A heavy thunderstorm hit the Albert Lea area at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday. The weather observing station at the Albert Lea Municipal Airport says the city received a half inch of rain from the storm.

The heavy rain stopped at about 6:35 p.m., but it resumed as normal to light rain a little after 7 p.m. In all, Albert Lea received 0.59 inches of rain at the airport.

The storm packed a punch, with a lot of rain in a short time. There was a report of a line of hail that fell from about Twin Lakes to Hayward, south of Albert Lea.

The storm had been moving eastward across southern Minnesota and the Midwest all afternoon. Around 4 p.m. it was in Fairmont. It should strike the Chicago and Milwaukee areas today.

In Albert Lea, the National Weather Service forecast calls for today to be sunny, with a high of 73 degrees. There is a 20 percent of showers tonight, with a low around 52. It calls for a high of 79 on Thursday, with 20 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m.

KIMT-TV predicts a high of 80 degrees for Thursday, isolated showers early in the day.