High winds have caused thousands of people across the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota to lose power due to high winds. The National Weather Service predicts that a significant snowstorm is expected over the weekend, with accumulations exceeding 12-18 inches possible across a significant swath of Minnesota. Over 14,000 Xcel Energy customers were without electricity Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us. The majority of these outages are reported in Hennepin County and the south metro. A High Wind Warning is in effect for the southern two-thirds of Minnesota, with sustained winds expected through mid-morning. A Winter Storm Watch is in place from Friday night to Monday morning south of a line from Alexandria to Little Falls to Cambridge, where 6 inches of snow or more is expected.