storms briefly caused people to take shelter at the Minnesota State Fair, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers and University of St. Thomas Tommies both delayed their first home football games of the season to wait out the rain.

This is a developing story. Stay with KSTP.com and 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS as we work to bring you the latest updates.