Falling tree kills man in NE Minnesota as winter storm brings high winds, heavy snow
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An early-season winter storm packing heavy snow, howling winds and falling temperatures swept across Minnesota Tuesday into early Wednesday, causing treacherous travel and prompting dozens of school districts to delay or cancel classes.
The storm caused at least one death — a man who was struck by a falling tree while clearing snow near Duluth.
The gusty winds also knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses across the state. While snow tapered off for most areas through the day Wednesday, it was still tough going on roads across the state on the day before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Storm fatality
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said a 69-year-old man died after being struck by a falling tree while clearing snow Wednesday morning amid the ongoing winter storm.
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It happened in Alden Township, about 20 miles northeast of Duluth. The sheriff’s office said a woman returned home to find her husband dead, underneath a large fallen tree. The man — identified as Brian Pelander — had been clearing snow with a snowblower.
The sheriff’s office said the tree fell amid high winds and heavy, wet snow. Winds were gusting to nearly 50 miles per hour at the Duluth airport on Wednesday morning.
Snow reports
Parts of the state received more than 6 inches of snow. Reports relayed by the National Weather Service on Wednesday included 10.3 inches of snow at the Duluth airport and in Mahtowa, 9.5 inches at Cloquet and Camp Ripley, 8.5 inches at Wheaton and 8.1 inches in Bertha. Winds gusted in excess of 50 mph overnight in parts of Minnesota.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported just over 3 inches as of 6 a.m. Wednesday. Parts of the northern Twin Cities metro saw 4 to 5 inches.
The transition from rain to snow also left a layer of ice on roads and sidewalks, creating difficult morning conditions for drivers and walkers.
Andrea Miller was using a broom to clear snow from her vehicle in Brainerd on Wednesday morning after the city saw more than 6 inches.
“It is beautiful. If we didn't have to go anywhere, it would be more beautiful,” she said.
“I do not have kids in school. My friend has kids, and their school was canceled,” Miller said, adding, it would “be nice if we had, like, work cancellation so we could also play in the snow — but that’s not how the reality goes, right?”
In the Twin Cities, Luke Willoughby, a University of Minnesota building and grounds employee, said the first winter storm of the season “took long enough, but you know — it had to happen sometime. That’s why I live in Minnesota.”
The former Texas resident added that “hurricanes tried to kill me there, and snowstorms will make my life interesting here.”
For people with Thanksgiving travel plans, forecasters said road conditions were likely to improve through the afternoon on Wednesday.
Some school districts across Minnesota already were off Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But for those that had classes scheduled, the storm forced many to change plans.
Find a list of delays, closings and e-learning days below.
Hundreds of crashes
As the rain changed to snow on Tuesday, driving conditions quickly deteriorated.
Between noon Tuesday and noon Wednesday, the Minnesota State Patrol responded to 473 property-damage crashes — 37 involving injuries — as well as 54 jackknifed semis and 576 spinouts or vehicles off the road.
Authorities issued a no-travel advisory for west-central Minnesota for several hours late Tuesday afternoon into the evening. Several counties also advised no travel on Tuesday night, with the Swift County Sheriff’s Office reporting just after 6:30 p.m.: “If you go into the ditch, stay in your vehicle and advise dispatch of your location. Deputy response will be limited unless it’s an emergency.”
Just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, the State Patrol reported that westbound Interstate 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.
To the west, a long stretch of Interstate 29 was closed Tuesday night south of Fargo, N.D., extending into northeastern South Dakota. The freeway was back open Wednesday morning.
In the Twin Cities, Metro Transit was reporting delays and cancellations on some of its bus routes Wednesday morning.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported more than 50 delayed or canceled flights as of midday Wednesday — one of the busiest travel days of the year ahead of Thanksgiving. Security checkpoint wait times were reported to be less than 15 minutes.
Power outages
As of early Wednesday morning, Minnesota utilities were reporting more than 6,000 homes and businesses without power across the state. That number dropped below 4,000 by midday, as line crews were able to access and repair downed lines.
Alexandria-based Runestone Electric Association reported “a major transmission outage” in areas of Douglas, Grant, Pope and Stevens counties on Tuesday night, affecting about 2,000 customers in addition to other outages amid the winter storm.
Wheaton-based Traverse Electric Cooperative also reported outages Tuesday night, but said that “due to diminishing visibility and dangerous weather conditions, we are pulling our crews until it is safe for them to continue working again.”
In an update Wednesday morning, the co-op said crews went back out “as soon as visibility was clear and it was safe to be out on the roads.”
“Our crews are doing their best to restore power as safely as possible. We do not have a time frame when power will be restored at this time. The storm caused a lot of line breaks that need to be repaired as well as other issues,” the utility reported.
The storm also caused damage at the annual Bentleyville holiday light display at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Organizers said it would be closed Wednesday evening as crews repaired “significant damage” caused by winds gusting to 45 mph. They hoped to reopen on Thursday.
MPR News reporters Kirsti Marohn and Grace Praxmarer contributed to this report.
School delays, closings for Wednesday, Nov. 26
Closed
Alexandria
Alexandria Technical & Community College
Battle Lake
Bemidji Area
Brainerd
Brandon-Evansville
Cedar Mountain
Cloquet
Crosby-Ironton
Duluth
East Central
Esko
Fond du Lac Ojibwe
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Fridley
Hayfield
Henning
Hermantown
Isle
Lac qui Parle Valley
Lakeview
Laporte
Menahga
Milaca
Mora
Morris Area
Nevis
Ogilvie
Onamia
Osakis
Pequot Lakes
Pillager
Pine River-Backus
Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Proctor
St. Clair
Sartell-St. Stephen
Sauk Rapids-Rice
South Ridge
Swanville
United South Central
Upsala Area
Verndale
Walker Hackensack Akeley
Yellow Medicine East
E-learning day
Aitkin
Ashby
Barnum
Cromwell-Wright
Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
Kingsland
MACCRAY
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
New York Mills
Ortonville
Parkers Prairie
Perham
Renville County West
Robbinsdale
Sauk Centre
Sebeka
Staples-Motley
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Wabasha-Kellogg
Wahpeton, N.D.
Willow River Area
Two-hour delay
Annandale
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart
Cambridge-Isanti
Detroit Lakes
Frazee-Vergas
Hill City
Lake Superior College — opening at 10 a.m.
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
McGregor
Mahnomen
Maple Lake
Minnewaska Area
Pelican Rapids
Pierz
Red Lake
Rothsay
Underwood
University of Minnesota Duluth — opening at 10 a.m.
Waubun-Ogema-White Earth
Westonka
This list will be updated as additional closings and delays are reported
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:
