Plows begin clearing snow-covered highways

Plows are out across the state following a snowfall of between two and four inches early Saturday morning. Winter weather warnings remain in effect for much of the state until Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported that roads in the west-central, southwestern and northeastern parts of the state were completely snow covered on Saturday morning.

MnDOT spokeperson Kevin Gutknecht said plows are making good progress on clearing state roads, but that it may take longer for agencies to clear city streets and county roads.

"Stay back behind the plows, stay behind the cloud of snow the plows create, and just give it time to work," Gutknecht said. "Plows can only go about 30 miles per hour, that's for good reason, they're big, their visibility is low."

Roads in the Twin Cities were partially covered with snow on Saturday morning. Dozens of spinouts and crashes were reported through the early morning. Temperatures in the Metro area are expected to rise into the low 30s on Saturday.

"The temperature is good because salt works best at a temperature similar to what we have right now," Gutknecht said. "The key issue for folks today is to slow down and take their time, that's the biggest contributing factor to vehicle spin outs and going into the ditch, it's the speed."

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for most of the state until Saturday evening. Between one and two inches more snow is expected through Saturday, with greater accumulation expected to the north and west of the Twin Cities. Snow could be possible again early next week, according to the weather service forecast.

The National Weather Service also issued a winter storm warning for west-central Minnesota until 6 p.m. that could leave those parts of the state with up to eight inches of snow accumulation by Saturday night.