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No-travel advisories remained in place across most of southern Minnesota on Monday morning amid ongoing blizzard conditions.
Winds were still gusting to more than 40 mph across the region, causing blowing and drifting snow. Parts of central and southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin, saw more than a half-foot of snow on Sunday.
Interstate 35 remained closed in both directions from Albert Lea south to Ames, Iowa. Gov. Tim Walz on Sunday evening authorized the Minnesota National Guard to help support the emergency response to the storm.
“The state has received a request for National Guard assistance from the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office to provide the personnel, equipment, facilities and resources necessary to respond to the severe weather and rescue stranded motorists,” the governor’s office reported. Freeborn County includes stretches of Interstates 35 and 90 near Albert Lea.
An emergency shelter was set up overnight at the National Guard armory in Albert Lea.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 71 south of Redwood Falls was also closed Monday morning due to drifting snow.
The State Patrol responded to at least 422 crashes across Minnesota from early Sunday through 5:30 a.m. Monday — 31 resulting in injuries. There were no immediate reports of fatal crashes.
The Patrol also reported at least 470 spinouts or vehicles in the ditch, and 29 jackknifed semis. Those numbers only cover state and federal highways, and don’t include crashes or spinouts on city and county roads.
No-travel advisories | Snow emergencies | Flight cancellations | Forecast and other updates
No-travel advisories
Roads remained icy and covered in snow early Monday. While the snow has largely ended, the gusty winds — and falling temperatures — added to the difficult driving conditions overnight.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation continued to advise no travel across most of the southern half of the state outside the Twin Cities.
Highways under the no-travel advisory as of Monday morning included:
Interstate 35 between the Northfield exit and Albert Lea (the highway is closed south of Albert Lea)
Interstate 90 between the South Dakota border and Dexter
U.S. Highway 12 between Kerkhoven and Cokato
U.S. Highway 14 between the South Dakota border and Waseca
U.S. Highway 59 between Milan and the Iowa border
U.S. Highway 71 between Belgrade the Iowa border
U.S. Highway 75 between Odessa and the Iowa border
U.S. Highway 169 between Henderson and the Iowa border
U.S. Highway 212 between the South Dakota border and Norwood Young America
State Highway 23 between Interstate 90 and Paynesville
State Highway 60 between Mankato and the Iowa border
Snowplows were pulled off highways in parts of the state due to poor visibility on Sunday, with heavy snow accompanied by winds gusting to more than 50 mph at times. Several cities, including Minneapolis, declared snow emergencies.
Elsewhere across western, central and southern Minnesota — including the Twin Cities — travel was difficult amid quickly accumulating snow. Many people changed travel plans, including Dolly Ludden of St. Paul. She’d been staying at a cabin in Isanti, but decided to return to the city when she heard about the big storm.
“I didn’t want to get locked in up there,” she said.
Most drivers on southbound Interstate 35 headed into the Twin Cities were traveling far below the speed limit due to road conditions and weather.
“Coming down the freeway, I think everyone was doing about 40,” Ludden said. “I did see one vehicle off the road already, tipped on its side. So they probably hit some ice or something.”
Metro Transit reported early Monday that about a third of its Twin Cities bus routes were delayed, though the average delay was only 5 minutes.
While the storm caused a lot of headaches for travelers, its timing during the holiday break also means plenty of time for sledding, skiing and other winter fun for kids and families across the region over the next few days.
Snow emergencies
Many Minnesota cities — including Minneapolis — declared snow emergencies, to give public works crews time to clear snow from city streets.
The snow emergency in Minneapolis follows a multi-day schedule, with varying parking rules:
9 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday: 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. Monday: 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. Tuesday: 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.
Other cities declaring snow emergencies included Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Byron, Crystal, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Montevideo, New Hope, North Mankato, Richfield, St. James, St. Louis Park, Wabasha, Waseca and West St. Paul. Check with your city’s website or social media pages for snow emergency status and timing.
As of Monday morning, the city of St. Paul had not declared a snow emergency. In a Facebook post, the city said its crews were focused on keeping main streets open during Sunday’s snow.
Flight cancellations
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, officials were expecting more than 50,000 people to pass through security checkpoints on Sunday — one of the two busiest days of the holiday travel season.
As of Sunday evening, more than 375 flights had been delayed or canceled that day. The airport called in extra workers to clear snow.
Early Monday, MSP was already reporting more than 50 canceled flights.
Forecast updates
MPR News: Real-time radar
National Weather Service: Snowfall reports
Travel updates
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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