Duluth, northeastern Minnesota dig out from nearly 2 feet of snow
Updated 11:18 a.m.
Duluth and much of northeastern Minnesota continue to dig out from a mammoth winter storm that dropped more than 20 inches of snow in many areas.
Snow removal crews are now getting a chance to plow residential areas in Duluth
Mayor Emily Larson said Monday that most of the main streets have been plowed at least once, but that a lot of work remains today in residential areas.
“Our best hope is to get through all the streets today. You know, Duluth has 425 miles of road we're responsible for and we have MnDOT that does theirs and the county does theirs. But we have a lot of roads to get to, and it’s easiest for us to do that when people are staying in one place, or moving their cars to plowed streets so we can get a nice clean plow through every neighborhood,” Larson said.
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Schools and some businesses remain closed, but the city says Canal Park and Park Point have reopened. The city had temporarily banned travel to Park Point to all but residents due to blowing and drifting snow.
The National Weather service said Duluth tied its record Sunday for the most snow depth measured December 1st. The record was set in 1985.
In addition to the snow, winds gusted in excess of 50 miles per hour late Saturday, causing some flooding near the Lake Superior shore.
Interstate 35 between Duluth and Cloquet was closed overnight but reopened to traffic late Sunday morning — though travel remained difficult.
Outside of Duluth
The storm hit other communities in northeastern Minnesota hard, too. Mahtowa reported 19.9 inches of snow, with 19.5 inches at Cloquet and 18 inches at Saginaw.
The Cloquet Police Department posted a photo of vehicles stranded along Highway 33 in that city late Saturday.
Elsewhere in Minnesota, anywhere from a dusting to several inches of snow overnight and through the day Sunday caused difficult driving conditions, though conditions were improving as snow gradually tapered off across the state.
Some good news: mostly dry and quiet weather is expected across Minnesota for the next several days.