Minnesota weather whiplash: From record highs Monday to snow and school closures Tuesday
Updated: 4:25 p.m.
After record high temperatures across much of the region on Monday, a winter storm pummeled parts of northern Minnesota with heavy snow and gusty winds on Tuesday.
Some schools and universities in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota canceled classes Tuesday amid deteriorating driving conditions. Transportation officials in Minnesota and North Dakota issued no-travel advisories.
Blizzard and winter storm warnings remained in effect through Tuesday evening from the Red River Valley northeast to Bemidji, Roseau and International Falls.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service had received reports of close to a foot of snow near Mayville in eastern North Dakota, and 7 inches in the Grand Forks area. Snowfall of 3 to 5 inches was reported from Moorhead to Bemidji to International Falls.
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Gusty northwest winds were causing blowing snow and reduced visibilities.
Light snow and plunging temperatures are in the forecast for the rest of Minnesota through Tuesday evening. Subzero wind chills are expected statewide by Wednesday morning.
Find forecast details on MPR Weather’s Updraft blog.
No-travel advisories
The Minnesota Department of Transportation advised no travel on Tuesday across parts of northwest Minnesota.
The no-travel advisory included highways from Ada north to Crookston, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, Warren and Hallock.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said visibility was near zero in open areas.
Transportation officials in eastern North Dakota also advised no travel along Interstate 29 from Grand Forks north to the Canadian border, and U.S. Highway 2 west of Grand Forks.
School closures
The snow and poor driving conditions prompted a number of school closures or moves to e-learning on Tuesday.
School districts closed Tuesday include Crookston, Fargo, Lake Park-Audubon, Marshall County Central, Thief River Falls, Warroad and West Fargo.
Bagley, Fosston, Hawley, Moorhead and Red Lake Falls schools moved to online learning for the day.
Minnesota State University-Moorhead, the University of Minnesota-Crookston and North Dakota State University canceled classes Tuesday. Concordia College in Moorhead moved to an e-learning day. The University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks was opening late Tuesday morning, at 10 a.m.
There were no reports of widespread school closures in southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities.
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: