Mower, surrounding counties placed in thunderstorm watch

May 20—Mower County and counties surrounding Mower have been placed into a severe thunderstorm watch until midnight.

According to the National Weather Service, storms with possibly heavy rains are expected to impact the area throughout the night and into Tuesday and Tuesday night.

Earlier tonight, as storms began popping up, a tornado was spotted on the ground near Hayfield and heading northeast toward Dodge Center at around 6:30 p.m. Funnel clouds were also spotted near Blooming Prairie.