No-travel advisory for west-central Minnesota as winter storm sweeps across the state
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Authorities issued a no-travel advisory for west-central Minnesota late Tuesday afternoon, as a major early-season winter storm brought snow and gusty winds to the region.
Road conditions deteriorated through the afternoon as rain changed over to snow. Some school districts dismissed classes early, and utility crews were responding to power outages amid the storm.
The storm remained on track to bring heavy snow to much of the state through Wednesday morning, causing headaches for pre-Thanksgiving travelers across the region.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported just after noon that Interstate 94 and other highways in western Minnesota were covered in snow and slush, with “many motorists traveling too fast for obvious poor conditions.” Troopers were responding to multiple crashes and spinouts in that part of the state.
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Just before 4 p.m., the Patrol reported that westbound I-94 was closed a few miles east of Moorhead, after a pile-up crash involving several semis. There were no reports of serious injuries; the highway reopened Tuesday evening after a closure of several hours.
Late in the afternoon, MnDOT issued a no-travel advisory that includes I-94 between Alexandria and Moorhead. The advisory also included highways near Morris, Fergus Falls and Detroit Lakes.
Long stretches of I-94 and I-29 were closed in eastern North Dakota.
School districts ending classes early amid the worsening driving conditions on Tuesday included Morris Area, Detroit Lakes, Pelican Rapids, Wadena-Deer Creek, Ortonville and Minnewaska Area. Some school districts also announced classes would be delayed or canceled on Wednesday.
As of early Tuesday evening, Minnesota utilities were reporting more than 5,000 homes and businesses without power across the state — mostly in western Minnesota.
Rain was forecast to change over to snow across much of the rest of the state through the afternoon and evening hours Tuesday.
The National Weather Service said the combination of accumulating snow and gusty winds could cause blizzard conditions at times — and a blizzard warning was issued until midnight Tuesday for Traverse, Grant and Big Stone counties in western Minnesota.
Winter storm warnings stretch from Marshall, Mankato, Willmar and the Twin Cities north and east to Alexandria, Brainerd, Duluth, the Iron Range, the North Shore and northwestern Wisconsin.
Winter weather advisories are in place for the Red River Valley and far southern Minnesota.
Rain is forecast to change over to snow Tuesday afternoon and evening. Forecast snow totals by Wednesday morning are 6 to 12 inches from Alexandria and Brainerd east to Hinckley, Duluth and the North Shore. Snow totals of 3 to 6 inches are expected for St. Cloud, Mankato and the Twin Cities.
Northwest winds moving across the still relatively warm waters of Lake Superior will cause additional lake-effect snow in parts of northwestern Wisconsin. Snow totals near Hurley could approach 3 feet by Thursday morning.
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:
