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Travel remained difficult across much of Minnesota on Wednesday after a winter storm brought heavy snow and gusty winds to the region.
The State Patrol reported hundreds of crashes on Minnesota highways from midday Tuesday through Wednesday morning amid the snow — including at least two fatalities. Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities declared snow emergencies to give plow crews a chance to more effectively clear streets. Dozens of Minnesota school districts canceled or delayed the start of classes on Wednesday.
While the snow caused stress for some, it was another reason to celebrate for winter sports enthusiasts — and for Minnesota businesses that depend on winter weather. It’s been a cold and snowy start to the season compared to some recent mild winters. Snowfall in St. Cloud and the Twin Cities is now running above normal for this point in the season.
The heaviest snow fell in a swath from northwest Minnesota to Brainerd and Little Falls, and southeast toward Cambridge and Hinckley. The National Weather Service received reports of 9 inches of snow near Vergas, 8 inches near Thief River Falls, Karlstad and Gonvick, and 7.5 inches at Warren.
Other snow reports included 7 inches near Motley and Willow River, 5.9 inches in St. Cloud and Woodbury, 4.5 inches at Detroit Lakes and North Branch, and 4.1 inches at the Twin Cities airport.
Hundreds of crashes
The snow — mixed with sleet and freezing rain at times — moved across the state during the day Tuesday. A particularly intense band of snow swept into the Twin Cities during the Tuesday afternoon commute, causing headaches for drivers heading home from work or school.
The State Patrol reported nearly 700 crashes and spinouts on state highways between noon Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday — and there were at least two fatal crashes in the state.
A man was struck and killed by a snowplow on Tuesday night at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It happened at about 7:30 p.m. near the LSG Sky Chefs facility on East 73rd Street, just south of Terminal 2.
Authorities said a 47-year-old man was hit by a snowplow in a parking lot and died from his injuries. MSP airport police and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating.
Early Wednesday morning a pedestrian was struck and killed by a car along an icy state highway in Mille Lacs County.
The State Patrol said it happened just before 6:30 a.m. along State Highways 27 and 47, southeast of Isle. A 39-year-old Minneapolis woman was hit while crossing the highway.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation continued to report icy roads across most of the state as of late Wednesday morning.
Snow emergencies
Minneapolis and St. Paul both declared snow emergencies in the wake of the winter storm beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday. That means special parking rules go into effect, and vehicles in violation of those rules may be ticketed and towed.
Minneapolis
The snow emergency in Minneapolis follows a multi-day schedule, with varying parking rules:
9 p.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday: Do not park on either side of a snow emergency route until 8 a.m. or until the street is fully plowed. Snow emergency routes are marked with signs. The city also has an online map of all snow emergency routes.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: Do not park on the even-numbered side of a non-snow emergency route until 8 p.m. or until that side of the street is fully plowed. For parkways, do not park on either side until 8 p.m. or until the parkway is fully plowed.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday: Do not park on the odd-numbered side of a non-snow emergency route until 8 p.m. or until that side of the street is fully plowed.
St. Paul
The snow emergency in St. Paul also follows a multi-day schedule:
Beginning at 9 p.m. on Wednesday: Do not park on night plow routes. That includes all of downtown, as well as streets with posted signs reading “night plow route” or “night plow route this side of street.”
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday: All day plow routes will be cleared in St. Paul with no parking allowed. Day plow routes are not marked by signs; if there are no “night plow” signs posted within a block, the street should be considered a day plow route.
The snow emergency will remain in effect until 9 p.m. Sunday. Don’t park on streets that have not been plowed to the curb.
Other cities with snow emergencies in effect following the storm include Brooklyn Center, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Richfield and West St. Paul.
School delays, closures
Through the morning Wednesday, some districts that previously announced a delayed start, opted instead to cancel classes or move to e-learning in the wake of the heavy snow and gusty winds.
Among them was the Forest Lake school district, where officials said they opted to cancel classes because of the “many rural roads that have not yet been plowed and the challenges our buses would face navigating these unplowed roads.”
Find a listing of school delays and cancellations below.
Light snow continued overnight and into Wednesday morning — along with strong winds that gusted in excess of 50 mph in parts of western and southern Minnesota. The National Weather Service had warned that those winds — combined with the fresh snow — could cause blizzard conditions at times.
Much colder air will filter into the region for the rest of the week. Find forecast updates on the MPR Weather Updraft blog.
School districts starting 2 hours late on Wednesday, Dec. 10
Check with your local district for specific start times
Ada-Borup-West
Aitkin
Alexandria
Ashby
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
Barnesville
Becker
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
Bemidji Area
Big Lake
Blackduck
Blooming Prairie
Blue Earth Area
Braham
Brainerd
Breckenridge
Browns Valley
Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart
Byron
Caledonia
Cambridge-Isanti
Campbell-Tintah
Cass Lake-Bena
Cedar Mountain
Central Lakes College — Brainerd and Staples campuses
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Climax-Shelly
Crosby-Ironton
Dassel-Cokato
Detroit Lakes
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Central
East Grand Forks
Eden Valley-Watkins
Faribault
Fergus Falls
Fisher
Fosston
Frazee-Vergas
Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
Glencoe-Silver Lake
Goodhue
Hawley
Hayfield
Henning
Heron Lake-Okabena
Hinckley-Finlayson
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted
Hudson, Wis.
Hutchinson
Isle
Jackson County Central
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton
Kasson-Mantorville
Kimball Area
Kittson Central
Lake Benton
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial
Laporte
Lester Prairie
Lewiston-Altura
Litchfield
Little Falls
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
MACCRAY
Mahnomen
Mahtomedi
Maple Lake
Maple River
Marshall County Central
Martin County West
Medford
Melrose Area
Menahga
Minnesota State Community and Technical College — all campuses
Monticello
Moorhead Area
Mora
Mountain Lake
New London-Spicer
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
New Ulm
New York Mills
Nicollet
Norman County East
North Branch
Northland Community & Technical College — all campuses
Ogilvie
Onamia
Owatonna
Park Rapids
Paynesville Area
Pelican Rapids
Pequot Lakes
Perham
Pierz
Pillager
Pine City
Pine Island
Pine River-Backus
Prescott, Wis.
Red Lake
Red Lake Falls
Red Rock Central
Red Wing
River Falls, Wis.
Rocori
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan
Rothsay
Round Lake-Brewster
Rush City
Rushford-Peterson
St. Charles
St. Clair
St. Cloud
St. James
St. Michael-Albertville
St. Peter
Sartell-St. Stephen
Sauk Centre
Sauk Rapids-Rice
Sebeka
Sibley East
Sleepy Eye
Stewartville
Stillwater Area
Thief River Falls
Triton
Truman
Underwood
United South Central
Upsala Area
Verndale
Wahpeton, N.D.
Walker Hackensack Akeley
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Waseca
Waubun-Ogema-White Earth
Win-E-Mac
Windom Area
Winona Area
School districts moving to online learning on Wednesday, Dec. 10
Albany Area
Albert Lea Area
Battle Lake
Benson
BOLD
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
Kingsland
Minnewaska Area
Morris Area
Ortonville
Parkers Prairie
Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Princeton
Renville County West
Staples-Motley
Swanville
Ulen-Hitterdal
Wabasha-Kellogg
Wadena-Deer Creek
Wheaton Area
School districts closed on Wednesday, Dec. 10
Austin
Brandon-Evansville
Cannon Falls Area
Chatfield
Chisago Lakes
Cleveland
Crookston
Dover-Eyota
Foley
Forest Lake Area
Grand Meadow
Houston
Lake City
Lanesboro
LeRoy-Ostrander
Lyle
Mabel-Canton
Mankato Area
Milaca
Osakis
Royalton
St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Southland
Spring Grove
University of Minnesota Crookston
West Central Area
Zumbrota-Mazeppa
Forecast updates
MPR News: Real-time radar
National Weather Service: Snowfall reports
Travel conditions
These state transportation departments offer live updates on road conditions and crashes:
For bus and light rail riders in the Twin Cities, Metro Transit offers weather-related updates on its Metro Transit and Metro Transit Alerts social media pages, as well as on its website.
Is there is snow emergency in effect for St. Paul or Minneapolis? Find out on the city of St. Paul website, or the city of Minneapolis website.
Flight updates
If you’re planning to fly from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport or another airport around the region — or if you are expecting visitors to arrive by plane — airports offer flight status updates online:
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