Highways reopen in southern Minn., but cold again closes schools

(AP) - Two major highways in southern Minnesota reopened early Wednesday as winds died down and snow stopped falling, but Minnesota remained in a deep freeze with the temperature dipping as far as -27 in the northeastern region.

For the second straight day, dozens of school districts delayed their start times or closed for the day, including Brainerd in central Minnesota, Duluth in the northeast and Lanesboro in the southeast. It was -14 in the Twin Cities, the National Weather Service said, and -27 in Embarrass, a small town just east of the Iron Range.

"More than anything now, it's the cold temperatures that are causing problems out there. Cars just aren't starting or they are stalling," said Kent Barnard, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Most of the state was under wind chill warnings until noon Wednesday due to indexes that had fallen into the 30- and 40-degree ranges below zero across much of the state by Tuesday night, and even as low as -50 in Hibbing at 11 p.m.

Not all that much snow fell, even in the hardest hit parts of southeastern Minnesota, but the fierce winds were enough to produce blizzard conditions in parts of southern Minnesota.

The State Patrol closed Interstate 35 from Owatonna to Albert Lea around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday because of blizzard conditions and kept it closed all night before reopening it early Wednesday. The Patrol reported about 75 crashes and cases of vehicles veering off the road or stalling in that area.

"The problem is that visibility is down to zero," State Patrol Maj. Kent O'Grady said. Intermittent white-outs caused motorists to stop, then their cars were hit from behind, he said.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the National Guard to open its armory in Owatonna as a shelter for stranded travelers, but it closed late in the day. Nine travelers who sought refuge there were sent to hotels, O'Grady said.

Two stretches of Interstate 90 in near Rochester southeastern Minnesota - the westbound lanes between St. Charles and Dover and the westbound lanes between Stewartville and Dexter - had to be closed after multi-vehicle crashes. Authorities also closed Highway 16 from Spring Valley to the Iowa border because of zero visibility and multiple vehicles off the road.

Both Interstate 90 and Highway 63 were back open early Wednesday morning, the Transportation Department said.

The conditions were being driven by an arctic cold front that brought wind, snow and cold back to Minnesota on Tuesday after a relatively warm day Monday.

Several school districts closed for the day or let out early in northeastern Minnesota, including Duluth, and also in the south and southeast, including Rochester. Others postponed games and other after-school activities.

Some 1,500 workers went home early from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, while critical medical staff were put up in hotels so they could stay nearly to serve patients. The blustery winds also put flight operations on ice at the Rochester airport.

In the northwest, a power outage hit several Clay County communities, including Wolverton, Sabin and Comstock, just as temperatures were beginning to dip on Tuesday morning. Xcel Energy crews restored the power in about 90 minutes.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)