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Dozens of Minnesota school districts sent students home early on Tuesday, and travel conditions deteriorated through the afternoon and evening, as a winter storm brought heavy snow, freezing rain and howling winds to the state.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported icy roads across most of the state late Tuesday afternoon — including the Twin Cities, where a burst of heavy snow arrived just in time to snarl the afternoon commute.
To the northwest, the State Patrol was responding to crashes and several jackknifed semis along Interstate 94 in central and western Minnesota.
And across the state, the snow was more welcome news for skiers, snowmobilers and others who love to get outdoors in the winter — and who’ve had to cope with often unseasonably mild, below-average-snowfall winters in recent years.
Before the start of Wednesday’s storm, seasonal snowfall was slightly above normal in the Twin Cities, and close to average in St. Cloud and Duluth.
Snow, wind — then cold
A narrow band from Thief River Falls to Brainerd, Little Falls, Hinckley and Cambridge could see more than a half-foot of snow by Wednesday morning.
The Twin Cities could see 3 to 6 inches — heaviest in the north and east metro. The National Weather Service said there was a chance for sleet and freezing rain to mix with the snow along and south of I-94.
Lesser snow totals were expected across southern Minnesota — but strong northwest winds, potentially gusting to more than 50 mph overnight, could cause ground blizzard conditions at times, especially across the southwest.
As the system moves out early Wednesday, much colder air will arrive for the rest of the week. Highs statewide on Saturday may struggle to climb above zero.
Schools dismissing classes early on Tuesday, Dec. 9
Check district websites for specific dismissal times. Some other districts are cancelling after-school activities.
Aitkin
Albany Area
Alexandria
Annandale
Ashby
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
Bagley
Battle Lake
Becker
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
Benson
Big Lake
Blackduck
Blooming Prairie
BOLD
Brandon-Evansville
Breckenridge
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart
Byron
Canby
Cannon Falls
Cedar Mountain
Central Lakes College — Brainerd and Staples campuses
Chatfield
Crookston
Dawson-Boyd
Detroit Lakes
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
Eden Valley-Watkins
Fergus Falls
Foley
Fosston
Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
Goodhue
Grand Meadow
Greenbush-Middle River
Hawley
Hayfield
Hendricks
Henning
Holdingford
Houston
Hudson, Wis.
Isle
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
Kimball Area
Kingsland
Lac qui Parle Valley
Lake Benton
Lakeview
Lanesboro
Laporte
Little Falls
Lyle
Mabel-Canton
MACCRAY
Mahnomen
Maple Lake
Marshall
McGregor
Melrose Area
Menahga
Milaca
Minneota
Minnesota State Community and Technical College — Detroit Lake, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena campuses
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnewaska Area
Montevideo
Moorhead
Mora
Morris Area
Nevis
New London-Spicer
Norman County East
Onamia
Ortonville
Osakis
Park Rapids
Parkers Prairie
Paynesville Area
Pelican Rapids
Pequot Lakes
Perham
Pillager
Pine Island
Pine River-Backus
Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Renville County West
Rocori
Rothsay
Royalton
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
St. Cloud
Sartell-St. Stephen
Sauk Centre
Sauk Rapids-Rice
Sebeka
Sleepy Eye
Southland
Spring Grove
Staples-Motley
Stewartville
Swanville
Thief River Falls
Tracy Area
Triton
Ulen-Hitterdal
Underwood
University of Minnesota Crookston
Verndale
Wabasha-Kellogg
Wadena-Deer Creek
Walker Hackensack Akeley
Willmar
Win-E-Mac
Yellow Medicine East
Zumbrota-Mazeppa
Schools that moved to e-learning on Tuesday, Dec. 9
Browns Valley
Climax-Shelly
East Grand Forks
Fisher
Goodridge
Wheaton Area
Schools closed Tuesday, Dec. 9
Kittson County Central
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
University of North Dakota in Grand Forks
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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