Winter storm continues to affect southeast Minnesota
Updated: 2:15 p.m.
Plows were out and schools were delayed or canceled across much of southern Minnesota on Tuesday as the area’s first significant winter storm of the season shifted eastward.
As the snowfall ended Tuesday in southwest Minnesota, it picked up in the southeast. A winter storm warning is in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday for Fillmore and Houston counties, where the National Weather Service said 2 to 4 inches of snow had fallen as of Tuesday afternoon with another inch or two possible. Greater snow totals were expected in parts of Iowa and Wisconsin.
Increasing winds — with gusts up to 35 mph — were expected to cause areas of blowing and drifting snow overnight.
School delays, cancellations
The forecast for heavy snow prompted some school districts in southeast Minnesota to cancel classes on Tuesday.
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Districts canceling classes on Tuesday included Caledonia, Chatfield, Dover-Eyota, Fillmore Central, Houston, La Crescent-Hokah, Kingsland, Lanesboro, Rushford-Peterson, St. Charles and Spring Grove, among others. The Decorah, Iowa, school district also canceled classes. Winona schools were running two hours late on Tuesday.
In southwest and south-central Minnesota, many districts also opted to start two hours late on Tuesday to give plows a chance to clear the roads.
Districts starting late Tuesday include Adrian, Canby, Dawson-Boyd, Hills-Beaver Creek, Ivanhoe, Lakeview, Luverne, Lynd, Marshall, Milroy, Minneota, Murray County Central, Pipestone, Red Rock Central, Russell Tyler Ruthton, St. James, Tracy, Wabasso, Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Windom, Worthington and Yellow Medicine East. Schools in Sioux Falls, S.D., also have a two-hour late start on Tuesday.
All Minnesota West Community and Technical College campuses are opening at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
It was not clear as of Tuesday afternoon, whether any school delays or cancellations would be in place on Wednesday.
Road conditions
The Minnesota Department of Transportation continued to report snow-covered roads Tuesday afternoon across much of southern Minnesota.
The State Patrol said it responded to 141 crashes, 72 spinouts or vehicles in the ditch and four jackknifed semis on snowy highways across Minnesota between 6 a.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Most of those were reported in southern and west-central Minnesota. The numbers are only for state highways and don’t include crashes on city or county roads. The patrol said there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.
Nobles County Sheriff Ryan Kruger told MPR’s Minnesota Now on Monday that his deputies had responded to a few crashes and spinouts in the Worthington area.
“It seems like it usually takes a few snows before people get used to driving in it,” he said. “Last year at this time we were well-versed on driving in snow. But... the first snowfall always seems to bring a few people to the ditches and off-road.”
Forecasters said two more rounds of light snow are possible in the region later this week — one on Wednesday, another on Friday — followed by much colder air this weekend.
Links for more information
Here’s how to keep tabs on forecasts, travel conditions and flight updates.
Forecast updates
MPR News: Live weather blog and 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 Twitter pages, as well as on its 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: